Author: Aaron Pound (---.193.88)
Date: 06-19-2000 14:18
While the guild navigators and the spice are pretty good themes for a game in Dune, I think you missed a few of the most interesting elements. Specifically:
1. The Butlerian Jihad and abandonment of thinking machines, giving rise to the Mentat. The implications of this are enormous and very interesting, considering that devices as simple as microwaves have computer chips in them that would be banned by the prohibitions against thinkiing machines.
2. The power of prophecy as driven by the spice. This dovetails with the guild navigators, since the explanation for the power is their limited precognative ability. However, the Bene Gesserit were essentially built upon a single prophecy (the Kwisatz Haderach), and several events in the books were predicted by spice users.
3. The male/female issues. Using the water of life was fatal to men, but regular among female Bene Gesserit. However, in the dream state induced, there were areas essentially off limits to women. More women than men passed the Gom Jabbar.
4. 'Racial" memories of one's ancestors, including Alia's possession by Baron Harkonnen.
5. The effect of the shield technology on the Imperial culture, rendering modern projectile weapons useless and returning warfare to the personal, hand to hand era.
That's a few, and I think they are much more interesting that the 'killing words' or even the 'folding space', both of which were pretty minor variations on standard themes.
Aaron J. Pound, Esquire
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