Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi masterpiece, Dune is being adapted for a third time by acclaimed filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. Set to release October 1, 2021, in theaters and on HBO Max, Dune's world is a complex web of vying political powers.
One of the most important and commonly misunderstood factions is the Sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit.
The Sisterhood's Origins
The Sisterhood was founded around a time of terrible turmoil for humanity called the Butlerian Jihad. During this crusade, humanity waged a war against all "thinking machines" to end their dependence and subjugation to increasingly advanced artificial intelligences. After succeeding in ridding the human race of any computational device, humans needed to acquire new skills to compensate for areas they had relied on machines for. One of these new schools of thought was the Bene Gesserit — an all-female organization who honed their bodies and minds to superhuman levels, using their talents to enact a plan thousands of years in the making.
Their Hidden Purpose
The Sisterhood keeps their true intents and goals incredibly secretive. Even other cells of the Bene Gesserit don't know the full picture, only their particular role in the Sisterhood's schemes. But every member knows the Bene Gesserit's true aims: the continued survival and enlightenment of the human race. At their founding, the Sisterhood saw how perilous the future would be and decided they should be the guiding hand.
Feared and Misunderstood
Their secrecy and the hidden depths of their talents lead them to be the subject of many rumors and superstitions. Often called "witches" in a derogatory sense, this aura of mystery serves their purposes perfectly. They prefer to remain shrouded in rumors and false truths, so long as they are never viewed as so large a threat that the Emperor should have cause to wipe them out. Many think their political, religious and evolutionary machinations hide some sinister intent. Later novels in the series let the Bene Gesserit be the protagonists and reveal they are more sympathetic than initially conveyed.
Indispensable Advisers
The most public way the Bene Gesserit interact with the universe is by serving as counsel for noble houses. Among their order are special sisters trained as Truthsayers, their powers of human perception so keenly heightened they can discern truth from lies. They do this simply by measuring body language, speech, perspiration, heart rate and any other manner a human may betray their inner thoughts. The Emperor is never without his Truthsayer. This talent, combined with the Sisterhood's use of the Voice, makes them fearsome interrogators or torturers.
The Voice
The most well-known power that the Bene Gesserit possess and others fear is the Voice — a form of powerful mind control. As part of the mastery of their bodies, a sister can pitch or bend her voice to a frequency that sends subconscious commands to the listener. The Voice can be used subtly to influence emotions, thoughts and motivations. But more impressively, those sisters particularly gifted with the Voice can force a human to take immediate physical action or induce temporary paralysis. Much of the superstition around them stems from fear of their influencing Voice.
The Weirding Way
The Voice is merely one part of their many talents. Their complete mind-body control is sometimes called the Weirding Way. A Bene Gesserit has complete awareness and control of every bone, muscle and nerve in their body. The Sisterhood has developed their own martial art, making them terrifying combatants.
Their mental disciplines are designed to control the swarm of emotions that could threaten the ability to make clear decisions. This training is the source of the famous "Litany Against Fear," which is quoted by numerous characters in the series as a means to find calm in the face of danger. Their internal body chemistry can be altered at will, making them nearly immune to poison and able to choose the gender of their children at conception.
Reverend Mothers
The most powerful of the Bene Gesserit order are those who have achieved the rank of Reverend Mother. To become one of the Sisterhood's leading members requires undergoing a potentially lethal test called the Spice Agony. The acolyte ingests a poison derived from the Spice called the Water of Life. They enter a trance and must chemically alter the poison into a benign drug or die. Those who succeed endure unbelievable pain which unlocks a hidden talent — Other Memory.
A Reverend Mother has complete genetic memory of every ancestor along their matrilineal lines. When a Reverend Mother nears death, they may also psychically transfer their personal memories to their successor, preventing any interruptions in the Sisterhood's plans. This reservoir of internal lifetimes gives them incredible insight and helps ensure the Bene Gesserit do not stray from their mission.
Missionaria Protectiva
In addition to their overt political machinations, the Sisterhood considers themselves master manipulators of religion. Realizing that faith is a powerful weapon, the Bene Gesserit have an entire wing of their operations designed to spread and quell religious beliefs and superstitions as they think best benefits their designs. Chiefly, the Sisterhood uses this program to insert themselves into the legends and histories of many societies, placing themselves as holy figures to ensure their protection. They also use their religious engineering to help subconsciously prepare the human race for the fruition of their dreams and the end goal of their millennia-spanning breeding program.
Breeding Program
The Bene Gesserit breeding program is an open secret in the Imperium, though no one among the noble houses suspects its true purpose. Since its founding, the Sisterhood has controlled the genetic advancement of the human race, charting lineages with desirable genetic traits and mating their sisters to individuals to accentuate or perpetuate them. The Sisterhood uses their incredible mind-body control as a form of nearly irresistible seduction — another cause for their perceived devious nature. Many sisters marry into noble houses or serve as concubines and follow strict orders from their superiors of when to conceive and what gender the child should be. All of this is aimed to produce their ultimate tool to safeguard humanity: The Kwisatz Haderach.
The Kwisatz Haderach
Translating to "the Shortening of the Way", the Kwisatz Haderach is the end result of their millennia of planning. An engineered prophet, the Sisterhood hopes that the Kwisatz Haderach will have full genetic memories from both maternal and paternal lines. They also hope that the Kwisatz Haderach would develop full prescience, beyond that which the Guild Navigators use to chart space — someone capable of fully predicting the future.
The Kwisatz Haderach is meant to be the Sisterhood's ultimate tool of control; a messiah whose every decision would be guided by their hand to ensure the continued survival of humanity. At the start of the first novel, the Sisterhood believed they were one generation away from achieving their aims, were it not for their acolyte Lady Jessica who gave birth to a son, Paul Atreides, instead of the daughter she was commanded. The Bene Gesserit rightfully fear that Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach arrived a generation too soon and is beyond their control.