Melange
Encyclopedia
Melange also called the "spice" is the name of the fictional drug
central to the Dune series
of science fiction
novels by Frank Herbert
, and derivative works.
In the series, the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe is melange, a geriatric drug that gives the user a longer life span
, greater vitality, and heightened awareness
; it can also unlock prescience in some humans, depending upon the dosage
and the consumer's physiology
. This prescience-enhancing property makes safe and accurate interstellar travel possible. Melange comes with a steep price, however: it is addictive, and withdrawal is fatal.
Carol Hart analyzes the concept in the essay "Melange" in The Science of Dune (2008).
(1969) when he notes that Guild Navigator
Edric "swam in a container of orange gas ... His tank's vents emitted a pale orange cloud rich with the smell of the geriatric spice, melange." Later in Heretics of Dune
(1984), a discovered hoard of melange appears as "mounds of dark reddish brown." Herbert also indicates fluorescence
in God Emperor of Dune
(1981) when the character Moneo notes, "Great bins of melange lay all around in a gigantic room cut from native rock and illuminated by glowglobes of an ancient design with arabesques of metal scrollwork upon them. The spice had glowed radiant blue in the dim silver light. And the smell – bitter cinnamon
, unmistakable." Herbert writes repeatedly, starting in Dune
(1965), that melange possesses the odor of cinnamon.
In Dune, Lady Jessica notes that her first taste of spice "tasted like cinnamon." Dr. Yueh
adds that the flavor is "never twice the same .. It's like life – it presents a different face each time you take it. Some hold that the spice produces a learned-flavor reaction. The body, learning a thing is good for it, interprets the flavor as pleasurable – slightly euphoric. And, like life, never to be truly synthesized."
, colloquially known as Dune and millennia later called simply "Rakis". Herbert notes in Dune that a pre-spice mass is "the stage of fungusoid wild growth achieved when water is flooded into the excretions of Little Makers," the "half-plant–half-animal deep-sand vector of the Arrakis sandworm
." Gases are produced which result in "a characteristic 'blow,' exchanging the material from deep underground for the matter on the surface above it." This blow is explosive in nature, erupting with enough force to kill anyone in the vicinity of it. Frank Herbert describes such a spice blow in the following passage from Dune:
Herbert writes that the pre-spice mass, "after exposure to sun and air, becomes melange." He later indicates its color in Children of Dune
(1976), when Leto II
passes "the leprous blotches of violet sand where a spiceblow had erupted."
Collecting the melange is hazardous in the extreme, since rhythmic activity on the desert surface of Arrakis attracts the worms, which can be up to four hundred meters (1,300 feet) in length, and very dangerous, capable of swallowing a mining crawler whole. Thus, the mining operation essentially consists of vacuuming it off the surface with a vehicle called a Harvester until a worm comes, at which time an aircraft known as a Carryall lifts the mining vehicle to safety. The Fremen, who have learned to co-exist with the sandworms in the desert, harvest the spice manually for their own use and for smuggling
off-planet.
Within the 1500 years between the events of God Emperor of Dune (1981) and Heretics of Dune (1984), the Tleilaxu
discover an artificial method of producing the spice in their axlotl tanks, previously only used to create gholas. It is noted in Heretics of Dune that "For every milligram of melange produced on Rakis, the Bene Tleilax
tanks produced long tons." The technology "had broken the Rakian monopoly on the spice" but is not fully successful in pushing natural melange out of the marketplace.
notes that of every valuable commodity known to mankind, "all fades before melange. A handful of spice will buy a home on Tupile." Due to the rarity and value of melange and its necessity as a catalyst for interstellar travel, the Padishah Emperor
's power at the outset of Dune, is secured by his control of Arrakis, which puts him on equal footing with both the assembly of noble families called the Landsraad
and the Spacing Guild
, which monopolizes
interstellar travel. Seizing control of the planet, Paul Atreides
intensifies this form of hydraulic despotism
by asserting control over both the Landsraad and Spacing Guild, as well as other factions in the universe.
Referred to as "the spice," melange can be mixed with food, and it is used to make beverages such as "spice coffee," "spice beer," and "spice liquor". Melange is in fact a drug in the clinical sense, and daily use can extend human life spans by hundreds of years. In larger quantities it possesses intense psychotropic
effects, and is used as a powerful entheogen
by both the Bene Gesserit
and Fremen to initiate clairvoyant and precognitive trances, access genetic memory
and heighten other abilities. But melange is highly addictive, and withdrawal means certain death; Paul Atreides
notes in Dune that the spice is "A poison — so subtle, so insidious . . . so irreversible. It won't even kill you unless you stop taking it."
of the Spacing Guild depend upon melange for the heightened awareness and the prescient ability to see safe paths through space-time, allowing them to navigate the gigantic Guild heighliners between planets. The Navigators must exist within a cloud of spice gas in a tank; this intense and extended exposure mutates
their bodies over time.
, "I see you do much working with the spice... you make paper... plastics... and isn't that chemical explosives?" The existence of "spice-cloth" and "spice-fiber" rugs are noted in Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.
. It involves an "illuminating poison" used to elevate consciousness and unlock genetic memory
. Bene Gesserit survivors of the deadly ordeal are then known as Reverend Mothers.
In the original novel, Dune, Lady Jessica refers to the ritual as "the Reverend Mother ordeal" as she experiences it. Jessica realizes that although the Fremen and Bene Gesserit rituals are different, the results are the same. When attempting it himself later in the novel, Paul says, "We will see now whether I'm the Kwisatz Haderach who can survive the test that the Reverend Mothers have survived." The term "spice agony" is not actually used until the novel Heretics of Dune
, though its use within the Dune universe seemingly predates the events of the novel itself.
In Children of Dune
, the term "spice trance" is used to describe the effects of an overdose of spice. Alia had previously subjected herself to such an overdose late in Dune Messiah, hoping to enhance her prescient visions; she achieves some success, but in Children of Dune, Leto II and Ghanima blame the trance for Alia's descent into Abomination. Fearful of the same fate, they resist Alia's urgings to undergo the spice trance themselves. The trial is later forced upon Leto at Jacurutu when it is suspected that he too is an Abomination. Leto survives the challenge and escapes, but is left changed. Unlike Alia, however, he remains in control, and the spice trance opens his eyes to the Golden Path that will ultimately save humanity.
, cornea
and iris
of the user to a dark shade of blue, called "blue-in-blue" or "the Eyes of Ibad," which is something of a source of pride among the Fremen and a symbol of their tribal bond. In Dune, Paul initially has green eyes, but after several years on Arrakis they begin to take on the deep, uniform blue of the Fremen. On other planets, the addicted often use tinted contact lens
es to hide this discoloration. In Dune, Paul sees two Guildsmen
and notes:
In both the 1984 film
and 2000 miniseries
versions of Dune, the eyes of spice users are shown as a luminous bright blue, with iris still distinct from sclera.
When aerosolized and used as an inhalant
in extremely high dosages — the standard practice for Guild Navigators — the drug acts as a mutagen
. In the first chapter of Dune Messiah, Guild Navigator Edric is described in his tank of spice gas as "an elongated figure, vaguely humanoid with finned feet and hugely fanned membranous hands — a fish in a strange sea."
In the Prelude to Dune
prequel
trilogy
by Brian Herbert
and Kevin J. Anderson
(1999-2001), Project Amal is an early attempt by the Bene Tleilax to create synthetic melange in order to eliminate dependence upon Arrakis. Upon presenting their idea to the Padishah Emperor
Elrood Corrino IX, in 10,154 A.G. the Tleilaxu are granted the right to occupy the planet Ix
by force (with the help of Elrood's Sardaukar
army) and remake it into a laboratory station for the project. The old Emperor wants to remove the spice monopoly by making sure that he has the only access to it, thus controlling the Spacing Guild. The Tleilaxu subsequently rename Ix "Xuttuh" after their founder. In the year 10,156 A.G., Elrood IX is assassinated by Count Hasimir Fenring
at the behest of Crown Prince Shaddam
. Shaddam, now under the name of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, gives Fenring the title of Imperial Spice Minister and orders him to supervise the project.
Although Tleilaxu Master Hidar Fen Ajidica manages to create an artificial melange (called "ajidamal," or "amal") that seems to have the original's properties, it does not work properly. Test-sandtrout explode when exposed to it, and Fenring's test of its use by Guild Navigator
s ends in catastrophe as one heighliner and its passengers are destroyed and the Navigator of a second heighliner dies. When Duke Leto Atreides
invades Xuttuh in 10,175 A.G. and reestablishes Prince Rhombur of House Vernius
as ruler of Ix, all the records of Project Amal are destroyed by Fenring. When the news hits the Landsraad
, Shaddam denies all participation, claiming never to have heard of it. He maintains that it had probably been something his senile father Elrood had done in his last days. The Tleilaxu Masters involved are ultimately executed. Ajidica himself dies from the side effects of ajidamal: his body literally falls apart as the synthetic melange had eaten it away from the inside out.
In Sandworms of Dune
, Brian Herbert and Anderson's 2007 conclusion to the original series, the Spacing Guild is manipulated into replacing its Navigators with Ixian
navigation devices and cutting off the Navigators' supply of melange. Sure to die should they be without the spice, a group of Navigators commission Waff
, an imperfectly-awakened Tleilaxu ghola, to create "advanced" sandworms able to produce the melange they so desperately require. He accomplishes this by altering the DNA
of the worm's sandtrout stage and creating an aquatic form of the worms, which are then released into the oceans of Buzzell. Adapting to their new environment, these "seaworms" quickly flourish, eventually producing a highly-concentrated form of spice, dubbed "ultraspice". This new form of spice is so powerful that a relative small dose causes a potential Kwisatz Haderach
to descend into a complete and unbreakable coma through perfect prescience.
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
central to the Dune series
Dune (franchise)
Dune is a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Considered by many to be the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Dune is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history...
of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels by Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
, and derivative works.
In the series, the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe is melange, a geriatric drug that gives the user a longer life span
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
, greater vitality, and heightened awareness
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...
; it can also unlock prescience in some humans, depending upon the dosage
Effective dose (pharmacology)
An effective dose in pharmacology is the dose or amount of drug that produces a therapeutic response or desired effect in some fraction of the subjects taking it....
and the consumer's physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
. This prescience-enhancing property makes safe and accurate interstellar travel possible. Melange comes with a steep price, however: it is addictive, and withdrawal is fatal.
Carol Hart analyzes the concept in the essay "Melange" in The Science of Dune (2008).
Description
Herbert is vague in describing the appearance of the spice. He hints at its color in Dune MessiahDune Messiah
Dune Messiah is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the second in a series of six novels. It was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1969. The American and British editions have different prologues summarizing events in the previous novel...
(1969) when he notes that Guild Navigator
Guild Navigator
A Guild Navigator is a fictional humanoid in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Humans mutated through the consumption of and exposure to massive amounts of the spice melange, they are able to use a limited form of prescience to safely navigate interstellar space in a starship called a...
Edric "swam in a container of orange gas ... His tank's vents emitted a pale orange cloud rich with the smell of the geriatric spice, melange." Later in Heretics of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Heretics of Dune is a 1984 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, fifth in a series of six novels. It was ranked as the #13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times.-Plot introduction:...
(1984), a discovered hoard of melange appears as "mounds of dark reddish brown." Herbert also indicates fluorescence
Fluorescence
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation of a different wavelength. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation...
in God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert published in 1981, the fourth in the Dune series. It was ranked as the #11 hardcover fiction best seller of 1981 by Publishers Weekly.-Plot introduction:...
(1981) when the character Moneo notes, "Great bins of melange lay all around in a gigantic room cut from native rock and illuminated by glowglobes of an ancient design with arabesques of metal scrollwork upon them. The spice had glowed radiant blue in the dim silver light. And the smell – bitter cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, unmistakable." Herbert writes repeatedly, starting in Dune
Dune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
(1965), that melange possesses the odor of cinnamon.
In Dune, Lady Jessica notes that her first taste of spice "tasted like cinnamon." Dr. Yueh
Wellington Yueh
Dr. Wellington Yueh is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel Dune, but also appears in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson...
adds that the flavor is "never twice the same .. It's like life – it presents a different face each time you take it. Some hold that the spice produces a learned-flavor reaction. The body, learning a thing is good for it, interprets the flavor as pleasurable – slightly euphoric. And, like life, never to be truly synthesized."
Origin
In Dune, there is only one source of melange: the sands of the planet ArrakisArrakis
Arrakis — informally known as Dune and later called Rakis — is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's Dune, is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and it is...
, colloquially known as Dune and millennia later called simply "Rakis". Herbert notes in Dune that a pre-spice mass is "the stage of fungusoid wild growth achieved when water is flooded into the excretions of Little Makers," the "half-plant–half-animal deep-sand vector of the Arrakis sandworm
Sandworm (Dune)
The sandworm is a fictional form of desert-dwelling creature from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. They first appear in the 1965 novel Dune, considered to be among the classics in the science fiction genre, and are iconic of the Dune series.In the series, the sandworms called Shai-Hulud...
." Gases are produced which result in "a characteristic 'blow,' exchanging the material from deep underground for the matter on the surface above it." This blow is explosive in nature, erupting with enough force to kill anyone in the vicinity of it. Frank Herbert describes such a spice blow in the following passage from Dune:
Then he heard the sand rumbling. Every FremenFremenThe Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel Dune, the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis and are based on the desert-dwelling Bedouin and Kalahari Bushmen. In Herbert's novels, Arrakis is the sole known source...
knew the sound, could distinguish it immediately from the noises of worms or other desert life. Somewhere beneath him, the pre-spice mass had accumulated enough water and organic matter from the little makers, had reached the critical stage of wild growth. A gigantic bubble of carbon dioxideCarbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
was forming deep in the sand, heaving upward in an enormous "blow" with a dust whirlpool at its center. It would exchange what had been formed deep in the sand for whatever lay on the surface.
Herbert writes that the pre-spice mass, "after exposure to sun and air, becomes melange." He later indicates its color in Children of Dune
Children of Dune
Children of Dune is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, third in a series of six novels set in his Dune universe. Initially selling over 75,000 copies, it became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field...
(1976), when Leto II
Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah , Leto is a central character in Children of Dune and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune . The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
passes "the leprous blotches of violet sand where a spiceblow had erupted."
Collecting the melange is hazardous in the extreme, since rhythmic activity on the desert surface of Arrakis attracts the worms, which can be up to four hundred meters (1,300 feet) in length, and very dangerous, capable of swallowing a mining crawler whole. Thus, the mining operation essentially consists of vacuuming it off the surface with a vehicle called a Harvester until a worm comes, at which time an aircraft known as a Carryall lifts the mining vehicle to safety. The Fremen, who have learned to co-exist with the sandworms in the desert, harvest the spice manually for their own use and for smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
off-planet.
Within the 1500 years between the events of God Emperor of Dune (1981) and Heretics of Dune (1984), the Tleilaxu
Bene Tleilax
The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "twisted" Mentats, the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium...
discover an artificial method of producing the spice in their axlotl tanks, previously only used to create gholas. It is noted in Heretics of Dune that "For every milligram of melange produced on Rakis, the Bene Tleilax
Bene Tleilax
The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "twisted" Mentats, the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium...
tanks produced long tons." The technology "had broken the Rakian monopoly on the spice" but is not fully successful in pushing natural melange out of the marketplace.
Use
Herbert notes in Children of Dune that the geriatric properties of melange had been "first noted by Yanshuph Ashkoko, royal chemist in reign of Shakkad the Wise." By the events of Dune, the spice is used all over the universe and is a sign of wealth; Duke Leto AtreidesLeto Atreides I
Duke Leto Atreides I is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He features in the novel Dune by Frank Herbert and in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson....
notes that of every valuable commodity known to mankind, "all fades before melange. A handful of spice will buy a home on Tupile." Due to the rarity and value of melange and its necessity as a catalyst for interstellar travel, the Padishah Emperor
Padishah Emperor
Padishah Emperor is the title given to the hereditary rulers of the Old Empire in the science fiction Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.-Original series:...
's power at the outset of Dune, is secured by his control of Arrakis, which puts him on equal footing with both the assembly of noble families called the Landsraad
Landsraad
The Landsraad is a fictional organization in Frank Herbert's Dune universe. It is the assembly of all noble Houses in the Imperium.-Overview:...
and the Spacing Guild
Spacing Guild
The Spacing Guild is an organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. With its monopoly on interstellar travel and banking, the Guild is a balance of power against the Padishah Emperor and the assembled noble Houses of the Landsraad...
, which monopolizes
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
interstellar travel. Seizing control of the planet, Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
intensifies this form of hydraulic despotism
Hydraulic empire
A hydraulic empire is a social or government structure which maintains power and control through exclusive control over access to water...
by asserting control over both the Landsraad and Spacing Guild, as well as other factions in the universe.
Referred to as "the spice," melange can be mixed with food, and it is used to make beverages such as "spice coffee," "spice beer," and "spice liquor". Melange is in fact a drug in the clinical sense, and daily use can extend human life spans by hundreds of years. In larger quantities it possesses intense psychotropic
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
effects, and is used as a powerful entheogen
Entheogen
An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...
by both the Bene Gesserit
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit are a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The group is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and...
and Fremen to initiate clairvoyant and precognitive trances, access genetic memory
Genetic memory (psychology)
In psychology, genetic memory is a memory present at birth that exists in the absence of sensory experience, and is incorporated into the genome over long spans of time...
and heighten other abilities. But melange is highly addictive, and withdrawal means certain death; Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
notes in Dune that the spice is "A poison — so subtle, so insidious . . . so irreversible. It won't even kill you unless you stop taking it."
Guild Navigators
The NavigatorsGuild Navigator
A Guild Navigator is a fictional humanoid in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Humans mutated through the consumption of and exposure to massive amounts of the spice melange, they are able to use a limited form of prescience to safely navigate interstellar space in a starship called a...
of the Spacing Guild depend upon melange for the heightened awareness and the prescient ability to see safe paths through space-time, allowing them to navigate the gigantic Guild heighliners between planets. The Navigators must exist within a cloud of spice gas in a tank; this intense and extended exposure mutates
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
their bodies over time.
Fremen
In Dune, Jessica says to Fremen leader StilgarStilgar
Stilgar is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He appears in the first three novels in the series: Dune , Dune Messiah and Children of Dune . His early life is explored in Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
, "I see you do much working with the spice... you make paper... plastics... and isn't that chemical explosives?" The existence of "spice-cloth" and "spice-fiber" rugs are noted in Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.
Spice agony
Melange is used for spice agony, a ritual performed in different ways by the Fremen and the Bene GesseritBene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit are a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The group is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and...
. It involves an "illuminating poison" used to elevate consciousness and unlock genetic memory
Genetic memory (psychology)
In psychology, genetic memory is a memory present at birth that exists in the absence of sensory experience, and is incorporated into the genome over long spans of time...
. Bene Gesserit survivors of the deadly ordeal are then known as Reverend Mothers.
In the original novel, Dune, Lady Jessica refers to the ritual as "the Reverend Mother ordeal" as she experiences it. Jessica realizes that although the Fremen and Bene Gesserit rituals are different, the results are the same. When attempting it himself later in the novel, Paul says, "We will see now whether I'm the Kwisatz Haderach who can survive the test that the Reverend Mothers have survived." The term "spice agony" is not actually used until the novel Heretics of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Heretics of Dune is a 1984 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, fifth in a series of six novels. It was ranked as the #13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times.-Plot introduction:...
, though its use within the Dune universe seemingly predates the events of the novel itself.
In Children of Dune
Children of Dune
Children of Dune is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, third in a series of six novels set in his Dune universe. Initially selling over 75,000 copies, it became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field...
, the term "spice trance" is used to describe the effects of an overdose of spice. Alia had previously subjected herself to such an overdose late in Dune Messiah, hoping to enhance her prescient visions; she achieves some success, but in Children of Dune, Leto II and Ghanima blame the trance for Alia's descent into Abomination. Fearful of the same fate, they resist Alia's urgings to undergo the spice trance themselves. The trial is later forced upon Leto at Jacurutu when it is suspected that he too is an Abomination. Leto survives the challenge and escapes, but is left changed. Unlike Alia, however, he remains in control, and the spice trance opens his eyes to the Golden Path that will ultimately save humanity.
Physiological side effects
Extensive use of the drug tints the scleraSclera
The sclera , also known as the white or white of the eye, is the opaque , fibrous, protective, outer layer of the eye containing collagen and elastic fiber. In the development of the embryo, the sclera is derived from the neural crest...
, cornea
Cornea
The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Together with the lens, the cornea refracts light, with the cornea accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power. In humans, the refractive power of the cornea is...
and iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
of the user to a dark shade of blue, called "blue-in-blue" or "the Eyes of Ibad," which is something of a source of pride among the Fremen and a symbol of their tribal bond. In Dune, Paul initially has green eyes, but after several years on Arrakis they begin to take on the deep, uniform blue of the Fremen. On other planets, the addicted often use tinted contact lens
Contact lens
A contact lens, or simply contact, is a lens placed on the eye. They are considered medical devices and can be worn to correct vision, for cosmetic or therapeutic reasons. In 2004, it was estimated that 125 million people use contact lenses worldwide, including 28 to 38 million in the United...
es to hide this discoloration. In Dune, Paul sees two Guildsmen
Spacing Guild
The Spacing Guild is an organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. With its monopoly on interstellar travel and banking, the Guild is a balance of power against the Padishah Emperor and the assembled noble Houses of the Landsraad...
and notes:
The taller of the two, though, held a hand to his left eye. As the EmperorPadishah EmperorPadishah Emperor is the title given to the hereditary rulers of the Old Empire in the science fiction Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.-Original series:...
watched, someone jostled the Guildsman's arm, the hand moved, and the eye was revealed. The man had lost one of his masking contact lenses, and the eye stared out a total blue so dark as to be almost black.
In both the 1984 film
Dune (film)
Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
and 2000 miniseries
Frank Herbert's Dune
Frank Herbert's Dune is a 2001 3D video game based on the 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries of the same name. The game was not a commercial or critical success, and was the last product by Cryo Interactive, which went bankrupt shortly after the game's failure.As Paul, the son of the Duke Atreides's...
versions of Dune, the eyes of spice users are shown as a luminous bright blue, with iris still distinct from sclera.
When aerosolized and used as an inhalant
Inhalant
Inhalants are a broad range of drugs whose volatile vapors are taken in via the nose and trachea. They are taken by volatilization, and do not include drugs that are inhaled after burning or heating...
in extremely high dosages — the standard practice for Guild Navigators — the drug acts as a mutagen
Mutagen
In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that changes the genetic material, usually DNA, of an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations cause cancer, mutagens are therefore also likely to be carcinogens...
. In the first chapter of Dune Messiah, Guild Navigator Edric is described in his tank of spice gas as "an elongated figure, vaguely humanoid with finned feet and hugely fanned membranous hands — a fish in a strange sea."
Project Amal
In the Prelude to Dune
Prelude to Dune
Prelude to Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe....
prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
by Brian Herbert
Brian Herbert
Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert....
and Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author with over forty bestsellers. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the Dune prequels...
(1999-2001), Project Amal is an early attempt by the Bene Tleilax to create synthetic melange in order to eliminate dependence upon Arrakis. Upon presenting their idea to the Padishah Emperor
Padishah Emperor
Padishah Emperor is the title given to the hereditary rulers of the Old Empire in the science fiction Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.-Original series:...
Elrood Corrino IX, in 10,154 A.G. the Tleilaxu are granted the right to occupy the planet Ix
Ix (Dune)
Ix is a fictional planet featured in the Dune series of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. In Dune it is noted that Ix is classed with the planet Richese as "supreme in machine culture," and that Ixian solido projectors "are commonly considered the best." In...
by force (with the help of Elrood's Sardaukar
Sardaukar
The Sardaukar are a fictional fanatical army from Frank Herbert's Dune universe, primarily featured in the 1965 science fiction novel Dune, as well as Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
army) and remake it into a laboratory station for the project. The old Emperor wants to remove the spice monopoly by making sure that he has the only access to it, thus controlling the Spacing Guild. The Tleilaxu subsequently rename Ix "Xuttuh" after their founder. In the year 10,156 A.G., Elrood IX is assassinated by Count Hasimir Fenring
Hasimir Fenring
Count Hasimir Fenring is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is featured in the science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert, and is also a key character in the Prelude to Dune trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
at the behest of Crown Prince Shaddam
Shaddam Corrino IV
Shaddam Corrino IV is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is Padishah Emperor of the known universe in Herbert's 1965 novel Dune. Shaddam's accession to the throne is chronicled in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.Born...
. Shaddam, now under the name of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, gives Fenring the title of Imperial Spice Minister and orders him to supervise the project.
Although Tleilaxu Master Hidar Fen Ajidica manages to create an artificial melange (called "ajidamal," or "amal") that seems to have the original's properties, it does not work properly. Test-sandtrout explode when exposed to it, and Fenring's test of its use by Guild Navigator
Guild Navigator
A Guild Navigator is a fictional humanoid in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Humans mutated through the consumption of and exposure to massive amounts of the spice melange, they are able to use a limited form of prescience to safely navigate interstellar space in a starship called a...
s ends in catastrophe as one heighliner and its passengers are destroyed and the Navigator of a second heighliner dies. When Duke Leto Atreides
Leto Atreides I
Duke Leto Atreides I is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He features in the novel Dune by Frank Herbert and in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson....
invades Xuttuh in 10,175 A.G. and reestablishes Prince Rhombur of House Vernius
House Vernius
House Vernius is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. They are featured in the prequel series Prelude to Dune and Heroes of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
as ruler of Ix, all the records of Project Amal are destroyed by Fenring. When the news hits the Landsraad
Landsraad
The Landsraad is a fictional organization in Frank Herbert's Dune universe. It is the assembly of all noble Houses in the Imperium.-Overview:...
, Shaddam denies all participation, claiming never to have heard of it. He maintains that it had probably been something his senile father Elrood had done in his last days. The Tleilaxu Masters involved are ultimately executed. Ajidica himself dies from the side effects of ajidamal: his body literally falls apart as the synthetic melange had eaten it away from the inside out.
Ultraspice
In Sandworms of Dune
Sandworms of Dune
Sandworms of Dune is the second of two novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson to conclude Frank Herbert's original Dune series of novels. They have stated that it is based on notes left behind by Frank Herbert for Dune 7, his own planned seventh novel in the Dune series...
, Brian Herbert and Anderson's 2007 conclusion to the original series, the Spacing Guild is manipulated into replacing its Navigators with Ixian
Ix (Dune)
Ix is a fictional planet featured in the Dune series of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. In Dune it is noted that Ix is classed with the planet Richese as "supreme in machine culture," and that Ixian solido projectors "are commonly considered the best." In...
navigation devices and cutting off the Navigators' supply of melange. Sure to die should they be without the spice, a group of Navigators commission Waff
Waff (Dune)
Tylwyth Waff is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is a Mahai, the leader of the Bene Tleilax, and is a major character in Heretics of Dune.In Heretics of Dune, Herbert provides this description of Waff:...
, an imperfectly-awakened Tleilaxu ghola, to create "advanced" sandworms able to produce the melange they so desperately require. He accomplishes this by altering the DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
of the worm's sandtrout stage and creating an aquatic form of the worms, which are then released into the oceans of Buzzell. Adapting to their new environment, these "seaworms" quickly flourish, eventually producing a highly-concentrated form of spice, dubbed "ultraspice". This new form of spice is so powerful that a relative small dose causes a potential Kwisatz Haderach
Kwisatz Haderach
In Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe, Kwisatz Haderach is a term which refers to a prophesied messiah and superbeing. In the series, the Bene Gesserit, a matriarchal secret society, hope to create a male who can survive the deadly ritual spice agony that changes a capable female acolyte into...
to descend into a complete and unbreakable coma through perfect prescience.