In his later years, the administrators of St. Sateel's paid less and less attention to music, perhaps from some resentment of the fame of their director or from a lack of interest in the subject. Licallo found himself increasingly restricted in his projects, and spent the last years of his life in a constant state of vexation and frustration. He died at the age of 86, after suffering a stroke. He was mourned by musicians everywhere except at St. Sateel's, where the principal is said to have remarked, "Now we can hire a chorus master instead of a virtuoso."4 Licallo's last work, A Sonata for Pipe and Bowed Baliset, was left unfinished.
After his death, the city authorities of Dilowa had a statue of Licallo placed on the roof of the town hall with the single word "Master" carved on a baliset at his feet. The word aptly describes his life both as performer and composer, just as no words can capture the treasures he gave to the worlds.
J.R.M.
NOTES
1Taiazor Licallo, Baliset Song: The Autobiography of a Musician (rpt. Centralia: Kutah Brothers), p. 5.
2 Document 11830.457, Dilowa Civic Archives.
3 Cerre Compavyard, trans., Tebery's Life of Licallo (Grumman: Hartley Univ. Press), p. 282.
4Ibid., p. 371.
LUYSEYAL, REVEREND MOTHER MARCUS CLAIRE
(13699-137?). A legendary leader of the Bene Gesserit. R.M. Marcus Claire Luyseyal apparently visited the court of Leto II, serving as an ambassadorial assistant. Material in the newly translated Journals of Leto II shows that the young R.M. Luyseyal was a member of the last Bene Gesserit delegation to the God Emperor, serving as assistant to R.M. Tertius Eileen Anteac, an experience she was later to refer to as her "lessons in humility." For purposes of clarity, the Bene Gesserit has released a portion of Luyseyal's private records, among which are transcripts of her memoirs as well as her Sisterhood reports.
Apparently Luyseyal was proud of being what was then known as a "Jessica-type," a genetic descendant of the Lady Jessica Atreides. As seen in the ego-likeness included in the Bene Gesserit material, Luyseyal was slender, of medium height, with an oval face, red-gold hair, and intelligent green eyes. The voice pattern on the minimic film records a compelling contralto, supporting the tradition that she was a master of the Voice. In fact, her early recognition as a child prodigy Truthsayer plus her often acknowledged beauty led her in later life to claim "pride" as her greatest weakness. But her childhood was one which would make any Sister proud. The child of a Mater Felicissima, Luyseyal was raised in her mother's private chambers in the Chapter House on Wallach IX. From birth on she was the pet of the Sisterhood, a bright, lovely, charming child who had the freedom of the Chapter House and who also had very few moments of discipline imposed upon her. When she was three, her extreme sensitivity and empathy was apparent, and she began truthsayer training at the exceptionally early age of nine. Because of her position in the Sisterhood's inner family and because of her own talents, Luyseyal was never forced to endure the strict training forced on the other apprentices. Though she mastered the prana-bindu exercises, she paid little attention to the analytical exercises and the intellectual skills expected of the acolytes. Instead she became a full-fledged Truthsayer at fifteen and a Reverend Mother at eighteen, the earliest any Bene Gesserit had ever achieved such positions.
Her easy victories did not improve her disposition, and even her status as "favorite child" could not hide the fact that she was fast becoming an overbearing adult. Her mother, Mater Felicissima Catallius Marcia Luyseyal, assigned her to be R.M. Tertius Eileen Anteac's assistant in hopes that the woman, known both for her analytical skills and her acerbic wit, would be a useful role model for the young Truthsayer. Their only time together, however, was on the mission to Arrakis, and apparently Luyseyal did not appreciate Anteac until much later. Her journals show that Luyseyal thought Anteac too old to be effective and that she was surprised when Leto showed a preference for the older woman. She also was surprised that her assassination attempt proved to be so anti-climactic. Years later, however, she acknowledged that her confrontation with Leto and her work with Anteac had shaped her future. "That was the first time anyone had ever disagreed with me or found me inadequate. It was a moment which forced me to reexamine my own values," she later wrote.
Obviously that reexamination led to Luyseyal's subsequent self-discipline and her eventual ability to fully employ her powers in espionage and leadership during the tumultous years immediately following the death of the God Emperor. Some of the restructuring of the Order suggested by Luyseyal allowed its preservation during the years of the Starvation and the Scattering. For her work as a leader of the Order, the Sisterhood has remembered her by naming the University on Marduk IX for her. The Claire Chair of Empathetic Scholarship remains as her most lasting tribute.
J.A.L.
Further references: BENE GESSERIT ARCHIVES; Leto Atreides II, Journals, RRC 80-A.-D557.
M
MAHDI
While the origin of the terra "Mahdi" — "The One Who Will Lead Us to Paradise" — is not known, such a concept occurs repeatedly among peoples who suffer alien oppression in their own land. Few examples of the Mahdian expectancy survive from the time prior to the coming of Paul Muad'Dib to Arrakis (Rakis). Even the records of Princess Irulan remain fragmentary and some chapters of the Orange Catholic Bible indicate that the power of messianic imagery was felt in the most ancient religious conceptions. The Mahdian expectancy in these texts often seems to combine spiritual with warlike components. Evidently any harshness of existence seems to promote a Utopian mentality which in turn seeks a total solution to unlivable circumstances. For this solution to emerge, a solitary figure of heroic proportions most provide absolute leadership.
Comparative interplanetary socio-historic research has produced a significant body of well-founded mathematical data on the crucial transformational point at which a people will yearn for "Mahdi surrender," It has even been suggested that the ancient Bene Gesserit were able to use some of the earliest scholarship in this area to develop their "Missionaria Protectiva," but this concept has been disputed in the literature. Kreber's now classic work, SocSystem of the Bene Gesserit (Diana: Tevis) suggests that they operated in the earliest millennia without use of scholarly materials.
Firm evidence indicates that the Mahdi expectancy affected many planets in the old Imperium in addition to Arrakis. Another case for which fragmentary knowledge is available is that of Siego, a mountain world with a small but fierce population who experienced a strong Mahdian expectancy after generations of subjugation under the infamous rule of a Harkonnen fief. While little is known of the outcome of the murderous struggle, the fanatic zeal of the Siegans under their Mahdi Ogur remains legendary.
The Fremen of Dune in the era immediately prior to the coming of the House of Atreides were inspired both by the dream of Liet-Kynes' ecological paradise and by the idea of one who would deliver them to such a paradise. External social conditions were quite ripe for the appearance of a true Mahdi. Harkonnen oppression, particularly under Beast Rabban, had steeled the Fremen flesh and will. The Fremen character also provided fertile ground for the acceptance of the One with the special gift. Strong discipline to obey legitimate authority had been deeply inculcated into the Fremen personality. Shifting alliances from the traditional authority of the Naibs to Mahdian authority, while complex, could be effectively accomplished within the scheme of Fremen social psychology.
When, in fact, Paul Muad'Dib made himself known as the Mahdi, although he left the labeling for others, he sought only the ascendancy he required to deliver the people. He seems to have met less resistance than might have been anticipated. Paul's unique gifts along with the carefully laid prophecy made it possible to obtain the compliance of the Naibs. He made sure that the basic autonomy of each sietch remained. Not only did he thus guarantee that the Naibs would not feel displaced, but he prevented the disruption of existing socio-cultural patterns within each sietch. Thus Paul subtly used the expectation of a messiah to establish h
imself in an authoritative position providing spiritual and military leadership over the Fremen while maintaining the existing strengths of the people.
M.O.
Further references: Komplar Kreber, SocSystem of the Bene Gesserit (Diana: Tevis); Chal Hardolau, Religion Ungirded: The Mountain Wars of Siego (Salusa Secundus: Kiski).
MAKER HOOKS
Devices named for the sandworms, or "makers" of Arrakis, and used for capturing, mounting and steering the giant creatures. Probably more than any other device, the maker hooks are uniquely associated with Arrakis. Sandworms have survived nowhere else, and occasional examples of hooks that have turned up elsewhere have proved to be cheap imitations carried home from pilgrimages to Muad'Dib's planet during the immediate post-jihad period. At present there is no information about the origin of the maker hook or possible precedents. Fortunately, there are many good examples from Rakis itself, and each new find increases understanding of their characteristics.
Maker hooks were long, thin shafts of spiceplastic, ranging in length from 1.35 meters to 2.1 meters, and in diameter from 1.0 to 1.47 cm, differing no doubt according to the size of the beast and the degree of skill of their users. At one end of the shaft was bonded a plasteel hook, barbed at the tip and having a radius of curvature of from 10.6 to 12 cm. The opposite end was molded to fit the grip of the user and then roughened to a coarseness of 28 grit.
Their use of maker hooks brings the boldness of the Fremen into sharp focus. After activating a thumper to summon a giant maker, the bookman (first mounter) stood aside from the approaching worm. As the maker went by, the bookman inserted one book beneath the leading edge of one of the sandworm's rings, and the other hook at a slightly lower point on the next ring. The bookman braced himself back on the hooks, rolling upward with the worm as it rotated away from the threat of sand entering the gap opened by the two hooks. Once up, the hookman and followers steered the worm by opening gaps down one side of the beast, prompting it to roll away from the gaps to prevent sand getting in.
Hooks were important in the Fremen culture. A youth who had been first up was entitled to his own hooks; it was one important badge of adulthood. Some investigators believe that young men earned their Fremkits one piece at a time, and that maker hooks was the foundation of the Fremkit "collection." A hook that had never failed was thought to be especially lucky, and its owner was granted special respect. Also, when a hookman missed an attempt, that boded bad luck for the tribe or group for the rest of the day.
Further reference: FREMKIT.
MALKY, ERLIN
(13632-13724). Ixian Ambassador to the God Emperor's court for more than two decades (13690-13712). Erlin Malky ranked as the one member of his people, other than his "niece," Hwi Noree, successful in achieving intimacy with the Lord Leto. He reached this level of familiarity not only because of his efforts toward it, but because of a unique combination of personality and experience which predisposed him toward such a role.
Born to Piter and Charmaine Malky, both members of the ruling body known as the Inquisitors of Ix, Erlin Malky was exposed from his earliest years to the Byzantine intricacies of Ixian politics. He demonstrated his intuitive understanding of the process when, at age ten, he suggested the truly Machiavellian scheme which resulted in the ouster of three senior Inquisitors, and the appointment of his mother Charmaine as the body's effective leader.
Though the prodigy's contribution to this takeover (known in Ixian histories as the "Coup of 13642") was not acknowledged until several years after the deaths of both his parents, rumors of his part in the coup spread to every sector of Ixian government shortly after its success. The young Malky was sought out by those many years his senior in age and experience, and his opinions were taken seriously. Upon completion of his schooling in 13652, he was appointed to a minor clerkship in the cipher division of the Ixian intelligence community.
The appointment was a cover intended to conceal from outsiders the careful training of a new Ixian plenipotentiary. Malky was provided with copies of all important diplomatic messages and told to analyze them Mentat-like, and predict the events which might follow their receipt; these exercises provided much of the youth's advanced training.
In 13659, Malky was put on a permanent retainer by the Inquisitors and released from all normal duties. From that year until his recall in 13688, he was free to visit any of the known worlds, frequently traveling as messenger extraordinaire for his masters but more often as a private citizen. His travels gave him an overview of the various planets and their workings under Leto's Peace; they also provided the Inquisitors, to whom Malky continued to report, a similar comprehension.
When the Inquisitors decided that their objective, the polishing, sophisticating and jading of their representative was complete, they commanded him to return to the home-world. There he spent a final three years studying the society-in-miniature to which his superiors proposed to send him: the court of the Lord Leto.
Their many years of association proved pleasurable for both Malky and the God Emperor. In the new Ixian Ambassador, Leto found a clever, oddly courageous man who seemed not to be in the least intimidated by the Emperor's godhead. Malky in turn discovered that his sharp-honed intellect and wit were finally being challenged in the manner for which they were trained. The relationship between them appears to have been both more and less than friendship. While each was always suspicious of the other, a kind of understanding existed between them which permitted greater intimacy than Leto ever allowed his more trusted aides. Their relationship sorely perplexed many members of the court, Leto's majordomo Moneo included, and Leto himself was sometimes puzzled by his own fondness for "the old rogue."
Save for a brief return to Ix in the seventh year of his service, the time at which cells from his body were taken to use in growing his "mirror-clone," Hwi Noree, Malky did not leave Arrakis until his recall in 13712. He left under protest, warning the God Emperor that his replacement was "less than a fool," but his objections were ignored by the Inquisitors. They had their own plans for Malky, primarily for his help in training and educating Hwi Noree.
He did not meet the God Emperor again until 13724, when Leto sent R.M. Tertius Eileen Anteac to the Fish Speaker garrison on Ix with orders to find and capture the ex-Ambassador and return him to Arrakis for questioning. Malky was brought back (though part of the price for his capture was Anteac's death) and, as arrogant in his familiarity with the God Emperor as ever, confirmed Leto's suspicions about Hwi Noree.
It was his last act in any capacity. Leto, prevented both by memories of comradeship with Malky and by the knowledge that the Ixian was so closely related to his betrothed, could not kill him, Nevertheless, Malky alive and free was too great a risk to be allowed; Leto made his desire for the man's elimination known to Moneo and the majordomo executed him at once, relieving his master of the problem.
C.W.
Further references: HWI NOREE; IX; Remlik Malvar, Ixian Foreign Policy in the Post-Pauline Era (Gioia: Quique).
MAPES, SHADOUT
The first Fremen contact of the Lady Jessica and Paul Atreides. Little has emerged of Mapes' early life, although the Princess Irulan wrote that Paul spoke of the Shadout as a shining example of Fremen womanhood. Her memory was held in deep respect within Sietch Tabr for her rebel activities and her enormous knowledge of the rites and traditions of Fremen lore to which she had dedicated her life, even to the loss of her husband and children. Nothing detailed is known of this shadowy legend prior to her appointment in the ducal household as head housekeeper. It has been assumed that during the Harkonnen period she acted in the important capacity of espionage chief, for no other reason would have induced a woman of her background and rank to work as servant to a hated house.
The title Shadout translates as "well dipper." Due to the earlier presence on Arrakis of a Bene Gesserit who followed faithfully the directives of the Missionaria Protectiva in planting religious patterning, these implanted myths were widely used not only in t
he religious rites but also in everyday sietch life, based as it was on the hunting mythos. Usually daughter of a sietch chief, a Well Dipper served the all-important function of trapping and bagging the liquid exhalation of a dying maker known as the "Water of Life." Many Well Dippers went on to become Sayyadina or Reverend Mothers, but it is likely that Mapes exhibited early signs of the sensitivity to others and the penchant for question and evaluation that made her invaluable as a spy, which diverted her role from religion to rebellion.
When Mapes was entrusted with the mission of measuring Jessica, the Bene Gesserit training alerted the Duke's Lady to the necessity of impressing the Shadout and correctly answering the vital question of the meaning of the crysknife. The way was paved by the Well Dipper's report to Stilgar insuring the fugitives' reception and eventual acceptance. The religio-mysticism of the Fremen and Jessica's rapid interpretation and use of this information proved a more effective protection than Liet-Kynes' directive. Jessica passed Mapes' test so well that the Shadout offered the waters of her own body to blood the gifted blade. Fortunately her sacrifice was postponed until she had relayed her certainty that Jessica was the one who brought the Lisan al-Gaib.
G.K.
Further references: ATREIDES. JESSICA; MISSIONARIA PROTECTIVA; Jarret Oslo, Fremen: Lives and Legend (Salusa Secundus: Morgan and Sharak); Harah, Memoirs of a Sietch Woman, tr. Steewan Duunalazan (Topaz: Carolus UP).
MAULA PISTOL
A weapon designed solely for interpersonal combat. The maula pistol was a spring-loaded handgun which fired poisoned darts accurate up to 40 meters. A popular weapon for assassins and guerrilla fighters, it was small and lightweight (measuring approximately 15 cm from the back of the grip to the end of the muzzle and weighing between 125 and 150 grams); it made little noise on firing; and, if used by a skilled shot, it could breach a personal shield.
The Dune Encyclopedia Page 80
