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 served as Vice-Chancellor of Lampadas and absorbed 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. She later served as Vice-Chancellor of Lampadas in the name of Mother Superior Darwi Odrade, and at the end of her life she became the saviour of the millions of memories of the Lampadas Horde.
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.
Recently known as "The Young Odrade" for her physical resemblance to the elite Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade, 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.
The imprinting failed. Idaho proved impervious to her techniques through Bene Tleilax genetic manipulation, and he ignored her advances, to the amusement and awe of Miles Teg, who had awakened the ghola's memories in a manner at odds with Lucilla's methods. 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.
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.
Her service ended on Lampadas, where she absorbed the memories, and with them the Other Memories, of the Bene Gesserit of that world, preserving the vast archive of the Lampadas Horde within herself. She ultimately died in 15240 AG as a captive of the Supreme Honored Matre, Dama.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Lucilla in Dune?
- Lucilla was a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and Imprinter of the Sisterhood, of Atreides lineage. She was nicknamed "The Young Odrade" for her 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?
- The Idaho ghola proved impervious to her techniques because of Bene Tleilax genetic manipulation, and he ignored her advances. Miles Teg had awakened the ghola's memories in a manner at odds with Lucilla's methods.
- 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?
- On Lampadas she absorbed the memories and Other Memories of the Bene Gesserit of that world, preserving the vast archive of the Lampadas Horde within herself. She died in 15240 AG as a captive of the Supreme Honored Matre, Dama.
Gallery
Images via Dune Wiki
Sources
- WikiLucilla — Dune Wiki entry
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Related entries
Alma Mavis Taraza
Alma Mavis Taraza was the Bene Gesserit Mother Superior who confronted the threat of the Honored Matres and the discovery that the girl Sheeana could command the sandworms. She drove the Duncan Idaho ghola project and the Tleilaxu alliance, and died on Rakis, her memories preserved in her successor Darwi Odrade.
Darwi Odrade
Darwi Odrade was a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother of secret Atreides descent who rose to become the penultimate Mother Superior during the War of the Sisterhoods. She recruited Sheeana Brugh on Rakis, allied the Sisterhood with the Bene Tleilax, and died on Junction in the final assault against the Honored Matres.
Miles Teg
Miles Teg was a Bene Gesserit Mentat and military commander, the Supreme Bashar of the Sisterhood's forces, bred down the Atreides line and so close in likeness to Leto Atreides I that he was used to reawaken a Duncan Idaho ghola. Tortured into prescience, he died in battle on Rakis and was later revived as a ghola.
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit were an ancient order of women who wielded power from the shadows of the Imperium through a millennia-long breeding program, mastery of body and mind, and the religious engineering of the Missionaria Protectiva. Their goal was the Kwisatz Haderach, and through him the guidance of humanity.
Dama
Dama was the Great Honored Matre during the War of the Sisterhoods, known among the Bene Gesserit as the Spider Queen. A skilled strategist, she held Lucilla captive and was assassinated by her own advisor Logno during the Battle of Junction.
Duncan Idaho
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Alma Mavis Taraza
Alma Mavis Taraza was the Bene Gesserit Mother Superior who confronted the threat of the Honored Matres and the discovery that the girl Sheeana could command the sandworms. She drove the Duncan Idaho ghola project and the Tleilaxu alliance, and died on Rakis, her memories preserved in her successor Darwi Odrade.
Battle of Rakis
The Battle of Rakis was an engagement of 15229 AG in the war between the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres. The Honored Matres used the Weapon to kill Mother Superior Alma Mavis Taraza, and ultimately destroyed the planet and its sandworms, sparing only the single worm the Bene Gesserit carried away.
Dama
Dama was the Great Honored Matre during the War of the Sisterhoods, known among the Bene Gesserit as the Spider Queen. A skilled strategist, she held Lucilla captive and was assassinated by her own advisor Logno during the Battle of Junction.
Darwi Odrade
Darwi Odrade was a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother of secret Atreides descent who rose to become the penultimate Mother Superior during the War of the Sisterhoods. She recruited Sheeana Brugh on Rakis, allied the Sisterhood with the Bene Tleilax, and died on Junction in the final assault against the Honored Matres.
Duncan Idaho
Duncan Idaho was a Ginaz Swordmaster in the service of House Atreides and one of Paul's principal teachers. After dying in the Desert War he was reborn through a long line of Tleilaxu gholas, serving the Atreides line across more than five thousand years.
Edric
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Miles Teg
Miles Teg was a Bene Gesserit Mentat and military commander, the Supreme Bashar of the Sisterhood's forces, bred down the Atreides line and so close in likeness to Leto Atreides I that he was used to reawaken a Duncan Idaho ghola. Tortured into prescience, he died in battle on Rakis and was later revived as a ghola.
Other Memory
Other Memory was the Bene Gesserit term for the well of genetic memory that a Reverend Mother possessed after the Spice Agony, an inheritance of the lived experience of her ancestors that could be passed from Sister to Sister and carried across thousands of years.
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