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uber_stoat
Jan 21, 2001



Pillbug
I never came close to remotely finishing Shadow but when I went to reinstall it I remembered how huge the install is. come on people, that is not cool.

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Phil Moscowitz
Feb 19, 2007

If blood be the price of admiralty,
Lord God, we ha' paid in full!
Hopefully the trailer drops soon so I don’t have to read anymore of this poo poo about Lord Of The Rings video games

phasmid
Jan 16, 2015

Booty Shaker
SILENT MAJORITY
Hey, Dune thread. I just saw a copy of the older Dune board game at a nearby thrift store. They had it marked at $40. Is this a steal or what? I don't really need it because I got the newer edition for xmas, but if it's mechanically and aesthetically better, I was thinking of grabbing it.

davidspackage
May 16, 2007

Nap Ghost

goatsestretchgoals posted:

Late but Merri and Pippin won LOTR because they smoked enough pipeweed to talk to the trees. Smoke without rhythm.

Old Toby extends life. Old Toby expands consciousness.

sebmojo
Oct 23, 2010


Legit Cyberpunk









phasmid posted:

Hey, Dune thread. I just saw a copy of the older Dune board game at a nearby thrift store. They had it marked at $40. Is this a steal or what? I don't really need it because I got the newer edition for xmas, but if it's mechanically and aesthetically better, I was thinking of grabbing it.

Yep, snap it up

BeanpolePeckerwood
May 4, 2004

I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK



phasmid posted:

Hey, Dune thread. I just saw a copy of the older Dune board game at a nearby thrift store. They had it marked at $40. Is this a steal or what? I don't really need it because I got the newer edition for xmas, but if it's mechanically and aesthetically better, I was thinking of grabbing it.


If it has all the pieces then that's 1/3 of the internet price. Look on boardgamegeek for ideas to update it to be morte player friendly. That said, those original traitor tokens are irreplaceable






Tree Bucket
Apr 1, 2016

R.I.P.idura leucophrys
There are no ants in Dune. This is weird.
Herbert admired dryland ecologists and dedicated Dune to them. He displays an impressive knowledge of arid ecosystems. He uses a variety of technical terms and lists in his appendix "invertebrates... the scorpion, centipede, trapdoor spider and the stinging wasp." But still no ants. To anyone with ecological training, it's a startlingly weird omission. It's like a film historian discussing giant shark movies without mentioning Jaws.
What makes it even more glaring is that ants are a perfect analogy for Imperial society. Galactic culture has its multitudes of workers, its specialised soldier-caste, its males who can "fly", its BG "queens" who control breeding and exercise immense influence. And so on. Imperial society is a hive.
This continues Dune's primary theme of humans who are controlled by ecological pressures- that is, animals. We get hints of it through names- Beast Rabban, Atreides hawks, even Muad'dib the desert mouse- and again and again we see humans trapped by evolutionary and biological forces:
-Paul fears the drive to Jihad, the great mixing of gene pools.
-The BG, for all their lecturing about humans, end up caring only about propagating their gene pool.
-The Baron describes his enemies as rabbits and himself not as a hunter but as a carnivore.
-Jessica encounters Stilgar's intelligence, compassion and dignity, and can only ask about his breeding.
-Even the famous dinner party scene, for all its subtlety and polished brilliance, is all preening and posturing and hissing, like stray cats facing off in an alley. The party chatter represents nothing more than organisms jostling for control of scarce resources; a more genteel form of the hawks circling and screaming over Liet Kyne's soon-to-be-corpse...
In contrast to the Imperial Hive, we find that the one group most subject to ecological pressures is paradoxically the most Human: the Fremen.* Every Fremen can breed, fight, gather food, build shelter, study, pray, research, sing. There are no castes here. (To quote Heinlein, specialisation is for insects.)
So, then: why the lack of ants? Maybe, Herbert thought they were too heavy-handed a metaphor. Maybe Herbert thought it was one bit of symbolism too many in an already symbol-heavy novel. But maybe- maybe!!!!!!- Herbert suspected that many of his readers- like the very characters they were reading about!- would be swept up by mystical terms like prophet, messiah, jihad and wind up interpreting Dune as a religious or mystical text: a tale of Heroes and Bad Guys and Destiny. They'd remain blind to Dune's ecological themes. Meanwhile the dryland ecologists to whom Dune is dedicated, and other such nerds, would uncover a more satisfying key to unlock the work- the ants- which are made obvious by their very absence. Which is about as Zen as you can get, really.

*Note that Duncan follows this same pattern- a scarred escaped slave who is also a musician, fighter, poet, scholar, freelance hottie, etc etc

Tree Bucket fucked around with this message at 10:44 on Feb 24, 2020

Zopotantor
Feb 24, 2013

...und ist er drin dann lassen wir ihn niemals wieder raus...

Tree Bucket posted:

There are no ants in Dune. This is weird.

They're all in Hellstrom's Hive.

Tree Bucket
Apr 1, 2016

R.I.P.idura leucophrys

Zopotantor posted:

They're all in Hellstrom's Hive.

oohhh, I've got to read that one now.

BeanpolePeckerwood
May 4, 2004

I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK



Tree Bucket posted:

There are no ants in Dune. This is weird.
Herbert admired dryland ecologists and dedicated Dune to them. He displays an impressive knowledge of arid ecosystems. He uses a variety of technical terms and lists in his appendix "invertebrates... the scorpion, centipede, trapdoor spider and the stinging wasp." But still no ants. To anyone with ecological training, it's a startlingly weird omission. It's like a film historian discussing giant shark movies without mentioning Jaws.
What makes it even more glaring is that ants are a perfect analogy for Imperial society. Galactic culture has its multitudes of workers, its specialised soldier-caste, its males who can "fly", its BG "queens" who control breeding and exercise immense influence. And so on. Imperial society is a hive.
This continues Dune's primary theme of humans who are controlled by ecological pressures- that is, animals. We get hints of it through names- Beast Rabban, Atreides hawks, even Muad'dib the desert mouse- and again and again we see humans trapped by evolutionary and biological forces:
-Paul fears the drive to Jihad, the great mixing of gene pools.
-The BG, for all their lecturing about humans, end up caring only about propagating their gene pool.
-The Baron describes his enemies as rabbits and himself not as a hunter but as a carnivore.
-Jessica encounters Stilgar's intelligence, compassion and dignity, and can only ask about his breeding.
-Even the famous dinner party scene, for all its subtlety and polished brilliance, is all preening and posturing and hissing, like stray cats facing off in an alley. The party chatter represents nothing more than organisms jostling for control of scarce resources; a more genteel form of the hawks circling and screaming over Liet Kyne's soon-to-be-corpse...
In contrast to the Imperial Hive, we find that the one group most subject to ecological pressures is paradoxically the most Human: the Fremen.* Every Fremen can breed, fight, gather food, build shelter, study, pray, research, sing. There are no castes here. (To quote Heinlein, specialisation is for insects.)
So, then: why the lack of ants? Maybe, Herbert thought they were too heavy-handed a metaphor. Maybe Herbert thought it was one bit of symbolism too many in an already symbol-heavy novel. But maybe- maybe!!!!!!- Herbert suspected that many of his readers- like the very characters they were reading about!- would be swept up by mystical terms like prophet, messiah, jihad and wind up interpreting Dune as a religious or mystical text: a tale of Heroes and Bad Guys and Destiny. They'd remain blind to Dune's ecological themes. Meanwhile the dryland ecologists to whom Dune is dedicated, and other such nerds, would uncover a more satisfying key to unlock the work- the ants- which are made obvious by their very absence. Which is about as Zen as you can get, really.

*Note that Duncan follows this same pattern- a scarred escaped slave who is also a musician, fighter, poet, scholar, freelance hottie, etc etc

the ant defender has logged on

BeanpolePeckerwood fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Feb 24, 2020

BlankSystemDaemon
Mar 13, 2009



Tree Bucket posted:

-Paul fears the drive to Jihad, the great mixing of gene pools.

*Note that Duncan follows this same pattern- a scarred escaped slave who is also a musician, fighter, poet, scholar, freelance hottie, etc etc
Doesn't Paul fear the jihad, because of the millions that will be killed in his name? I'm not sure a lot of people outside maybe Vladimir Harkonnen would like that.

Also, Duncan is quite clearly a professional hottie, since he's worked stud duties in his past lives. :colbert:

Heather Papps
Nov 1, 2007

hello friend


Tree Bucket posted:

There are no ants in Dune. This is weird.

i always figured there was a stage between microscopic sand plankton and sandtrout that filled whatever niche role ants had, and any offworld ants brought to the planet by accident would be quickly destroyed by the spice/worm/whatever system.

surface animals brought from other planets don't infringe upon the worms eco niche, so they manage to establish.

maybe the absence of ants is a clue in early books as to the true nature of the spice life cycle? i need to go back and do a full og dune re read.

exmachina
Mar 12, 2006

Look Closer

Tree Bucket posted:

There are no ants in Dune. This is weird.
Herbert admired dryland ecologists and dedicated Dune to them. He displays an impressive knowledge of arid ecosystems. He uses a variety of technical terms and lists in his appendix "invertebrates... the scorpion, centipede, trapdoor spider and the stinging wasp." But still no ants. To anyone with ecological training, it's a startlingly weird omission. It's like a film historian discussing giant shark movies without mentioning Jaws.
What makes it even more glaring is that ants are a perfect analogy for Imperial society. Galactic culture has its multitudes of workers, its specialised soldier-caste, its males who can "fly", its BG "queens" who control breeding and exercise immense influence. And so on. Imperial society is a hive.
This continues Dune's primary theme of humans who are controlled by ecological pressures- that is, animals. We get hints of it through names- Beast Rabban, Atreides hawks, even Muad'dib the desert mouse- and again and again we see humans trapped by evolutionary and biological forces:
-Paul fears the drive to Jihad, the great mixing of gene pools.
-The BG, for all their lecturing about humans, end up caring only about propagating their gene pool.
-The Baron describes his enemies as rabbits and himself not as a hunter but as a carnivore.
-Jessica encounters Stilgar's intelligence, compassion and dignity, and can only ask about his breeding.
-Even the famous dinner party scene, for all its subtlety and polished brilliance, is all preening and posturing and hissing, like stray cats facing off in an alley. The party chatter represents nothing more than organisms jostling for control of scarce resources; a more genteel form of the hawks circling and screaming over Liet Kyne's soon-to-be-corpse...
In contrast to the Imperial Hive, we find that the one group most subject to ecological pressures is paradoxically the most Human: the Fremen.* Every Fremen can breed, fight, gather food, build shelter, study, pray, research, sing. There are no castes here. (To quote Heinlein, specialisation is for insects.)
So, then: why the lack of ants? Maybe, Herbert thought they were too heavy-handed a metaphor. Maybe Herbert thought it was one bit of symbolism too many in an already symbol-heavy novel. But maybe- maybe!!!!!!- Herbert suspected that many of his readers- like the very characters they were reading about!- would be swept up by mystical terms like prophet, messiah, jihad and wind up interpreting Dune as a religious or mystical text: a tale of Heroes and Bad Guys and Destiny. They'd remain blind to Dune's ecological themes. Meanwhile the dryland ecologists to whom Dune is dedicated, and other such nerds, would uncover a more satisfying key to unlock the work- the ants- which are made obvious by their very absence. Which is about as Zen as you can get, really.

*Note that Duncan follows this same pattern- a scarred escaped slave who is also a musician, fighter, poet, scholar, freelance hottie, etc etc

:emptyquote:

Admiralty Flag
Jun 7, 2007

to ride eternal, shiny and chrome

THUNDERDOME LOSER 2022

Tree Bucket posted:

There are no ants in Dune. This is weird.
Herbert admired dryland ecologists and dedicated Dune to them. He displays an impressive knowledge of arid ecosystems. He uses a variety of technical terms and lists in his appendix "invertebrates... the scorpion, centipede, trapdoor spider and the stinging wasp." But still no ants. To anyone with ecological training, it's a startlingly weird omission. It's like a film historian discussing giant shark movies without mentioning Jaws.
What makes it even more glaring is that ants are a perfect analogy for Imperial society. Galactic culture has its multitudes of workers, its specialised soldier-caste, its males who can "fly", its BG "queens" who control breeding and exercise immense influence. And so on. Imperial society is a hive.
This continues Dune's primary theme of humans who are controlled by ecological pressures- that is, animals. We get hints of it through names- Beast Rabban, Atreides hawks, even Muad'dib the desert mouse- and again and again we see humans trapped by evolutionary and biological forces:
-Paul fears the drive to Jihad, the great mixing of gene pools.
-The BG, for all their lecturing about humans, end up caring only about propagating their gene pool.
-The Baron describes his enemies as rabbits and himself not as a hunter but as a carnivore.
-Jessica encounters Stilgar's intelligence, compassion and dignity, and can only ask about his breeding.
-Even the famous dinner party scene, for all its subtlety and polished brilliance, is all preening and posturing and hissing, like stray cats facing off in an alley. The party chatter represents nothing more than organisms jostling for control of scarce resources; a more genteel form of the hawks circling and screaming over Liet Kyne's soon-to-be-corpse...
In contrast to the Imperial Hive, we find that the one group most subject to ecological pressures is paradoxically the most Human: the Fremen.* Every Fremen can breed, fight, gather food, build shelter, study, pray, research, sing. There are no castes here. (To quote Heinlein, specialisation is for insects.)
So, then: why the lack of ants? Maybe, Herbert thought they were too heavy-handed a metaphor. Maybe Herbert thought it was one bit of symbolism too many in an already symbol-heavy novel. But maybe- maybe!!!!!!- Herbert suspected that many of his readers- like the very characters they were reading about!- would be swept up by mystical terms like prophet, messiah, jihad and wind up interpreting Dune as a religious or mystical text: a tale of Heroes and Bad Guys and Destiny. They'd remain blind to Dune's ecological themes. Meanwhile the dryland ecologists to whom Dune is dedicated, and other such nerds, would uncover a more satisfying key to unlock the work- the ants- which are made obvious by their very absence. Which is about as Zen as you can get, really.

*Note that Duncan follows this same pattern- a scarred escaped slave who is also a musician, fighter, poet, scholar, freelance hottie, etc etc
All right Liet-Kynes, I've had enough, every single day it's a lecture, you win. You can be the Imperial Ecologist for Arrakis. Will you get out of my office now?

Pham Nuwen
Oct 30, 2010



Tree Bucket posted:

oohhh, I've got to read that one now.

I finished it yesterday. It was great... of Herbert's work that I've read, I'd rank something like Dune > God Emperor/Hellstrom's > Messiah > ConSentiency == the other Dune books. (I felt that the ConSentiency stories didn't translate very well from his imagination to the page)

Tree Bucket
Apr 1, 2016

R.I.P.idura leucophrys

Heather Papps posted:

i always figured there was a stage between microscopic sand plankton and sandtrout that filled whatever niche role ants had, and any offworld ants brought to the planet by accident would be quickly destroyed by the spice/worm/whatever system.

surface animals brought from other planets don't infringe upon the worms eco niche, so they manage to establish.

maybe the absence of ants is a clue in early books as to the true nature of the spice life cycle? i need to go back and do a full og dune re read.

That's a pretty solid theory! I've never been able to get my head around the sandtrout life cycle, it's a weird system.


Pham Nuwen posted:

I finished it yesterday. It was great... of Herbert's work that I've read, I'd rank something like Dune > God Emperor/Hellstrom's > Messiah > ConSentiency == the other Dune books. (I felt that the ConSentiency stories didn't translate very well from his imagination to the page)

Where do you even find something like Helstrom's Hive? It is still being published?


Admiralty Flag posted:

All right Liet-Kynes, I've had enough, every single day it's a lecture, you win. You can be the Imperial Ecologist for Arrakis. Will you get out of my office now?

Yes. SOrry for leaking sand everywhere

Pham Nuwen
Oct 30, 2010



Tree Bucket posted:

Where do you even find something like Helstrom's Hive? It is still being published?

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?cm_sp=SearchF-_-TopNavISS-_-Results&kn=hellstrom%27s%20hive&sts=t

Armacham
Mar 3, 2007

Then brothers in war, to the skirmish must we hence! Shall we hence?
Kindle/Paperback is available on amazon https://www.amazon.com/Hellstroms-Hive-Frank-Herbert/dp/0765317729

Heather Papps
Nov 1, 2007

hello friend


Tree Bucket posted:

That's a pretty solid theory! I've never been able to get my head around the sandtrout life cycle, it's a weird system.

i may be complete off but the system seems to be spiceblow is a mushroom puffball. the spiceblow expels sandtrout larval eggs. these larva hang out till they get big enough to sequester water or join up. either a sandworm is a system of sandtrout combined till it's a giant, or a sandtrout that grows old. at a certain point the sandworm either breeds or dies, but, it produces either a spiceblow or whatever produces a spiceblow.
something like this?

Pham Nuwen
Oct 30, 2010




I've always associated those new-style covers with Failson, and I don't want to give him money, so I only buy old stuff. Plus the covers from the 70s are much, much cooler.

kiimo
Jul 24, 2003

D. Ebdrup posted:

Doesn't Paul fear the jihad, because of the millions that will be killed in his name? I'm not sure a lot of people outside maybe Vladimir Harkonnen would like that.



Duncan: From my point of view the Atreides are evil!

Leto II: Well, then you are lost.

BeanpolePeckerwood
May 4, 2004

I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK



bernie thread and dune thread are in accord

kiimo
Jul 24, 2003

Bless the maker of universal health care

skasion
Feb 13, 2012

Why don't you perform zazen, facing a wall?
I am once again asking for your spice

uber_stoat
Jan 21, 2001



Pillbug
I got my ancient ratty Hellstrom's Hive at a used book store like you're supposed to. it was this cover.

BeanpolePeckerwood
May 4, 2004

I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK



skasion posted:

I am once again asking for your spice

i am no longer asking...

Pham Nuwen
Oct 30, 2010



uber_stoat posted:

I got my ancient ratty Hellstrom's Hive at a used book store like you're supposed to. it was this cover.



Here's what I got:

skasion
Feb 13, 2012

Why don't you perform zazen, facing a wall?

Pham Nuwen posted:

Here's what I got:



Bahaha

priznat
Jul 7, 2009

Let's get drunk and kiss each other all night.
Sci fi used to be so horny, what happened?!?

euphronius
Feb 18, 2009

Horny fantasy now.

Heather Papps
Nov 1, 2007

hello friend


priznat posted:

Sci fi used to be so horny, what happened?!?

honestly? ladies said "hey, wait?"

priznat
Jul 7, 2009

Let's get drunk and kiss each other all night.

Heather Papps posted:

honestly? ladies said "hey, wait?"

Why not horny sci fi by ladies :((((

Ps asimov was a grade A creep and that sucked to find out

Heather Papps
Nov 1, 2007

hello friend


priznat posted:

Why not horny sci fi by ladies :((((
the ancillary books have a fair amount of horniness.

quote:

Ps asimov was a grade A creep and that sucked to find out
yeah. i am still waiting for the eventual kurt vonnegut screamed at a dog or punched a goat revelation, but i kinda hit the point where i stopped digging to see if the people who made the things i love are awful.

after cosby i spent a few hours searching for mr rogers skeletons but it just confirmed my belief that people generally aren't bad it's a function of power to control oh no is this dune?

Tree Bucket
Apr 1, 2016

R.I.P.idura leucophrys

Heather Papps posted:

i may be complete off but the system seems to be spiceblow is a mushroom puffball. the spiceblow expels sandtrout larval eggs. these larva hang out till they get big enough to sequester water or join up. either a sandworm is a system of sandtrout combined till it's a giant, or a sandtrout that grows old. at a certain point the sandworm either breeds or dies, but, it produces either a spiceblow or whatever produces a spiceblow.
something like this?

I honestly have no idea. The puffball idea makes a LOT of sense though, and I don't think I've seen it anywhere before.
Dune doesn't give us many clues as to how sandworms *work* and the clues we do have are all mixed up with legends, and characters' guesses, and other characters obscuring the truth that worms=spice. It's not a lot to work with.
My current worm theory is that worms will happily eat any other, slightly smaller worms. This explains why they have foot-long crystal teeth and are attracted to movement, neither of which are ideal adaptations for a kind of sand-whale that supposedly lives solely off sand-plankton. Bigger worms can eat smaller worms, but smaller worms can escape into regions where the sand is a thin(ish) layer over impassable rock.
I love the sandworms and Dune to bits, but the idea of an ecosystem with only one species in it makes my brain itch. It doesn't woooooork.


priznat posted:

Why not horny sci fi by ladies :((((

Ps asimov was a grade A creep and that sucked to find out

Yeah, that was kind of awful

I dont know
Aug 9, 2003

That Guy here...

priznat posted:

Why not horny sci fi by ladies :((((

Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre won a nebula in the 70's and is pretty horny. Good book.


Tree Bucket posted:

My current worm theory is that worms will happily eat any other, slightly smaller worms. This explains why they have foot-long crystal teeth and are attracted to movement, neither of which are ideal adaptations for a kind of sand-whale that supposedly lives solely off sand-plankton. Bigger worms can eat smaller worms, but smaller worms can escape into regions where the sand is a thin(ish) layer over impassable rock.
I love the sandworms and Dune to bits, but the idea of an ecosystem with only one species in it makes my brain itch. It doesn't woooooork.

I think it's directly stated that worms are extremely aggressive towards other worms, and kill any that come into their territory.

priznat
Jul 7, 2009

Let's get drunk and kiss each other all night.
Also should note that Arthur C Clarke was extremely horny but not involving ladies

Always was a bit worried about stories that may come out there

Xaintrailles
Aug 14, 2015

:hellyeah::histdowns:

Tree Bucket posted:

I love the sandworms and Dune to bits, but the idea of an ecosystem with only one species in it makes my brain itch. It doesn't woooooork.
Desulforudis audaxviator.

Phil Moscowitz
Feb 19, 2007

If blood be the price of admiralty,
Lord God, we ha' paid in full!
Dreamsnake the likes of which even GOD has never seen

Improbable Lobster
Jan 6, 2012

"From each according to his ability" said Ares. It sounded like a quotation.
Buglord

I dont know posted:

Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre won a nebula in the 70's and is pretty horny. Good book.


I think it's directly stated that worms are extremely aggressive towards other worms, and kill any that come into their territory.

Yeah they're aggressive cannibals

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Ghost Leviathan
Mar 2, 2017

Exploration is ill-advised.
I got the impression the sandworms are more a case where their various stages of their life cycle are so different they manage to occupy completely different environmental niches.

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