CHOAM

CHOAM is a company that features in Dune.

History

The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles (CHOAM) was an economic body that existed within the Old Empire of the Padishah Emperor. It controlled all economic affairs in the known universe though relied on the Spacing Guild for the transport of goods due to their monopoly over faster-than-light travel.

Paul Muad'Dib's Fremen watch the Padishah Emperor's encampment to see whether he would raise the Atreides flag, indicating a recognition of Paul's claims, or the banner of Paul's Harkonnen enemies. Instead, the Emperor raises the flag of CHOAM, as a reminder to all of the combatant parties that economics trump political considerations.

Overview

It controlled all economic affairs across the cosmos, although it relies upon the Spacing Guild for transport across space due to the Guild's monopoly on interstellar travel. The corporation's management and board of directors were controlled by the Padishah Emperor and the Landsraad with the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit serving as silent partners. Because of its control of inter-planetary commerce, CHOAM was the largest single source of wealth in the Old Empire. As such, influence in CHOAM through partisans within it and control of directorships was the central goal of any political manoeuvring, both to receive dividends and also to skim off profits. CHOAM was held as being the key to wealth, each noble House dipping from the company's coffers whatever it could under the power of the directorships. Those CHOAM directorships — they were the real evidence of political power in the Imperium, passing with the shifts of voting strength within the Landsraad as it balanced itself against the Emperor and his supporters.

Few items escaped CHOAM's attention with them taking an interest in logs, donkeys, horses, cows, lumber, dung, sharks, to whale fur. The organisation was shown as taking an interest in the most prosaic to the most exotic.

Employees

•  :

Notes

• CHOAM was created by Frank Herbert and appeared in the Dune setting.
• The non-canon The Dune Encyclopedia (1984) claimed that CHOAM was established in 5 BG following the conclusion of the Financial Synod.

Appearances

• Dune:

External Links

• Dune Wiki Entry

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