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Aspects of the Gaia Hypothesis in Frank Herbert's Dune

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Aspects of the Gaia Hypothesis in Frank Herbert's Dune Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Petr Bělohrad Aspects of the Gaia Hypothesis in Frank Herbert’s Dune Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Smith, M.A., Ph. D. 2016 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Table of Contents 1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 2 Dune in literary context .................................................................... 4 2.1 Science fiction’s hidden potential ................................................................................... 4 2.2 Story of Dune .................................................................................................................... 7 2.3 Significance of Dune ........................................................................................................ 9 3 Lovelock’s alternative ...................................................................... 16 3.1 Birth of Gaia .................................................................................................................... 16 3.2 Of planets and daisies ................................................................................................... 19 4 Dune as a Gaian planet .................................................................... 21 4.1 Self-sustainability of a desert ....................................................................................... 21 4.2 Planetary house of cards ............................................................................................... 29 4.3 Struggle for perfection .................................................................................................. 33 5 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 37 Works Cited ............................................................................................ 39 Summary .............................................................................................. 42 Resumé ................................................................................................ 43 1 Introduction The reason I decided to write about this topic is that Dune, a novel by an American science fiction author Frank Herbert, will always have a special place in my heart. With his narrative following an educational route instead of cheap sensationalism, Herbert challenged literary conventions of contemporary science fiction. Dune, among other sources, made me aware of the present ecological issues and Earth’s climatic change. In this thesis I will aim to analyze Herbert’s Dune, identify important ecological ideas and then compare them to a rather controversial theory in a field of ecology – the Gaia hypothesis. Like generations upon generations of science fiction enthusiasts, I also fell in love with Herbert’s critically acclaimed story about the desert planet Arrakis, betrayal and revenge, grand battles, intrigue, politics and the mysterious sandworms. First published in 1965, Dune became one of the best- selling science fiction novels and new editions are still being published to this day, which serves as a proof of its timelessness. The novel was followed by five sequels, of which none was as successful as the first installment of the series. After Frank Herbert’s death, his son Brian followed in his father’s footsteps and, together with Kevin J. Anderson, expanded the Dune universe with prequels and side stories. Herbert addressed many topics in Dune, the most memorable of which, although not intentionally, was ecology. After years’ worth of research, he created a complex world with its own biomes, ecosystems, memorable characters, traditions and languages inspired by the real world cultures. Arrakis 1 is a fully fledged and functional planet and in many respects comparable to the Earth. Even though Arrakis is almost completely covered in sand with a little to no biodiversity, it is still a life-bearing planet. That is possible thanks to a complex Gaian system, which keeps the planet alive. The Gaia hypothesis, a brainchild of the British chemist James Lovelock, postulates that the living conditions on the Earth are being sustained by the life itself and compares Earth to a self-sustaining superorganism controlled by cybernetic systems. This hypothesis was quickly dismissed by the scientific community as a pseudo-esoteric “New Age” theory that has nothing to do with serious science. While certainly controversial, the Gaia hypothesis offers a different point of view from which to look on the life on Earth or Arrakis. Even though Lovelock and Herbert most likely never met in person (or at least I did not find any mention of it during my research) and Dune actually predates Lovelock’s first book on Gaia, the similarity of Gaia to Arrakis is, I believe, not coincidental. Bruce Clark used Dune as an example of a Gaian planet in Earth, Life, and System and discussed how it is perceived in its universe. Additionally, Lovelock admits that his work was inspired by research of other like-minded scientists that preceded him, the oldest one dating back to 1785 (Lovelock, Gaia 18). Herbert’s research into the Earth’s ecosystems might have lead him to some of these works. This thesis is divided into three distinct chapters. The first chapter called “Dune in literary context” provides some insight into the history of “serious science fiction” from its roots in 1920s magazines to the “New Wave” of the 2 1950s and 1960s. Additionally it offers a brief story synopsis of Dune – necessary for a full comprehension of the discussion in the third chapter – and an overview of the most important themes that can be found in the novel. The second chapter labeled “Lovelock’s alternative” describes the Gaia theory and the process of its evolution from a rather esoteric concept, often mistaken for a religion, to a passable scientific theory. It also includes a short passage about Daisyworld – a computer model of an ideal Gaian planet. The third chapter, “Dune as a Gaian planet”, uses Lovelock’s three-point definition of Gaia as a guideline and compares Dune’s systems and properties to those of Gaia as described by Lovelock with the emphasis on cybernetics of Dune and the processes of a planetary self-sustainability. This thesis uses a comparative analysis of Lovelock’s Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth and Herbert’s Dune, with occasional addition of other relevant sources. The majority of the resources are in electronic format, usually as PDF files or Kindle editions of books. Because I own only the first three books of the original Dune series (as the printed English copies are very hard to get in Czech Republic), any additional story information beyond Children of Dune provided in this thesis comes from the Dune Wikia (listed in the works cited), which is an internet encyclopedia of the Dune universe maintained by the community of fans and book enthusiasts. 3 2 Dune in literary context Science fiction is still relatively young genre with almost unlimited creative potential. For a long time, science fiction was considered to be an uninteresting literature full of childish fantasies and cheap thrills as many authors and readers did not realize to what ends this genre could be used. Indeed, the first science fiction stories originated from Victorian gothic fiction and mystery stories featured in shilling shockers and similar magazines. Early works of science fiction could be divided into three categories as follows: space operas full of dashing heroes, deep space adventures and tales of romance; invasion stories pitting mankind against invaders both sentient and unintelligent; and science stories about time travel, robots and experiments going amiss. 2.1 Science fiction’s hidden potential Up until 1920s, science fiction received little to no recognition as a separate genre. It was seen as a part of various other genres depending on the ratio of violence, mystery or adventure in the individual stories. Then, in 1926, the first issue of a magazine called Amazing Stories marked the rise of science fiction as a distinct genre with its own readership and fan base. Amazing Stories was the very first magazine dedicated entirely to science fiction published under the editorship of Hugo Gernsback. He preferred the scientifically plausible science fiction, which, as he admits in the editorial of the first issue of Amazing Stories, had certain educational potential: 4 [Amazing tales] supply knowledge that we might not otherwise obtain – and they supply it in very palatable form. […] the best of these modern writers of scientifiction [Gernsback’s name for science fiction] have the knack of imparting knowledge […] without once making us aware that we are being taught. (3) Gernsback’s magazine attracted a sizable community of science fiction enthusiasts, writers and readers alike, who were able to exchange ideas and discuss printed stories. This was being done in the discussion sections of the Amazing Stories. There, letters from readers would be printed, including names and cities of residence, so the readers could form localized groups and clubs. Argument can be made that science fiction’s fans would have eventually gathered on their own. That may be true, but, as Gary Westfahl points out, Gernsback considerably hastened this process (274). It is because of this and his other
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