Why Do The Bene Gesserit Fear Immortality?

[Music] hi guys it's quinn if you enjoy my videos please help out by clicking the like button it's the only way that the youtube algorithm really takes notice of me also this video will have some spoilers for the dune book sequels human beings like all other life on this planet are mortal and ever since the ancient world we have attempted to find ways to extend our lives alchemy is a branch of philosophy created in the ancient world those who called themselves alchemist attempted to perfect and purify certain elements many believed that through perfection of the human soul and body one could create the ultimate work of alchemy this idea is often thought of today as the creation of the philosopher's stone the philosopher's stone would be able to heal any illness turn any metal into gold and most importantly grant immortality though people have been trying to figure out how to create the philosopher's stone since 300 ce no one has ever accomplished this in the third book in the dune series children of dune the lady jessica atreides returns to the planet arrakis after being gone for two decades and the time since she was last on arrakis much has changed the former emperor of the imperium shaddam iv is dead and house atreides rules the human universe from the planet arrakis jessica's daughter aaliyah now sits the throne as regent until paul's pre-born twins lato and genima come of age the princess ireland paul's wife acts as protector to his children when jessica arrives on araka she immediately notices that both the princess ireland and her daughter aliyah are using forbidden bini jesuit techniques in order to slow their aging and god forfinned there stood the princess iralon hiding her savagery in that seductive body with its cap of golden hair exposed by a vagrant breeze irlan seemed not to have aged today it was an affront and there at the point of the wedge was aliyah her features impudently youthful her eyes staring upward into the hatchway's shadows any reverent mother of the benny jesuit could potentially slow their aging process down to a near halt this is due to the bini jesuit ability to control their internal body chemistry down to a molecular level but the sisterhood had determined that this was the wrong path the human universe ran on spice the spice heightened awareness and could more than double the human lifespan spice was the most valued commodity in the universe the sisterhood believed that if they allowed themselves to halt their own aging that eventually others in the human universe would notice the accumulation of immortal bini jesuit women and then turn upon the sisterhood for this reason reverend mothers allowed themselves to age naturally only using spice melange to extend their lives many reverend mothers could choose that course or try it the manipulation of internal chemistry was available to initiates of the sisterhood but if one did it sooner or later all would try it there could be no concealing such an accumulation of ageless women they knew for a certainty that this course would lead them to destruction short-lived humanity would turn upon them no it was unthinkable the benny jesuit however understood the value of certain individuals with every death potentially a valuable member of the sisterhood would be lost so the benny jesuit developed a way to copy each other's memories they called it sharing in a way they had developed their own unique form of immortality imminent threat of death was recognized sharing necessary transformation of a reverend mother into sets of memories passed around at perilous cost among the sisters no longer carried a mysterious aura for her but merbella still was awed by the responsibility the courage of rebecca and lucilla demanded admiration the benny jesuit sisterhood was led by an all-powerful reverend mother when it came time to choose a new one her memories are shared with her successor that way all of the valuable knowledge that she gathered during her lifetime will be preserved the process of sharing often could cause powerful changes in the personalities of the reverend mothers who shared memories there is also however an exception to the benny jesuit rule against using bini jesuit internal chemistry control techniques to slow aging during the time of the god emperor later the second spice production ceased due to the disappearance of the desert and the death of the arrakis sandworms the god emperor gave out rations to groups within the imperium where he saw fit since spice was no longer readily available to the mini jesuit they laxed on the rule against using these techniques lato lifted his attention to the attendance waiting where the mini jesuit entourage had first stopped the acolytes wore hoodless black gowns he saw tiny clues two forbidden rituals about them an amulet a small trinket a colorful corner of a kerchief so arranged that more color might be flashed carefully lato knew that the reverend mothers allowed this because they no longer could share the spice as they once had if anything this illustrates one of the main strengths of the benny jesuit sisterhood their pragmatism their ability to adapt and alter their behavior in order to survive and the fact that benny jesuit individuals for thousands of years resisted allowing themselves to halt their aging when they easily could have is a testament to the sisterhood's dedication to their cause [Music] you

Channel: Quinn's Ideas

Views: 130,108

Keywords: Dune, Bene Gesserit, Movie, Explained, Trailer, Review, Lore, Denis Villeneuve, Frank Herbert, Book, New

Id: Q2qgl0uEHd4

Length: 6min 38sec (398 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 05 2021