Heretics of Dune

The motif of nature represents the protection and incorruptibility of an organic world against a cold and artificial modern world. Nature functions as a sanctuary, and when pitted against surveillance machines like the “life scanners,” the living outmaneuvers the mechanical. In his rescue mission, Birzmali chooses a pilingitam tree for the fugitives’ command post, and the living shelter effectively protects them from detection precisely because it is alive. He states, “The tree is a life form” (456), identifying humans with plant life as members of the same community. Algae also function as a protective shield by hiding the living among the living.

Additionally, Duncan learns from Tormsa, a member of the Fish Speaker guard, that by mimicking wild creatures in the forest, the Ixian scanners will mistake them for animals. Intimate knowledge and merging with nature save these characters’ lives and demonstrate how ignorant and far removed from the power of nature their enemies are. Tormsa explains, “They trust their machines and the motions they see. They are lazy. They fly high. That way, the search goes faster. They trust their intelligence to read their instruments and tell which is animal and which is human” (537). The trees, algae, and animals form a natural defense against the machines and do not betray the fugitives.