Fremen learn at a young age how to walk through the desert in a sliding, arrhythmic gait that mimics the natural settling of sand to avoid drawing sandworm attention - unless they're looking to hitch a ride. Called "makers" by the Fremen, the massive creatures tunnel through the desert sand and appear at the slightest noise. The Fremen have also managed a cautious coexistence with the desert's greatest threat: sandworms. When Fremen die, their bodies are rendered in a holy ceremony, and their water is added back to the wealth of the tribe. Individuals wear jewelry that symbolize their share of the water. They live in small bands that move between underground "sietches," where they store their water communally. The Fremen conception of wealth revolves around the collection of water, as well. The Fremen serve as both the Dune series' heart and its narrative backbone. Dune's protagonist Paul Atreides grows into a god-like figure over the course of the first book by joining the Fremen, who raise him to messianic status as their prophesied "Mahdi." To access this story, you have to empathize with the Fremen, a people who live a life far removed (geographically, chronologically, and otherwise) from the imperial culture from which Paul Atreides hails. Yes, this is the level of allegory we're dealing with here.įrank Herbert's Dune series comprises six novels, beginning with Dune and ending with Chapterhouse: Dune, a novel millennia removed from the archetypal characters that populate the original book. It pits the Fremen, a group of desert-dwelling nomads who have learned how to live in relative harmony with the harsh, titular planet of Arrakis (colloquially known as Dune) against the Padishah Emperor on the distant planet of Kaitain, the head of a government that needs to exploit Dune's sole resource to ensure the continued growth of the galactic economy. At its heart, Dune is the story of a planet's native people rising up to stop the continued mining and reshaping of that planet by neo-colonial offworlders from a galactic imperium.
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