Navigators of Dune: Book Three of the Schools of Dune Trilogy: 10

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A Guild Navigator participated in a conspiracy to assassinate Paul some twelve years after he became Emperor. The Navigator was primarily used to shield the conspiracy from Paul and those others who had prescient abilities. Though the navigators get rarely seen, there are few cases where their original physical form got seen. The excess Melange intake by the Guild Navigators causes a biological mutation in them. The Guild Navigators had to be in tanks pumping Spice gas to stay alive. Because of overdependence, a Guild Navigator becomes practically useless when they get cut off from their never-ending Melange supply. In Chapterhouse Dune (1985), a "very powerful" Navigator is described as "one of the Edrics," suggesting a possible breeding plan or use of a series of ghola based Edric clones.

The Emperor’s ceremonial barge orbited high above Salusa Secundus, in the midst of huge, ominous warships. Its interior glittered with gold and precious gems; its flashy hull was sculpted with curves and adornments that served no purpose. By far the most ostentatious vessel in the fleet, the barge was a stunning sight to those who were easily swayed by such things. Salvador had adored it. Frustration welled up in him. While the Emperor wasted time and resources trying to retaliate against him, the fanatical Butlerians were running rampant, erasing the progress that Josef had achieved at such a dear cost. Cymeks had once been the scourge of humanity—disembodied human brains mounted inside armored machine bodies. The original cymeks had been destroyed at the end of Serena Butler’s jihad, but Josef’s brilliant scientists had redesigned and re-created them. Rather than being guided by fallible, power-hungry minds, these new cymeks were controlled by the evolved brains of failed Navigators. Now the mechanical guardians patrolled the area around the Kolhar headquarters, their pistons pumping and sensors alert for any threat. New problems for the Spacing Guild were created by the ascendancy of Leto Atreides II to the title of God Emperor. Leto's extremely long lifespan, coupled with his decision to realize the Golden Path strategy, saw him hoard the Spice Melange with no concern for short-term problems. Kapalka, Jason (September 2001). "The Emperor Has No Clue ( Emperor: Battle for Dune Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No.206. Ziff Davis. pp.86–87, 109–115 . Retrieved April 26, 2022.You’re right.” He shook his head. “I seem to find ways to blame that man for everything… when he is really only responsible for half of my problems.” I know we will. We have advanced weapons and defenses that the rest of the Imperium can’t even imagine.” Her lips quirked in a smile. “Defenses that are sure to give nightmares to Manford Torondo and his Butlerians.” You’re right.” He shook his head. “I seem to find ways to blame that man for everything … when he is really only responsible for half of my problems.” Guild Navigators were responsible for guiding space-faring ships ( spacefolders) through the mine-field of gravitational obstacles that lay between a source and a planetary or spatial target. They accomplished this feat by using prescient abilities brought on by excessive exposure to the Spice Melange. The navigators would either inhale massive amounts of orange spice gas or swallow spice pills, which would afford them the ability to see across vast distances of space, and importantly, into the near future, though spacefolding travel allowed through the application of the Holtzman Effect resulted in the loss of a ship roughly one in every ten journeys. A Navigator's keen senses would be able to plot safe courses for ships across vast distances of space by presciently determining unsafe routes, before a fold actually takes place, via prescience.

Cymeks had once been the scourge of humanity—disembodied human brains mounted inside armored machine bodies. The original cymeks had been destroyed at the end of Serena Butler’s jihad, but Josef’s brilliant scientists had redesigned and re-created them. Rather than being guided by fallible, power-hungry minds, these new cymeks were controlled by the evolved brains of Navigator candidates. Now the mechanical guardians patrolled the area around the Kolhar headquarters, their pistons pumping and sensors alert for any threat. Draigo Roget, Josef Venport’s leading Mentat, arrived in a fast VenHold warship covered with stealth armor so it would remain unnoticed by Butlerian orbital patrols. With its integrated weaponry, this small vessel was capable of destroying a dozen of the old-model Jihad warships used by the fanatics.Dingo, Star (June 21, 2001). " Emperor: Battle For Dune Review for PC". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 5, 2004 . Retrieved April 26, 2022. Josef responded with a smile of his own. Together, they watched three mechanical figures patrolling the spaceport perimeter—spiderlike cymek walkers taller than many of the buildings, fresh deliveries from his secret weapons laboratory on Denali.

Herbert, Brian; Anderson, Kevin J. (2007). Sandworms of Dune. Tor Books. p. 180. ISBN 0-7653-1293-X. Navigator Tanks: Navigator Tanks are large anti-gravitation tanks used to protect the prescience of Guild Navigators by constantly pumping them Spice gas. Navigators get placed into the tanks at the beginning of their training as elite Guildsmen. The General scowled, obviously disgusted. “When I think of all the Directeur’s dealings—a monopoly on safe foldspace travel, his secret Navigators, the spice industry on Arrakis, his banking operations across the Imperium… no one man should control so much power, and—” Her direct physical senses were deadened, and Norma no longer cared about taste, touch, or smell. She found it remarkable to see webbing between her fingers and toes. Her face, once blunt-featured and later flawless, now had a small mouth and tiny eyes surrounded by smooth folds. Her head was immense, while the rest of her body atrophied to a useless appendage.I will choose my allies as best they suit me, but God has chosen my enemy—the enemy of all humankind. God Himself is my staunchest defender. Why do I need you? His demands are obvious to me. Venport wants to do whatever he likes. After killing an Emperor with impunity, he wants me to be a figurehead ruler while the tentacles of his commercial empire expand everywhere. He also wants me to eradicate the Butlerian fanatics.” His thoughts whirled. Something that Salvador could never do. Another Imperial necessity was for him to bring justice to Directeur Josef Venport, the man who had engineered Salvador’s assassination. His warships were gathering. Heighliner: A Heighliner is a starship used by the Spacing Guild to transport people and objects across the vast expanse of space.

Josef had told himself the same thing many times, but he refused to relax. “Overconfidence is a greater weakness than fear and worry. We need to stay vigilant until we ride out this crisis.”The core of Dune remains the original series started by Frank Herbert in 1965. Herbert wrote six novels before his death in 1986: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. The first book establishes the competing factions of the intergalactic conflict, set thousands of years in the future, over the priceless spice melange on the planet Arrakis. It is also the story of the rise of Paul Atreides to the imperial throne. Paul struggles with his power in Dune Messiah, ultimately bequeathing it to his twin heirs. The pair of them, particularly Leto II Atreides, come into their own in Children of Dune. Before fan pressure convinced Herbert otherwise, this was the intended end of the series. Guild Navigators effectively replace Navigational computers used in the days of old. During The Butlerian Jihad, all " thinking machines" were gathered and destroyed, with a commandment against their usage, "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind". Instead humanity now relies on Navigators and their prescient abilities to determine safe routes throughout the cosmos.