Time
Herbert's handling of time is fascinating. The series takes place years in the future in a galaxy far, far away. However, everything that takes place is impacted by various epochs of history. Those events and eras, however fictional or nonfictional they are, enter the story through their impact of culture, technology, and the people themselves. Then, of course, a group of characters gain a "time-sense" which is beyond the normal human experience. At first, the initial "seer" can only enter this state with the perfect circumstances. By the end of the series, several characters have viewed "time" in its entirety, and for better or worse, are eternally changed by it. He describes it very similarly to the way Hindus describe "oneness." Two characters in particular who face time in all its glory choose two separate paths. The one knows he destiny and runs from it. He plucks out his eyes, abandons his followers and tries to hide. Fate pursues him to his death, he never has peace, he looses everything he cared about. Yet, he feels he chose the easier path. To this character, being a puppet of fate was worse than the misery of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Cooperating with his own destiny, accepting who he was meant to be was in his mind locking the door to his own prison. The other character fully embraces his "time-sense" and becomes a demi god. The "God Emperor of Dune" the final book of the series, is his story. More philosophy and psychology is crammed into those pages than the rest of my 1400 or so book library. The result of embracing fate? Misery. Ironic but telling that Herbert feels time, or in his case mortality, that which makes us human, also makes life most miserable. The demigod, Leo III, abandons all that made him human and yet in the end is rewarded with nothing but eternal pain. I had to read several passages of the last book several times over to understand them. In comparison with the action and intrigue of the first book its infinitely more didactic and vague. I enjoyed it immensely.
Religion
The Galactic Empire vs the Freemen, technology vs tribalism, Imperialism vs nomadism, organized religion vs paganism. Barely pages into the 2nd book its starkly apparent which side Herbert takes in each of these categories. Interestingly, Herbert wrote agriculture textbooks as well as sci-fi so he really did believe in his "freemen." The diaspora of the original people smells like historical analogy, which is confirmed when the freemen are the chosen people of the God Emperor. The religious conquests weaken the foundation upon which they are built, which again sounds familiar. Maybe I just see history in everything, but I think Herbert understood the church's history well. Its almost a reverse telling of a universalists' history of religion. First the "church" is an integrated and unassuming member of the culture. Then it gains power and conquers the universe. Finally, their deity walks among them and sacrifices his life for them. Unfortunately, the Worm's message is universalism to the utter most. He dies to give the freemen the chance to discover that the ultimate experience is the here and now. For Herbert, having access to all time, knowing one's destiny, knowing when death would come, would steal the joy from life. Leo III tells his associate to enjoy life's surprises, because they are its value. So worship is only recommended in the event that it would increase the joy/fulfillment of the here and now. All humans are connected through time by reincarnation so live your life to the fullest and rest in the idea that someone else will live your life again. When I picked up the series I had no idea it would be so deep. If that doesn't sound appealing, you should at least try the first book, its much more exciting and less "thinky" than the other 3.
Braves continue to cruise. Dropped 13 on Miami last night, would love to see some MVP votes behind Freddie Freeman's name at the end of the year. As has been noted, the Braves have 3 players with last names starting with "U" Uggla, Upton, Upton, they have 3 Johnsons, Chris, Elliot and Reed, and have 3 Freddie's, Fredi Gonzalez, Freddy Garcia and Freddie Freeman. Weird.
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