Applications of Permaculture in Terraforming the Ecology of Arrakis in Frank Herbert's Dune
Abstract
Frank Herbert's magnum opus, namely the eponymous first novel in the Dune series, tells the story of the house of Atriedes. Right from the start, the members of this line are beset by misfortune, that ranges from assassination attempts to coups. Apart from that, the patriarch of the family, the Duke Leto Atriedes, is seen by the Padishah emperor, Shaddam Corrino IV, as a threat to his reign. In order to get rid of the duke and his family, he sends them en masse to the desert planet of Arrakis. This paper aims to analyze the terraforming techniques used by Pardot Kynes in Dune and compare them with the techniques used by permaculturists to regenerate failing ecosystems. This in turn will highlight some similarities between real-world incidents pertaining to the environment and the conditions on Arrakis, and in turn lead to an ecocritical understanding of the text.
- Publication:
-
ECS Transactions
- Pub Date:
- April 2022
- DOI:
- 10.1149/10701.11439ecst
- Bibcode:
- 2022ECSTr.10711439S