Prelude to Dune

In preparation for the upcoming Dune movie, I’ve decided to remind myself of the Duniverse. Two months ago, I read The Science of Dune, a collection of essays by Duniverse fans, many of whom are also scientists, about the finer points of spice, stillsuits, shields, suspensors, and more. I decided not to re-read Frank Herbert’s classic novel this time around, although I did so six years ago when I watched the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune. I’ve decided not to re-watch Lynch’s version from a quarter-century ago; I remember it being rather uneven. I also have no interest in the sequels to Dune by Herbert. I think the original novel stands alone well. It’s a decision I made a long time ago pre-internet. Web-browsing provided further confirmation that I wouldn’t find them interesting.

 

However, I also learned about the prequels to Dune co-written by Herbert’s son (Brian) and another sci-fi author Kevin Anderson; I’ve never read anything from either of them. One caught my eye – The Butlerian Jihad, set ten thousand years before the events of Dune. It purports to tell the story of why and how thinking machines of the general artificial intelligence variety were destroyed by mankind, and how those early events shaped the politics and economics of the Duniverse. Since I’m interested in the conflicting ideas surrounding A.I., and have written several posts based on non-fiction reading, I decided to give the prequel a try.

 

There is an appeal for origins stories. Back in my younger days, I loved The Silmarillion, having read and re-read The Lord of the Rings many times over. High elves, of greater power and stature, in the First Age when the world was young take on a dark lord much more powerful than Sauron; Morgoth is in fact Sauron’s old boss. In the movie world, I very much enjoyed X-Men: First Class and the first Iron Man movie. You can do a lot with origin stories, well-told. (The Star Wars prequel trilogy on the other hand isn’t as great; although there are some excellent moments – when Darth Maul shows up for example.)

 

So, how is The Butlerian Jihad as a novel? It’s faster paced than Dune, consisting of short chapters that move the action along briskly. The back story about humans ceding their autonomy to A.I. and then becoming enslaved by it is not a new idea. In fact, there are two takeovers. The first is when a small group of ambitious and clever humans conduct a swift coup, wresting power from an old staid Galactic empire. One of the conspirators is a gifted programmer who injects advanced A.I. into the machines to aid in the coup. Safeguard are included in the code, but over time a member of the oligarchy gets lazy and the machines takeover. The old oligarchy tries to bide its time while serving their new machine masters; they are now cyborgs with interchangeable machine bodies connected to a brain in a jar.

 

The machine’s new empire is still opposed by human-controlled planets – a loose alliance of rebels withstanding the takeover advances of the machines. On these human planets, the dangers of A.I. takeover has resulted in a ban on “thinking machines”. Thus, much depends on slave labor – a problem in itself. Accompanying the main story thread is a side-story on what is happening on the planet Arrakis, the desert planet of the titular Dune. The reader is introduced to the local inhabitants, both humans and sandworms. The beginnings of the spice trade begin to unfold, although some of the powerful effects of the spice are not yet apparent, but rather hinted at – as if the authors were giving you a wink of what’s to come. If you’ve already read Dune, this makes sense of what would otherwise be confusing.

 

Unlike the original Dune or Tolkien’s books, I didn’t get the feeling that I would re-read The Butlerian Jihad. While it tries to take on weighty ideas, it feels light – an enjoyable read, but nothing special and I’m not sure it would add to the pleasure of re-reading Dune. In contrast, my reading of The Silmarillion enhanced my reading of Lord of the Rings, and I expect to semi-regularly revisit these books regularly which I’ve read multiple times already!

 

I did enjoy several of the pithy sayings that began each short chapter in The Butlerian Jihad, as voiced by an appropriate character in the novel. One of the original conspirators that overthrew the Old Empire has this to say:

 

Humans tried to develop intelligent machines as secondary reflex systems, turning over primary decisions to mechanical servants. Gradually, though, the creators did not leave enough to do for themselves; they began to feel alienated, dehumanized, and even manipulated. Eventually humans became little more than decisionless robots themselves, left without an understanding of their natural existence.

 

It’s a good summary of the A.I. part of the story, which otherwise does not loom that largely in the narrative. There is an interesting robot with a mind of its own who is trying to learn the ins and outs of human behavior and has this to say:

 

Intuition is a function by which humans see around corners. It is useful for persons who live exposed to dangerous natural conditions.

 

I’d say it is useful for all humans, not just those in a dangerous situation. Although perhaps lazy humans failed to practice their intuition as part of letting themselves be dehumanized. Intuitions can lead one astray, but they may also provide insight in a way that a mechanical algorithmic approach cannot. For better or worse.

 

Finally, my favorite quote is voiced by Holtzman, the flamboyant inventor-scientist in the story:

 

“Systematic” is a dangerous word, a dangerous concept. Systems originate with their human creators. Systems take over.

 

In our day and age, with its infatuation of setting up systems and machine learning, this prelude serves as a warning. Perhaps a little anarchy is a good thing.