What is Spice Melange? | Dune Lore

[Music] one of the most recognizable and unique elements of frank herbert's dune is the rare and precious commodity at the center of this sci-fi epic spice in this video i'd like to examine what exactly spice is why it is so highly valued and what effect it has on the socio-political landscape of the universe the story of dune begins amidst a feudal interstellar society where any and all machine computing technology is strictly prohibited ten thousand years ago humanity had reached a point where machines were doing the thinking for them and thus humans became enslaved by them [Music] after the great revolt that ravaged the known universe all machines made in the likeness of a human mind were banned it was a turning point for mankind's development after which humans endeavored to advance civilization in a different way this time the focus was not so much on technology but rather on advancing human talents and abilities the discovery of melange was another great turning point for civilization melange more commonly referred to as spice is quite simply a drug it is a heavy powdery substance with a wide variety of uses one notable benefit is its ability to extend one's lifespan and to improve overall health for that purpose alone one can see why it is so valuable the caveat however is that the spice has highly addictive properties and withdrawal from the substance can be lethal the demand is certainly high and so the spice trade is by far the most lucrative though it's usually only the extremely wealthy that could even afford such an addiction this precious resource is especially treasured by the most powerful institutions in the universe spice is only found on the distant desert world of arrakis besides the health benefits of ingesting this drug many other uses for it have been discovered for the local ferment population spice is a part of daily life it permeates everything and plays a large part of their diet as plant and animal life is very scarce the substance can be made into food as well as drinks such as spiced coffee beer and liquor it can also be processed into practical materials like paper plastics cloth and even explosives the color of melange in a gaseous form is said to be orange in other books frank herbert adds further to the appearance of spice describing mounds of it as dark reddish brown and adding that it could appear to glow a radiant blue in certain dim lighting the spice tastes and smells like cinnamon though it has been described that each taste of it is never quite the same a striking physical side effect of consuming spice is that over time once a person's blood has become completely saturated with it their eyes will turn a deep blue within blue as such all the local population of arrakis have this trait that is referred to as the eyes of ibad this is a point of pride for the fremen though others in the imperium wear contact lenses to hide this clear indicator of spice addiction though the physical side effects of using the substance are certainly unique with its benefits and drawbacks the reason it is so crucial to humanity's infrastructure is its psychotropic effects it heightens mental awareness and can unlock prescience in some which is the ability to see into the future the spice has become an essential commodity to two of the most powerful institutions in the universe the order of the bene jesuit and the spacing guild these organizations wield great power and influence in the empire and the spice plays a vital role in their operations the bene jesuit over thousands of years have honed their minds and bodies to perform superhuman feats and in a ritual known as the spice agony acolytes earn the rank of reverend mother by ingesting a lethal concentrated form of melange changing it within themselves to be harmless those that survive the ordeal gain a wealth of knowledge as they are then able to access their female ancestors memories the bene jesuits depend greatly on monge not only for the abilities it unlocks in them and the part it plays in their plans for humanity but for those that become reverend mothers they have a greater need of a continuous supply to feed their spice addiction as such much of the sisterhood's wealth goes towards the accumulation of it the spacing guild relies greatly on the substance as well when the story of dune begins the guild has a complete monopoly on space travel their massive ships are able to transport an immense amount of goods equipment and passengers their holtzman engines fold space to achieve instantaneous space travel however it is the guild's use of spice in particular that has enabled them to dominate the market on interstellar transport before the discovery of spice space travel was very risky without a viable means to digitally chart coordinates and avoid hazards in space arriving safely at the intended destination was a roll of the dice spice makes a safe form of this kind of ftl travel possible high-ranking members of the guild known as navigators require a great deal of the substance to achieve prescience or multi-dimensional awareness to foresee and chart safe paths through space guild members that become navigators must consume large doses in melange over time their body starts to mutate eventually reaching a point to where they look more fish-like and must remain in a tank filled with spice gas the guild has achieved enormous wealth and influence by their monopoly on interstellar transport and yet they too are at the mercy of the treasured commodity to feed their addiction and so every decision they make is ultimately to ensure the spice keeps flowing one reason the spice is so rare is that it cannot be manufactured or synthesized it can only be mined the ecology of arrakis is uniquely suited for the production of spice in a natural process that begins deep below the surface of the desert planet a pre-spiced mass develops this is where the excretions of organisms called sand trout mix with water causing pressure to build until eventually the mass explodes to the surface when it is exposed to the sun and air it becomes the refined form of spice that is harvested further adding to the rarity of this unique resource is the fact that collecting it is an extremely dangerous and complicated undertaking enormous creatures called sand worms patrol the desert they are fiercely territorial and are attracted to the rhythmic sounds of the harvesting equipment it takes a coordinated effort to collect the spice and to avoid the sand worms attacks they are a constant threat to those seeking to plunder this treasure the risk is great but the spice trade is incredibly lucrative as the entire known universe has come to depend on it any significant interruption in spice production would not only civilization but also lead to countless deaths across the universe as a result of spice withdrawal because of this the powers that be are prepared to do whatever is necessary to make sure the spice keeps flowing the role of spice is essential in the outworking of the story of frank herbert's dune and it is one of the main driving forces behind the plot it is very accurate to say that whoever controls the spice controls the universe i'm excited to see how denis velnov presents this most unique element of frank herbert's creation in the upcoming adaptation of this iconic novel i hope you enjoyed this video leave a like if you did and be sure to subscribe for more dune and other sci-fi and fantasy content thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day [Music] you

Channel: Nerd Cookies

Views: 281,456

Keywords: frank herbert, denis villeneuve, dune lore, dune 2020, frank herbert dune, denis villeneuve dune, dune film 2020, dune denis villeneuve, dune movie 2020, dune movie, dune movie explained, denis villeneuve’s dune, space travel, spacing guild, spice melange explained, pre-spice mass, dune spice, dune explained, dune spice guild navigator, dune spice harvester, dune spice coffee, dune spice explained, dune spice mining, dune spice melange, dune spice must flow

Id: ejLIM6BW6NY

Length: 8min 52sec (532 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 21 2020