In the Dune universe, the spice is a powerful psychotropic drug known for its ability to alter time. The spice melange or simply the spice happens to be a naturally produced narcotic that is cherished by the known universe.
A part of Frank Herbert’s Dune, the series Dune: Prophecy has also mentioned the spice as it came up in the second episode of the show when Raquella says through Lila,
“The key to the reckoning is one born twice, once in blood and once in spice. A revenant full of scars. A weapon born of war. On a path too short.”
Raquella here is obviously talking about Desmond Hart, who after being born from a woman, was born again in Arrakis, the planet that bears the spice. This episode also highlighted the importance of both the spice and the planet Arrakis, as Duke Richese’s daughter says,
“Power is the desert planet. The Great Houses, the Spacing Guild, the Sisterhood, they all know it.”
With the spice becoming an important plot point in Dune: Prophecy, let us now dig deeper into the details of this narcotic and how it is connected to the Dune lore.
What is the spice in Dune: Prophecy?
Originating from the planet of Arrakis, the spice is produced from the depths of the sand. The importance of the spice was established in the very first Dune novel when Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, the known universe’s ruler, assigned the ocean planet Caladan’s Duke Leto Atreides to relocate his family to Arrakis and start to harvest the spice.
In episode 2 of Dune: Prophecy the spice has been mentioned multiple times, hence proving that it will become an important component in its storyline. The production of the spice is both, a difficult as well as prestigious work in the world of Dune and Arrakis' importance as a planet also gains relevance because of its connection with the spice.
Moreover, Arrakis is the only place in the whole of the Dune universe where the spice can be found or harvested. This makes it a hugely rare commodity and it is no wonder that characters in Dune: Prophecy are also talking about Arrakis.
What is done by the spice?
The spice does a lot of things and some of the best known properties of this narcotic, according to the Dune universe, include extension of life, prescience, or the ability to look into present, past, and the future, and psychotropic abilities.
The prescience also allows users to navigate space and makes ways for safe interstellar travel. This involves a process where the spice is turned into gas and then consumed by the Spacing Guild Navigators, who are then able to see paths through space and time and ensure that there is no collision with other heighliners and planets.
The spice is also shown to endow one with clairvoyant abilities in the Dune universe. Bene Gesserit, a powerful and old woman, uses spice as an entheogen and watches over and influences humanity throughout the whole universe. Because of using the spice, they possess clairvoyance and other abilities that seem to be similar to witchcraft.
The novel’s antagonist Baron Harkonnen perfectly describes spice, saying,
“He who controls the spice, controls the universe!”
With the repeated mention of the spice in Dune: Prophecy Season 1 Episode 2, it now remains to be seen how the show will be delving into this new world and how that would influence the overall storyline.
Dune: Prophecy episodes 1 and 2 can be streamed on HBO and Max with new episodes dropping every Sunday.
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