|
Other Memory figures prominently in the Dune series for several reasons, one of which is that a human with access
to Other Memory who has not developed a sufficiently strong ego will become possessed by a strong ancestral ego. If a Bene
Gesserit undergoes the spice agony while pregnant, the fetus will also undergo the spice agony and gain access to other memories,
becoming "pre-born". Since the fetus has no ego of its own, it becomes a vessel (eventually) for someone long-dead. This is
called "Abomination" by the Bene Gesserit, and abominations are always killed immediately. In Dune, when Jessica undergoes
the spice agony with a wild Reverend Mother with the Fremen, she is pregnant with Alia. Since Jessica and Alia are with the
Fremen, the Bene Gesserit cannot kill Alia, though they urge it strongly upon Jessica, who refuses. In Children of Dune,
Alia eventually succumbs to the ancestral ego of her grandfather, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, who wants nothing more than
the destruction of the Atreides, and is given another opportunity, from the inside, to realize it. Paul and Chani's children,
Leto II and Ghanima, are also pre-born, but before they become possessed, they stumble across solutions: Leto, forced to undergo
a radical spice agony, constructs an executive of benevolent ancestral egos (such as Paul and his father Leto I) who protect
him; Ghanima, as part of their plan to fake Leto's death, consciously blocks the memory of Leto and their plan, inadvertently
developing a mental discipline capable of protecting her undeveloped ego. She also uses the ego of her mother, Chani, as a
'door guard' of her other alter egos, only 'peeking behind the door' when she needs advice from her Other Memories.
|
