Frank Herbert's Dune is a web of politics and intrigue, filled with a multitude of factions vying for their bit of control over the titular desert world, also known as Arrakis, and its precious Spice. The upcoming adaptation from Denis Villeneuve looks to be a detailed adaptation of the source material, and so one of the most important factions in the film is sure to be the Spacing Guild.

Simply put, the Spacing Guild has a complete monopoly on all interstellar travel in the Dune universe. This is due to the unique circumstances of Dune's history that make the Guild a necessary evil. The Guild meddles in the affairs of every great noble house and has a particular obsession with the smooth operation of Dune's Spice mining.

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Ten thousand years before the events of the first Dune novel, a cataclysmic event called the Butlerian Jihad occured. During this period of time, humanity had advanced technologically enough to create incredible "thinking machines." The resultant artificial intelligences turned on their creators, seeking to destroy them.

As a result of the Butlerian Jihad, all forms of mechanical computing became anathema to the point that humanity's new bible added a commandment: "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind." This meant humanity had to develop new skills to fill the gaps caused by losing thinking machines.

The Spacing Guild sprang from the ashes of the Butlerian Jihad as one of the major groups to help humanity survive. Since thinking machines were banned, there were no navicomputers, like in Star Wars and other sci-fi, to provide some kind of guidance in space. However, this didn't stop humanity from attempting interstellar travel.

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The Guild at first specialized in pure mathematics, using ships called Spacefolders to travel faster than light. However, under the limited mechanical restraints of the Great Convention, the Guild had no computers to calculate safe routes through space. This meant travel was exceedingly dangerous and many ships were destroyed as they smashed into planets. suns or other gravitational hazards.

This all changed with the discovery of the Spice Melange on the desert world of Arrakis. The Spice, among its many other attributes, has the potential to unlock psychic powers in those who ingest it. The Spacing Guild soon learned the consumption of massive quantities of Spice allowed the organization to travel safely through the universe.

Those who ingested enough spice were able, with training, to become Guild Navigators. Navigators are capable of using their prescient abilities to literally see visions of the safest path to their destination. With Guild Navigators helming every Spacefolder, humanity's reach extended tremendously. But this discovery came at a tremendous cost to the Guild Navigators.

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To become a Guild Navigator, in addition to having the genetic predisposition to psychic powers, one must constantly inhale an orange gas of distilled Spice. Spice is a tremendously valuable commodity, so their consumption goes beyond that of any other human. This prolonged exposure to Spice mutates them into hideous beings that can barely be considered human. While they are able to chart the stars with their minds, Navigators are forever separated from the species they once belonged to.

By the time of the first Dune book, the Spacing Guild has a complete stranglehold on interstellar travel, nothing can move on or off a planet without its knowing. Smuggling and piracy still exist, but only because the smart ones know to pay the Spacing Guild its share of the spoils. The Guild is wholly dependent on the continuing flow of Spice and will broker a deal with anyone who can ensure its steady supply.

This makes the Spacing Guild constant meddlers in the politics of Dune, and the group engages in an active conspiracy against House Atreides, though Paul Atreides ascent to power ends up costing the organization dearly. The Spacing Guild likes to remain out of the spotlight, but it's one of the most powerful political forces in the setting of Dune.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve from a script he co-wrote with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts, Dune stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Chang Chen as Dr. Wellington Yueh, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Dr. Liet Kynes, Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Dave Bautista Glossu Rabban, David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Stephen Henderson as Thufir Hawat and Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck. The film arrives in theaters Oct. 1, 2021.

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