Golden Path
Encyclopedia
The Golden Path is a term in Frank Herbert
's fictional Dune universe
referring to Leto Atreides II
's strategy to prevent humanity's ultimate destruction. The Golden Path is the main driving force in the Frank Herbert-written novels Children of Dune
(1976), God Emperor of Dune
(1981), Heretics of Dune
(1984), and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), and is brought to its conclusion in the novels which complete the original series, Hunters of Dune
(2006) and Sandworms of Dune
(2007) by Brian Herbert
and Kevin J. Anderson
.
Leto named the necessities shown in his vision the "Secher Nbiw", which is "Golden Path" or "Golden Counsel" in an ancient language known only by Leto II and his twin sister, Ghanima.
and his son Leto II foresaw several threats to the human species. They saw the Imperium's dependency on melange and the superhuman tasks performed by specialized groups such as the Spacing Guild
, Mentats, and the Bene Gesserit
as threats to any species-wide evolution. Also, because spice could be produced only on Arrakis
, human development was constrained by its dependence on the planet.
They interpret this lack of exploration and growth as stagnation
and an eventual threat to the survival of humanity. A much more imposing threat, known of only through prescience, was Kralizec, the mythic battle at the end of the universe, which is first directly described in God Emperor of Dune but not fully revealed to the reader until later.
By monopolizing the only remaining supply of the spice and ending further production, Leto II became an unrivaled power in the Imperium. By keeping the Imperium stagnant and contained in a Golden Age, Leto set the stage for a severely difficult age, which would become known as the Famine Times. The stated goal of Leto's predator-aspect was to "teach humanity a lesson that they will remember in their bones." Leto sought to teach the human race through a bad example: by becoming the greatest predator, his goal was to immunize the race against overcentralization, which resulted in The Scattering.
A number of technological advances by the Bene Tleilax
and the Ixians
could be credited to their drive to escape from the oppression of the God Emperor. The fruits of this oppression appeared in the Ixian navigation device (a substitute for living Guild Navigator
s) and the Tleilaxu artificial spice, while the God Emperor himself also encouraged the Ixians by specifically ordering them to create certain technologies.
Over the course of his lifetime of 3,500 years, Leto's body transformed into a hybrid of human and sandworm biology. One later side effect of this combination was the gift to the sandworm of "human adaptability". By driving all of the original sandworms of Dune to extinction, Leto became common ancestor to any new worms which would arise from his eventual death and release of sandtrout back into the environment of Arrakis.
's encounters with Moneo, the father of Siona, Leto also bred into the Atreides enhanced speed, physical power, sharpness of mind, spice susceptibility and other "wild" talents. Through the Atreides and the Fish Speakers, Leto planned to diffuse these genetic advantages throughout the entirety of the human race.
The no-gene is arguably present in the Dune chronology as early as Dune Messiah. There, Paul's sister Alia
is unable to see who would have become the father to her child. This was either because it would have been Paul himself, through the manipulations of the Sisterhood, or the father would have been Duncan Idaho, who may have possessed the no-gene. Although Paul would have been invisible to Alia due to his own prescience, Duncan's possession of the gene would explain Leto's use of him as a genetic "stud
" and his great desire to mate him with Siona.
. No more were the Bene Gesserit crafters and schemers who did their work behind the throne. No more were the Atreides guided by their passion for justice and feudal duty. That is why the God Emperor finally compels (in the caves on Rakis) the Bene Gesserit to act and take the sword by its handle. Where once there was a secret society (the Bene Gesserit) and a ruling family (the Atreides), there was born the noble, purpose-driven, proud, yet wizened Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, whose members were all children of the Atreides.
Honored Matres
. By setting loose the Fish Speakers who would one day fuse their talents with those of the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tleilax
to become Honored Matres
, Leto created a post-Scattering predator which unified the humans of the Old Empire region under the New Sisterhood, a political union of the surviving Honored Matres and Bene Gesserit.
, and the intertwinings of Murbella
with Duncan Idaho and the Bene Gesserit.
After the Ithaca's departure from Chapterhouse
, Kralizec unfolds through the actions off- and on-board the Ithaca as it seeks to escape the tachyon net of Daniel and Marty. Upon its arrival at Synchrony, Leto II finally reawakens, Duncan Idaho becomes the ultimate Kwisatz Haderach
and merges minds with Erasmus, and the Oracle of Time destroys Omnius and ends the machine threat.
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's fictional Dune universe
Dune universe
Dune is a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Considered by many to be the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Dune is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history...
referring to Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah , Leto is a central character in Children of Dune and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune . The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
's strategy to prevent humanity's ultimate destruction. The Golden Path is the main driving force in the Frank Herbert-written novels Children of Dune
Children of Dune
Children of Dune is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, third in a series of six novels set in his Dune universe. Initially selling over 75,000 copies, it became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field...
(1976), God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert published in 1981, the fourth in the Dune series. It was ranked as the #11 hardcover fiction best seller of 1981 by Publishers Weekly.-Plot introduction:...
(1981), Heretics of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Heretics of Dune is a 1984 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, fifth in a series of six novels. It was ranked as the #13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times.-Plot introduction:...
(1984), and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), and is brought to its conclusion in the novels which complete the original series, Hunters of Dune
Hunters of Dune
Hunters of Dune is the first of two books written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson to conclude Frank Herbert's original Dune series of novels....
(2006) and Sandworms of Dune
Sandworms of Dune
Sandworms of Dune is the second of two novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson to conclude Frank Herbert's original Dune series of novels. They have stated that it is based on notes left behind by Frank Herbert for Dune 7, his own planned seventh novel in the Dune series...
(2007) by Brian Herbert
Brian Herbert
Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert....
and Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author with over forty bestsellers. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the Dune prequels...
.
Leto named the necessities shown in his vision the "Secher Nbiw", which is "Golden Path" or "Golden Counsel" in an ancient language known only by Leto II and his twin sister, Ghanima.
Necessity of the Golden Path
Through prescience, Paul AtreidesPaul Atreides
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
and his son Leto II foresaw several threats to the human species. They saw the Imperium's dependency on melange and the superhuman tasks performed by specialized groups such as the Spacing Guild
Spacing Guild
The Spacing Guild is an organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. With its monopoly on interstellar travel and banking, the Guild is a balance of power against the Padishah Emperor and the assembled noble Houses of the Landsraad...
, Mentats, and the Bene Gesserit
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit are a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The group is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and...
as threats to any species-wide evolution. Also, because spice could be produced only on Arrakis
Arrakis
Arrakis — informally known as Dune and later called Rakis — is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's Dune, is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and it is...
, human development was constrained by its dependence on the planet.
They interpret this lack of exploration and growth as stagnation
Stagnation
Stagnation may refer to one of the following*Economic stagnation, slow or no economic growth*Era of Stagnation, a period of economic stagnation in Soviet Union*Stagnation in fluid dynamics, see "Stagnation point"*Water stagnation*Air stagnation...
and an eventual threat to the survival of humanity. A much more imposing threat, known of only through prescience, was Kralizec, the mythic battle at the end of the universe, which is first directly described in God Emperor of Dune but not fully revealed to the reader until later.
Rule of the God Emperor
Being pre-born, Leto II inherited his father's prescient abilities. Whereas Paul had sought a way to save both the human species and his own humanity, Leto's prescience led him to decide that the path to surviving Kralizec needed a much more threatening predator of humans than the twelve-year Jihad which Paul had taken as his "terrible purpose". The first important step of the Golden Plan, which Paul sought to avoid, takes place in Children of Dune, when Leto takes a skin of sandtrout as his own. This act begins both his transformation into the half-man, half-worm God Emperor and the transformation of the spice-rich desert planet Dune into the paradise of Rakis.By monopolizing the only remaining supply of the spice and ending further production, Leto II became an unrivaled power in the Imperium. By keeping the Imperium stagnant and contained in a Golden Age, Leto set the stage for a severely difficult age, which would become known as the Famine Times. The stated goal of Leto's predator-aspect was to "teach humanity a lesson that they will remember in their bones." Leto sought to teach the human race through a bad example: by becoming the greatest predator, his goal was to immunize the race against overcentralization, which resulted in The Scattering.
A number of technological advances by the Bene Tleilax
Bene Tleilax
The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "twisted" Mentats, the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium...
and the Ixians
Ix (Dune)
Ix is a fictional planet featured in the Dune series of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. In Dune it is noted that Ix is classed with the planet Richese as "supreme in machine culture," and that Ixian solido projectors "are commonly considered the best." In...
could be credited to their drive to escape from the oppression of the God Emperor. The fruits of this oppression appeared in the Ixian navigation device (a substitute for living Guild Navigator
Guild Navigator
A Guild Navigator is a fictional humanoid in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Humans mutated through the consumption of and exposure to massive amounts of the spice melange, they are able to use a limited form of prescience to safely navigate interstellar space in a starship called a...
s) and the Tleilaxu artificial spice, while the God Emperor himself also encouraged the Ixians by specifically ordering them to create certain technologies.
Over the course of his lifetime of 3,500 years, Leto's body transformed into a hybrid of human and sandworm biology. One later side effect of this combination was the gift to the sandworm of "human adaptability". By driving all of the original sandworms of Dune to extinction, Leto became common ancestor to any new worms which would arise from his eventual death and release of sandtrout back into the environment of Arrakis.
Breeding of the "Siona Gene"
During his reign, Leto II took control of the Bene Gesserit breeding plan. Through manipulation of certain mutations, he bred into the Atreides a "no-gene", which gave them invisibility to prescience. This was meant to help prevent any prescient predator from finding and wiping out the human species. As demonstrated in one of Duncan IdahoDuncan Idaho
Duncan Idaho is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character became a breakout character as the readers liked him and was revived by Herbert in 1969's Dune Messiah...
's encounters with Moneo, the father of Siona, Leto also bred into the Atreides enhanced speed, physical power, sharpness of mind, spice susceptibility and other "wild" talents. Through the Atreides and the Fish Speakers, Leto planned to diffuse these genetic advantages throughout the entirety of the human race.
The no-gene is arguably present in the Dune chronology as early as Dune Messiah. There, Paul's sister Alia
Alia Atreides
Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept...
is unable to see who would have become the father to her child. This was either because it would have been Paul himself, through the manipulations of the Sisterhood, or the father would have been Duncan Idaho, who may have possessed the no-gene. Although Paul would have been invisible to Alia due to his own prescience, Duncan's possession of the gene would explain Leto's use of him as a genetic "stud
Stud (animal)
A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...
" and his great desire to mate him with Siona.
Blending Atreides and Bene Gesserit
A second aspect of Leto's plan was the blending of Atreides and Bene Gesserit. While the Atreides clan was too small and too feudally oriented to rule humanity, the Bene Gesserit lacked a desire to get their hands dirty or the passion to rule (which the Atreides had). The God Emperor included such nobility into his breeding scheme in order to ensure that the Bene Gesserit would all be children of the Atreides. We are presented with the greatest face of this in Mother Superior Darwi Odrade, a female descendant of Siona Atreides and Duncan IdahoDuncan Idaho
Duncan Idaho is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character became a breakout character as the readers liked him and was revived by Herbert in 1969's Dune Messiah...
. No more were the Bene Gesserit crafters and schemers who did their work behind the throne. No more were the Atreides guided by their passion for justice and feudal duty. That is why the God Emperor finally compels (in the caves on Rakis) the Bene Gesserit to act and take the sword by its handle. Where once there was a secret society (the Bene Gesserit) and a ruling family (the Atreides), there was born the noble, purpose-driven, proud, yet wizened Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, whose members were all children of the Atreides.
Creation of the Fish Speakers
Another important aspect of the Golden Plan was the creation of the Fish Speakers. By flooding the Scattering with his Fish Speaker warrior-fanatics, he was actively seeding the universe with nascentBirth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
Honored Matres
Honored Matres
The Honored Matres are a fictional matriarchal organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. They are described as an aggressive cult obsessed with power, violence and sexual domination...
. By setting loose the Fish Speakers who would one day fuse their talents with those of the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tleilax
Bene Tleilax
The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "twisted" Mentats, the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium...
to become Honored Matres
Honored Matres
The Honored Matres are a fictional matriarchal organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. They are described as an aggressive cult obsessed with power, violence and sexual domination...
, Leto created a post-Scattering predator which unified the humans of the Old Empire region under the New Sisterhood, a political union of the surviving Honored Matres and Bene Gesserit.
Kralizec
The events which delimit Kralizec take place in the books Heretics of Dune, Chapterhouse: Dune, Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune. The first hostile event which set into motion the events which led to the destruction of Omnius was the Honored Matres' stealing of the machine-made Obliterators. Following their defeat, they retreated back into the Old Imperium, where they began attacking and destroying Bene Gesserit establishments. These events included the destruction of Arrakis, the death of Miles TegMiles Teg
Miles Teg is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.-Description:In Heretics of Dune , Miles Teg — the former Supreme Bashar of the Bene Gesserit — is noted to be 296 standard years old and to have a striking resemblance to his ancestor, Leto Atreides I...
, and the intertwinings of Murbella
Murbella
Murbella is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She appears in Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert, as well as Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.-Storylines:Murbella is raised as an Honored Matre, and...
with Duncan Idaho and the Bene Gesserit.
After the Ithaca's departure from Chapterhouse
Chapterhouse
For the religious buildings, see Chapter houseChapterhouse are a British shoegazing band originally of the early 1990s, from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3...
, Kralizec unfolds through the actions off- and on-board the Ithaca as it seeks to escape the tachyon net of Daniel and Marty. Upon its arrival at Synchrony, Leto II finally reawakens, Duncan Idaho becomes the ultimate Kwisatz Haderach
Kwisatz Haderach
In Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe, Kwisatz Haderach is a term which refers to a prophesied messiah and superbeing. In the series, the Bene Gesserit, a matriarchal secret society, hope to create a male who can survive the deadly ritual spice agony that changes a capable female acolyte into...
and merges minds with Erasmus, and the Oracle of Time destroys Omnius and ends the machine threat.