Dune: Checks and Balances

The system ofChecks and Balances in Frank Herbert's Dune.



Checks and Balances

Laws are dangerous to everyone, innocent and guilty alike,
because they have no human understanding in and of themselves.
They must be interpreted.
-States:The Bene Gesserit View


Law and Literature. There is an important conection beetween these two subjects. And not only
in the way how laws are in the large part written in books or how we hawe manuals or school books
which tell us how to read, understand, interpret and most importanly, how to use laws. No, apart from that, there is also a great many number of 'ordinary' books in which elemnts of law can be found.

Elements of justice and political order or different views on the rule of law are largely used in num-
erus books, be it fiction or nonfiction. Writers use elements of law or justice in different ways. Some of them devote their entire work to explore certain aspects of it or simply use different philosofical views or belifes and impart them in their work, making them the backgroud form the main story.

What can be learned from such books, literal works that use laws and other similar elements? For
one thing, such books can open one's eyes and mind to other espects of law, other ways and beliefs of such elements, that the writer is trying to portrey in his work. It is also a way, that by reading such things one can become interestet in law by itself and chooses law as his profession . I will try to explain and spacify that on the example of Dune.


The original Dune novel by Frank Herbert was written in 1965 and has had a fine number of sequels (Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapter House Dune) as well as prequels, written by his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Dune: House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Corrino, Butlerian Jihad and The Machine Crusade). All novels were bestsellers and F. Herbert recived a Hugo and Nebula awards for it. The have also made a movie Dune and two miniseries.

The story takes place many thausands years in the future. After the human kind has wrestled his
freedom from the opression of the Thinking Machines, (as portrayed in Butlarian Jihad ) 10 000 years there has been a relative peace in the universe. The humans have populated numerus planets and noother inteligent life has been found. The Known Universe in ruled solely by human Empire. There is an old but effective political order, one that hasn't changed since the Battle of Corrin. There the foundation of the present order has been laid.

The curent political order is a state of a commercial and political tripod, which consists of the
Emperor, the Spacing Guild which holds the monopol over the space travel, and the Landsraad, that
is basically a body of the representatives of all the Great Houses, the rulers of the populated planets.

Also there are forces in the Empire that hold the power also. Among them there are Bene Geserrit
Sisterhood, with the intensive phisical ant mental training, that works in the shadows and practices
people control, Bene Tlailaxu, that are basically genetic manipulators, The Mentats which are trained as human computers (the use of the mechanical computers is prohibited by law), the Suk Doctors, higly trained medical profesionals with the monopol over medical service, also the C.H.O.A.M. with it's extensive commercial holdings, and the Ixians, that provide hi-tech technology almost forbidden by the Butlerian Jihad and the Orange Catholic Bible.

The whole sistem works in the form of 'checks and balances', not one political or commercial player holds enough power alone to be independent of others and rule by itself. The Emperor, the title of it holds the Great House Corrino, is largely only a formal figure, but he holds the power over the Empire with the help of Sardaukaur, his private army. The other Great Houses have representatives in the Landsraad but that by itself does not insure them the absolute power. Likevise it is with the Spacing Guild. Their monopol over space travel and transport of cargo is in big dependence of one spacial substance that allows Guild Navigators to fold space and see a clear path to travel.

Spice. The potent geriatric substance that prolongs life, highers senses and gives human mind almost unnatural abbilities. Billions ob empirial citizens are addicted of it, and would die if a shortage of it's supply would accure. Spice gives special abbilities not only to the Navigators, but to the Reverand Mothers of the Bene Gesserrit as well. It allows them to become awere of Other Memories, past memories of their female ancestors on the cellular level, the genetic memories. The only known source of spice is dessert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Whoever holds the power over that planet, holds the pover over the Empire. Holds the pover over the future.

The fief over the planetary goverment over Arrakis is periodically given to different Great Houses
by the Emperor, so no House could have the monopol over spice for ever, thus gaining to much
commercial and political power. Other before mentioned players battle in the political. arena for the
Emperors favor, alwasy spaying and ploting against each other. No one has enough power to be
indepentent and rule alone, every one of them holds the monopol over imoprtant knowledge, abbililty or substance.

There is also a strong presence of religion in this society, which is very persistent and controls almost every important element of life. Religion in the Dune universe is strongly connected with the
battle against computers, the Thinking Machines. In distant past the humanity was but a slave labor
force fot the machines and almost at the brink of destruction. However, strong individuals arised and guided masses in the fight against the Mashines. With the help of strong faith, unique to the humans, and the ignition of fanatism and the 'holy war' they have bested them and once again the humanity was free. Ever since, the use or creation of thinking mashins is heighly prohibited and considered not only a crime but also a sin, against humankind and against God.

Not only did Herbert in Dune explore the posibilities and aspects of human faith and religion, the
very things that make people human, but he also lead the story in that way to show to what extrmes
fanatism and blind faith can and will lead. (As portrayed in Dune Messiah, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune).

These are only two mayor aspects that have cought my attention while reading the Dune novels. It is astonishing how many different subjects Herbert imparted in his work. Aside from aforemantioned 'sistem of checks and balances' and considering the usage of thinking computers for a sin, he also brought into readers attention other questions about human nature and the social- economical nature of the state. Also, in his novels he brougt into light some other subjects regarding laws, democracy, feudalism, problems with manipulation with the DNA, past memories, seeing and enforcing the future and people control.

- Feudalism; The political sistem in Dune and countless others science fiction and fantasy books is
feudalism. It is may opinion, that such sistem isn't used solely because it is a tradition or because
story are best told in that kind of social beckground, but also because feudalism is the sistem into
which society sooner or later evolves. On the TV and in the newspapers there is a constant propaganda for democracy. Nice and all, but democracy is just one of many form of political sistems. Not the best, not the worst. Not the only one.

-Media; it is one aspect of people control and also a strong political player wich Herbert didn't include in his Dune novels. Nowdays public opinion is mainly dictated by the media, the newspapers, TV, radio and the Internet all have major impact on the population. War against terrorism is a great example for this.

- People control; So we have come to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the masters of undercover
activities, spaying, dewaysing actions of others to suit their needs. The Sisters embody the history
itself, for they have tha past memories of the ancestors and thus the ancient knowledge. With their
program Missionaria Protectiva the Bene Gesserit create new religions and faiths or lead existing
ones in the right directions.

- Hidraulic Despotism; a way of ruling by controling one or more essential elements (spice).

-Mentats; one of the Great Schools (others are Bene Geserrit, Spacing Guild And Suk Doctors), they are rigorousy trained in the thinking procces, storage and use of informations. Naturally they also meke for great lawyers.

-Spice; last but not least, let us look at the substance that gives so much and takes away also. The spice, also called melange, is found only on a dessert planet Arrakis, guarded by the giant sandworms that live in the deep desert. Gathering of spice, which is basicly a worm's bodyproduct, is very hard and dangerous, thusly, the substance has very big price on the market. The story of Dune may be 50 years old, but it is very hard not to recognize the connection beetween spice and oil. Yes, oil. For what is spice in the dessert, guarded by sandworms and under a Great House monopol, then the oil in the Middle East, guarded by the Islamic religion and under the local nations monopol. Arrakis, Iraq; there is a connection.
The fear of what might become of the world if all of the oil reserves were diminished and the sole
dictator would hold the monopol over it might wery well be described in God Emperor of Dune.