Editing Bene Gesserit (section)

== Powers ==

=== Other Memory === <!-- This section is the redirect destination of [[Other Memory]] -->
One of the 'powers' of a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother is her '''Other Memory''': the combined ego and memories of all her female ancestors, passed on through [[genetic memory (psychology)|genetic memory]], and thus, up to the point where each following ancestor was born and the physical contact with the mother broken. The ego/memory combination remains a distinct identity within the Reverend Mother's mind, and is able to inject itself into her awareness at appropriate or emotional moments, though the Reverend Mother's ego is always dominant. The prequel novel ''Dune: The Battle of Corrin'' by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson establishes that the first Bene Gesserit to access Other Memory had been Raquella Berto-Anirul, the founder of the order.

A Reverend Mother has access only to her female lineage in Other Memory; her [[Patrilineality|male line]] is unavailable to her, present as a dark void that terrifies her. Until the time of ''God Emperor of Dune'', the purpose of the Bene Gesserit breeding scheme is to breed a Kwisatz Haderach, a male with Other Memory who can see both lines, male and female. Male memory will be complete until moment of conception, when physical contact with the father is lost.

Reverend Mothers may also pass their own ego/memory combination to other Reverend Mothers at will, merely by touching foreheads. When a Reverend Mother dies in the presence of another Reverend Mother, the second will accept the ego/memory of the first to prevent the loss of the dying Reverend Mother's experience and ancestral memories. Especially when the Mother Superior perishes, it is important to take her ego/memory so that her plans and strategies may continue uninterrupted. This is first explored in ''Dune'', when Jessica accepts the life experience of the dying Fremen [[Reverend Mother Ramallo]]. In ''Chapterhouse Dune'', Darwi Odrade is Mother Superior, a contentious choice ratified by the fact that she was present at the previous Mother Superior's death, and has her in Other Memory; she represents the most continuous line of leadership. Under extreme conditions, a large community of Bene Gesserit will practice ''Extremis Progressiva'', a mass sharing of ego/memories with each other to spread all the ego/memories amongst everyone; thus, if one survives, they all survive.  In ''Chapterhouse Dune'', the Bene Gesserit school on [[Lampadas]], under attack by the Honored Matres, undertakes ''Extremis Progressiva''; [[Lucilla (Dune)|Lucilla]] escapes with the "Lampadas Horde", hoping to return to the Bene Gesserit with them.

[[Brian Herbert]], Frank Herbert's son and biographer, explains that the concept of Other Memory is "largely based upon the writings and teachings of [[Carl Gustav Jung]], who spoke of a '[[collective unconscious]]', that supposedly inborn set of 'contents and modes of behavior' possessed by all human beings".<ref name="Dune Afterword 879">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=Kindle |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |pages=879–880}}</ref> Frank Herbert was introduced to Jung's work by two [[Jungian]] psychologists, Ralph and Irene Slattery, and Jung's teachings ultimately had "a profound and continuing influence on [Herbert's] work".<ref name="O'Reilly C2">{{cite book|url=http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch02.html|title=Frank Herbert|first=Tim|last=O'Reilly|chapter=Chapter 2: Under Pressure|access-date=March 26, 2019}}</ref><ref name="McNelly 1969">{{cite web |title=Unpublished interview with Frank Herbert and Professor Willis E. McNelly |date=February 3, 1969 |url=http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |via=sinanvural.com |access-date=March 21, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Touponce 9–10">{{cite book|last=Touponce|year=1988|title=Frank Herbert|chapter=Life and Intellectual Background|pages=9–10|publisher=Twayne Publishers |isbn=0-8057-7514-5}}</ref>

===The Voice===
<!-- This section is the redirect destination of [[the Voice (Dune)]] and [[Voice (Dune)]] -->
Bene Gesserit are trained in what they call "the Voice" {{ndash}} a means "to control others merely by selected tone shadings of the voice".<ref name="Term Voice">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |year=1965 |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Voice, The}}</ref> By modulating the subtleties of her voice, a Bene Gesserit can issue commands on a subconscious level, compelling obedience in others that they cannot resist, whether they are consciously aware of the attempt or not. This control can be as subtle as influencing thoughts and motivations, or as strong as forcing physical actions and even temporary paralysis in the subject. The Voice may also be subtly employed in any manner of conversation, public speaking, or debate to help soothe, convince, persuade, influence, or otherwise enhance the effect of the words being spoken. To affect this, the Bene Gesserit must "register" the intended target by analyzing his or her personality and vocal patterns through observation or seemingly innocuous direct questions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |year=1965}}</ref>

Training in the Voice is independent of the Reverend Mother ritual, so people outside the order may be instructed in its use. Before the events of ''Dune'', Jessica has begun teaching it to Paul; after the Reverend Mother [[Gaius Helen Mohiam|Mohiam]] tests him in the novel, she urges Jessica to "ignore the regular order of training. His own safety requires the Voice. He already has a good start in it, but we both know how much more he needs...and that desperately."<ref name="Dune" /> Jessica herself later notes of Paul's novice attempt: "The tone, the timbre excellent – imperative, very sharp. A slightly lower pitch would have been better, but it could still fall within this man's spectrum."<ref name="Dune" />

The Voice is useless against targets who cannot hear the speaker; both Baron Harkonnen in ''Dune'' and [[House Corrino]] in ''Children of Dune'' employ deaf people to guard Jessica, knowing that she cannot control them via the Voice.<ref name="Dune"/> Being a manipulation of the target's subconscious mind, the Voice is of limited utility against an extremely disciplined mind, such as a Reverend Mother or a strong [[Mentat]]; if the target understands what the Voice is and how it works, and is aware that it is being used, he may resist it. One trained in the use of the Voice may easily detect its use by others, even subtly. In ''Dune Messiah'', Paul trains some guards to resist the Voice so that he may imprison Bene Gesserit. By the time of ''Children of Dune'', [[Gurney Halleck]] has also been trained by Jessica to resist the Voice completely.

In ''Heretics of Dune'', Reverend Mother Odrade explains to [[Sheeana]] that planetary populations exposed to long-term Voice control learn ways to adapt to it, and can no longer be manipulated. This is why the [[Honored Matres]] have been driven back into the Old Empire; over-controlling, they have built up both resistance and rebellion, and are now on the run from their former subjects.

The prequel ''Dune: The Battle of Corrin'' establishes that the first Bene Gesserit to use the Voice is Raquella Berto-Anirul, the founder of the order. The continuity of the TV series ''[[Dune: Prophecy]]'' depicts the Voice as the invention of Raquella's protégée, [[Valya Harkonnen]].

=== Acute observation and Truthsay ===
<!-- This section is the redirect destination for [[Truthsayer]], [[Truthsayers]], [[Truthsay]], and [[Truthsaying]] -->
Bene Gesserit are trained in "the minutiae of observation", noticing details that the common person would miss in the people and environment around them. When combined with their analytical abilities, this "hyperawareness" enables the Bene Gesserit to divine secrets and arrive at conclusions that are invisible to everyone else. Slight differences in air currents or the design of a room might allow a Bene Gesserit to detect hidden portals and spyholes; minute variations in a person's vocal inflection and [[body language]] allow a Bene Gesserit to deeply understand a person's emotional state, and manipulate it. Knowing that any schooling impresses a particular pattern in its students, they are able to use these clues to predict and anticipate actions. The Bene Gesserit can easily determine a person's origins and root language by analyzing their speech patterns, cadence, and pacing, as Jessica does when she realizes that a visiting [[Spacing Guild]] banker is a [[House Harkonnen|Harkonnen]] agent.<ref name="Dune"/>

Bene Gesserit specifically trained as '''Truthsayers''' are able to determine whether someone is lying by analyzing their speech, body language, and physical signs like pulse and [[heart rate]]. In principle, all humans have such perception, but extensive training is required to develop this latent talent to the point of great usefulness. Truthsayers are used widely in politics and trade; the Padishah Emperors are never without one. Combined with the Voice, Truthsay is also useful for interrogation and torture.

=== Simulflow ===
Bene Gesserit also practice ''simulflow'', the flow of several threads of consciousness at once—mental multitasking, as it were. The combination of simulflow with their analytical abilities and Other Memory are responsible for the frightening intelligence of the average Bene Gesserit, though this ability is less powerful than the analytical abilities of a [[Mentat]]. This simulflow can also be held with Other Memory; Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade practiced both forms in ''Heretics of Dune''.

=== {{anchor|Prana-bindu training and the weirding way}}''Prana-bindu'' training and the "weirding way" ===
The Bene Gesserit develop their physical abilities as well as their mental abilities. A trained Sister has full control over each muscle in her body through training known as '''''prana-bindu'''''. This allows her to bend the last joint in her little toe while remaining otherwise motionless, bend and contort her body in ways that most would consider impossible, or put a remarkable amount of force behind a physical blow. The mental part of ''prana-bindu'', or ''prana-nervature'' (''prana'' stands for breath, ''bindu'' stands for musculature) is the precise control of the totality of nerves in the human body. In ''Dune'', Reverend Mother Mohiam tests Paul with a [[nerve induction]] device ("the box") that causes the sensation of intense pain. Paul learns that he is not the only one to have tried it, but is perhaps specially resistant; this conversation points to a widespread use of it as a tool among the Bene Gesserit to measure self control, nerve control, and as Mohiam puts it, crisis and observation.

Unarmed attacks are part of a specialized Bene Gesserit martial art which incorporates the ''prana-bindu'' methods of optimized muscle control. These enable one to deliver powerful blows and to move with extreme precision and speed. The basic principle behind it is that, as [[Farad'n]] of [[House Corrino]] says, "My mind affects my reality." A practitioner of the art has to know that the action he or she "wants" to perform has already been performed. For example, to imagine oneself behind an opponent at the current moment in time; when trained well, this knowledge will place you at the spot desired. To anyone witnessing, it almost appears as though the combatant has teleported.

The [[Fremen]] refer to this fighting ability as the "'''weirding way'''". In ''Dune'', the Fremen use the word "weirding" instead of "Bene Gesserit", calling Jessica a "weirding woman" and noting "he has the weirding voice" when Paul wields this power.

=== Internal organic-chemical control ===
Just as the ''prana-bindu'' allows the Bene Gesserit to precisely control each muscle and nerve, they also have complete conscious control over the functions of their internal organs and body chemistry.  A Sister can completely control her breathing and heart rate to the degree that she can appear dead to most tests even after intense physical exertion. They can control their need for food and water to the extremes of hunger and thirst, and even commit suicide at will by simply stopping their hearts or shutting down their brains. The Bene Gesserit are therefore immune to poisons, as they can simply change the chemical makeup of any harmful substance in their body and render it harmless. It is hinted that should a Bene Gesserit wish to, she could slow her aging process dramatically, controlling every aspect of her metabolism. It is suggested that a Sister would never attempt this, as it might call attention to the Sisterhood and reveal too much of their abilities. In ''[[Children of Dune]]'', Jessica realizes that her daughter Alia has done this, which is her first sign that her daughter is sinking into [[#Abomination|Abomination]].<ref name="Children">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |date=1976 |title=[[Children of Dune]] |publisher=Berkley Publishing Corporation |isbn=0-399-11697-4}}</ref>

One of the most significant biological abilities of the Bene Gesserit is their control of their own [[menstrual cycle]]s, and their ability to control (at conception) their child's sex. Jessica was ordered to bear only daughters to the Atreides, but defied her Bene Gesserit sisters (out of her love for the Duke) and had a son, Paul Atreides. The Bene Gesserit conspired against the Padishah Emperor [[Shaddam IV]]'s desire to have a male heir and instructed his Bene Gesserit wife to give him only daughters, such as [[Princess Irulan]].

=== Sexual talents ===
The Bene Gesserit are notable for their extensive skill in seduction, sex and [[sexual imprinting]]. The most talented and most highly trained are known as '''Imprinters'''. Men in a position of power or future power, or those with specific qualities that the order wishes to incorporate into their breeding program, are typical targets of a Bene Gesserit imprinter. Men seduced by an imprinter are permanently affected (imprinted) by the intense sexual experience and are thereafter consciously or subconsciously favorable to the Sisterhood. An imprinter can be successfully resisted if the subject has been psychologically conditioned to do so, and the subject's automatic defensive response may even be entirely subconscious.

In ''Dune'', [[Margot Fenring|Lady Fenring]] is instructed by the Bene Gesserit to seduce [[Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen]] in order to "preserve the bloodline" by retrieving his [[genetic material]] through conception. She also intends to "plant deep in his deepest self the necessary prana-bindu phrases to bend him", which she later refers to as the "Hypno-[[wikt:Special:Search/ligation|ligation]] of that Feyd-Rautha's psyche". When Paul later fights Feyd to the death, Jessica advises her son to temporarily stun him using the word-sound ''Uroshnor'', typically implanted in a dangerous person who has been prepared by the Bene Gesserit. Paul, however, refuses to use this advantage.

In ''Heretics of Dune'', Reverend Mother and Imprinter Lucilla is charged with the seduction-imprinting of the [[Duncan Idaho]] [[ghola]] so that the Sisterhood may assert some control over him; he ultimately avoids her. Lucilla also mentions the hundreds of sexual positions and variations she knows. In ''Heretics'', the [[Honored Matres]] have themselves refined this ability to such an intense level that the targeted male becomes completely enslaved. The captured Honored Matre [[Murbella]] attempts this on Duncan; his own imprinting ability, secretly conditioned into him by his [[Tleilaxu]] creators, suddenly manifests itself. Murbella and Duncan imprint each other, neither having complete control over the other. In ''Chapterhouse Dune'' the order has learned the Honored Matre method from Murbella and use it for their own purposes, specifically to awaken the memories within the [[Miles Teg]] ghola.