Voice
the Bene Gesserit art of command
Voice was an audio-neuro control technique perfected by the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, which let a trained adept seize control of a listener by altering the tonal qualities of speech. It was used to compel obedience and extract truth, and a few rare individuals learned to resist or even wield it untrained.
Voice is the Bene Gesserit art of controlling a listener through the tone of speech. Dune's glossary calls it the combined training originated by the Sisterhood which permits an adept to control others merely by selected tone shadings of the voice, one of several advanced techniques they teach. Paul Atreides, trained by his mother, uses it in Dune, and Duncan Idaho's later gholas learn to resist it. (Dune; Heretics of Dune)
Application#
Use of Voice allowed a Bene Gesserit adept to gain control over an uninitiated victim merely by altering the tonal qualities of her voice. Simple instructions or orders were then spoken in Voice and obeyed dutifully. It was most often used to compel an unwilling person to do something undesirable, or to draw the truth from an unwilling recipient, and the Sisterhood also turned it to the interrogation of prisoners. (Dune; Heretics of Dune)
The Lady Jessica once considered using Voice on Duke Leto Atreides to steer his decisions on the welfare of House Atreides during their move from Caladan to Arrakis. She reasoned that she could apply it so subtly that the Duke would believe he was making the choices of his own volition, but she knew that to do so would be a gross violation of his trust, even if it might save the House. (Dune)
Resistance and untrained use#
With sufficient natural ability and training a person could grow more resistant to Voice. Certain skilled individuals also had a resistance born of long conditioning; when threatened by Gurney Halleck, Jessica judged that using Voice against him would be too difficult and futile given his experience and talents. (Dune)
The Duncan Idaho ghola of Heretics of Dune is resistant to Voice. Conversely, a few people could wield Voice with no formal training at all, such as Sheeana Brugh, who learned to master her natural talent as she grew to adulthood. (Heretics of Dune)
Notable uses#
Among its successful uses, Gaius Helen Mohiam employed Voice to force Paul Atreides to come to her and then to stop him turning his head toward the gom jabbar. Paul later used Voice to force the smuggler Czigo to remove his mother's gag, and at the end of the novel to make the Sardaukar Captain Aramsham give his name. (Dune) In the late history of the Sisterhood, Reverend Mothers used Voice together with drugging herbs to lure Darwi Odrade into their groundcar, and Odrade in turn used it against the High Priest Hedley Tuek, Cania and Sheeana Brugh. (Heretics of Dune)
Voice also failed against the trained and the immune. Paul's first attempt to command Czigo failed before he succeeded. (Dune) Lucilla's attempt to use Voice against Duncan Idaho failed because of his immunity, and an Honored Matre twice failed to force the Tleilaxu Master Tylwyth Waff to reveal how the last Idaho ghola had been altered, defeated by Waff's training against Voice. Sheeana's own crude attempts to use it on Odrade likewise failed. (Heretics of Dune)
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Voice in Dune?
- Dune's glossary defines it as the combined training originated by the Bene Gesserit that lets an adept control others merely by selected tone shadings of the voice.
- How does Voice work?
- A Bene Gesserit adept gained control over an uninitiated victim merely by altering the tonal qualities of her voice, then spoke simple instructions or orders in Voice that would be obeyed. It was most often used to compel an unwilling person to act or to draw the truth from an unwilling recipient.
- Can Voice be resisted?
- Yes, with training and the right temperament. In Dune Jessica judges it would be futile against Gurney Halleck, and in Heretics of Dune the Duncan Idaho ghola and the Tleilaxu Master Tylwyth Waff both shrug it off.
- Could anyone use Voice without training?
- A few people could wield Voice with no formal training at all, such as Sheeana Brugh, who learned to master her natural talent as she grew to adulthood. Her crude attempts to use it on Darwi Odrade, however, failed.
- When did Voice fail against its targets?
- Voice failed against the trained and the immune. Lucilla's attempt to use it against Duncan Idaho failed because of his immunity, and an Honored Matre twice failed to force the Tleilaxu Master Tylwyth Waff to reveal information, defeated by Waff's training against Voice.
Sources
- BookDune, Frank Herbert, 1965
- BookHeretics of Dune, Frank Herbert, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1984
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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