Dune II

[Ramza00]

I was under the impression that the decision to marry the Emperor to a Bene Gesserit (Anirul, Bene Gesserit of Hidden Rank), and then deny him sons, giving him only daughters (the oldest being Irulan) was catalysed by the fact that their Kwisatz Haderach program was so close to completion.

And that prior to this the Bene Gesserit weren't always the Imperial spouses - Irulan was supposed to be the first Bene Gesserit Empress to take the throne itself, and married off to the Kwisatz Haderach. And, being so much older than him (he was supposed to be the grandson of Jessica), able to control him.

With Jessica's having him one generation early, interfering with the plan.

Irulan's description doesn't make it sound like it's something that happens with every Emperor:

we are pretty much in agreement with the direction we may different a little on the details and how to name the details

and I am not going to investigate deeply further with higher amounts of rigor for this is fiction we are talking about.

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Like you already said (and I agree with you) Irulan’s momma, the previous empress Anirul is also a Bene Gesserit and she had enough bio control and ideology connected to the BG that she agrees with their plans, to have 5 kids all girls with the goal that this would force the emperor to then marry his daughters to who the BG want them to marry. And eventually the Kwisatz Haderach would be on the throne.

But the BG is larger than this individual thread, they do the BG program as a participatiory force but some religion idea (they use taoism as the metaphor) of not being “seen” as an active power for that will produce a rivilary and the emperor will kill you. Yet you are still participating and shaping the universe, just no tall poppy syndrome as a metaphor instead being focused in being in the room where it happens and using more subtle means of control and manipulation.

Thus BG will train all royal house daughters, and this is the “currency” they use to be part of a larger system, and once part of the larger system they have influence to help shape events. The BGs are merely Courtesan trainers / Courtiers … for Peter Sake , well in Latin is the word Bene , behaved in Latin is the word Gesserit ( though how you cognate the two words side by side is a little off from english to latin, it is a bad translation but close enough )

But there are higher levels of BG , much like a skill tree in Skyrim so learning all the sisterhood could teach you and being a high enough level the system thinks you are likely to survive the spice agony trial. Well not all rich peoples daughters are like that.

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Thus it is special that Anirul was as talented as Lady Jessica to have enough body control to determine the sex of the baby, yet also did not likely do the spice agony. Have the empress be too high of rank and she may make the emperor paranoid, too low of rank and it would be an insult, best keep the rank hidden and create a whole custom system where not even the emperor could know the currency he was being sold and had no way to evaluate it himself and know the validation method to be truthful.

( Dune the series as books is kind of paranoid, no wonder why Paul once he had access to his momma and dad’s ancestors he would become more paranoid for he could now see the multi generation plot and all the double fears where you have to do it just right not too hot not too cold not too yang not too yin. All the ancestors who wanted the prize of emperor had to sail between two islands and get to close to one and you may die. Infinite ancestor paranoia ! )