Water of Life
the poison of the Reverend Mothers
The Water of Life was a poisonous blue liquid drawn from a drowning sandworm, lethal to the untrained but converted by the Bene Gesserit into the substance that made a Reverend Mother. Its conversion by a man marked the coming of the Kwisatz Haderach.
The Water of Life was the poison through which a woman became a Reverend Mother among the Fremen. The Bene Gesserit ordeal used an awareness spectrum narcotic, and on Arrakis that narcotic was the Water of Life, which the Bene Gesserit-trained Lady Jessica survived to become the Fremen's Reverend Mother. To anyone untrained in prana-bindu body control the substance was lethal, and even the smallest amount would kill in incredible agony. It originated on Arrakis, beginning as the bile of a young sandworm, and, if it did not kill the woman who ingested it, was converted within her body into an awareness spectrum narcotic used in the spice orgies of the Fremen. (Dune)
Source and retrieval#
The Water of Life began its life as the bile of a young sandworm. The untreated liquid was retrieved from the worm as it was drowned in water, for the liquid exhalation emerged only in the moment right before the creature's death. The act was typically performed for the purpose of elevating a Bene Gesserit Sister to the status of Reverend Mother. Among the Fremen, the event took on a more urgent character, normally occurring when a Sayyadina was dying and a replacement was required to receive her genetic memory before her demise, with a woman chosen from within the tribe for the task. (Dune)
Conversion#
In the Bene Gesserit tradition, the bile was fed to a Sister after she had received many years of training in prana-bindu body control, because only the Bene Gesserit ability to alter metabolism and slow the heart rate could neutralise the lethality of the chemical. The Sister regressed into a coma-like trance and converted the toxic elements on a molecular level. If she failed to metabolise the chemical, the poisonous bile killed her. If she succeeded, the process amplified her awareness to the point of unlocking her genetic memory and, with it, many of the secrets of the Sisterhood. (Dune)
Upon completion, the new Reverend Mother changed the poison within herself and passed it back, and the changed liquid was then safe for others to share. In Fremen culture it was afterward consumed by the members of the sietch, and its narcotic qualities resulted in a spice orgy. (Dune)
The Kwisatz Haderach#
From its inception, the taking of the Water of Life could be conducted only by women appropriately trained in prana-bindu. Any man who attempted to consume it met his death. The plans of the Bene Gesserit held that the culmination of their breeding program would produce a male who could successfully convert the Water of Life, and this man would be the Kwisatz Haderach. (Dune)
In 10193 AG, Paul Atreides became the first male to succeed in converting the Water of Life, in a process that kindled new and immense powers in the young Atreides Duke. Many men had attempted the process before and died. Paul had consumed only a single drop of the bile, and it put him into so deep a coma that he was believed dead. After three weeks he emerged, having converted the bile into the Water of Life, and with it came powerful abilities including perfect prescience. He informed Chani and his mother Jessica that he could now see the present as well as the past and the future, reaching into the space above Arrakis where the Emperor's invading fleet lay in orbit. (Dune)
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Water of Life?
- The Water of Life was the poison through which Fremen women, and on Arrakis the Bene Gesserit-trained Lady Jessica, became Reverend Mothers. It began as the bile of a young sandworm on Arrakis, and to anyone untrained in prana-bindu body control even the smallest amount would kill in incredible agony.
- How was the Water of Life retrieved?
- The untreated liquid was retrieved from a young sandworm as it was drowned in water, because the liquid exhalation emerged only in the moment right before the creature's death. The act was typically performed to raise a Bene Gesserit Sister to Reverend Mother, or among the Fremen when a dying Sayyadina needed a replacement to receive her genetic memory.
- How did a Bene Gesserit convert the Water of Life?
- After years of training in prana-bindu body control, a Sister was fed the bile and used her ability to alter metabolism and slow her heart rate to neutralise the poison. If she succeeded, the process amplified her awareness to the point of unlocking her genetic memory; if she failed to metabolise the chemical, the bile killed her.
- Who was the first man to convert the Water of Life?
- In 10193 AG, Paul Atreides became the first male to succeed in converting the Water of Life. Many men had attempted it before and died, but the Bene Gesserit breeding program had aimed to produce a male who could convert it, and that man would be the Kwisatz Haderach.
- What happened to Paul Atreides after he drank the Water of Life?
- Paul had consumed only a single drop of the bile, and it put him into so deep a coma that he was believed dead. After three weeks he emerged with powerful abilities including perfect prescience, telling Chani and his mother Jessica that he could now see the past, future, and present, reaching into the space above Arrakis where the Emperor's fleet lay in orbit.
Sources
- BookDune, Frank Herbert, 1965
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Reverend Mother in Dune: the Spice Agony and Other Memory
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