Dune’s Kwisatz Haderach Defined: Is It Paul Atreides?

The world of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” is stuffed with prophecies, cultish religions, superhuman powers, and genetic experiments, all of which mix within the central storyline of the Kwisatz Haderach. The prophecy foretells the arrival of a person who can efficiently endure the mind-altering course of that begets the order’s reverend moms — a course of sometimes deadly for male attempters. From the very starting of the primary novel, Paul Atreides is engulfed by the shadow of the Kwisatz Haderach venture, and it proves too highly effective for him to withstand.

Is Paul the Kwisatz Haderach in “Dune”? Sure and no. Sure, he suits all the standards laid out by the Bene Gesserit, however he additionally is not the solely particular person within the books to match that description. Unsurprisingly, the cult shaping all of human civilization from the shadows would not precisely predict how their large genetic superperson venture will truly prove. Paul is not the final Kwisatz Haderach, neither is he essentially the most highly effective, however you would not know that if you happen to’d solely seen the Denis Villeneuve “Dune” films.

Let’s dig a bit deeper into what the Kwisatz Haderach truly is, the way it pertains to the prophecy of the Lisan al Gaib, and who all has earned the title within the “Dune” franchise.

The Kwisatz Haderach is an idea created by the Bene Gesserit, describing a theoretical one who could possibly be made to see each the previous and the longer term and thus lead humanity down a path of upper evolution and societal development. The phrase itself is Chakobsa, one of many essential languages in Herbert’s universe (to not be confused with the real-world language of the identical title, although there may be absolutely a connection), and interprets to “shortening of the best way.”

In essence, greater than 10,000 years earlier than the primary “Dune” novel, the Bene Gesserit got down to breed a person able to enduring the reverend mom initiation course of. That ritual connects each new reverend mom with their genetic reminiscence, giving them entry to historical historical past by way of a connection to previous reverend moms lengthy lifeless. Sometimes, males who tried the transformation would die, however the order believed it was doable to create a male candidate who might do it by fastidiously crossing bloodlines over generations.

The objective was to supply a person beneath the Bene Gesserit’s management who might see the longer term in addition to the previous, simply because the navigators of the Spacing Guild use restricted spice-induced prescience to ferry ships safely by way of deep house. Within the books, it is defined that Paul additionally makes use of his lifelong coaching as a Mentat to correctly course of and interpret the entire temporal data he receives from his imaginative and prescient. (Since there aren’t any computer systems, or “considering machines,” within the “Dune” universe, a Mentat is a human conditioned from delivery to course of big sums of knowledge in a computer-like manner.)

All of those items have been crucial to supply an individual with the fitting mix of predilections and skills, which is why the method took so lengthy to finish. However even nonetheless, Paul wasn’t actually meant to be the Kwisatz Haderach.

Early on in “Dune,” Reverend Mom Gaius Helen Mohiam chastises Woman Jessica, Paul’s mom, for giving delivery to a boy as a substitute of a woman. The plan was for the Bene Gesserit to present Duke Leto Atreides a daughter, who would then be married to somebody from the Harkonnen bloodline — probably Feyd-Rautha. The kid of that match was supposed to be the Kwisatz Haderach. As a substitute, Jessica took issues into her personal fingers, believing she could possibly be the mom of the prophesied determine. And, because it seems, she was proper.

The difficulty is that Paul Atreides proved too troublesome for the Bene Gesserit to manage. They feared a Kwisatz Haderach who may exist exterior their plans, which is a part of why the order advises the emperor to help Baron Valdimir Harkonnen in wiping the Atreides out. The Bene Gesserit desire a Kwisatz Haderach to foster new progress and growth for humanity, however they need him to obey them most of all. Had Jessica given delivery to a daughter, the Atreides probably by no means would have been given dominion over Arrakis, and the Bene Gesserit would have had a greater likelihood at controlling a Kwisatz Haderach born to a Harkonnen male.

Whereas the scheming of the Bene Gesserit is not essentially one thing to admire, they have been proper to be frightened of an unbiased Kwisatz Haderach. Due to how Paul traces up with the Lisan al Gaib prophecy on Arrakis — one other story planted by the sisterhood — his powers find yourself bringing a couple of galactic holy battle that decimates human civilization.

Along with Paul, there are a few different Kwisatz Haderach candidates within the “Dune” universe. In “Dune Messiah,” a bunch assembles to plan Paul’s downfall. One member is Scytale, a member of an order referred to as the Bene Tleilax, which makes a speciality of genetic experimentation. Scytale claims that at one level, the Tleilaxu created their very own Kwisatz Haderach by way of genetic modification, somewhat than the long-term crossing of bloodlines. Nevertheless, the venture went south rapidly, and it is implied that the Kwisatz Haderach killed himself because of the overwhelming expertise of his powers.

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen looks like he could have had Kwisatz Haderach potential, although that is by no means totally explored within the books. However since he and Paul occupy the identical generational stratum within the Bene Gesserit breeding program, it is doable that beneath the fitting situations, he too might have come away with comparable powers.

In fact, the primary different Kwisatz Haderach apart from Paul is his son, Leto II, whose story is instructed within the third and fourth books within the collection. Leto undergoes an much more weird transformation, granting him a type of immortality along with Paul’s prescient skills. Frank Herbert’s last “Dune” novels discover the fallout and bigger ramifications of this totally realized Kwisatz Haderach.