Lucilla
Bene Gesserit Imprinter and saviour of the Lampadas Horde
Lucilla was a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and Imprinter assigned to imprint the final Duncan Idaho ghola on Gammu. She later escaped the destruction of Lampadas carrying the memories of millions of sisters, before dying in Honored Matre captivity.
Lucilla was a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and Imprinter of the Sisterhood. Her most important charge, set by Mother Superior Alma Mavis Taraza, was to sexually imprint the young final ghola of Duncan Idaho during his training on the planet Gammu. At the end of her life she escaped the destruction of Lampadas carrying the millions of memories of the Lampadas Horde. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)
The mission on Gammu#
Mother Superior Alma Mavis Taraza commanded the talented Reverend Mother Lucilla to sexually imprint the twelfth ghola of Duncan Idaho, whom the Sisterhood had purchased from the Tleilaxu. Taraza's design, however, was far more intricate than even the clever Lucilla suspected, and the Mother Superior warned her young sister against Reverend Mother Schwangyu, commander of the Bene Gesserit Keep on Gammu and one of Taraza's chief detractors within the Sisterhood. (Heretics of Dune)
Strikingly like the elite Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade in appearance, Lucilla arrived on Gammu and was received by Schwangyu. The old Reverend Mother recognized her abilities, identified the Atreides lineage from which she came, and noted that Lucilla had already borne three children to the Sisterhood, two of them by the same father. (Heretics of Dune)
The imprinting never went as planned. Miles Teg awakened the ghola's original memories first, in a manner at odds with Lucilla's methods, and the Bene Tleilax had built abilities into the ghola that the Sisterhood had not foreseen. To pursue the abducted Idaho, Lucilla posed as an Honored Matre, taking Burzmali as her sexual slave, in order to infiltrate the Honored Matre presence on Gammu. (Heretics of Dune)
Ambition and final sacrifice#
Though loyal to the Sisterhood, Lucilla was understood by Miles Teg to harbour aspirations of her own. He mused that she sought the title of Lady, an ambition made plausible by the Great Houses then beginning to re-emerge from obscurity. (Heretics of Dune)
Her service ended with Lampadas. When the Honored Matres destroyed that world, she escaped carrying the shared memories of its Bene Gesserit, the vast archive of the Lampadas Horde, within herself. She died as a captive of the Great Honored Matre, Dama. (Chapterhouse: Dune)
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Lucilla in Dune?
- Lucilla was a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and Imprinter of the Sisterhood, of Atreides lineage. She bore a strong physical resemblance to the elite Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade.
- What was Lucilla's mission on Gammu?
- Mother Superior Alma Mavis Taraza assigned Lucilla to sexually imprint the final ghola of Duncan Idaho, the twelfth ghola, whom the Sisterhood had purchased from the Tleilaxu. Taraza also warned her against Reverend Mother Schwangyu, commander of the Bene Gesserit Keep on Gammu.
- Why did Lucilla's imprinting of Duncan Idaho fail?
- Miles Teg awakened the ghola's original memories first, in a manner at odds with Lucilla's methods, and the Tleilaxu had shaped the ghola in ways the Sisterhood did not foresee.
- Did Lucilla have ambitions of her own?
- Though loyal to the Sisterhood, she was understood by Miles Teg to harbor aspirations of her own. He believed she sought the title of Lady, an ambition made plausible by the Great Houses beginning to re-emerge from obscurity.
- How did Lucilla die?
- When the Honored Matres destroyed Lampadas she escaped carrying the shared memories of its Bene Gesserit, the Lampadas Horde, within herself. She died as a captive of the Great Honored Matre, Dama.
Gallery
Images via Dune Wiki
Sources
- BookHeretics of Dune, Frank Herbert, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1984
- BookChapterhouse: Dune, Frank Herbert, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1985
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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