Bene Gesserit: Difference between revisions

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The Bene Gesserit super-being – whom they call the '''Kwisatz Haderach''' – arrives a generation earlier than expected in the form of [[Paul Atreides]], who is free from their direct control though his mother is the Bene Gesserit [[Lady Jessica]]. In ''Dune'', Paul seizes control of the harsh [[desert planet]] [[Arrakis]], the only source of the all-important spice melange; by threatening to destroy all spice production, he maneuvers himself onto the Imperial throne. With Paul holding a tight monopoly on melange, a decade later the Bene Gesserit participate in a conspiracy to topple his rule in ''[[Dune Messiah]]'' (1969). Even after a blinded Paul walks into the desert to die, his sister [[Alia Atreides|Alia]] rules his empire and keeps the Bene Gesserit at bay until Paul's young son [[Leto II Atreides|Leto II]] takes control himself in ''[[Children of Dune]]'' (1976). Over 3,500 years later, Leto – now a [[hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] of human and [[sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]] – still dominates the universe as the tyrant God Emperor in ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981). Through [[prescience (Dune)|prescience]], he foresees humanity's possible destruction, and has forced humanity into what he calls the [[Golden Path (Dune)|Golden Path]], a plan which he believes will assure their survival. Having halted all spice production and thus making his own stockpile the only source of melange left in the universe, Leto is able to maintain firm control over the various factions and effects a "forced tranquility". He takes the Bene Gesserit breeding program from them and uses it for his own mysterious purposes, and their limited spice supply is conditional on their obedience to him and his prescient vision. Recognizing that his work is finally done, Leto allows himself to be assassinated.

Fifteen hundred years later in ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984), the Bene Gesserit have regained their power and relocated to a hidden homeworld they call Chapterhouse, and the spice cycle has been renewed on Arrakis, now called Rakis. Although they still have a reputation as manipulators and witches, the Bene Gesserit operate much more openly than they did before, since many of their schemes are common knowledge thanks to the religion of Leto II. New opposition arrives in the form of a violent matriarchal order calling themselves the [[Honored Matres]], a ruthless and brutal force who seek domination over the [[Old Empire (Dune)|Old Empire]] and who do not use or rely on melange for their powers. As the Matres all but exterminate the [[Tleilaxu]] race and next target the Sisterhood, Bene Gesserit Mother Superior [[Taraza (Dune)|Taraza]] implements a bold plan to release humanity from the oracular hold of Leto II by goading the Honored Matres into destroying Rakis. Meanwhile, the Bene Gesserit have [[Terraforming|terraform]]ed Chapterhouse into a desert planet like Rakis by bringing a single sandworm there and drowning it, releasing its sandtrout, to begin a new spice cycle. In ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985), the Honored Matres begin to destroy all of the Bene Gesserit-controlled planets and enslave the populace of the other planets they conquer. The Matres themselves are hunted by a far more powerful force from out in [[The Scattering (Dune)|the Scattering]]. The new Mother Superior [[Darwi Odrade]] recognizes that the threat of this unknown enemy is greater than that of the Honored Matres, and forms another bold plan. The captive Honored Matre [[Murbella]], who has been assimilated into the Bene Gesserit and gained the full powers of a Reverend Mother, defeats the leader of the Honored Matres in combat and thus becomes Great Honored Matre. She immediately succeeds Odrade as Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit, joining the two forces under a single leader in an uneasy truce that, it is hoped, will be able to defeat the unknown enemy.

===Sequels===