Vorian Atreides
Encyclopedia
Vorian Atreides is a fictional character
in the Dune universe
created by Frank Herbert
. The ancestor of Paul Atreides, Vorian is a key character in the Legends of Dune
trilogy created by Brian Herbert
and Kevin J. Anderson
.
on Old Earth. Vorian was the thirteenth son of the Titan
Agamemnon, one of the twenty Titans who conquered the Old Empire, and was a Human Trustee
in Omnius' Machine Empire. He began the family house of the Atreides and was Muad'Dib
's ancestor.
empire was to accompany the robot Seurat
on one of Omnius' update ships, the Dream Voyager, travelling around through the Synchronized Worlds and delivering various updates of the computer evermind. He was entirely loyal to his father, General Agamemnon, and absolutely believed everything that he said, because he wished to become a cymek and a Titan like him. He had read only General Agamemnon's biographies on human history, so he thought that the thinking machines were only trying to restore order in the universe and to rule benevolently, while in reality the machines completely destroyed human populations often numbering in the billions. Vorian was one of the most prominent hrethgir trustees.
while she was a slave in the household of the robot Erasmus. He fell in love with her, which resulted in Vorian questioning his loyalties. He then fled with her, after the murder of her baby, Manion Butler, to fight with the League of Nobles.
, which is ironic because of the later Atreides-Harkonnen feud. After Xavier assassinated the Grand Patriarch, Iblis Ginjo, Commander/Supreme Bashar Vorian was the only person who tried to clear his name.
. He served with the Army of Humanity for about 135 standard years (he lived much longer than the average human because of the life extension treatment he had received from his father), and rose so high in the Army of Humanity that they had to create a new rank for him, Supreme Commander. After the Army of Humanity switched to Old Earth ranks, he became Supreme Bashar. During his military career, he had many relationships with different women at each port, and may have fathered several children. One of his relationships was with a woman named Karida Julan, who became the grandmother of Raquella Berto-Anirul who later established the Bene Gesserit
school. This ended when he landed at Caladan
(the home of House Atreides in the original series) and fell in love with a woman there named Leronica Tergiet, with whom he had two sons (Estes and Kagin) before marrying her years later. She would pass away from old age long before him, and it is unknown whether he ever married again or had any other relationships during the remainder of his life.
, or whether this was one of his descendants is unknown.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Dune universe
Dune universe
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...
created 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...
. The ancestor of Paul Atreides, Vorian is a key character in the Legends of Dune
Legends of Dune
Legends of Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe.* Dune: The Butlerian Jihad * Dune: The Machine Crusade * Dune: The Battle of Corrin...
trilogy created 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...
.
Family history
The Atreides family line goes all the way back to the GreeksGreeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
on Old Earth. Vorian was the thirteenth son of the Titan
Titan (Dune)
The Titans are a group of fictional characters in the Legends of Dune series of novels, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson and set in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert...
Agamemnon, one of the twenty Titans who conquered the Old Empire, and was a Human Trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
in Omnius' Machine Empire. He began the family house of the Atreides and was Muad'Dib
Muad'Dib
Muad'Dib is a desert mouse within Frank Herbert's Dune universe. It is also the name for a constellation of stars and is taken as a name by the first novel's hero, Paul Atreides.-Dune glossary:...
's ancestor.
Life with the thinking machines
Vorian's main role in the thinking machineThinking machines (Dune)
Thinking machines is a collective term for artificial intelligence in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The Butlerian Jihad a human crusade against thinking machines is an epic turning point in the back-story of the Dune universe...
empire was to accompany the robot Seurat
Seurat (Dune)
Seurat is a fictional character of the Dune novels. In the Legends of Dune prequels of Dune, Seurat was an independent thinking machine who pilots an update ship through the Synchronized Worlds with the help of the son of Titan Agamemnon, Vorian Atreides....
on one of Omnius' update ships, the Dream Voyager, travelling around through the Synchronized Worlds and delivering various updates of the computer evermind. He was entirely loyal to his father, General Agamemnon, and absolutely believed everything that he said, because he wished to become a cymek and a Titan like him. He had read only General Agamemnon's biographies on human history, so he thought that the thinking machines were only trying to restore order in the universe and to rule benevolently, while in reality the machines completely destroyed human populations often numbering in the billions. Vorian was one of the most prominent hrethgir trustees.
Serena
He met Serena ButlerSerena Butler
Serena Butler is a character in Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Legends of Dune series, a trilogy of novels set during the Butlerian Jihad, the war against thinking machines only vaguely referred to in Frank Herbert's original Dune series....
while she was a slave in the household of the robot Erasmus. He fell in love with her, which resulted in Vorian questioning his loyalties. He then fled with her, after the murder of her baby, Manion Butler, to fight with the League of Nobles.
Xavier Harkonnen
After his escape from the synchronized worlds, Vorian became fast friends with Xavier HarkonnenXavier Harkonnen
Xavier Harkonnen is a character in the fictional Dune universe. Xavier's role existed in the Legends of Dune series, in the books Dune: The Butlerian Jihad and Dune: The Machine Crusade. He was also referenced in Dune: The Battle of Corrin....
, which is ironic because of the later Atreides-Harkonnen feud. After Xavier assassinated the Grand Patriarch, Iblis Ginjo, Commander/Supreme Bashar Vorian was the only person who tried to clear his name.
Abulurd Harkonnen
As the youngest grandson of Xavier Harkonnen, Abulurd was the only one of the Butler brothers to believe the truth given to him by Vorian. The old supreme commander took Abulurd under his wing, and they became life-long friends while fighting the thinking machines. In 88 B.G., Vorian demanded to reopen the old files, wanting to begin a new investigation in order to clear the Harkonnen name. Vorian's love for the Harkonnen name ended when the Atreides-Harkonnen feud began at the "Bridge of the Hrethgir" during the Battle of Corrin. Abulurd refused to give Vorian the codes needed to re-activate the weapons systems of the Army of Humanity's fleet since he wanted to save the millions of human slaves that Omnius had surrounded the planet with as a human shield. Vorian relieved Abulurd of duty and then finally after the battle had him face charges of treason, although Vorian thought a charge of cowardice would disgrace the young officer more. Abulurd was then exiled to the cold planet of Lankiveil. Thus, the investigation into Xavier Harkonnen's innocence never took place. This event sparks a feud between the two families which continues for the next ten thousand years.Military service
After Vorian turned to the League of Nobles and joined humanity in its fight against the Synchronized Worlds, he became a major military figure in the Butlerian JihadButlerian Jihad
The Butlerian Jihad is an event in the back-story of Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. Occurring over 10,000 years before the events chronicled in his 1965 novel Dune, this jihad leads to the outlawing of certain technologies, primarily "thinking machines", a collective term for computers...
. He served with the Army of Humanity for about 135 standard years (he lived much longer than the average human because of the life extension treatment he had received from his father), and rose so high in the Army of Humanity that they had to create a new rank for him, Supreme Commander. After the Army of Humanity switched to Old Earth ranks, he became Supreme Bashar. During his military career, he had many relationships with different women at each port, and may have fathered several children. One of his relationships was with a woman named Karida Julan, who became the grandmother of Raquella Berto-Anirul who later established 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...
school. This ended when he landed at Caladan
Caladan
Caladan is a fictional planet in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, first mentioned in the 1965 novel Dune.-Overview:Caladan, the third planet of Delta Pavonis, is the ancestral fiefdom of House Atreides, who have ruled it for twenty-six generations, from the ancient Castle Caladan...
(the home of House Atreides in the original series) and fell in love with a woman there named Leronica Tergiet, with whom he had two sons (Estes and Kagin) before marrying her years later. She would pass away from old age long before him, and it is unknown whether he ever married again or had any other relationships during the remainder of his life.
Post-Jihad
After the Jihad, Vorian left for an anonymous, solitary journey across the Known Universe in order to escape from his former military life. He apparently left with no fanfare in a ship resembling the Dream Voyager, his old update ship. He had an extended lifespan because of the life-extension treatment given to him by his father, whether he one day returned and was rewarded with passage into nobility, founding House AtreidesHouse Atreides
House Atreides is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. One of the Great Houses of the feudal interstellar empire known as the Imperium, its members play a role in every novel in the series. It is suggested within the series that the root of the Atreides line...
, or whether this was one of his descendants is unknown.