Baron Vladimir Harkonnen ( / ˈ h ɑːr k ə n ə n / ) is a fictional character in the Dune franchise created by Frank Herbert . He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel Dune and is also a prominent character in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Herbert's son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson . The character is brought back as a ghola in the Herbert/Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007).
105-495: Harkonnen may refer to: Baron Vladimir Harkonnen , a fictional villain in the Dune series of novels and films Dune: House Harkonnen , the second book in the Prelude to Dune series, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson Harkonnen Chair , a series of chair designs by H. R. Giger Harkonnen , a weapon used by Seras Victoria in
210-602: A hypnotic state with some predefined sound (often a specific humming or whistling noise) that has been pre-conditioned into each ghola. Csilla Csori analyzes the concept of recording and restoring memories in the essay "Memory (and the Tleilaxu) Makes the Man" in The Science of Dune (2007). Before the events of Dune: Messiah , gholas are merely physical copies without the memories of their original incarnations. The ghola Hayt
315-508: A Bene Gesserit sister to create an axlotl tank. However, the project ultimately fails. A cymek is a type of cyborg , or machine-human hybrid , in the fictional Dune prequel universe . They appear in the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy (2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson . The only organic part of a cymek is its brain; in the series, living humans willingly have their brains transplanted into large mechanized bodies with
420-553: A Tleilaxu female." Wondering whether the Tleilaxu breed or simply rely on the tanks to reproduce, Miles had asked, "Do they exist or is it just the tanks?" Janet confirmed that females do indeed exist. Later in Heretics , Teg's own daughter, Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade , theorizes that the axlotl tanks may be, in fact, "surrogate mothers"—Tleilaxu females somehow transformed. Soon, the current Duncan ghola recalls his repeated "births" from
525-519: A bitter rival of Leto Atreides , and the Baron's "legendary evil and intellect" are unmatched by anyone else from House Harkonnen. In the novel, the Baron feigns outrage over losing control of Arrakis to Leto, but is actually conspiring to use the situation as an opportunity to destroy House Atreides once and for all. William Hughes of The A.V. Club describes the Baron as "a decadent, monstrous gasbag of depravity and evil". As ruthless and cruel as he
630-548: A conspiracy with the Bene Gesserit , Spacing Guild and House Corrino to remove Paul Atreides from the Imperial throne. Scytale is the architect of a multi-pronged plot against Paul centered on the Tleilaxu ghola Hayt, a reincarnation of Paul's friend Duncan Idaho who has been programmed to unwittingly destroy Paul psychologically, and failing that, kill Paul when triggered by an implanted command. Scytale also kills and replaces
735-460: A deceased subject. A true ghola is initially shown to be the resurrection of a corpse through regrowth of damaged tissues, while later gholas in the series are more accurately described as clones—grown from genetic material extracted from a few cells (e.g. a small scraping of skin taken moments before death). Through specific stresses, gholas can be made to recall the memories of the original, including their moment of death. In Herbert's Dune series,
840-524: A discouragement to his enemies, and in Chapterhouse: Dune , Miles Teg directs the creation of lasgun/Holtzman-field shield drone-mines for use against the Honored Matres . By the time of God Emperor of Dune (1981), God Emperor Leto II has banned shields throughout his empire "to avoid such explosive interactions." The vibrations of an active shield will drive a sandworm on Arrakis into
945-438: A form of radiation that destroys the eye tissue of anyone surviving the initial radiation blast. If of sufficient power, a stone burner can burn its way into the core of a planet, destroying it: Paul remained silent, thinking what this weapon implied. Too much fuel in it and it'd cut its way into the planet's core. Dune's molten level lay deep, but the more dangerous for that. Such pressures released and out of control might split
1050-628: A fully realized ghola of his deceased concubine Chani , in exchange for his abdication. Paul refuses, and kills Scytale. Over 3,500 years later in God Emperor of Dune (1981), Tleilaxu Face Dancers kill and replace nearly everyone in the Ixian embassy on Arrakis as part of an assassination attempt on Paul's seemingly immortal son, the God Emperor Leto II Atreides . Though these Face Dancers are more imperceptible than ever before, Leto and
1155-467: A ghola has tremendous consequences for the Tleilaxu Masters themselves; they subsequently use the technology of axlotl tanks and memory recovery to grant themselves effective immortality. Every Master is "recreated" upon his death with recovered memories, accumulating many generations of knowledge and experience and permitting planning on a timespan of millennia . There are also mentions of gholas in
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#17328548288051260-685: A ghola of the now-deceased Corrino Emperor to claim the Golden Lion Throne, with the Executrix as the true leaders behind the so-called "puppet Emperor". A heighliner is a type of fictional starship used for interstellar travel in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert . These enormous spaceships are the "major cargo carrier of the Spacing Guild 's transportation system". Duke Leto Atreides speaks of them in Dune (1965): A Heighliner
1365-497: A hundred years and rename themselves after famous historical and mythological figures, most notably Agamemnon , Ajax , Barbarossa , Dante , Hecate , Juno , Tlaloc and Xerxes . Ten years into their reign, their leader Tlaloc is killed in a freak accident. Realizing their mortality and limited lifespans, they seek a way to extend their lives. Juno is inspired by the cogitors , ancient philosophers whose brains had been installed in fluid-filled canisters so that they might analyze
1470-633: A killing frenzy, drawing them from across territorial lines to attack the shield. For this reason, the native Fremen eschew them. It is noted in Children of Dune (1976) that the Fremen have developed a small shield generator known as a "pseudo-shield" to attract and madden a worm, for use as an ersatz bomb. The effect is used in this case to fold space at the quantum level, allowing the Spacing Guild 's heighliner ships to instantaneously travel far distances across space without actually moving at all. However,
1575-513: A likely connection to the AIDS epidemic, which was a prevalent health crisis while the film was in production." Travis Johnson of Flicks.com.au noted that the Lynch film embraced "the archetype of the depraved gay sadist", which would not be acceptable in 2019. Asher-Perrin added, "Lynch also makes a point of connecting the Baron's desire for men to deviancy and violence, deliberately juxtaposing his assault of
1680-518: A planet, scattering lifeless bits and pieces through space. In Dune , Paul uses an atomic device on the surface of Arrakis to blast a pass through the Shield Wall, a desert mountain range protecting the planet's capital. He says this act is in accordance with the Great Convention because the atomics are not used against humans, but rather against "a natural feature of the desert". A stone burner
1785-404: A second try. At this point, he drugs and rapes her. She exacts her retribution by infecting him with a rare, incurable disease that later causes his obesity. Mohiam's second child with the Baron is Jessica. In Dune: House Harkonnen , the deteriorating Baron at first walks with the assistance of a cane, then relies on belt-mounted suspensors to retain mobility. He consults numerous doctors in
1890-487: A shield generator." Its discovery is explored in the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2002–2004). In Dune , the Holtzman effect has been adapted to produce personal defensive shields which permit penetration only by objects that move below a pre-set velocity. Paul Atreides notes in Dune , "In shield fighting, one moves fast on defense, slow on attack ... The shield turns
1995-404: A similar ghola "resurrection" of his deceased beloved Chani to gain leverage over him, but he refuses. In God Emperor of Dune , over Leto II's 3,500-year reign he has, as constant companions, a series of Duncan gholas with restored memories of the original Idaho but not the memories of the previous gholas. They are perfectly reconstructed incarnations made from a few cells, created as needed in
2100-622: A team of them manages to destroy a sandworm on Arrakis , though they are destroyed themselves. Ptolemy himself later willingly undergoes the surgery to have his brain placed in a cymek. Face Dancers are a fictional servant caste of sterile humanoid shapeshifters in Frank Herbert 's Dune universe . Created by the Bene Tleilax , they are able to physiologically change their appearance to impersonate other people. Face Dancers possess full sentience, but also genetically programmed loyalty to
2205-399: A two-year-old born as a fully aware Fremen Reverend Mother , who reveals that she is his granddaughter to him just before his death. His remaining heir Feyd-Rautha is killed in ritual combat by Paul Atreides. House Harkonnen as a political entity is left virtually defunct - permanently excluded from galactic power - though Harkonnen blood is technically ascendant since Imperial House Atreides
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#17328548288052310-450: A young man with a tender love-scene between Duke Leto and Lady Jessica Atreides." Ian McNeice plays the Baron in the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune , and its sequel , 2003's Children of Dune . Asher-Perrin notes that the miniseries played down the negative aspects emphasized by the Lynch film, and writes, "[The Baron's] appearance was not altered to make him seem ill, he never physically attacks anyone, and
2415-464: Is already distrustful. The Atreides are soon attacked by Harkonnen forces, secretly supplemented by the seemingly unstoppable Imperial Sardaukar , as Yueh disables the protective shields around the Atreides palace on Arrakis. Yueh takes Leto prisoner as instructed, but provides him with a fake tooth filled with poisonous gas as a means to assassinate the Baron. De Vries kills Yueh, Leto and De Vries die from
2520-547: Is coerced into revealing the means of creating the tanks to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. In Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), the novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson which complete Frank Herbert's original series, the Bene Gesserit on the no-ship Ithaca use the captive Scytale's knowledge to create their own axlotl tanks from Bene Gesserit volunteers. The Rabbi, leader of
2625-415: Is composed entirely of Vladimir Harkonnen's descendants. Alia had been born with her ancestral memories in the womb, a circumstance the Bene Gesserit refer to as Abomination , because in their experience it is inevitable that the individual will become possessed by the personality of one of their ancestors. In Children of Dune , Alia falls victim to this prediction when she shares control of her body with
2730-560: Is described as an exceedingly handsome man, possessing red hair and a near-perfect physique. The Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is instructed by the Sisterhood to collect his genetic material, through conception, for their breeding program. As the Baron's homosexuality is something of an open secret, Mohiam blackmails him into having sexual relations with her, and conceives his child. When that daughter proves genetically undesirable, Mohiam kills her and returns to Harkonnen for
2835-462: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Vladimir Harkonnen Baron Harkonnen is portrayed by Kenneth McMillan in David Lynch 's 1984 film Dune . Ian McNeice plays the role in the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its sequel, 2003's Children of Dune . Harkonnen is portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård in
2940-511: Is implied in Dune and Children of Dune . It is noted, however, that he "once permitted himself to be seduced" by a Bene Gesserit in the liaison which produced his secret daughter. As Dune begins, a longstanding feud exists between the Harkonnens of Giedi Prime and the Atreides of Caladan . The Baron's intent to exterminate the Atreides line seems close to fruition, as Duke Leto Atreides
3045-466: Is intelligent and cunning, the Baron is "crafty and power-hungry" and has a talent for manipulating others and exploiting their weaknesses as well as a propensity for torture and blackmail. IGN describes the character as "cruel, sadistic, and hedonistic". Travis Johnson of Flicks.com.au says that Harkonnen is written as "a predatory homosexual given to pederasty and incest, an unrepentant rapist and murderer." The Baron's sexual preference for young men
3150-644: Is lured to the desert planet Arrakis on the pretense of taking over the valuable melange operation there. The Baron has an agent in the Atreides household: Leto's own physician, the trusted Suk doctor Wellington Yueh . Though Suk Imperial Conditioning supposedly makes the subject incapable of inflicting harm, the Baron's twisted Mentat Piter De Vries has managed to break it using the threat of interminable torture on Yueh's captive wife Wanna . Harkonnen also distracts Leto's Mentat Thufir Hawat from discovering Yueh by guiding Hawat toward another suspect: Leto's Bene Gesserit concubine Lady Jessica , of whom Hawat
3255-515: Is meant to be comeuppance for doing something reprehensible, a physical punishment meant to hurt his vanity by taking away the attractiveness he so prized in himself." Suspensor (Dune) Technology is a key aspect of the fictional setting of the Dune series of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert , and derivative works. Herbert's concepts and inventions have been analyzed and deconstructed in at least one book, The Science of Dune (2007). Herbert's originating 1965 novel Dune
Harkonnen - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-485: Is mentioned in God Emperor of Dune (1981) that while history books credit Aurelius Venport with designing the first Spacing Guild ship, it was actually Venport's mistress, Norma Cenva , who gave him the design. In the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy (2002–2004), Norma invents heighliners during the Butlerian Jihad . The Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) establishes that in subsequent millennia,
3465-412: Is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. Dune and its five sequels by Herbert explore the complex and multilayered interactions of politics , religion , ecology and technology , among other themes. The Butlerian Jihad , an event in the back-story of Herbert's universe, leads to
3570-447: Is portrayed by Kenneth McMillan in David Lynch 's 1984 film . The obese and disheveled Baron is overtly unstable, and covered in oozing pustules . William Hughes of The A.V. Club deemed McMillan's facial prosthetics "very memorable". Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com wrote that "Lynch's attempt is infamous for really leaning on [the] codified aspects of the Baron, to the point where his sore-ridden appearance has been called out as
3675-436: Is programmed by the Tleilaxu to kill Emperor Paul Atreides under post-hypnotic suggestion . The attempt fails but, as hoped by the Tleilaxu, the stress of attempting to kill someone who was deeply loved in the ghola's previous life breaks the mental barrier between the ghola's consciousness and the life memories of the original. Hayt recovers the full memories of the original Duncan Idaho. The Tleilaxu are now able to offer Paul
3780-691: Is revealed that a renegade House of the Landsraad had devastated the capital of the Corrino Padishah Empire , Salusa Secundus , with atomics and rendered the planet essentially uninhabitable. Padishah Emperor Hassik Corrino III had relocated the Imperial throne to the planet Kaitain , and the attacking House had been subsequently exterminated. During the events of the series in 10,175 A.G., Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV uses atomics to destroy House Richese 's artificial laboratory moon of Korona. Part of Shaddam's plan to ensure his own spice monopoly ,
3885-545: Is this action, and the millions of human slaves who are killed in it, which ultimately leads to the ban on atomic warfare in the Great Convention. It also contributes to the development of the feud between the Harkonnens and Atreides. Axlotl tanks are a fictional biological technology in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert . Axlotl technology is also mentioned in Herbert's novels Destination: Void and The Jesus Incident but not elaborated upon. A trade secret of
3990-537: Is truly big. Its hold will tuck all our frigates and transports into a little corner—we'll be just a small part of the ship's manifest. Heighliner operation requires a Guild Navigator , who uses a limited form of prescience (made possible by their use of the drug melange ), to safely guide the ship across space at "translight" speeds. Navigators are confined to giant tanks, completely immersed in highly concentrated orange spice gas. Unable to land, heighliners jump from point to point, parking in planetary orbits, though
4095-621: Is used in an attempt to assassinate Paul in Dune Messiah ; he survives but is blinded for the rest of his life. In God Emperor of Dune (1981), the God Emperor Leto II notes that since his 3,500-year reign began he has "searched out all of the Family atomics and removed them to a safe place". In the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (1999–2001) it
4200-569: The Dune games . In Dune 2000 (1998), the Harkonnen Mentat is allegedly a ghola cloned from Tleilaxu flesh vats, and in Emperor: Battle for Dune (2001), House Ordos constantly deploy their own gholas in assassination and infiltration missions. This is particularly effective in tricking the Sardaukar and Fremen into allying with House Ordos. On a much larger scale, they plan to use
4305-467: The Dune universe created by Frank Herbert , beginning with the 1965 novel Dune . The effect is never explained in detail, but it makes (among other things) defensive force shields and instantaneous space travel possible through its application in Holtzman shields , foldspace or Holtzman drives , suspensors , and glowglobes . Herbert defined the Holtzman effect as "the negative repelling effect of
Harkonnen - Misplaced Pages Continue
4410-410: The Dune universe . Like real-world nuclear weapons, atomics presumably derive their destructive force from nuclear reactions of fission or fusion , and Herbert notes that "radiation lingers" after their use. However, the author never delves into the specifics of the technology or explores in detail how it may have evolved by the time of Dune 's far-future setting. In the initial Dune novels,
4515-479: The Legends of Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Anderson. In the series finale, Sandworms of Dune (2007), it is revealed that Khrone and his legions of autonomous Face Dancers seek to overthrow their machine "masters". Secretly in control of Ix and its technology production, Khrone manipulates the Spacing Guild and New Sisterhood, setting them up for disastrous failure in their final battle against
4620-454: The Butlerian Jihad . To this effect, the Guild produces melange -saturated Navigators who intuitively "see paths through foldspace" in this way. This stumbling block is overcome several thousand years after the events of Dune when Ixian scientists develop mechanical replacements for Guild Navigators. Kevin R. Grazier analyzes the concepts of folding space and faster-than-light travel in
4725-522: The Fremen girl Lichna to infiltrate Paul's household and lure him to an assassination attempt outside the safety of his stronghold. Paul's Bene Gesserit training allows him to detect the substitution, but he allows the plot to play out. All of these schemes fail to eliminate Paul, but set the stage for Scytale's final ploy: the unlocking of Duncan's memories in Hayt illustrates that the Tleilaxu can provide Paul with
4830-729: The League of Nobles , resist the initial Titan rebellion and remain free from machine rule . With the thinking machines ever-persistent in their intent to enslave or destroy all humans, the League initiates the Butlerian Jihad , mankind's century-long crusade against the machines. The humans are ultimately victorious, destroying all but one hidden copy of Omnius as well as the Titans, the neo-cymeks and all thinking machine forces. With all thinking machine technology henceforth banned, new organizations arise, composed of humans who had developed specialized skills during
4935-457: The Tleilaxu , an axlotl tank is a "device for reproducing a living human being from the cells of a cadaver", a type of clone called a ghola . Axlotl tanks are eventually revealed to be semi- artificial uteri created by transforming women into biological factories. Later in the series, the Tleilaxu scientists also use the axlotl tanks to replicate the spice melange , previously only available on
5040-400: The chaotic and seemingly non-deterministic quantum nature of "foldspace" requires at least limited prescience on the part of the human navigator; otherwise the absurdly complex mathematics involved in producing reliable physical projections of such events would only be possible with advanced computers, which are strictly prohibited because of mankind's crusade against thinking machines ,
5145-526: The desert planet Arrakis where it is created naturally as part of the life cycle of giant sandworms . The tanks are briefly mentioned in Dune Messiah (1969) as the source of the Duncan Idaho ghola. Their nature is a well-guarded Tleilaxu secret. During his 3500-year reign which ends in God Emperor of Dune (1981), Leto II purchases countless Idaho gholas produced for him in the tanks. Within
5250-413: The whale fur market and later consolidation with melange wealth from Arrakis . The character is usually described as the main antagonist of the novel. Herbert writes in Dune that the Baron possesses a " basso voice" and is so "grossly and immensely fat" that he requires anti-gravity devices known as suspensors to support his weight. He is one of the wealthiest members of the Landsraad and
5355-424: The "maternal grandfather who cannot be named"—the Baron himself. Over the next two years, Harkonnen learns that his nephews Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha are conspiring against him to usurp his throne. He lets them continue to do so, reasoning that they have to somehow learn to organize a conspiracy. As punishment for a failed assassination attempt against him, Harkonnen forces Feyd to single-handedly slaughter all
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#17328548288055460-556: The 1500 years between the events of God Emperor of Dune and Heretics of Dune (1984), the Tleilaxu discover an artificial method of producing the spice melange in their axlotl tanks as well. Some melange users, like the Bene Gesserit , prefer the natural melange of Arrakis to the Tleilaxu substitute, claiming increased potency. In Heretics of Dune , Miles Teg recalls how his Bene Gesserit mother Lady Janet had said that "No one outside of [the Tleilaxu] planets has ever reported seeing
5565-477: The 2021 Denis Villeneuve film Dune and its 2024 sequel Dune: Part Two . Frank Herbert wanted a harsh-sounding name for the antagonistic family opposing House Atreides in Dune . He came across the name " Härkönen " in a California telephone book and thought that it sounded "Soviet", though it is in fact Finnish. In earlier drafts of Dune , the character was called "Valdemar Hoskanner". Herbert's "Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of
5670-473: The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen" to the villainous Lannister family of George R. R. Martin 's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Emmet Asher-Perrin suggests that "what makes the Baron truly monstrous [is] the fact that he spends all of his time plotting murder, sowing discord, and destroying populations of people to get his way". Hughes writes that the evil Harkonnen is "specifically designed to make
5775-471: The Baron in a sensory deprivation tank for a prolonged period; the Baron's memories of his former life return. The reincarnated Baron is soon haunted by the voice of Alia in his mind; the source of this inner Alia is never explained. In 1975, Orson Welles agreed to play the Baron in Alejandro Jodorowsky 's ultimately unsuccessful adaptation . The film's concept art by Jean "Moebius" Giraud depicts
5880-464: The Baron". William Hughes of The A.V. Club calls the Baron "one of the most iconically awful villains in all of science fiction". Stuart Conover of ScienceFiction.com describes him as "one of the most insidious villains". Maude Campbell of Popular Mechanics writes that the Baron is "one of the most evil characters ever put to paper (including Darth Vader )", and Jon Michaud of The New Yorker compares "Herbert's scheming, backstabbing villain,
5985-402: The Baron, as well as Feyd-Rautha and Rabban, in multiple drag appearances. In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune , the director discussed the casting: Orson Welles had a bad reputation ... they said that he liked to drink and eat ... and then he did not finish the movies, he was moody. But I said, "No, Orson Welles is a genius, he is the one." ... Therefore, I sent a secretary to ask... in all
6090-520: The Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Anteac are able to detect the impostors thanks to the Bene Gesserit techniques of acute observation. Another 1,500 years later in Heretics of Dune (1984), the Tleilaxu have perfected their Face Dancers, who are now perfect mimics, able to copy the memories and consciousness of the people they imitate. Virtually undetectable to all but the Bene Gesserit, these Face Dancers begin to replace leaders in
6195-471: The Bene Gesserit. The Face Dancer leader, Khrone , serves Daniel and Marty in their plot for domination of the universe, but has separate schemes of his own. Khrone's Face Dancers have secretly gained control of many power bases across the Empire, and Daniel and Marty are revealed to be new incarnations of mankind's ancient enemies, thinking machine leader Omnius and his second-in-command Erasmus , introduced in
6300-460: The Emperor's intervention was part of his plan. The Imperial forces fall prey to a surprise attack by the Fremen, who let a sandstorm short out the force field shields of the transport ships, and then disable them with projectile weapons, subsequently mounting a mass assault using sandworms as siege-breakers. Their enemies are left trapped on the planet, outnumbered by the many tribes and outgunned by
6405-454: The Great Convention is clear enough: Use of atomics against humans shall be cause for planetary obliteration ." The atomics themselves act as a military deterrent —any House which violates the Great Convention flagrantly (such as using atomics openly in warfare) faces massive retaliation from any number of the other Houses. As Paul notes via epigraph in Dune Messiah (1969), "any Family in my Empire could so deploy its atomics as to destroy
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#17328548288056510-723: The Great Houses of the Landsraad own "family atomics" as heirlooms, keeping a secure, hidden cache as weapons of last resort in their wars. Though such possession is necessary to secure power, the use of atomics against humans violates the chief prohibition of the Great Convention , the "universal truce enforced under the power balance maintained by the Guild , the Great Houses, and the Imperium". Paul Atreides notes in Dune that "The language of
6615-549: The Imperium as a means for the Tleilaxu to seize control. The plan fails as, over time, the Face Dancers come to believe they are the people they have copied, and elude their genetically-programmed loyalty to the Tleilaxu Masters. In Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), Duncan Idaho notes that the mysterious observers Daniel and Marty resemble Face Dancers, but atypically autonomous ones. Daniel and Marty later confirm that they are independent Face Dancers, noting "[The Tleilaxu] gave us
6720-462: The Jihad to replace and exceed technology, including the Spacing Guild , Mentats , and the Bene Gesserit . In Mentats of Dune (2014), a group of new cymeks are created by the human Dr. Ptolemy using the brains of failed Guild Navigators . Funded by Josef Venport as a counter to Manford Torondo and his fanatical mobs of anti-technology Butlerians, these cymeks are more advanced than their predecessors;
6825-603: The Noble Houses)" in Dune says of Harkonnen (in part): VLADIMIR HARKONNEN (10,110–10,193) Commonly referred to as Baron Harkonnen, his title is officially Siridar (planetary governor) Baron. Vladimir Harkonnen is the direct-line male descendant of the Bashar Abulurd Harkonnen who was banished for cowardice after the Battle of Corrin . The return of House Harkonnen to power generally is ascribed to adroit manipulation of
6930-565: The Sardaukar as he can. The Legends of Dune prequel series (2002–2004) establishes that the first human victory of the Butlerian Jihad (the crusade against the thinking machines ) is the 200 B.G. destruction of Earth and the Earth Omnius using atomics. "Pulse atomics" calibrated for use against the gel circuitry of the thinking machines are also used at the end of the war to systematically wipe out every single machine-controlled planet. It
7035-582: The Tleilaxu Masters. They are used by the Tleilaxu throughout the universe to replace people whom the Tleilaxu find useful, usually killing the originals. In this way they may infiltrate and control various groups in the universe. Face Dancers are "Jadacha hermaphrodites ", able to change their gender at will. In Heretics of Dune (1984), Herbert describes a pair of Face Dancers in their natural state: "Two small men as alike as twins. Almost chinless round faces, pug noses, tiny mouths, black button eyes, and short-cropped white hair that stood up from their heads like
7140-554: The Tleilaxu, indicating the development of some form of prescient or metaphysical awareness. Though intense psychological trauma is the key to unlocking the memories of a ghola, the actual situation contrived to accomplish this is specific to each individual. When military genius Miles Teg is killed in Heretics of Dune , a ghola of him is born in Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) on orders from Teg's own daughter, Bene Gesserit leader Darwi Odrade . His former memories are unlocked using sexual imprinting. The discovery of how to reawaken
7245-577: The baron mesmerizing to watch no matter how odiously he behaves". Austin Jones of Paste writes, "McNeice commands his role as Baron Harkonnen, capturing the vile indulgence and vanity of a feudal lord". Baron Harkonnen is portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård in the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film Dune and its 2024 sequel Dune: Part Two . Skarsgård called the role "small but important", and noted, "I had seven hours in make-up every day because I had to be really fat." Villeneuve said: As much as I deeply love
7350-458: The book, I felt that the baron was flirting very often with caricature. And I tried to bring him a bit more dimension. That's why I brought in Stellan. Stellan has something in the eyes. You feel that there's someone thinking, thinking, thinking—that has tension and is calculating inside, deep in the eyes. I can testify, it can be quite frightening. A line of Dune action figures from toy company LJN
7455-420: The boys back into House Harkonnen, and Feyd becomes his designated heir. The Baron's most prominent political rival is Duke Leto Atreides. The Harkonnens and the Atreides have been bitter enemies for millennia, since the Battle of Corrin that ended the Butlerian Jihad . When Emperor Shaddam IV orchestrates a plot to destroy the "Red Duke" Leto, the Baron eagerly lends his aid. The young Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
7560-482: The bristles on a brush." The Tleilaxu are able to control Face Dancers by forcing them into a hypnotic state with a predefined sound, often a specific humming or whistling noise. In Heretics of Dune , Master Waff attempts to control his Face Dancer duplicate of Hedley Tuek : "Humming sounds like the noises of angry insects came from his mouth, a modulated thing that clearly was some kind of language." In Dune Messiah (1969), Tleilaxu Face Dancer Scytale enters into
7665-418: The cure, but soon discovers that there is none. The Baron, Duke Leto, and Jessica are unaware that Jessica is secretly the Baron's daughter, or that he has even fathered one. In the year 10,176, the Baron's grandson Paul is born to Leto and Jessica. In Hunters of Dune (2006), the continuation of the original series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the Baron is resurrected as a ghola (5,029 years after
7770-525: The death of Alia) by the Lost Tleilaxu Uxtal , acting on orders from the Face Dancer Khrone . Khrone intends to use the Baron ghola to manipulate a ghola of Paul Atreides, named Paolo . Khrone tries various torture techniques for three years to awaken the 12-year-old Baron's genetic memories; these methods fail due to the Baron's sadomasochistic nature. Khrone is successful when he imprisons
7875-468: The ego-memory of the Baron Harkonnen, and eventually falls under his power. Alia eventually commits suicide , realizing that Harkonnen's consciousness has surpassed her abilities to contain him. In the Prelude to Dune prequel series by Brian Herbert and Anderson, it is established that Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is the son and heir of Dmitri Harkonnen and his wife Victoria. Harkonnen's father had been
7980-399: The essay "Cosmic Origami" in The Science of Dune (2007). Hovering devices called suspensors utilize the "secondary (low-drain) phase of a Holtzman field generator" to nullify gravity "within certain limits prescribed by relative mass and energy consumption." Suspensors are used in chairs, tables, and structures that are too massive to be physically sound, among other uses. In Dune ,
8085-477: The expanse of time between the Dune: House Atreides and Dune: House Harkonnen , up to and including his future instrument Dr. Yueh, all of whom are ultimately no help. To conceal this debilitation, he pretends that his obesity is due to intentional overindulgence, lest the Landsraad remove him from power. When he determines that Mohiam inflicted him with the disease, he attempts to coerce her into revealing
8190-528: The explosion causes a quarter of the planet Richese 's population to go blind from the resulting light produced by the destruction of the Richesian mirrors stored on Korona. Finally, the persecuted Earl Dominic Vernius plans to use atomics to attack Kaitain; when his hidden base on Arrakis is discovered by the Padishah Emperor's Sardaukar army, Vernius ignites a stone burner to destroy himself and as many of
8295-509: The fast blow, admits the slow kindjal ". The interaction of a lasgun beam and a Holtzman field results in subatomic fusion and a nuclear explosion . The magnitude of this blast is unpredictable; sometimes it destroys only the shielded target and gunner, sometimes the explosion is more powerful than atomics . Using lasguns in a shielded environment can result in military and environmental catastrophe, though at one point in Dune , Duncan Idaho deliberately allows shield/lasgun contact as
8400-420: The female slaves who serve as Feyd's lovers. He explains that Feyd has to learn the price of failure. The Baron's plan to assure Feyd's power is to install him as ruler of Arrakis after a period of tyrannical misrule by Rabban, making Feyd appear to be the savior of the people. However, a crisis on Arrakis begins when the mysterious Muad'Dib emerges as a leader of the native Fremen tribes, uniting them against
8505-408: The gas, but Harkonnen survives. The Baron then manipulates Hawat into his service, by convincing Hawat that Jessica was the traitor and using Hawat's desire for revenge on her and the Emperor as motivation to assist House Harkonnen. Jessica flees into the desert with her and Leto's son Paul Atreides , and both are presumed dead. Paul's prescience helps him determine the identity of Jessica's father,
8610-521: The gastronomic restaurants in Paris: "Where does Orson Welles eat?" And we discover a restaurant and then he was eating ... I speak with all the respect, because was for me [he] was an idol. He say, "I don't want to do it. I don't want any more." I say to him, "I will propose something." If you do the picture, even if we pay what you want as an actor, I will hire the chef of this restaurant and you will eat, as here, every day. And he say, "I do it." Baron Harkonnen
8715-476: The grotesquely obese Baron Vladimir Harkonnen utilizes suspensor belts and harnesses to buoy his flesh and allow him to walk. In Dune , Jessica theorizes that suspensors, like shields, attract sandworms. Kevin R. Grazier analyzes the concept of anti-gravity technology in the essay "Suspensor of Disbelief" in The Science of Dune (2007). A varied use of the Holtzman effect is the glowglobe . This device
8820-428: The group of "secret" Jews on board, is upset when his follower Rebecca , a "wild" Reverend Mother, volunteers herself for the process. In the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (set immediately prior to the events of 1965's Dune ), the Tleilaxu attempt to create artificial melange called ajidamal using axlotl technology; the best results are gained by using
8925-591: The head of House Harkonnen and ruled the planet Giedi Prime. Trained since youth as a possible successor, Vladimir had been eventually chosen over his half-brother Abulurd , namesake of the original. Unhappy with his brother's doings, Abulurd eventually marries Emmi Rabban and renounces the family name and his rights to the title. Under the name Abulurd Rabban, he reigns as governor of the secondary Harkonnen planet Lankiveil . Abulurd and his wife have two sons: Glossu Rabban, later nicknamed "Beast Rabban" after he murders his own father, and Feyd-Rautha. Vladimir later adopts
9030-518: The intent of extending life indefinitely. The technology is later revived in the prequel novel Mentats of Dune (2014). Over 11,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert's Dune (1965), a group of 20 ambitious humans see the stagnation of the Old Empire and realize that their small band can take control of it with the aid of thinking machines . Calling themselves the Titans , they rule humanity for
9135-471: The memories of the original like his predecessors; however, the later attempt by the Honored Matre Murbella to sexually imprint him results in his recovery of the memories of all his ghola incarnations. It is later determined that the Tleilaxu had mixed the cells from multiple Idaho gholas to make this one—however, recovery of genetic material from every incarnation would have been impossible for
9240-487: The miniseries paid more attention to the fact that the Baron was a rapist, his preference for men being incidental." He praises McNeice as a standout among the cast, writing that he "manages to make the Baron Harkonnen—easily one of the most despicable characters in science fiction literature—every bit as conniving and vicious as he needs to be...and every bit as fascinating. McNeice has a superb sense of how to make
9345-468: The noble Atreides family seem that extra bit more dignified and pure". Jesse Schedeen of IGN agrees that the Baron is "as cruel and vindictive as Leto is noble and just." Hughes says that Herbert "successfully made [the Baron] so vampirically vile that he casts a (sometimes literal) shadow over the entire series." Sandy Schaefer of Screen Rant calls the Baron "a deliciously despicable antagonist". While
9450-504: The novel suggests that the Baron's obesity might be the result of a genetic disease, the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson explains that Harkonnen was once a fit, attractive but vain man who is given the incurable disease intentionally by the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Mohiam after he drugs and rapes her. Asher-Perrin suggests that in this narrative, "The Baron's corpulence
9555-441: The outlawing of certain technologies, primarily " thinking machines ", a collective term for computers and artificial intelligence of any kind. This prohibition is a key influence on the nature of Herbert's fictional setting. In Dune , ten thousand years after this jihad, its enduring commandment remains, "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind." Atomics is the term used to refer to nuclear weapons in
9660-438: The planetary bases of fifty or more other Families". A stone burner is a conventional weapon that uses atomics for fuel. Whether they are covered by the Great Convention is discussed several times in the series, with the opinion that while they "skirt the intentions of the law" they do not warrant retaliation. The explosion and radiation can be precisely adjusted depending on the desired effect. Stone burners emit "J-Rays",
9765-489: The power to absorb the memories and experiences of other people ... The Masters should've known we would gather enough of them one day to make our own decisions about our own future." In Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson 's 2006 continuation of the original series, Hunters of Dune , the leaders of the Lost Tleilaxu have been killed and replaced by their own advanced Face Dancers, who cannot be detected by even
9870-503: The rule of the Harkonnens. Eventually, a series of Fremen victories against Beast Rabban threaten to disrupt the trade of the spice, inciting the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV to intervene personally, leading several legions of Sardaukar. After the emperor's arrival on Arrakis, both Corrino and Harkonnen are shocked to learn that rather than a native Fremen warlord, their opponent Muad'Dib is the still-living Paul Atreides, and
9975-403: The sandworms. The Harkonnens' past ruthlessness further causes the enraged Fremen to give them little to no quarter. Over the course of the battle their entire army is exterminated. The Harkonnen leadership are also all killed in the course of this battle. Rabban dies first, in the early stages of the battle. Baron Harkonnen himself is poisoned with a gom jabbar by Paul's sister Alia Atreides ,
10080-678: The series Hellsing . The weapons's full name is the Hellsing ARMS Anti-Midian Cannon 'Harkonnen'. See also [ edit ] Harkonen (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Harkonnen . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harkonnen&oldid=1054289392 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
10185-414: The ship itself does not technically move. Special laws govern travel aboard a heighliner; heighliners are considered neutral territory and all acts of war aboard heighliners carry stiff penalties. Leto notes that while they are traveling to Arrakis it is quite likely they will share cargo space with Harkonnen vessels, but neither will be aggressive to each other for fear of losing shipping privileges. It
10290-471: The ships are manufactured on the planet Ix . During the events described in the 2001 prequel Dune: House Corrino , a heighliner is expertly spacefolded into a cavern under the surface of Ix, incapacitating an occupying army during the Atreides-led liberation of the planet. In the novel, heighliners are noted to be more than 20 kilometers long. The Holtzman effect is a fictional scientific phenomenon in
10395-405: The tanks: The axlotl tanks! He remembered emerging time after time: bright lights and padded mechanical hands. The hands rotated him and, in the unfocused blurs of the newborn, he saw a great mound of female flesh—monstrous in her almost immobile grossness…a maze of dark tubes linked her body to giant metal containers. In Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), the last remaining Tleilaxu Master Scytale
10500-503: The technological process is developed and initially monopolized by the Tleilaxu ; in later novels the process is also used by the Bene Gesserit . The first ghola featured in the series— Hayt in 1969's Dune Messiah —is a resurrection of the corpse of Duncan Idaho . Later gholas are grown from a few cells, as in the case of subsequent Idaho gholas provided to Leto II , as described in God Emperor of Dune (1981). The Tleilaxu can control their creations by forcing them into
10605-446: The thinking machine forces of Omnius. When Khrone asserts dominance over even the machine empire, a smug Erasmus activates a fail-safe built into all enhanced Face Dancers, instantly killing Khrone and all of his minions across the universe. A ghola is a fictional humanoid in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert . Similar to clones , they are "manufactured" human duplicates grown in an axlotl tank from cells collected from
10710-503: The time span of one to two years. In this novel, one of the Duncans recalls how, as a blank ghola, he was tasked to kill a Face Dancer duplicate of Leto's father and Duncan's friend, Paul, and the psychological stress awakened his memories. Fifteen hundred years later in Heretics of Dune (1984), Leto is dead and the Bene Gesserit are the users of Duncan gholas. The current Idaho ghola recovers
10815-471: The universe for another 90 years. Growing complacent, the Titans are themselves overthrown and enslaved by Omnius , a sentient computer network given too much autonomy; Omnius controls the universe for the next 900 years. The Titans recruit humans from the enslaved, Omnius-controlled " Synchronized Worlds " to become neo-cymeks , footsoldiers who could more fully understand human strategy and thought processes than machines. A small group of worlds, united as
10920-421: The universe indefinitely; they are living and retain awareness and consciousness, and the ability to communicate should they choose. The Titan Agamemnon is the first to become a cymek, his brain transplanted into a canister which, through special interfaces, is installed into a large, fearsome, and weaponized body. In cymek form, the remaining 19 Titans are virtually unstoppable, and continue their tyrannical rule of
11025-562: Was released to lackluster sales in 1984. Styled after David Lynch's film, the collection featured a figure of Baron Harkonnen, as well as other characters. In 2006, SOTA Toys produced a Baron Harkonnen action figure for their "Now Playing Presents" line. H. R. Giger 's Harkonnen Chair is a chair originally designed by the artist as set dressing for an unrealized 1970s adaptation of Dune by Alejandro Jodorowsky . Thomas West of Screen Rant writes that "there are few science fiction villains quite as compelling and darkly charismatic as
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