Sandworms (Dune)
Sandworms are creatures that feature in Dune.
Contents |
History
Sandworms were giant worm-like creatures that were native to the sand covered world of Arrakis.
To better protecting harvesters, humans developed the carryall whose sole function was to deliver a factory to spice-rich sands and then to rescue the factory when a sandworm appeared at the scene.
Information Irulan supplied to Paul Atreides confirmed suspicions that the Guild was secretly attempting to capture a sandworm.
Overview
In appearance, Sandworms were colossal, worm-like creatures that inhabited sand covered worlds. To the native Fremen, they were referred to as the Shai-hulud. Significantly, this name, when referred to in a certain tone or written with capital letters, designates the earth deity of Fremen hearth superstitions. Their role in the creation of Spice led to them being referred to as a Maker.
Their skin was thick, rough, and semi-metallic. It served the simple function of armor and was comprised of many scales, each a few feet in size. These scales overlapped and interlocked to form the armor that protected it against internal sand invasion. The smell of the sandworm has been particularly documented. A strong, flinty, cinnamon smell exuded from the beast, especially from the mouth. Some said it could be smelled before seen. The presence of the spice melange was intense and so was its odor.
The main component of the sandworm's diet was sand, and other inorganic and dry components of the Arrakis crust. It is also believed they sifted the sand-plankton for nourishment. Most of the sand on Arrakis was credited to being the actions of the sandworms.
Some of the smaller specimens could reach only 110 meters long and 22 meters in diameter. However, some reliable witnesses had noted worms of more than 400 meters in length that had been recorded with reason to believe even larger ones existed. Their immense size meant that the worms could swallow harvesters with some in the deep desert being able to even consume an entire factory in a single gulp.
A deep sand vector of the Arrakis sandworm were the Little Makers that were half-plant and half-animals whose excretions formed the pre-spice mass.
They lived to great age unless slain by one of their fellows or drowned in water, which was poisonous to them.
Water was fatal to a sandworm, even in small doses. Water that entered a sandworm's body would act as catalyst to accelerate its metabolism to the point that it became unstable and its vital biological functions failed. This was a violent and presumably painful death for the sandworm. It was occasionally necessary however, since the byproduct of the sandworm/water mixture was the highly toxic poison called the Water of Life.
Sandworms of Arrakis held an important role within the human society of the Fremen. They were known by a variety of names including the Old Man of the Desert, Old Father Eternity, and as the Grandfather of the Desert. A noted mark of the Fremen were the crysknife that were blades ground ground from a sandworm’s tooth. Special Fremen known as Hookman were equipped with Maker hooks designed to latch onto the giant worms in order to ride them. Once on, the Maker hooks were used by the Fremen to help steer the giant creatures as they travelled across the desert. Those that were capable of capturing and riding a sandworm were referred to as Sandriders.
On Arrakis, only the worms were said to reside within the desert belt and south polar regions that were marked as being uninhabitable.
Notes
- The Sandworms were created by Frank Herbert where they featured in the setting of the Dune universe.
In other media
Television
Films
- In Dune, Sandworms appeared in the setting of the 1984 live-action film.
- In Dune, the Sandworms appeared in the setting of the 2021 live-action film.
- In Dune: Part Two, the Sandworms appeared once more in the setting of the 2024 live-action film sequel.
Video games
- In Emperor: Battle for Dune, Sandworms appeared in the setting of the video game where they were a threat to factions that were travelling on the sands with them randomly emerging to consume any object in their path in the various game modes. During the campaign plotline, the Bene Tleilaxu were gathering samples from dead Sandworms as part of a larger plot with the Spacing Guild using it to create a hybrid Emperor Worm to dominate the various factions.
- In Dune: Spice Wars, Sandworms appeared in the setting of the 4X real-time strategy video game developed by Shiro Games and published by Funcom.
Appearances
- Dune:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
