Dune (84 page)

GALACH: official language of the Imperium. Hybrid Inglo-?Slavic with strong
traces of cultural-?specialization terms adopted during the long chain of human
migrations.
GAMONT: third planet of Niushe; noted for its hedonistic culture and exotic
sexual practices.
GARE: butte.
GATHERING: distinguished from Council Gathering. It is a formal convocation of
Fremen leaders to witness a combat that determines tribal leadership. (A Council
Gathering is an assembly to arrive at decisions involving all the tribes.)
GEYRAT: straight ahead; a worm steersman’s call.
GHAFLA: giving oneself up to gadfly distractions. Thus: a changeable person, one
not to be trusted.
GHANIMA: something acquired in battle or single combat. Commonly, a memento of
combat kept only to stir the memory.
GIEDI PRIME: the planet of Ophiuchi B (36), homeworld of House Harkonnen. A
median-?viable planet with a low active-?photosynthesis range.
GINAZ, HOUSE OF: one-?time allies of Duke Leto Atreides. They were defeated in
the War of Assassins with Grumman.
GIUDICHAR: a holy truth. (Commonly seen in the expression Giudichar mantene: an
original and supporting truth.)
GLOWGLOBE: suspensor-?buoyed illuminating device, self-?powered (usually by
organic batteries).
GRABEN: a long geological ditch formed when the ground sinks because of
movements in the underlying crustal layers.
GREAT CONVENTION: the universal truce enforced under the power balance
maintained by the Guild, the Great Houses, and the Imperium. Its chief rule
prohibits the use of atomic weapons against human targets. Each rule of the
Great Convention begins: “The forms must be obeyed . . . ”
GREAT MOTHER: the horned goddess, the feminine principle of space (commonly:
Mother Space), the feminine face of the male-?female-?neuter trinity accepted as
Supreme Being by many religions within the Imperium.
GREAT REVOLT: common term for the Butlerian Jihad. (See Jihad, Butlerian.)
GRIDEX PLANE: a differential-?charge separator used to remove sand from the
melange spice mass; a device of the second stage in spice refining.
GRUMMAN: second planet of Niushe, noted chiefly for the feud of its ruling House
(Moritani) with House Ginaz.
GOM JABBAR; the high-?handed enemy; that specific poison needle tipped with meta-
cyanide used by Bene Gesserit Proctors in the death-?alternative test of human
awareness.
GUILD: the Spacing Guild, one leg of the political tripod maintaining the Great
Convention. The Guild was the second mental-?physical training school (see Bene
Gesserit) after the Butlerian Jihad. The Guild monopoly on space travel and
transport and upon international banking is taken as the beginning point of the
Imperial Calendar.

HAGAL: the “Jewel Planet” (II Theta Shaowei), mined out in the time of Shaddam
I.
HAIIIII-?YOH!: command to action; worm steersman’s call.
HAJJ: holy journey.
HARJ: desert journey, migration.
HAJRA: journey of seeking.
HAL YAWM: “Now! At last!” a Fremen exclamation.
HARMONTHEP: Ingsley gives this as the planet name for the sixth stop in the
Zensunni migration. It is supposed to have been a no longer existent satellite
of Delta Pavonis.
HARVESTER or HARVESTER FACTORY: a large (often 120 meters by 40 meters) spice
mining machine commonly employed on rich, uncontaminated melange blows. (Often
called a “crawler” because of buglike body on independent tracks.)
HEIGHLINER: major cargo carrier of the Spacing Guild’s transportation system.
HIEREG: temporary Fremen desert camp on open sand.
HIGH COUNCIL: the Landsraad inner circle empowered to act as supreme tribunal in
House to House disputes.
HOLTZMAN EFFECT: the negative repelling effect of a shield generator.
HOOKMAN: Fremen with Maker hooks prepared to catch a sandworm.
HOUSE: idiomatic for Ruling Clan of a planet or planetary system.
HOUSES MAJOR: holders of planetary fiefs; interplanetary entrepreneurs. (See
House above.)
HOUSES MINOR: planet-?bound entrepreneur class (Galach: “Richece”).
HUNTER-?SEEKER: a ravening sliver of suspensor-?buoyed metal guided as a weapon by
a near-?by control console; common assassination device.

IBAD, EYES OF: characteristic effect of a diet high in melange wherein the
whites and pupils of the eyes turn a deep blue (indicative of deep melange
addiction).
IBN QIRTAIBA: “Thus go the holy words . . .” Formal beginning to Fremen
religious incantation (derived from panoplia propheticus).
ICHWAN BEDWINE: the brotherhood of all Fremen on Arrakis.
IJAZ: prophecy that by its very nature cannot be denied; immutable prophecy.
IKHUT-?EIGH!: cry of the water-?seller on Arrakis (etymology uncertain). See Soo-
Soo Sook!
ILM: theology; science of religious tradition; one of the half-?legendary origins
of the Zensunni Wanderers’ faith.
IMPERIAL CONDITIONING: a development of the Suk Medical Schools: the highest
conditioning against taking human life. Initiates are marked by a diamond tattoo
on the forehead and are permitted to wear their hair long and bound by a silver
Suk ring.
INKVINE: a creeping plant native to Giedi Prime and frequently used as a whip in
the slave cribs. Victims are marked by beet-?colored tattoos that cause residual
pain for many years.
ISTISLAH: a rule for the general welfare; usually a preface to brutal necessity.
IX: see Richese.

JIHAD: a religious crusade; fanatical crusade.
JIHAD, BUTLERIAN: (see also Great Revolt) — the crusade against computers,
thinking machines, and conscious robots begun in 201 B.G. and concluded in 108
B.G. Its chief commandment remains in the O.C. Bible as “Thou shalt not make a
machine in the likeness of a human mind.”
JUBBA CLOAK: the all-?purpose cloak (it can beset to reflect or admit radiant
heat, converts to a hammock or shelter) commonly worn over a stillsuit on
Arrakis.
JUDGE OF THE CHANGE: an official appointed by the Landsraad High Council and the
Emperor to monitor a change of fief, a kanly negotiation, or formal battle in a
War of Assassins. The Judge’s arbitral authority may be challenged only before
the High Council with the Emperor present.

KANLY: formal feud or vendetta under the rules of the Great Convention carried
on according to the strictest limitations. (See Judge of the Change.) Originally
the rules were designed to protect innocent bystanders.
KARAMA: a miracle; an action initiated by the spirit world.
KHALA: traditional invocation to still the angry spirits of a place whose name
you mention.
KINDJAL: double bladed short sword (or long knife) with about 20 centimeters of
slightly curved blade.
KISWA; any figure or design from Fremen mythology.
KITAB AL-?IBAR: the combined survival handbook-?religious manual developed by the
Fremen on Arrakis.
KRIMSKELL FIBER or KRIMSKELL ROPE: the “claw fiber” woven from strands of the
hufuf vine from Ecaz. Knots tied in krimskell will claw tighter and tighter to
preset limits when the knot-?lines are pulled. (For a more detailed study, see
Holjance Vohnbrook’s “The Strangler Vines of Ecaz.”)
KULL WAHAD!: “I am profoundly stirred!” A sincere exclamation of surprise common
in the Imperium. Strict interpretation depends on context. (It is said of
Muad’Dib that once he watched a desert hawk chick emerge from its shell and
whispered: “Kull wahad!”)
KULON: wild ass of Terra’s Asiatic steppes adapted for Arrakis.
KWISATZ HADERACH: “Shortening of the Way.” This is the label applied by the Bene
Gesserit to the unknown for which they sought a genetic solution: a male Bene
Gesserit whose organic mental powers would bridge space and time.

LA, LA, LA: Fremen cry of grief. (La translates as ultimate denial, a “no” from
which you cannot appeal.)
LASGUN: continuous-?wave laser projector. Its use as a weapon is limited in a
field-?generator-?shield culture because of the explosive pyrotechnics
(technically, subatomic fusion) created when its beam intersects a shield.
LEGION, IMPERIAL: ten brigades (about 30,000 men).
LIBAN: Fremen liban is spice water infused with yucca flour. Originally a sour
milk drink.
LISAN AL-?GAIB: “The Voice from the Outer World.” In Fremen messianic legends, an
off-?world prophet. Sometimes translated as “Giver of Water.” (See Mahdi.)
LITERJON: a one-?liter container for transporting water on Arrakis; made of high-
density, shatterproof plastic with positive seal.
LITTLE MAKER: the half-?plant-?half-?animal deep-?sand vector of the Arrakis
sandworm. The Little Maker’s excretions form the pre-?spice mass.

MAHDI: in the Fremen messianic legend, “The One Who Will Lead Us to Paradise.”
MAKER: see Shai-?hulud.
MAKER HOOKS: the hooks used for capturing, mounting, and steering a sandworm of
Arrakis.
MANTENE: underlying wisdom, supporting argument, first principle. (See
Giudichar.)
MATING INDEX: the Bene Gesserit master record of its human breeding program
aimed at producing the Kwisatz Haderach.
MAULA: slave.
MAULA PISTOL: spring-?loaded gun for firing poison darts; range about forty
meters.
MELANGE: the “spice of spices,” the crop for which Arrakis is the unique source.
The spice, chiefly noted for its geriatric qualities, is mildly addictive when
taken in small quantities, severely addictive when imbibed in quantities above
two grams daily per seventy kilos of body weight. (See Ibad, Water of Life, and
Pre-?spice Mass.) Muad’Dib claimed the spice as a key to his prophetic powers.
Guild navigators make similar claims. Its price on the Imperial market has
ranged as high as 620,000 Solaris the decagram.
MENTAT: that class of Imperial citizens trained for supreme accomplishments of
logic. “Human computers.”
METAGLASS: glass grown as a high-?temperature gas infusion in sheets of jasmium
quartz. Noted for extreme tensile strength (about 450,000 kilos per square
centimeter at two centimeters’ thickness) and capacity as a selective radiation
filter.
MIHNA: the season for testing Fremen youths who wish admittance to manhood.
MINIMIC FILM: shigawire of one-?micron diameter often used to transmit espionage
and counterespionage data.
MISH-?MISH: apricots.
MISR: the historical Zensunni(Fremen) term for themselves: “The People.”
MISSIONARIA PROTECTIVA: the arm of the Bene Gesserit order charged with sowing
infectious superstitions on primitive worlds, thus opening those regions to
exploitation by the Bene Gesserit. (See Panoplia propheticus.)
MONITOR: a ten-?section space warcraft mounting heavy armor and shield
protection. It is designed to be separated into its component sections for lift-
off after planet-?fall.
MUAD’DIB: the adapted kangaroo mouse of Arrakis, a creature associated in the
Fremen earth-?spirit mythology with a design visible on the planet’s second moon.
This creature is admired by Fremen for its ability to survive in the open
desert.
MUDIR NAHYA: the Fremen name for Beast Rabban (Count Rabban of Lankiveil), the
Harkonnen cousin who was siridar governor on Arrakis for many years. The name is
often translated as “Demon Ruler.”
MUSHTAMAL: a small garden annex or garden courtyard.
MUSKY: poison in a drink. (See Chaumurky.)
MU ZEIN WALLAH!: Mu zein literally means “nothing good,” and wallah is a
reflexive terminal exclamation. In this traditional opening for a Fremen curse
against an enemy, Wallah turns the emphasis back upon the words Mu zein,
producing the meaning: “Nothing good, never good, good for nothing.”

Na-: a prefix meaning “nominated” or “next in line.” Thus: na-?Baron means heir
apparent to a barony.
NAIB: one who has sworn never to be taken alive by the enemy; traditional oath
of a Fremen leader.
NEZHONI SCARF: the scarf-?pad worn at the forehead beneath the stillsuit hood by
married or “associated” Fremen women after birth of a son.
NOUKKERS: officers of the Imperial bodyguard who are related to the Emperor by
blood. Traditional rank for sons of royal concubines.
OIL LENS: hufuf oil held in static tension by an enclosing force field within a
viewing tube as part of a magnifying or other light-?manipulation system. Because
each lens element can be adjusted individually one micron at a time, the oil
lens is considered the ultimate in accuracy for manipulating visible light.
OPAFIRE: one of the rare opaline jewels of Hagal.
ORANGE CATHOLIC BIBLE: the “Accumulated Book,” the religious text produced by
the Commission of Ecumenical Translators. It contains elements of most ancient
religions, including the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni
Catholicism and Buddislamic traditions. Its supreme commandment is considered to
be: “Thou shall not disfigure the soul.”
ORNITHOPTER (commonly: ‘thopter): any aircraft capable of sustained wing-?beat
flight in the manner of birds.
OUT-?FREYN: Galach for “immediately foreign,” that is: not of your immediate
community, not of the select.

PALM LOCK: any lock or seal which may be opened on contact with the palm of the
human hand to which it has been keyed.
PAN: on Arrakis, any low-?lying region or depression created by the subsiding of
the underlying basement complex. (On planets with sufficient water, a pan
indicates a region once covered by open water. Arrakis is believed to have at
least one such area, although this remains open to argument.)
PANOPLIA PROPHETICUS: term covering the infectious superstitions used by the
Bene Gesserit to exploit primitive regions. (See Missionaria Protectiva.)
PARACOMPASS: any compass that determines direction by local magnetic anomaly;
used where relevant charts are available and where a planet’s total magnetic
field is unstable or subject to masking by severe magnetic storms.
PENTASHIELD: a five-?layer shield-?generator field suitable for small areas such
as doorways or passages (large reinforcing shields become increasingly unstable
with each successive layer) and virtually impassable to anyone not wearing a
dissembler tuned to the shield codes. (See Prudence Door.)
PLASTEEL: steel which has been stabilized with stravidium fibers grown into its
crystal structure.
PLENISCENTA: an exotic green bloom of Ecaz noted for its sweet aroma.
POLING THE SAND: the art of placing plastic and fiber poles in the open desert
wastes of Arrakis and reading the patterns etched on the poles by sandstorms as
a clue to weather prediction.
PORITRIN: third planet of Epsilon Alangue, considered by many Zensunni Wanderers
as their planet of origin, although clues in their language and mythology show
far more ancient planetary roots.
PORTYGULS: oranges.
PRANA (Prana-?musculature): the body’s muscles when considered as units for
ultimate training. (See Bindu.)
PRE-?SPICE MASS: the stage of fungusoid wild growth achieved when water is
flooded into the excretions of Little Makers. At this stage, the spice of
Arrakis forms a characteristic “blow,” exchanging the material from deep
underground for the matter on the surface above it. This mass, after exposure to
sun and air, becomes melange (See also Melange and Water of Life.)
PROCES VERBAL: a semiformal report alleging a crime against the Imperium.
Legally: an action falling between a loose verbal allegation and a formal charge
of crime.
PROCTOR SUPERIOR: a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother who is also regional director
of a B.G. school. (Commonly: Bene Gesserit with the Sight.)
PRUDENCE DOOR or PRUDENCE BARRIER (idiomatically: pru-?door or pru-?barrier): any
pentashield situated for the escape of selected persons under conditions of
pursuit. (See Pentashield.)
PUNDI RICE: a mutated rice whose grains, high in natural sugar, achieve lengths
up to four centimeters; chief export of Caladan.
PYONS: planet-?bound peasants or laborers, one of the base classes under the
Faufreluches. Legally: wards of the planet.
PYRETIC CONSCIENCE: so-?called “conscience of fire”; that inhibitory level
touched by Imperial conditioning. (See Imperial conditioning.)