Could We Recreate The Technology Of Dune In Real Life?
Frank Herbert’s Dune books and the movie adaptations they inspired are filled with out-there technology and esoteric ideas about the potential of human consciousness. But how many of the author’s ideas bear any relation to reality? Is it possible that we could develop gizmos like stillsuits, ornithopters, and personal forcefield shields, and, if so, how far away are we from seeing them? We’ll look at these and more of Herbert’s ideas to see if our real-life technological progress is taking us any closer to the world of Dune.
The spice
First things first: let’s take a look at the spice melange. It is, after all, the main commodity of the Dune universe that drives the story forward. The spice is a drug, found only on the planet of Arrakis, which imbues its users with remarkably expanded mental capacities and increased lifespans.
Thanks to its remarkable properties, the spice is incredibly valuable and all the great powers within the Dune universe seek control of it. But could such a substance ever truly exist in the real world?
Spice and the coca leaf
Well, ignoring the superhuman qualities of the spice for a moment, we can say that there is a real-world historical comparison to be made here. In the Americas long ago, before the land was colonized by Europeans, the coca leaf was incredibly important to the Incas. And, as Dr. Carol Hart noted in her book The Science Of Dune, it gave rise to social relations not unlike those formed by the spice
“In pre-Columbian America,” Dr. Hart wrote, “the coca leaf was, somewhat like melange, largely reserved for the noble and priestly classes of the ancient Incas. In fact, the ruling classes retained their power in part by their monopoly on the coca leaf.”
Space travel
As for the physical effects induced by the coca leaf, the similarities with the spice aren’t exactly there. In Dune, melange helped to create a group of highly evolved humans known as the Guild Navigators, whose bodies and minds have been radically mutated by their prolonged exposure to the spice.
The Navigators perpetually breathe in a gas form of the spice, which alters their mental capacities to the extent that they are able to operate spacecraft across the universe. Without the enhancements induced by spice, such interstellar travel would be impossible.
Smart pills
The Bene Gesserit also ingest the spice, as it sharpens their minds to the extent that they can predict the future. Obviously we don’t have any substance on Earth with the power to see the future and undertake interstellar space travel, but, in a more moderate sense, could we, say, develop drugs capable of enhancing our minds?
Well, nootropic drugs — or “smart pills” — exist and are taken by people looking to improve cognition. Manufacturers of supplements like these assert that they can enhance people’s memory, their ability to concentrate, and their creativity. Certain types of nootropic drugs may be prescribed for conditions such as ADHD.