Look up Melange in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Melange is the name of the fictional drug (also known as [the] spice) central to the Dune series of science fiction novels by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Melange may refer to: Mélange, an English language loan word from the French language, used to mean mixture of disparate components (what would be referred to in the sciences as a heterogeneous mixture). ... // Fiction (from the Latin fingere, to form, create) is the genre of imaginative prose literature, including novels and short stories. ... A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behavior. ... Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Frank Patrick Herbert (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. ...

Origin

In Dune, there is only one source of melange: the sands of the planet Arrakis, colloquially known as Dune. Melange is a geriatric drug that gives the user a longer lifespan, greater vitality, and heightened awareness; it can also unlock prescience in some subjects, depending upon the dosage and the consumer's physiology. Its use to enhance prescience makes interstellar travel possible. Melange is the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe. Its flavor strongly resembles that of cinnamon; however, each subsequent tasting reveals a different flavor. Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. ... Arrakis, (derived from the Arabic name ar-rāqiṣ, the dancer, originally a star-name for Mu Draconis) later Rakis (known colloquially as Dune) is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune novels by Frank Herbert, where it is the home of the Fremen (Zensunni wanderers) and later, the... Lifespan is the maximum number of years a species can survive, defined by the oldest documented age of an individual member. ... In biological psychology, awareness describes a human or animals perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event. ... Prescience is the ability to predict the future through vision. ... In pharmacology an effective dose is the amount of drug that produces a therapeutic response in 50% of the people taking it. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Binomial name J.Presl Cassia (Chinese cinnamon) is also commonly called (and sometimes sold as) cinnamon. ... Flavor or flavour (see spelling differences) is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell. ...

A Pre-spice mass is the precursor of melange; the mass is formed by the chemical alterations induced in water collected underground by sandtrout, the haploid forms of sandworms (although, it must be noted that some researchers have compared the spice, in its biological function among the sandworms, to sperm). These chemical processes produce gases, which build up until the mass explodes in what is known as a spice blow. This explosion kills most of the larvae and releases the melange onto the surface of the desert. Liet-Kynes describes one in Dune: A photo of a sand trout from a Dune movie. ... Haploid (meaning simple in Greek) cells have only one copy of each chromosome. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Liet-Kynes is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. ...

Then he heard the sand rumbling. Every Fremen knew the sound, could distinguish it immediately from the noises of worms or other desert life. Somewhere beneath him, the pre-spice mass had accumulated enough water and organic matter from the little makers, had reached the critical stage of wild growth. A gigantic bubble of carbon dioxide was forming deep in the sand, heaving upward in an enormous "blow" with a dust whirlpool at its center. It would exchange what had been formed deep in the sand for whatever lay on the surface. Spoiler warning: The Fremen are a group of people in the Dune series of science fiction novels by Frank Herbert. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms, and is in a gaseous state in the atmosphere of the Earth. ...

Collecting the melange is hazardous in the extreme, since rhythmic activity on the desert surface of Arrakis attracts the worms, which are four hundred meters in length on average, and very dangerous, capable of swallowing a mining crawler whole. Thus, the mining operation essentially consists of vacuuming it off the surface with a harvesting machine until a worm comes, at which time a carry-all aircraft lifts the mining vehicle to safety. The Fremen, who have learned to co-exist with the sandworms in the desert, harvest the spice manually for their own use and for smuggling off-planet. This article is about gathering crops. ... A skirmish with smugglers from Finland at the Russian border, 1853, by Vasily Hudiakov. ...

Spice is in general use all over the universe, and is a sign of wealth. To ingest it is the ultimate display of conspicuous consumption. The planet Arrakis is central to the inhabited worlds of the universe because it is the sole source of spice. The Universe is defined as the summation of all particles and energy that exist and the space-time in which all events occur. ... Wealth from the old English word weal, which means well-being or welfare. The term was originally an adjective to describe the possession of such qualities. ... Conspicuous consumption is a term used to describe the lavish spending on goods and services that are acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. ...

Later, an artificial method of producing the spice is discovered by the Bene Tleilax, who develop in secret the technology to produce melange from axolotl tanks later in the series. It was not fully successful in pushing natural melange out of the market place. The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. ... Axlotl tanks are a technology in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert in the Dune series. ...

Use

Alia Atreides notes the importance of melange in Children of Dune: Alia Atreides, portrayed by Daniela Amavia in the Children of Dune miniseries. ... Children of Dune Children of Dune is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, third in a series of six novels set in the Dune universe. ...

Not without reason was the spice often called "the secret coinage." Without melange, the Spacing Guild's heighliners could not move. Melange precipitated the "navigation trance" by which a translight pathway could be "seen" before it was traveled. Without melange and its amplification of the human immunogenic system, life expectancy for the very rich degenerated by a factor of at least four. Even the vast middle class of the Imperium ate diluted melange in small sprinklings with at least one meal a day. The Spacing Guild is a fictional organization in Frank Herberts Dune universe created in a series of science fiction novels starting in Dune and ending with Chapterhouse Dune. ... In the Dune world of Frank Herbert, the Heighliners of the Spacing Guild are enormous carrier spaceships used for interstellar travel. ...

Although it is referred to as "spice" and can be mixed with food, melange is indeed a drug in the clinical sense, its use being physically addictive and having intense psychotropic effects. Spice is also a powerful entheogen, which suitably trained adepts can use to initiate clairvoyant and precognitive trances, and access racial memory. A melange user, once addicted, is thereafter compelled to continue using it for the rest of his or her life, as any discontinuation of its use will induce excruciating withdrawal symptoms, and if not quickly resumed, will invariably be followed by death. Taken daily, however, melange can extend its user's lifespan by hundreds of years. Due to its rarity and value, and its necessity as a catalyst for interstellar travel, the group controlling spice production on Dune controls the fate of the Empire, a form of hydraulic despotism. A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical that alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, or behaviour. ... This entry covers entheogens in the strict sense of the word (i. ... Clairvoyance is defined as a form of radio waves). ... Precognition is a form of extra-sensory perception. ... The concepts of racial memory and genetic memory refer to related hypotheses that an individual can inherit knowledge, memory, and/or motivational imperatives from his ancestors, even without contact with them. ... A hydraulic empire (also known as a hydraulic despotism or a water monopoly empire) arises through the need for flood control and irrigation, which requires central coordination and gives rise to a specialized bureaucracy. ...

Melange serves as the axis about which the human universe turns, it being required for space travel, and with most elites addicted to (and living much longer because of) the drug. Herbert wrote that he intended for melange in the Dune universe to mimic the role that petroleum plays in current human society, in the way that the elites of the 20th century were dependent upon the flow of petroleum for civilization to survive week after week. Following this line, Herbert wrote CHOAM to be the corporation with a monopoly on melange distribution, as a stronger version of OPEC, which is often perceived as being essentially able to set the price of oil by means of its control over a large amount of the world's oil production. Alternative meaning: Elite (computer game) In sociology as in general usage, the elite (the elect; sometimes the French form élite is used) refers to a relatively small dominant group within a larger society, which enjoys privileged status and, almost invariantly, exploits individuals of lower social status. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Alternative meaning: Elite (computer game) In sociology as in general usage, the elite (the elect; sometimes the French form élite is used) refers to a relatively small dominant group within a larger society, which enjoys privileged status and, almost invariantly, exploits individuals of lower social status. ... The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantile or CHOAM is a fictional universal development corporation in Frank Herberts Dune universe, which is first mentioned in Dune. ... OPEC Logo The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an international cartel[1][2] made up of Iraq, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Angola, Algeria, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. ...

Extensive use of the drug tints the sclera, cornea and iris of the user to a dark shade of blue, called "blue-in-blue" or "the Eyes of Ibad," which is something of a source of pride amongst the Fremen and a symbol of their tribal bond. Paul Atreides, the main character in the original Dune novel, initially has green eyes, but after several years on Arrakis his eyes begin to take on the deep, uniform blue of the Fremen. On other planets, the addicted often use tinted contact lenses to hide this discoloration.^{[1] [2]} In Dune, Paul sees two Guildsmen and notes: Schematic diagram of the human eye. ... The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber, providing most of an eyes optical power [1]. Together with the lens, the cornea refracts light and, as a result, helps the eye to focus. ... The human iris The iris is the green/grey/brown area. ... Paul Atreides, as portrayed by Kyle MacLachlan in David Lynchs Dune (1985), wielding the infamous Weirding Module. Paul Orestes Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. ... A pair of contact lenses, positioned with the concave side facing upward. ... The Spacing Guild is a fictional organization in Frank Herberts Dune universe created in a series of science fiction novels starting in Dune and ending with Chapterhouse Dune. ...

The taller of the two, though, held a hand to his left eye. As the Emperor watched, someone jostled the Guildsman's arm, the hand moved, and the eye was revealed. The man had lost one of his masking contact lenses, and the eye stared out a total blue so dark as to be almost black. Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, portrayed by Giancarlo Giannini in the Dune miniseries The Padishah Emperor was the title of the hereditary rulers of the Padishah Empire in Frank Herberts fictional Dune universe. ...

The Navigators of the Spacing Guild depend upon melange for the heightened awareness and the prescient ability to see safe paths through space-time, allowing them to navigate the gigantic Guild Heighliners between planets. They exist within a cloud of melange in a tank; this extended exposure warps their bodies into a grotesque neotenic parody of a human fish. In the Dune universe, Guild Navigators are humans, mutated through high consumption of the spice melange, who are safely able to navigate interstellar space in a Heighliner. ... The Spacing Guild is a fictional organization in Frank Herberts Dune universe created in a series of science fiction novels starting in Dune and ending with Chapterhouse Dune. ... In the Dune world of Frank Herbert, the Heighliners of the Spacing Guild are enormous carrier spaceships used for interstellar travel. ... Neoteny describes a process by which paedomorphism is achieved, and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology. ...

The Bene Gesserit use "spice essence", the toxic substance that can be converted to melange, for the ritual known as the Spice agony, an ordeal in which an acolyte deliberately imbibes a massive overdose and confronts her inner-self and the selves of all her female ancestors. If she masters the confrontation, she emerges as a Reverend Mother, a Bene Gesserit of terrifying abilities, fully in command of her Other Memories, the collective egos of her female ancestors. The process is fatal to those not strong enough. It is said that no male has ever survived this process other than Paul Atreides and his son, Leto II. The Bene Gesserit (as seen in the prologue of an alternate version of the David Lynch Dune film. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... In the Dune series of science fiction books by Frank Herbert, spice agony is an ordeal, in which an acolyte of the Bene Gesserit takes a massive overdose of the spice melange and confronts her inner self, and the selves of all her female ancestors. ... This article is about religious acolytes. ... A drug overdose occurs when a chemical substance (i. ... A Reverend Mother is a fictional character appearing in the novel Dune, being a Bene Gesserit woman who has finished her training. ... eGO is a company that builds electric motor scooters which are becoming popular for urban transportation and vacation use. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... An ancestor is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an ancestor (i. ... Leto Atreides II, portrayed by James McAvoy in the Children of Dune miniseries Leto Atreides II is a fictional character in the Dune universe, created by Frank Herbert. ...

Quotes

• "He who controls the spice controls the universe."

—Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Dune

• "The spice must flow."

—Various characters

• "In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness."

— Opening monologue from the 1984 film Dune, spoken by Virginia Madsen as Princess Irulan

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, portrayed by Ian McNeice in the Sci-Fi Channels Dune miniseries The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. ... Dune is a 1984 science fiction film directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. ... Dune is a 1984 science fiction film directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. ... Virginia Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress. ... Julie Cox as Princess Irulan in the miniseries Frank Herberts Dune. ...

References

• Herbert, Frank. Dune. 1965 (reprint). ISBN 0-441-17271-7
• Herbert, Frank. Heretics of Dune. 1984 (reprint). ISBN 0-441-32800-8
• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 0-618-08230-1