The gom jabbar is a fictional weapon from the 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...

 created by Frank Herbert

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...

, appearing in his 1965 novel Dune

Dune (novel)

Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...

and its adaptations. It is a poison needle tipped with "meta-cyanide" that is used by 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...

 Proctors in their death-alternative test of human awareness.

In Dune, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam

Gaius Helen Mohiam

Gaius Helen Mohiam is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She is a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, and initially appears in the 1965 novel Dune and its 1969 sequel, Dune Messiah. Mohiam also has a major role in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert...

 uses a gom jabbar to test Paul Atreides

Paul 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...

 just prior to his departure to 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...

. This "humanity test" is carried out with a box that produces pain by "nerve induction

Nerve induction

Nerve induction is a theoretical method of creating a sensation by stimulation of the sensory nerves rather than by actual stimulus.The concept is mentioned in the 1965 science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert as a method to inflict pain with no actual injury.No known real-life analogues...

", causing intense and severe pain without inflicting any physical damage. Only a human is considered to be able to possess the self-discipline to withstand this pain and resist the urge to take their hand out of the box. A person who withdraws their hand is stung with the gom jabbar, causing instant death.

Later in the novel, 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...

 uses a gom jabbar to kill the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen

Vladimir Harkonnen

The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel Dune, in which he is the secondary antagonist, and is also a major character in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson...

. Paul next uses the gom jabbar as a pointed analogy when he tells Mohiam, "I remember your gom jabbar, you remember mine. I can kill you with a word."