Terraforming in the Novel “Dune”
In Frank Herbert’s novel Dune, terraforming is a central plot point. Though the book does bring up some of the moral dilemmas that face the issue it does not explain a terraforming process that would work as advertised in the book. Paul’s (our protagonist’s) plan to terraform Dune involves nothing more than planting grasses and shrubs on the dunes of Arrakis. In reality, terraforming a planet like Arrakis would take much more work than just replanting.
To understand the reasons for and against terraforming Arrakis, you need to understand the context. Dune starts with some information and background on Paul’s father, Leto, then the ruler of House Atreides and how he came to posses the planet Arrakis, the setting for most of the book. Leto was actually given Arrakis as part of a plot to kill him. The Emperor hides his assault by using the Harkonnens to launch the actual attack; House Harkonnen and Astreides have been feuding for years. Leto is killed, but Jessica, his lover, escapes with his son, Paul. Jessica is one of the Bene Gesserit, a sisterhood of religious zealots who use genetic modification and breeding to create what they view as superior humans. Living as one of the Fremen, the natives of Arrakis, Paul trains his mind and body. Throughout the book, his actions are dictated by his lawful need to kill Harkonnen in order to avenge his father. During his time with the Fremen Paul learns of their desire to turn their planet into a lush green paradise, the opposite of the waterless sandy desert it is. Unfortunately, if the deserts leave then the sand worms will die out. This is significant because the sand worms produce the drug melange, commonly known as “spice” which enhances the mental abilities of the user. The Spacing Guild, which controls all space trade, requires spice in order to navigate space-time at faster than light speeds. This makes spice so valuable that Arrakis, the only planet that produces spice, is the most valuable planet in the galaxy. For this reason the emperor and the monopoly that controls all space trade are afraid of Paul terraforming the planet. It is this leverage that Paul uses to eventually become emperor.
The ethics of terraforming the planet Arrakis are another issue with the idea of turning the planet into a lush paradise. The spice trade makes it complex, but when you think about the indigenous sand worms, plants and other animals the decision becomes even less clear. If the Fremen and Paul terraform the planet they will be irreversibly changing its ecosystem and obliterating the native species. Even beyond the natural environment, Fremen culture is centered on the desert and their desire for greener lands will be their culture’s undoing (Dune 424). This is exacerbated by their view of water as analogous to life and as an irreplaceable object of value, “All of man’s water, ultimately, belongs to his people – to his tribe” (Dune 453). The Fremen owe their entire culture and way of thought to the desert that they wish to destroy.
Ethical reasons are not the only ones to stand in the way of the Fremen and Paul terraforming Arrakis. The logistics of creating a lush green paradise on a planet so barren that only the most conditioned, water-preserving beings in the galaxy can survive are almost laughably impossibly complex. Replanting is possible to do on Earth, but even then it must be meticulously kept in order for the sand to not blow over the new foliage. The book states that it will take at least “350 years before it [the planted forest] can be self sustaining” (Dune Appendix 1). For fauna to be introduced it is concluded that they must cover at least three percent of the planet before photosynthesis will start producing enough oxygen for the larger insects to survive. While it is true that adding forest will increase the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, one must consider that the planet Arrakis has not had any meaningful photosynthesis in even the distant past. Given this, it is unlikely that, given the relatively meager amount of oxygen each square kilometer of forest creates (Canada ENR) compared to the size of the atmosphere, there would be enough oxygen to support any insects at all even after hundreds of years with three percent of the planet forested. All of the ideas that are proposed are good, but the logistics would be far too complex and the human resources required too much. Another problem with the plan is that sand contains little to no nutrients, making it necessary to first grow grasses that can survive the lack of nutrients in order to create a layer of organic soil (Canada ENR). While this is possible, it pushes the book’s estimation of 500 years total time back to a few thousand years at best.
The terraforming of Arrakis is, while hypothetically possible, not very well explained, or thought out in the book. Arrakis lacks water and organic soil, two things vital for forest and plants in general. The human resources required are also fantastically huge. These problems are overcome, but not in ways that would actually work on any scale but a geological one, and the plan would be completely foiled without an army of people planting and taking care of the forest.
Works Cited:
Canada Environment and Natural Resources. “Our Forests” http://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/_live/pages/wpPages/Home.aspx
Herbert, Frank. Dune. 1965. New York: Berkeley, 1977.
