Today’s edition is inspired by the developers of Dune: Awakening who managed to use an impressive amount of lore-acurate references in their game - including a bunch of Fremen technology, some of which were relatively obscure, throw-away references in the original book.
This made me think to comb through the pages of Dune and try to find all the tech that’s specific to the way of life on Arrakis.
SPOILER WARNING
Includes content from the core canon and the expanded universe.
What makes it feel real
I’ve noticed three main themes that ring true for most, if not all, Fremen technology.
First, as you’d expect of innovation born out of a complete lack of resources, the focus is always on function, not form. Fremen are considered backward savages by the Imperium, desert rats who scrape by - because their technology is invisible.
Paul lifted the paracompass from the pack, returned it, said: “Think of all these special-application Fremen machines. They show unrivaled sophistication. Admit it. The culture that made these things betrays depths no one suspected.”
Secondly, instead of trying to conquer their environment, they adapted to it; they made themselves part of Arrakis. They’re the de facto rulers of the planet precisely because they understand its necessities and live by them.
And finally, this way of life translates to much of their tech having at least cultural, if not outright religious significance.
Take maker hooks as an example.
Yes, at first glance they’re just oversized fishing gear for oversized worms - sticks with curved ends - but these “simple” tools let a human mount and control the biggest apex predator known to mankind.
Their design demonstrates the Fremen understanding of the sandworm’s biology in redirecting its own instincts. And their cultural importance is in the name - they’re sacred implements for communing with Shai-Hulud, essential tools for the Fremen rite of passage.
Water
“Thus it is spoken,” Chani said. “Giudichar mantene: It is written in the Shah-Nama that water was the first of all things created.”
Let’s start with the obvious: all the tech required for the most important substance in the desert. Getting it, keeping it, and ultimately, passing it to the tribe.
The “biggest” source of water on Arrakis is atmospheric moisture - and while there’s not much of it, a little can go a long way. The only question is how to capture it.
Dew collectors
The smallest devices are dew collector or dew precipitators. These are the size and shape of an egg and their main feature is that they can “force” condensation.
Here’s Harah explaining it to Paul:
“Each bush, each weed you see out there in the erg,” she said, “how do you suppose it lives when we leave it? Each is planted most tenderly in its own little pit. The pits are filled with smooth ovals of chromoplastic. Light turns them white. You can see them glistening in the dawn if you look down from a high place. White reflects. But when Old Father Sun departs, the chromoplastic reverts to transparency in the dark. It cools with extreme rapidity. The surface condenses moisture out of the air. That moisture trickles down to keep our plants alive.”
Muad’Dib with his “built-in” dew collectors in Dune (2021)
Dew reapers
Here’s one I absolutely did not remember until Dune: Awakening put an Holtzmann-field powered scythe in my hands to gather droplets of water from a field of flowers.
Out and about with my scythe.
But it’s absolutely canon, the Terminology of the Imperium describing dew gatherers as workers who (I kid you not) “reap dew from the plants of Arrakis, using a scythelike dew reaper.”
The Duke nodded, thinking: Perhaps this planet could grow on one. Perhaps it could become a good home for my son.
Then he saw the human figures moving into the flower fields, sweeping them with strange scythe-like devices—dew gatherers. Water so precious here that even the dew must be collected.
Windtraps
And if you need a consistent supply that needs no manual labor, you build yourself a large condensation device.
WINDTRAP: a device placed in the path of a prevailing wind and capable of precipitating moisture from the air caught within it, usually by a sharp and distinct drop in temperature within the trap.
These concealed surface intakes funnel moisture-laden night air into deep, cold caverns where temperature differential precipitates water into vast hidden cisterns.
While their use is not exclusive to Fremen, it’s certainly a requirement on Arrakis.
“There were water riots when it was learned how many people the Duke was adding to the population,” she said. “They stopped only when the people learned we were installing new windtraps and condensers to take care of the load.”
🔒 In the full article:
How to keep your water
Thumpers, maker hooks and… goads?
Everything you need to get around in the desert
The Crysknife
Where all this stuff came from
How tech informs Fremen culture
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