Face Dancer
the shape changers
Face Dancers were a sterile race of metamorphic transhumans engineered by the Bene Tleilax in their axolotl tanks. Able to replicate the form, voice, and personality of any human, they served as entertainers, spies, and assassins, and in their final refined breed became weapons of conquest.
Face Dancers were a sterile race of metamorphic transhumans engineered by the Bene Tleilax. Born from the axolotl tanks and unable to breed on their own, their standing in Tleilaxu society fell below that of the child-like Master, yet their fluent command of both form and personality made them sought after for countless offworld roles, especially entertainment, with a minority serving as spies and assassins. (Dune Messiah; Heretics of Dune)
Nature and abilities#
Tleilaxu Face Dancers could reshape their bodies to copy the appearance, voice, and manner of another person, male or female. In Dune Messiah the Face Dancer Scytale takes on several faces, including that of the Fremen girl Lichna, and later uses it to deceive Paul himself. (Dune Messiah)
Their default communal forms were those of two small men as alike as twins, with almost chinless round faces, pug noses, tiny mouths, black button eyes, and short-cropped white hair standing up like the bristles of a brush. Their psychology was marked by a lack of self-identity; they were more akin to hive creatures, with no apparent ethical code beyond preserving their own lives unless ordered to die for their Masters. This did not make them thoughtless drones, for they possessed sharp intellect, cunning theatrics, genuine emotional reactions, and an awareness of social consequence. In Dune Messiah, Scytale holds to a Face Dancer code that a victim must always be given some way out, however obscure. (Heretics of Dune; Dune Messiah)
In Tleilaxu service#
The Bene Tleilax often used Face Dancers to infiltrate powindah organizations and governments, where some of these impostors operated successfully for many years, mimicking individuals to an almost perfect level of precision. They were not, however, infallible. By the time of Heretics of Dune, experienced Reverend Mothers could detect a mimic by its scent and by other physical giveaways, a flaw that worked to the advantage of the Bene Gesserit. (Heretics of Dune)
The refined breed and its undoing#
During the turbulent centuries between the Scattering and the arrival of the Honored Matres, Tleilaxu ingenuity refined the Face Dancers to such a degree that even the Bene Gesserit struggled to identify them. These new mimics could absorb memories through physical contact, even from the recently deceased, so that any individual could be replicated with perfect accuracy down to their most personal secrets. This powerful breed was orchestrated by the ruling council of Masheikhs to conquer the Old Empire from within and convert every world to the Zensufi faith, the Great Belief. (Heretics of Dune)
The design carried a fatal flaw. If such a Face Dancer acted as a specific person for long enough, it would grow delusional and come to believe it truly was that individual. With its former loyalties nullified by its stolen psyche, it fell outside Bene Tleilax control. Numerous mimics, among them the impostor of Hedley Tuek, were lost in this way, undoing the Tleilaxu plans of religious tyranny from within. (Heretics of Dune)
Frequently asked questions
- What were Face Dancers in Dune?
- Face Dancers were a sterile race of metamorphic transhumans engineered by the Bene Tleilax in their axolotl tanks. Unable to breed on their own, they were sought after for offworld roles, especially entertainment, with a minority serving as spies and assassins.
- What abilities did Face Dancers have?
- Face Dancers could reshape their flesh to copy the appearance, voice, and manner of another person, male or female. In Dune Messiah the Face Dancer Scytale wears several faces, including that of the Fremen girl Lichna.
- How could Face Dancers be detected?
- Reverend Mothers could detect older Face Dancers by their scent and by other physical giveaways, which the Bene Gesserit used to their advantage.
- How were the refined Face Dancers improved?
- During the centuries between the Scattering and the arrival of the Honored Matres, the Tleilaxu refined the Face Dancers so that even the Bene Gesserit struggled to identify them. These new mimics could absorb memories through physical contact, even from the recently deceased, so that any individual could be replicated with perfect accuracy down to their most personal secrets.
- Why did the refined Face Dancers slip free of Tleilaxu control?
- The refined breed carried a fatal flaw: if a Face Dancer acted as a specific person long enough, it would grow delusional and come to believe it truly was that individual. With its former loyalties nullified by its stolen psyche, it fell outside Bene Tleilax control, and numerous mimics, including the impostor of Hedley Tuek, were lost in this way.
Gallery
Images via Dune Wiki
Sources
- BookDune Messiah, Frank Herbert, 1969
- BookHeretics of Dune, Frank Herbert, 1984
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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