Atreides Genes and the Life Extension (minor Spoilers) -- DUNE Novels Discussion Board

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Date Posted: 01:15:58 12/27/04 Mon
Author: IDAHO
Subject: Atreides Genes and the Life Extension (minor Spoilers)

For those of you who havent finished reading the Battle of Corrin I will try to hide as much of the plot as possible and still throw something out there for us all to chew on.

In the original Dune novels, the genes of the Atreides bloodline were always incredibly potent and enhanced with the potential for amazinng abilities; from Paul Atreides to Miles Teg, the Atreides genes were the ones that were capable of producing super-human powers. This never made total sense to me because it isn't usually one family that has ALL of the good characteristics of a human being as opposed to other peoples who were spread across a galaxy. Also it was weird how the people of Noble birth were blessed with better genes necessarily than say some worker on IX. Gene dispersal doesn't usually work that way. I know that the BEne Gesserit had a breeding program for all of humanity (which I find implausible because of the vastness of humanity as expressed in these books) and that Frank was working with limited knowledge of genetics in his time, but I didn't think much of it.

When I read the Battle of Corrin, Vorian Atreides is still a young man despite being something like 200 years old by the end of the book because of the torturous LIfe Extension process his father Agammemnon made him go through when he was a young caretaker on Earth. I didn't think much of this information until in the Battle of Corrin they kept mentioning it and one time used the phrase "Super Charged Genes". This got me to really thinking. Why were all the descendants of the Atreides bloodline so prone to having Superhuman abilities in the original Dune novels? Could it have stemmed from the BUtlerian Jihad when Vorian's genes were artificially tampered with and changed to extend his life? None of Vorian's offspring showed any signs of an increased life span...but one of his offspring in the Battle of Corrin does end up showing Superhuman abilities.

This would make sense if true. The only thing is did Gilbertus Albans, Erasmus' young ward have who had the same process inflicted upon him have offspring..and if so were they predisposed to having super powers? How about Norma Cenva, whose natural abilities seem to rival those of Paul Atreides for her time without the artificial life extension (the spice doesn't count), do her offspring with Aurelius Venport ever show any kind of powers?

Could it be the life extension process that is ultimately the cause of Paul Atreides Kwisatz Haderach abilities, Leto II's incredible PRescience and surviving the Water of Life to be Preborn, or Miles Teg's super no-seeing abilities and god-life physical abilities? To me that would make sense because the gentics in the original books don't really. We know that Duncan Idaho's genes were manipulated to make him become a Kwisatz Haderach, Mentat, Swordmaster, Honored Matre, Preborn (he remembers all of the Duncan memories of every Ghola) and maybe something more. So perhaps the reason that it is the Atreides bloodline is that the genes were artificially manipulated in Vorian, and then cultivated by years of breeding programs by the Bene Gesserit, and then awakened by the Spice and the "breaking"? But really it could have been anyone with that Life Extension process done to them. But maybe I am just grasping at straws and the life Extension was really only a way to keep a character alive through all three novels that the authors knew would need to last over 200 years.... well that is without making Vorian a Spice addict...which couldn't happen to the Atreides just quite yet...

ANyway,
Thoughts Anyone?
-IDAHO-

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Replies:

interesting ideas, idaho -- ChaniHwi, 13:44:05 12/31/04 Fri
- The Enemy in Dune 7 and 8 (slight SPOILERS) -- IDAHO, 17:20:25 01/05/05 Wed
  - We'll see I guess -- Crysknife, 00:23:46 01/06/05 Thu
    - Well why is normal face dancers better? -- IDAHO, 01:43:53 01/06/05 Thu
      - speaking of face dancers... -- Jay, 13:37:51 01/06/05 Thu
      - Don't get me wrong.... -- Crysknife, 18:06:12 01/06/05 Thu
        Hopefully it will be Frank's Machines and not Brian's -- IDAHO, 15:56:08 01/07/05 Fri
        Good ideas. -- Crysknife, 19:43:12 01/07/05 Fri