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What is Dune's
difference from all other "just science
fiction" stories? Well, to start off
with, Dune is a complex work of art, where
politics, religion, ecology, philosophy all
mix up with SF. In the heart of this mixing
lies the old Bene
Gesserit theory, that a tripod is the
most unstable state of power.
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Power in Duniverse is divided between three main
groups: The Emperor, who commands the Sardaukar,
legions of fanatic fighters whose abilities cannot
be matched by any other army in the universe(until
the time the Fremen
appear at least), the Counsil
of Landsraad, where gather the Great Houses,
and the Guild, an organization
constituted of navigators who have built up a
a monopoly in space journeys.
Should any of the three corners of power in this
triangle ollapse, the known universe would also
fall into anarchy. If the Guild fell, there would
be no interstellar journeys, thus resulting in
the Houses being condemned to live on their own
planetary systems with no links between them.
If the Landsraad council stopped functioning,
then there would be nothing to stop the emperor
from exterminating the Houses and dominating their
planets one by one, using his powerful Sardaukar.
And if the Emperor fell, then noone could establish
a certainty that "the spice would flow".
Besides this tripod of power, we sdould mention
the important role of the Bene Gesserit mental
school, founded after the Batleriad Jihad, which
carried for centuries a human breeding program.
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