Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 novelDunefeatures a ton of sci-fi concepts that became extremely influential throughout the genre. It’s packed with big ideas, strange concepts, and unique creative choices. Among all the intergalactic intrigue and political squabbles, a handful of powerful characters wield impossibly dangerous psychic abilities that make everyone else’s knife skills seem a bit inadequate.
Paul Atreides is oneof the most powerful fictional characters of his era. As the heir to his father’s prestigious position, he has a lot to live up to. However, his mother’s side of the family grants him a unique lineage and a rare skill set. Paul is the chosen one, but what is he capable of?
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What is The Voice inDune?
Simply put, Voice is a technique that allows the wielder to manipulate the actions of all those who can hear them speak. It requiresa specific auditory frequencywhich is extremely difficult to learn and master. Users can subtly force their targets to obey their orders with some limitations. The orders need to be fairly simple and swift in their execution. A skilled user of the Voice can keep a target enthralled through multiple commands, but once the link is broken, their victim knows they’ve been manipulated. It works as a form of interrogation, but it’s most useful as an immediate overriding of a foe’s free will. Mostexamples in the booksare quick and efficient, turning the tables in a bad situation or demonstrating superiority against an uninitiated enemy.
Using Voice takes a lot of training. Some people are born with a natural predisposition towards using the technique, but even they must work to refine their gift. Voice works best on targets who are not aware of its existence.Tons ofDunecharactersare immune or resistant to Voice for one reason or another. Most users of Voice are resistant to its effects, but it can still be useful at the right moment. Skilled warriors like Duncan Idaho can become immune to its effects through training. Though the upper limits of Voice haven’t been explored, some in-universe users believe themselves to be capable of influencing the entire political universe.Jessica Atreides, for example, ponders using Voice on her husband Duke Leto with such subtlety that she could rule the family without revealing her influence. She only abstains out of respect for her husband. If she’s to be believed, the only thing stopping her from running the universe is the fear of violating his trust.
Who can use the Voice inDune?
The Voice was perfected by the Bene Gesserit, an ancient school of martial arts and psychic conditioning that exclusively catered to women. The Bene Gesserit,also known as The Sisterhood, was a quasi-religious order dedicated to advancing humanity with the ultimate goal of finding a chosen one. In pursuit of that goal, The Sisterhood trained members in complicated martial arts, unique biological powers, and psychic skills. Some of their adept could detect lies with their minds, or determine the chemical makeup of food by taste, or render poison ineffective with mastery of their own bodily chemistry. The Voice was one of the most powerful techniques in their repertoire. They built the Voice as a combination of multiple other psychic skills and developed an immunity to its use.
As a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, Jessica Atreides is a skilled user of the Voice. She was a project of The Sisterhood’s breeding program and meant to give Duke Leto a daughter, but she consciously decided to birth a son. Her son Paul immediately gained theheroic destiny of the Kwisatz Haderach. This meant that Jessica was in charge of training her boy in the ways of The Sisterhood. Jessica doesn’t use the Voice in the book, but she’s the most frequent user of the technique in the film. Paul is less skilled than his mother in the technique, but he’s the first man trained in the ways of the Bene Gesserit. His mother is so dedicated to the craft that she makes Paul use the Voice at the breakfast table. The only other character seen using the technique is Gaius Helen Mohiam, the sister who puts Paul through the human test.
The Voice is one of the simplest concepts packed with weird ideas. It’s hard to know how Frank Herbert managed to pack so much into this franchise without it feeling completely impenetrable.Denis Villeneuve’s take onthe story only makes it more compelling. The many mystical techniques of the Bene Gesserit are part of what makesDuneso much more than a complex sci-fi war story. When the next chapter of this epic tale comes to the big screen, fans will get to see Paul, Jessica, and other icons wield their words as a weapon.
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