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"The world is really so surreal these days that it's necessary for us to blunt it somehow in order to stay sane. The artist functions to short-circuit the buffering mechanism, so that people can occasionally perceive the weirdness of things as they are."
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An interesting word; invented by Herbert. It calls to mind words like ghoul (reanimated dead person), ghost and golem (an artificial person made of clay, and then animated by magic). The ghola Duncan Idaho is one of the main characters of the story.
The Bene Tleilax are the only guild or group in the Imperium that uses genetics and gene-manipulation on human beings, and they are distrusted accordingly. They treat human flesh as raw material, building blocks for masterpieces nature never intended. There is an almost medieval flavor to the attitude against them; the forebears of modern doctors had to practice on cadavers in secret, because of religious prejudice against the desecration of the bodily temple.
I can't really give more without telling one of the main themes of the story, but let's just say that the Bene Tleilax do not consider their Duncan Idaho to be finished. You get the sense that the Bene Tleilax are constantly researching and constantly testing to push the boundaries of what is possible with technology. Their only concerns about morality are their concerns about any tool that can be used to shape a person (or a ghola).
The word "ghola" may also have been derived from the Seljuk Turkish term "Ghulam." A ghulam was a slave (by definition, a non-Muslim) educated and trained for state service. This has interesting overtones, since it is assumed that the ghola is a tool of the Tleilaxu. (Thanks, David!) Comment/Join this discussion ( 7 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!'
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.'
AI Enhances Images Your Brain Sees
'I could have sworn the psychomat showed pictures almost as sharp and detailed as reality itself'
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'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'
DIY Robotic Hand Made After Loss Of Fingers
'I made them... with the fine work of the watchmaker...'
Can A Human Land A SpaceX Rocket On Its Tail?
'If she starts to roll sideways — blooey! The underjets only hold you up when they’re pointing down, you know.'
Robot Snakes No Longer Stopped By Stairs
'...she dropped her hands from the wheel, took the robot snake from his box.'
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