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Siona Atreides

2004-10-22T21:02:52Z

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'''Siona Atreides''' is a [[fiction|fictional]] character in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune universe]]. She is a major character in the novel [[God Emperor of Dune]]

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Siona is violently opposed to the rule of [[Leto Atreides II|Leto II]] and is the leader of a rebel group on [[Arrakis]]. At the start of the novel, she and members of her group manage to steal some of Leto's personal journals and plans. Siona gives these documents to the [[Ixians|Ixian]] ambassador for decryption in a secret meeting. The Ixian ambassador mocks Siona for her disguise, asking why she bothers when it is well known she is the leader of the rebels. He goes on to mock her 'rebellion' by asking her when she intends to join the god Emperor, since one generation after another the young Atreides have 'played' at being rebels before being called into the loyal service of Leto. At the end of the meeting Siona unmasks a spy in her ranks, sending him back to Leto with a message. However, the spy is actually only a plant of her father [[Moneo Atreides|Moneo]], and it is Siona's closest companion, [[Nayla]], who is Leto's true spy.

Later, Leto meets with Nayla. This is a very disquieting meeting, because we discover that Nayla, as a typical [[Fish Speakers|Fish Speaker]], is completely fanatical and devoted to Leto and takes his title of God Emperor literally. He orders her, for unknown reasons, to obey every command of Siona. During their conversation we learn from Nayla that Siona is ready for testing, a fact Leto was unsure of, because she wasn't always visible to his prophetic dreams.

Leto decides that Siona has been let off the leash for long enough and so sends his Fish Speakers to induct her into his service. She does not enter his service willingly and is in fact guarded at all times. Leto intends to breed Siona with [[Duncan Idaho]], and so he arranges for them to go on a trip together expecting that things will happen naturally sooner or later. Siona being angry decides to take Duncan to Goygoa village. This is a cruel trick because he is stared at as soon as he arrives in the village and is unpleasantly surprised to be confronted by a young boy, learning that the previous Duncan Idaho was the father of the boy. Unable to resist he discovers that the mother of the child resembles [[Jessica Atreides]] greatly. Roomed together by the Fish Speakers, Siona and Duncan swap insults in their irritation at Leto's breeding plans for them both.

Leto meets with Siona to assess her readiness for the testing. They talk about many subjects, including his worm body, and the state of his Empire. She points out that his position is much weaker now, because of his reaction to the attack on the Ixian embassy, people now realize that he is vulnerable to attacks on the people he loves. She goes on to question his right to rule which is the root of her rebelliousness. His response is that he rules by right of loneliness and sacrifice. This puts Siona on the defensiveness, because she had never considered that Leto might have any rights as a consequence of his uniqueness.

Siona is tested in the deep desert by Leto. She is forced to drink Spice Essence from Leto's body which sends her into a spice trance and into [[prescience|prophetic dreaming]]. In her dreams she sees the various possibilities in the human future, and more importantly how in many futures humans are hunted and killed to the last person by deadly machines. But she also sees Leto's [[Golden Path]] which leads to the survival of the human race. Despite going through the spice agony and being shown the Golden Path this does not convince Siona of the rightness of Leto's rule.

When Leto learns of this, he is amused that Moneo is attempting to save Idaho and changes the location of his wedding to Tuono. Malky has been captured by the Fish Speakers. Anteac died capturing him. When Leto moved against Ixians, [[Bene Gesserit]] and [[Bene Tleilaxu]] struck just before in order to steal the secret of the device. The secret of the Ixian device has been scattered far and wide. Malky is escorted into Leto's presence. Malky and Leto talk about old and new times. At the end of this conversation, Moneo does what Leto cannot and kills Leto's friend at Leto's behest.

Duncan and Siona talk at Tuono village after a difficult start. And realize that they both still believe that the God Emperor needs to be killed, and overthrown, so they plan to kill the God Emperor. Reaching the realization that Leto can be killed by water, Duncan and Siona hatch a desperate plan to kill the God Emperor.

On the night before Leto's convoy comes to Tuono, Idaho climbs a high cliff by himself without ropes, using the experience he learned in his youth. From their he lowers a rope down for Siona and Nayla. From the cliff they await the arrival of Leto's convoy. When the convoy does arrive, Siona orders Nayla to fire her lasgun at the bridge and Nayla, having been directly ordered by Leto to obey Siona's every order, obeys, fully expecting it to be religious test of Leto's. The shot shatters the bridge and Leto is hurled into the water. He escapes to the shore, but it is his death and sandtrout desert his dying body into the sands. [[Hwi Noree]] is accidentally killed by the blast sitting as she was in the same carriage. Duncan is distraught, and kills the utterly shocked Nayla. Leto leaves Duncan and Siona [[stewardship]] of his Empire by telling them where he has hidden his spice reserves before he breathes his last.

As Leto II predicts at his death, the [[Fish Speakers]] choose [[Duncan Idaho]] as their leader following the death/transformation of Leto II. Duncan Idaho rules the rump of the Imperium with Siona at his side; their power based on military power of the Fish Speakers and control of Leto's hoard of spice. They marry and have children together has Leto II planned; and their descendants share Siona's invisibility to the prescient vision of the Spacing Guild.

[[Category:Dune]]

Caladan

2004-10-22T20:55:12Z

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'''Caladan''' is a [[fictional planet]] in the [[Dune universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]].

Caladan is the ancestral fiefdom of [[House Atreides]] and the birthplace of [[Paul Atreides]]. At the start of the novel [[Dune (novel)|Dune]], the Atreides leave Caladan under political pressure and take up residence on [[Arrakis]].

After the time of the novel ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'', it simply became known as Dan.

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[[category:Dune]]
[[category:Fictional planets]]

Liet-Kynes

2004-10-22T20:46:19Z

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Liet-Kynes is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Dune universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. He was the son of [[Pardot Kynes]], the original imperial planetologist/[[ecologist]] of [[Arrakis]], and nominal leader of the [[Fremen]] at the start of the [[Dune (novel)|Dune]] novel.

{{spoiler}}

Liet-Kynes inherited his fathers mantle and served as both the planetary ecologist of Dune and leader of the Fremen. He continued his father's vision of gradually transforming the planet's climate from a harsh desert into a temperate one. He died as a result of the [[Harkonnen]]/[[Sardaukar]] assault on [[House Atreides]]; the Harkonnens abandoned him in the desert without water or supplies.

Liet-Kynes is notable in that he makes critical thematic contributions to the novel of ecology and economy. Liet-Kynes is perhaps an allusion to the eoconomist [[John Maynard Keynes]] who advocated defecit spending during difficult economic times.

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[[Category:Dune]]

Planet of Ix

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#redirect [[Ix (planet)]]

Kaitain (Dune)

2004-10-22T19:33:35Z

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Kaitain is a [[fictional planet]] appearing in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune universe]]. In the novel [[Dune (novel)|Dune]], Kaitain is the capital planet of the [[empire|Imperium]] and the seat of power of [[House Corrino]].

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[[category:Dune]]
[[Category:Fictional planets]]

Gom jabbar

2004-10-22T19:11:57Z

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The Gom Jabbar is a [[fictional|fiction]] device appearing in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune universe]]. According to the [[Dune (novel)|Dune novel]], the Gom Jabbar is "The high-handed enemy; that specific poison needle tipped with meta-cyanide used by [[Bene Gesserit]] Proctors in the death-alternative test of human awareness." [[Reverend Mother]] [[Gaius Helen Mohiam]] used one to test [[Paul Atreides]] just prior to his departure to [[Arrakis]].

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[[category: Dune]]

Gaius Helen Mohiam

2004-10-22T19:04:57Z

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'''Gaius Helen Mohiam''' is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Dune universe]] created by Frank Herbert. She is the [[Bene Gesserit]] [[Reverend Mother]], who initially featured in the novel ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' by [[Frank Herbert]]. She also had a more major role in the [[Prelude to Dune]] trilogy by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]].

{{spoiler}}
Mohiam trained [[Lady Jessica]] in the Bene Gesserit chapterhouse on Wallach. Two decades later, Mohiam tested the young [[Paul Atreides]] before his departure for [[Arrakis]] with the [[gom jabbar]]. The test was to discover whether Paul was "truly human" by trial of pain. The pain inflicted when Paul put his hand in the box was caused by nerve induction and clearly drains an incredible amount of energy from the Reverend Mother.

In the novel ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', the Reverend Mother joined the [[conspiracy]] to topple the rule [[Paul Atreides]] after he ascended the Lion Throne and unleashed his Jihad upon the Empire. She, along with [[Scytale (Dune)|Scytale]] (a [[Tleilaxu]] [[face dancer]]), [[Edric (Dune)|Edric]] (a [[Spacing Guild]] [[Guild Navigator|navigator]]), and [[Irulan Corrino|Irulan]] (embittered wife of Paul Atreides), plot to insinuate the Tleilaxu ghola [[Hayt]] into the court to weaken Paul's confidence in his [[prescience]] and thereby ruin him. When the plot failed, she was executed in the retailiation initiated by [[Alia Atreides]] after Paul walked into the desert after the death of his wife [[Chani]].

The prequel novels by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]] that began with [[Dune: House Atreides]] and [[Dune: House Harkonnen]] reveal that Mohiam was secretly the mother of Jessica and grandmother of Paul. This occurred as a result of a vicious rape by the [[Vladimir Harkonnen|Baron Harkonnen]]. However, many hold the information in these prequels to be apocryphal.
[[fr:Personnages de Dune]]

[[category: Dune]]

Edric (Dune)

2004-10-22T18:50:31Z

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Edric is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Dune universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. He is a [[Guild Navigator|navigator]] of the [[Spacing Guild]]. In the novel ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', Edric participates in the [[conspiracy]] to topple the rule of [[Paul Atreides]]. Like all Guild navigators, his body is mutated due to heavy use of [[Melange|spice]].

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[[Category:Dune]]

Scytale (Dune)

2004-10-22T18:08:50Z

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Scytale is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Dune universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. He is a [[face dancer]] of the [[Tleilaxu]]. In the novel ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', Scytale participates in the [[conspiracy]] to topple the rule of [[Paul Atreides]].

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[[Category:Dune]]

Bene Tleilax

2004-10-22T18:08:27Z

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The Bene Tleilaxu are an organisation in the fictional [[Dune universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]] in the ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' series of novels. The '''Bene Tleilax''' are genetic manipulators, equivalent in power to a major house in the Imperium.

Not organized along feudal lines (as most of rest of the Imperium is), the Tleilaxu are secretive, and very little is known about them except for their biological products (replacement parts and gholas), and their [[face dancers]].

The use of "Bene" before their name suggests that they are an order of some kind, like the [[Bene Gesserit]]; this becomes clear in the last two books of the series.

{{spoiler}}

==Ghola==
A ''[[ghola]]'' is a clone, grown in an axolotl tank from the [[DNA]] of a another person. At the time of Dune, gholas have no access to the lives of the person from whom they were cloned, but after ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', it is discovered that a ghola can recover his or her genetic memory during a carefully staged moment of great stress. Much later in the series, it is revealed that the masters of the Tleilaxu have been using this as an improvised device for immortality: at their death, they are cloned; their clone recovers its memories, and the masters, in their serial incarnations, have memories stretching back thousands of years.

==Axolotl Tank==
An '''[[axolotl tank]]''' is essentially a braindead woman whose womb is used as a tank to create gholas and other creatures. This is why no one has ever seen a Tleilaxu female. In ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'', it is revealed that the Tleilaxu can also create the spice [[melange]] in axolotl tanks, breaking the monopoly on spice that Arrakis held for thousands of years which strongly determined the economics and the politics of the Imperium.

==Face Dancer==
''Main article: [[Face dancers]]''

'''Face dancers''' are sterile creatures, with full sentience, but with a genetically programmed loyalty to the Tleilaxu masters. They are used by the Tleilaxu throughout the universe to impersonate key people after killing the originals.

Over the course of the series, the Tleilaxu try to create more perfect mimics, to the point where the face dancers lose their ability to mimic and their awareness of themselves as face dancers, so perfectly do they mimic their subjects. At that point, the face dancer effectively ''becomes'' the person he or she is mimicking, and passes beyond the control of the Tleilaxu.

In the last two books, the core of the Tleilaxu is revealed: they are the descendants of a [[Islam|Muslim sect]], and are organized along theistic lines. They have spent thousands of years concealing this fact, waiting for their ascendancy, which they believe to be occurring in ''[[Heretics of Dune]]''.

By the events of ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'', the Bene Tleilax had been all but eradicated...save for one Master, Scytale (a ghola of the original Scytale of ''[[Dune: Messiah]]'' that was captured by the Bene Gesserit. What he never told them is that in a tube implanted in his chest were cell samples from his entire order, plus many characters from earlier Dune novels: essentially, even though he was the only one left, he could single-handedly resurrect his Order.

[[Category:Dune]]

Edric (Dune)

2004-10-22T17:57:30Z

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[[Category:Dune|Edric]]

Edric is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Dune universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. He is a navigator of the [[Spacing Guild]]. In the novel ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', Edric participates in the [[conspiracy]] to topple the rule of [[Paul Atreides]]. Like all Guild navigators, his body is mutated due to heavy use of [[Melange|spice]].

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Edric (Dune)

2004-10-22T17:48:33Z

152.216.7.3: My first page

[[Category:Dune]]

Edric is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Dune universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. He is a navigator of the [[Spacing Guild]]. In the novel ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', Edric participates in the [[conspiracy]] to topple the rule of [[Paul Atreides]]. Like all Guild navigators, his body is mutated due to heavy use of [[Melange|spice]].

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List of Dune characters

2004-10-22T17:35:56Z

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[[fr:Personnages de Dune]]
This is a list of characters from the fictional '''''Dune''''' universe, created originally by [Frank Herbert]] with his [[Dune]] novels. In recent years, his son, [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]] have added two prequel trilogies.

This article provides links to many of the main characters in the ''Dune'' universe. They are grouped by primary allegiances. In some cases these allegiances change or reveal themselves to be different throughout the novels.

=== [[House Atreides]] ===
* [[Duke Leto Atreides]], head of [[House Atreides]]
* [[Jessica Atreides|Lady Jessica]], [[Bene Gesserit]] and concubine of the Duke. Mother of Paul and Alia
* [[Paul Atreides]], the Duke's son
* [[Alia Atreides]], Paul's younger sister
* [[Thufir Hawat]], [[mentat]] and Master of Assassins to House Atreides
* [[Gurney Halleck]], staunchly loyal troubadour warrior of the Atreides
* [[Duncan Idaho]], Sword Master for House Atreides
* Dr. [[Wellington Yueh]], Suk doctor for the Atreides

=== [[House Harkonnen]] ===
* [[Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]], head of House Harkonnen
* [[Piter De Vries]], twisted [[mentat]]
* [[Feyd-Rautha]], nephew of the Baron
* [[Glossu Rabban|Glossu 'Beast' Rabban]], older nephew of the Baron

=== [[House Corrino]] ===
* [[Shaddam IV]], the Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe
* [[Liet-Kynes]], Imperial Planetologist on [[Arrakis]]
* Count [[Hasimir Fenring]], the Emperor's closest friend and advisor (not a Corrino per se)

=== [[Bene Gesserit]] ===
*[[Reverend Mother]] [[Gaius Helen Mohiam]], the Emperor's [[Truthsayers|Truthsayer]].
*Odrade
*Taraza
*Bellonda

=== [[Bene Tleilaxu]] ===
*[[Scytale (Dune)|Scytale]]

=== [[Ixians]] ===

=== [[Spacing Guild]] ===

=== Honoured Matres ===
*Dama
*Logno
*Murbella

=== [[Fremen]] ===
* [[Stilgar]], Fremen Naib
* [[Chani]], Paul's Fremen wife

==See also==
*[[Dune (novel)]]
*The [[Bene Gesserit]]
*The [[Bene Tleilaxu]]

[[Category:Dune]]
[[Category:Lists of fictional characters|Dune]]

List of Dune characters

2004-10-22T17:34:21Z

152.216.7.3: /* Bene Tleilaxu */

[[fr:Personnages de Dune]]
This is a list of characters from the fictional '''''Dune''''' universe, created originally by [Frank Herbert]] with his [[Dune]] novels. In recent years, his son, [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]] have added two prequel trilogies.

This article provides links to many of the main characters in the ''Dune'' universe. They are grouped by primary allegiances. In some cases these allegiances change or reveal themselves to be different throughout the novels.

=== [[House Atreides]] ===
* [[Duke Leto Atreides]], head of [[House Atreides]]
* [[Jessica Atreides|Lady Jessica]], [[Bene Gesserit]] and concubine of the Duke. Mother of Paul and Alia
* [[Paul Atreides]], the Duke's son
* [[Alia Atreides]], Paul's younger sister
* [[Thufir Hawat]], [[mentat]] and Master of Assassins to House Atreides
* [[Gurney Halleck]], staunchly loyal troubadour warrior of the Atreides
* [[Duncan Idaho]], Sword Master for House Atreides
* Dr. [[Wellington Yueh]], Suk doctor for the Atreides

=== [[House Harkonnen]] ===
* [[Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]], head of House Harkonnen
* [[Piter De Vries]], twisted [[mentat]]
* [[Feyd-Rautha]], nephew of the Baron
* [[Glossu Rabban|Glossu 'Beast' Rabban]], older nephew of the Baron

=== [[House Corrino]] ===
* [[Shaddam IV]], the Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe
* [[Liet-Kynes]], Imperial Planetologist on [[Arrakis]]
* Count [[Hasimir Fenring]], the Emperor's closest friend and advisor (not a Corrino per se)

=== [[Bene Gesserit]] ===
* Reverend Mother [[Gaius Helen Mohiam]], [[Bene Gesserit]] schemer, the Emperor's Truthsayer.
*Odrade
*Taraza
*Bellonda

=== [[Bene Tleilaxu]] ===
*[[Scytale (Dune)|Scytale]]

=== [[Ixians]] ===

=== [[Spacing Guild]] ===

=== Honoured Matres ===
*Dama
*Logno
*Murbella

=== [[Fremen]] ===
* [[Stilgar]], Fremen Naib
* [[Chani]], Paul's Fremen wife

==See also==
*[[Dune (novel)]]
*The [[Bene Gesserit]]
*The [[Bene Tleilaxu]]

[[Category:Dune]]
[[Category:Lists of fictional characters|Dune]]

Ghanima Atreides

2004-10-22T17:25:33Z

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'''Ghanima''' (meaning 'spoil of war' in the [[Fremen]] language) is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Dune universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. She is a main character in Frank Herbert's third novel in the Dune series: [[Children of Dune]]. She is the daughter of [[Paul Atreides]] and [[Chani]], twin sister to [[Leto Atreides II]]

{{spoiler}}

Ghanima had a very close relationship with her twin [[Leto II|Leto]] and they worked together to create the [[Golden Path]], their plan to avoid humanity near inevitable future destruction. Ghanima supplied her fertile creativity to the details of the plan; and ensured the continuation of the [[Atreides]] line, by providing children with her relationship with [[Farad'n]], previously leader of [[House Corrino]] and on the ascension of Leto II to power, the royal scribe to Leto II. Leto II was formally married to his sister, Ghanima, but this was a marriage of politics not reality.

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[[category:Dune]]

Leto II Atreides

2004-10-22T17:20:16Z

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'''Leto Atreides II''' is a [[fictional character]] in the ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' universe, created by [[Frank Herbert]]. Leto is a central character in ''[[Children of Dune]]'' and is the central character of ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]''. He is son to [[Paul Atreides]] and [[Chani]].

{{spoiler}}

== ''Children of Dune'' ==
Leto is named for his paternal grandfather [[Duke Leto Atreides]], who was killed in the [[House Harkonnen | Harkonnen]] / [[Shaddam Corrino IV | Imperial]] invasion of [[Arrakis]]. He is the second child of Paul to bear that name, the first having been killed by the Emperor's [[Sardaukar]].

In ''Children of Dune'', Leto and his twin sister [[Ghanima]] are nine years old. Because of the [[Melange|spice]] ingested by their mother, Leto and Ghanima are "pre-born", meaning that, as foetuses in their mother's womb, they were awakened to consciousness and to their genetic memories; thus, they are born as fully matured human beings in the bodies of infants. At the start of the novel, Leto is not [[Prescience|prescient]] to the degree that Paul was, but he senses the test his father faced: to embrace a prescient vision of the universe is to set the universe on that path, a terrible responsibility that comes with terrible power.
At the end of ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', Paul forsook that responsibility by walking into the desert--his time as the [[Fremen]] [[messiah]] had shown him that he was not strong enough to be messiah/tyrant to the universe. Leto believes that he must face the same test.

At the same time, the Imperium Paul created is ruled by his sister [[Alia Atreides]] as regent. The horror of the pre-born, the reason the [[Bene Gesserit]] call them "abomination", is that they are easily possessed by the ego-memories of their ancestors. When Bene Gesserit awaken their 'other memories' in the ritual of the spice agony, they are adults with fully formed personalities, and can withstand the inner assault of their forebears; the pre-born have no such defense. Like Leto and Ghanima, Alia was pre-born, and she succumbs to the pressure under an intense dose of spice. Among her ancestors is the [[Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]], still hungry for revenge against his enemies, the Atreides. Alia is possessed by him, and unconsciously turns against the Atreides empire, plotting to kill Leto and Ghanima and to tear down the Imperium in a bloody civil war.

Leto faces the test his father refused to take, and embraces prescience, its visions, its attendant power, and the terrible price it will extract: to follow his vision, Leto will become a [[Sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]] and rule for thousands of years, effectively [[immortality|immortal]] until humanity evolves enough to kill him. By doing so, he will set the universe on "The [[Golden Path]]", a future in which humanity's survival is assured. Leto disappears into the desert following an assassination attempt by [[House Corrino]], leaving Ghanima behind.

Independently, Leto and Ghanima both solve the problem of the pre-born.
Leto constructs his own personality out of an executive of his ancestors; with all (the important ones) possessing him, none can possess him individually.
As part of Leto's plan, Ghanima hypnotizes herself to believe that Leto was killed in the assassination; the intense mental discipline this demands builds a safe haven in Ghanima's mind for her own personality to safely develop.
Would that Alia made the same discoveries.

At the end, following his test and his embracing of his vision, Leto returns to wrest the Imperium from Alia and take his rightful place as Emperor.

== ''God Emperor of Dune'' ==

3,500 years have passed, and Leto is now almost fully transformed into a Sandworm. He is almost invulnerable to physical damage; his single weakness that he shares with the sandworms, an intense vulnerability to water, is a secret. "Leto's peace" has kept the universe quiet for that time, and the entirety of human society has become an audience for him. He is their emperor; he is their god. His all female army of [[Fish Speakers]] keeps order and acts as priestesses (according to Leto, a female army is a nurturing disciplinarian, while a male army is essentially predatory and always turns against its civilian support base in the absence of an enemy).

The old institutions, the Bene Gesserit, the [[Bene Tleilaxu]], the [[Spacing Guild]], the houses major and minor, the [[Landsraad]], the technocrats of [[Planet of Ix|Ix]], and [[CHOAM]], have all faded from power in the face of Leto's [[hydraulic despotism]]: since he has absolute control of a single element on which the whole universe depends, he has the universe by the throat, and ruthlessly enforces his simplistic order.

Leto has taken over the Bene Gesserit's breeding program for himself, the same program that produced his father, the [[Kwisatz Haderach]]. His Golden Path is nearly assured now, and 3,500 years of rule has begun to bore him. The trap of prescience is an existence without surprises; Leto is also such a long-lived creature that he has seen it all, especially with the help of his other memory. There is nothing left for him to do but to ensure that humanity will survive. To accomplish this, he has spent the last three millennia enforcing quiescence on humanity: people rarely travel, rarely fight in wars, rarely do anything but live and worship him; the millennia of repression creates in humanity a deep and urgent need to explode upon the universe, scattering itself beyond the reach of any single tyrant.

The problem is how does a god die without destroying his people? If a god was to commit suicide, his worshippers would commit suicide with him. For a god to fade, so would his people. The only way Leto can die and not take his followers with him is in revolution, so he breeds for the person who will overthrow him: the daughter of his major-domo, Siona. Siona is the first human to carry a gene that makes her invisible to prescience, and thus uncontainable by it. Since she cannot be seen in a vision, she cannot be controlled by a vision. The tyranny of prescience will end with her--humanity can never again be bound by a Leto.

Siona's partner in revolution is [[Duncan Idaho]], the constant companion of Leto throughout the years. For his entire reign, Leto has had a [[ghola]] of Duncan in charge of his Fish Speaker army. The Duncans represent the old Atreides loyalty, along with everything vital in humanity, so something in the Duncans always rebels against the holy blasphemy Leto has created; many Duncans die trying to kill Leto. When Siona finally arrives, she finds in Duncan a justification for revolt.

Meanwhile, the rest of the universe is scheming to kill Leto as well.
The Bene Tleilaxu try many ham-handed schemes; the technocrats of Ix are smarter. They craft a human to seduce Leto. First they create [[Malky]], a being of perfect evil, a devil to Leto's God. Malky is a charming [[Lucifer]], and as ambassador to Leto's court he plumbs the depths of Leto's piety. In ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', the [[face dancer]] [[Scytale]] reveals to a [[Reverend Mother]] that the Bene Tleilaxu created their own Kwisatz Haderachs, meaning "pure creatures", and discovered that Kwisatz Haderachs will die before becoming their opposites (and so can be killed by manipulating them into betraying themselves). Malky's purpose is to get Leto to turn on his holy creation, but he fails because the Ixians don't realize that Leto, more than anyone, knows the blasphemy he has created.

At the same time as Leto is breeding an invisible human, Ix invents another solution: no-chambers. A [[no-chamber]] is an electro-mechanical construct that hides its contents from prescient vision. Inside the first no-chamber, the Ixians grow their next attempt: Malky's niece, [[Hwi Noree]], who shall replace him as Ix's ambassador. Hwi is the opposite of Malky, a creature of pure goodness. Where Malky failed, Hwi succeeds. Leto falls in love with her, and plans to marry her. In so doing, he weakens his godhood enough to allow Siona's revolt the possibility of success.

Leto plans to wed Hwi in what remains of an old Fremen village near the former Sietch Tabr.
The desert disappeared long ago, except for a preserve in which no sandworms roam. Leto plans a journey by foot to the village where he has sent Duncan and Siona, hoping they will breed. But at his arrival, Duncan uses a lasgun to destroy the bridge Leto and Hwi are crossing, dropping them into a river. The water destroys Leto's sandworm body, decomposing it into the sandtrout that will lock up the water in their bodies, recreating the conditions for the sandworms to re-appear, each with a pearl of Leto's consciousness inside it. Leto dies, his last vision that of the Golden Path, shining brightly in humanity's future.

After Leto's death, driven by the famine times and the pent up desires of thousands of years of Leto's peace, humanity explodes out of the universe in waves of [[migration]] known as the Scattering, as predicted by the Golden Path.

[[Category:Dune]]

Leto II Atreides

2004-10-22T17:19:18Z

152.216.7.3: Added a few links and changed some minor wording

'''Leto Atreides II''' is a [[fictional character]] in the ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' universe, created by [[Frank Herbert]]. Leto is a central character in ''[[Children of Dune]]'' and is the central character of ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]''. He is son to [[Paul Atreides]] and [[Chani]].

{{spoiler}}

== ''Children of Dune'' ==
Leto is named for his paternal grandfather [[Duke Leto Atreides]], who was killed in the [[House Harkonnen | Harkonnen]] / [[Shaddam Corrino IV | Imperial]] invasion of [[Arrakis]]. He is the second child of Paul to bear that name, the first having been killed by the Emperor's [[Sardaukar]].

In ''Children of Dune'', Leto and his twin sister [[Ghanima]] are nine years old. Because of the [[Melange|spice]] ingested by their mother, Leto and Ghanima are "pre-born", meaning that, as foetuses in their mother's womb, they were awakened to consciousness and to their genetic memories; thus, they are born as fully matured human beings in the bodies of infants. At the start of the novel, Leto is not [[Prescience|prescient]] to the degree that Paul was, but he senses the test his father faced: to embrace a prescient vision of the universe is to set the universe on that path, a terrible responsibility that comes with terrible power.
At the end of ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', Paul forsook that responsibility by walking into the desert--his time as the [[Fremen]] [[messiah]] had shown him that he was not strong enough to be messiah/tyrant to the universe. Leto believes that he must face the same test.

At the same time, the Imperium Paul created is ruled by his sister [[Alia Atreides]] as regent. The horror of the pre-born, the reason the [[Bene Gesserit]] call them "abomination", is that they are easily possessed by the ego-memories of their ancestors. When Bene Gesserit awaken their 'other memories' in the ritual of the spice agony, they are adults with fully formed personalities, and can withstand the inner assault of their forebears; the pre-born have no such defense. Like Leto and Ghanima, Alia was pre-born, and she succumbs to the pressure under an intense dose of spice. Among her ancestors is the [[Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]], still hungry for revenge against his enemies, the Atreides. Alia is possessed by him, and unconsciously turns against the Atreides empire, plotting to kill Leto and Ghanima and to tear down the Imperium in a bloody civil war.

Leto faces the test his father refused to take, and embraces prescience, its visions, its attendant power, and the terrible price it will extract: to follow his vision, Leto will become a [[Sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]] and rule for thousands of years, effectively [[immortality|immortal]] until humanity evolves enough to kill him. By doing so, he will set the universe on "The [[Golden Path]]", a future in which humanity's survival is assured. Leto disappears into the desert following an assassination attempt by [[House Corrino]], leaving Ghanima behind.

Independently, Leto and Ghanima both solve the problem of the pre-born.
Leto constructs his own personality out of an executive of his ancestors; with all (the important ones) possessing him, none can possess him individually.
As part of Leto's plan, Ghanima hypnotizes herself to believe that Leto was killed in the assassination; the intense mental discipline this demands builds a safe haven in Ghanima's mind for her own personality to safely develop.
Would that Alia made the same discoveries.

At the end, following his test and his embracing of his vision, Leto returns to wrest the Imperium from Alia and take his rightful place as Emperor.

== ''God Emperor of Dune'' ==

3,500 years have passed, and Leto is now almost fully transformed into a Sandworm. He is almost invulnerable to physical damage; his single weakness that he shares with the sandworms, an intense vulnerability to water, is a secret. "Leto's peace" has kept the universe quiet for that time, and the entirety of human society has become an audience for him. He is their emperor; he is their god. His all female army of [[Fish Speakers]] keeps order and acts as priestesses (according to Leto, a female army is a nurturing disciplinarian, while a male army is essentially predatory and always turns against its civilian support base in the absence of an enemy).

The old institutions, the Bene Gesserit, the [[Bene Tleilaxu]], the [[Spacing Guild]], the houses major and minor, the [[Landsraad]], the technocrats of [[Planet of Ix|Ix]], and [[CHOAM]], have all faded from power in the face of Leto's [[hydraulic despotism]]: since he has absolute control of a single element on which the whole universe depends, he has the universe by the throat, and ruthlessly enforces his simplistic order.

Leto has taken over the Bene Gesserit's breeding program for himself, the same program that produced his father, the [[Kwisatz Haderach]]. His Golden Path is nearly assured now, and 3,500 years of rule has begun to bore him. The trap of prescience is an existence without surprises; Leto is also such a long-lived creature that he has seen it all, especially with the help of his other memory. There is nothing left for him to do but to ensure that humanity will survive. To accomplish this, he has spent the last three millennia enforcing quiescence on humanity: people rarely travel, rarely fight in wars, rarely do anything but live and worship him; the millennia of repression creates in humanity a deep and urgent need to explode upon the universe, scattering itself beyond the reach of any single tyrant.

The problem is how does a god die without destroying his people? If a god was to commit suicide, his worshippers would commit suicide with him. For a god to fade, so would his people. The only way Leto can die and not take his followers with him is in revolution, so he breeds for the person who will overthrow him: the daughter of his major-domo, Siona. Siona is the first human to carry a gene that makes her invisible to prescience, and thus uncontainable by it. Since she cannot be seen in a vision, she cannot be controlled by a vision. The tyranny of prescience will end with her--humanity can never again be bound by a Leto.

Siona's partner in revolution is [[Duncan Idaho]], the constant companion of Leto throughout the years. For his entire reign, Leto has had a [[ghola]] of Duncan in charge of his Fish Speaker army. The Duncans represent the old Atreides loyalty, along with everything vital in humanity, so something in the Duncans always rebels against the holy blasphemy Leto has created; many Duncans die trying to kill Leto. When Siona finally arrives, she finds in Duncan a justification for revolt.

Meanwhile, the rest of the universe is scheming to kill Leto as well.
The Bene Tleilaxu try many ham-handed schemes; the technocrats of Ix are smarter. They craft a human to seduce Leto. First they create [[Malky]], a being of perfect evil, a devil to Leto's God. Malky is a charming [[Lucifer]], and as ambassador to Leto's court he plumbs the depths of Leto's piety. In ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', the [[face dancer]] [[Scytale]] reveals to a [[Reverend Mother]] that the Bene Tleilaxu created their own Kwisatz Haderachs, meaning "pure creatures", and discovered that Kwisatz Haderachs will die before becoming their opposites (and so can be killed by manipulating them into betraying themselves). Malky's purpose is to get Leto to turn on his holy creation, but he fails because the Ixians don't realize that Leto, more than anyone, knows the blasphemy he has created.

At the same time as Leto is breeding an invisible human, Ix invents another solution: no-chambers. A [[no-chamber]] is an electro-mechanical construct that hides its contents from prescient vision. Inside the first no-chamber, the Ixians grow their next attempt: Malky's niece, [[Hwi Noree]], who shall replace him as Ix's ambassador. Hwi is the opposite of Malky, a creature of pure goodness. Where Malky failed, Hwi succeeds. Leto falls in love with her, and plans to marry her. In so doing, he weakens his godhood enough to allow Siona's revolt the possibility of success.

Leto plans to wed Hwi in what remains of an old Fremen village near the former Sietch Tabr.
The desert disappeared long ago, except for a preserve in which no sandworms roam. Leto plans a journey by foot to the village where he has sent Duncan and Siona, hoping they will breed. But at his arrival, Duncan uses a lasgun to destroy the bridge Leto and Hwi are crossing, dropping them into a river. The water destroys Leto's sandworm body, decomposing it into the sandtrout that will lock up the water in their bodies, recreating the conditions for the sandworms to re-appear, each with a pearl of Leto's consciousness inside it. Leto dies, his last vision that of the Golden Path, shining brightly in humanity's future.

After Leto's death, driven by the famine times and the pent up desires of thousands of years of Leto's peace, humanity explodes out of the universe in waves of migration known as the Scattering, as predicted by the Golden Path.

[[Category:Dune]]

Talk:Irony

2004-10-13T12:12:51Z

152.216.7.3: /* Irony */

The landlord being evicted from his home is analogous to Adolph Coors being allergic to beer. So why is the former presented as an example of genuine irony, while the latter is labelled "controversial"? In my opinion, neither one is truly ironic.

And why are the landlord and the atheist under the heading of "Irony and Sarcasm"? Actually, I think both of those examples should just be removed because they're out of place and they contradict everything that comes before them.
----

From the article:

:''Gr. dpciwLa, from eipwv, one who says less than he means, eipeu’, to speak''

Can someone please fix the scanos here, and spell out the [[Greek language]] words in Greek?
----
An example of irony in speech would really help this article. I know what irony is, but I can't come up with a good ironic sentence at the moment. Anyone else? —[[User:Frecklefoot|Frecklefoot]]

== Do you really consider the firefighter example "ironic?" ==

Great article... but I wonder about this example:

:An ironic "Well done" would come when a firefighter across the street from a burning building sees a child on the window ledge and dashes across through traffic to catch the falling child in his arms. Both the speaker and the firefighter understand that "Well done" doesn't begin to express the half of it. They share a perception of irony.

This is what I'd call "understatement," and I had not previously considered understatement to be a form of irony.

AHD4's definitions are:

1a. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. b. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning. c. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. See synonyms at wit1. 2a. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs: “Hyde noted the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated” (Richard Kain). b. An occurrence, result, or circumstance notable for such incongruity. See Usage Note at ironic. 3.Dramatic irony. 4. Socratic irony.

It's true that 1a says "something different from and ''often'' opposite to their literal meaning" and therefore understatement qualifies as a kind of irony, and it's true that it meets Mencken's requirement that there be the perception of an excluded outsider—here, the speaker is trying to express his depth of regard to the firefighter without communicating it to bystanders—but it seems to me that, to be called irony, there should be at least a degree of humor. Specifically, the slightly nasty humor that comes from some sense that someone or other is being treated disrespectfully.

[[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 12:58, 15 Nov 2003 (UTC)

This definition of irony is misguided and biased towards certain meanings. Its a mess I'm not about to address. Just pointing it out. It needs a rewrite.

:What "definition of irony" are you referring to? The article as a whole? A specific part of the article? The dictionary definition I cite above on the talk page? Toward what meanings is it biased? The present contents of the article deals mainly with the strict meaning for the word ''irony.'' Personally, I'd label people who regard this as the ''only'' correct definition "purists." However, these purists happen to include Fowler and some other usage arbiters. I thought I'd dealt with this adequately in the section I added, [[Irony#Usage controversy]].

:"Just pointing it out" doesn't help if you can't be more specific about where you feel the problems lie. Even though I'm not a purist, I happen to think it's a darn good article, and that it's important for people to ''understand'' what irony means in the strict sense of the word, even if they choose to ''use'' it in a broader sense.

:I believe that there's been a sort of faddism lately about trying to restrict the word to its primary meaning; people play games in which they jump on any non-strict use of the word irony. If it were possible to document this, it would make an interesting addition to the article. Usages change. Perhaps the word "irony" is evolving toward a stricter usage. That probably wouldn't be such a bad thing.

:As for "it needs a rewrite," "then who will help me rewrite this Wikipedia article?" said the little red hen. "Not I!" said the goose. "Not I!" said the sheep. "Not I!" said [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]]. "Then I will do it myself," said the little red hen. And she did. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 13:30, 3 Feb 2004 (UTC)

---
I'm hesitant to enter this discussion halfway through, but will anyway...

It seems to me that the article is quite correct in stating that, in modern usage, there is no longer any need for a double audience. In deed the Coors example illustrates this well.

However the Sullivan example is not in the least ironic by any defintion I understand. It was just bad luck !

I also agree with earlier comment that the firefighter example is not a good one. Why not use the Coors example instead ?

Is it ironic that an article about irony can't give a clear example ?" ;-) [[User:Julianp|Julianp]] 04:08, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

==God's irony: a sermonette==
Dear Mr Mellowfellow.com I found your article website attached to a an article on
wikipedia about Irony. I fully agree with what you say and I am pretty damn sure I
now know where one of my acquaintances got his notions about the irony that Isn’t It
Ironic is unironic.
I would be very interested to see what your opinion is about what I have said about
my reaction to reading the definition of irony on Wikipedia. Perhaps if you get time
and are inspired or can be bothered you could print what i have written here on your
site if you think it pertinent, cogent, and relevant.
Please keep in mind that it actually has nothing to do with Alanis’s song which may
make its inclusion ironic?
I found it fascinating reading about wiki’s definition and description and meaning of
irony. I guess I would globally have to agree. I think I would also have to say that I am
not totally sure I have understood in toto everything and every point and nuance the
article is expressing. I think I adequately get the gist which maybe a good start.
However I would stipulate that these definitions of irony are heavily slanted in a
certain direction of thought. I say this because in remembrance of other definitions of
irony and my previous exposure to those thoughts ideas and definitions about irony
they said probably the same kind of thing but in a or with a differing slant and
approach.
In my remembrance of previous definitions of irony I remember there being a definite
focus in the logic of the exegesis of the definition and its expression to be an
explanation of and including a definite moral imputation.
In the examples of the wiki definition I think this proves my point. Where it goes on
about the Coors brewer being allergic to beer can it not plausibly be construed as
denigrating by association (possible word association of allergic which is of the
field/domain vocabulary of disease which most people would consider negative and
beer which could be depending on the beholders conception of this concepts moral
worth either good or bad. but because of its juxtaposittion of allergic and beer in the
same sentence with an obvious ironic element is it not crying out to the reader to
come to some kind of moral imputation about the subject) Interesting use of the word
subject-how could one little sentence like this be a subject. What exactly am I
meaning by the word subject here? Am I referring or meaning in some way the overall
interpreted discourse’s overall meaning in the context or wider context of where this
statement or sentence came from? And I am assuming of cause it did come from a
context or wider context possibly could this have been jargonly EXPRESSED AS A
DISCOURSE?
It just came to mind that perhaps I was seeing far to much or interpreting far too much
into the sentence or statement ( in this case it would have been on the negative side
why could you not have a hyperbolised blown out of proportion positive interpretation
aswell? And really who is to say which interpretation is actually positive or not?). The
whole overall interpretation of the brewers allergy to beer could be just a
compassionate cum pitying observation that the poor owner could not partake in his
produced product which perhaps in the mind of the author who makes a
compassionate case for its expression that beer is in fact positive. Why build up a
sympathetic case or interpretation, which this interpretation is, in this context or
ironic context, that the poor brewery owner is at a disadvantage, unless you like beer
or moralistically think it of value?
Perhaps the other ironic case will also better prove my case- the one about the atheist
being killed by a falling cross. But just before we go to my thoughts about the second
case I would just like to bring to someone’s attention a thought that crosse my mind in
relation to this context of irony that why do we even have a word for the
concept-obviously in our culture it must be important /worthwhile-why so?-any
practical meaningful reason why/justification? What does this then say about our
culture-culture being a mirror to our own souls. How did the first person discover
come across irony and why would anyone anywhere necessarily think it important.
For some societies irony is non existent why therefore does it appear in some and not
others? Why do we call an atheist killed by a falling cross ironic? Who says it is
ironic-who is noticing and why are they noticing and frankly quite what are they
noticing? I think in a round about Socratic fashion I am coming to some sort of
answer. it goes to my current hobbyhorse of the fact that there is a modern and
ancient world. In the ancient world people were obsessed with morality. Morality
came from god and there was a telos to everything which was monistic (from monism
my usage HERE being that everything is seen and telossed by in and through a human
mancentric conceptualisation of cosmology). God had a will. That will was the
essence of order. People were afraid of chaos. Anything that was chaos was therefore
defined as being outside the pale/bounds of God’s will. Anything not deemed as a part
of god’s will was exterminated because that was how they dealt with chaos. In the
modern world the general concept of chaos has changed and general concepts of
monism or at least we are now officially aware of the problem so that we deal with
chaos in a different manner.
I think this proves that irony is a back door way of preaching and is a method of
thought that is very ancient. It is a way of disarming your opponent in a way that is
almost invisible. I would possibly state that irony is linked to an individual who is an
idealist and at heart socially and politically conservative in at least or to some degree
conservative.

For is not the cross falling on the atheist a subtle way to state gods judgement on the
unbeliever. For in a modern perspective the cross falling and killing him has no cause
and affect mechanism-it is in a modern thought pattern deemed pure coincidence

* I know plenty of modern people who still believe in a God who is active in the world, and though few of them believe God is in the habit of smiting unbelievers, they would still appreciate the irony. In any case, your proposed dichotomy of "socially and politically conservative" vs. "modern" has been noted. ;-) --[[User:Histrion|Jay (Histrion)]] 22:33, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

so why unless you are at least aware of ancient modes of thought would you ever even
bother to notice any irony which provides a clandestine moral content to extract from
any discourse a moral or overall lesson or moral lesson from the overall semantic
parameters of the discourse (or at least the semantic interpretation of that discourse).
Another interpretation would be what? I have yet to find one in this case. This case
seems to be inherently of the ancient unmodern way of thinking precisely because all
the constituents of the equation come from an essentially ancient phenomena-religion.
The atheist the cross and the fate which only surely an omnipotent god is in control of
especially in the light of a monotheistic interpreartion and bent in religion screams
out surely for a religious or moralistic interpretation. It would be even more
screaming out for a religious interpretation if the cause of death was lightening
because that is the preferred way literally and culturally/friguatively of how
Zeus/Jehovah/God/Allah ends people’s existence. I have never come across an
instance of Allah striking someone with lightening. There’s always a first shot-is that
ironic? Will I be the target/targum? Is that ironic?

Here is another example of irony to contemplate.
What particular use of irony is it? Is it in fact
ironic-why is it ironic? Whose noticing and why?
“ Ronald Raegan spent decades preparing for his
national political debut. His experience as an orator
dates back to 1928, when, as a freshman at Eureka
College, the future chief executive lead a student
strike against a school president who wanted to cut
special programs and to reduce his teaching staff in
order to save money. When Raegan spoke to his
classmates and teachers at a heated meeting, they
rose to their feet in acclamation. The strikers won.
Eureka’s budget-minded president resigned and
ronald Raegan went on to become head of the
student government. Recalling the prophetic
meeting, he has written, “ I discovered that night
that an audience has to feel to it and, in the parlance
of the theatre, the audience and i were together.”1
(annotation that i will state after the quote)
The incident strikes us for two reasons. First, we
note the amusingly ironic fact that the man who
would one day arrest student demonstrators and
later call for budget reductions in education began
his career by attacking a university president whose
policies one might compare to what Raegan himself
would espouse in future.
1 Annotation: Ronald Raegan and Richard G.
Hubler, Where’s the rest of me? (new York Duell,
Sloan and Pearce, 1965), pp 28.
Reference to whole quote: Erickson, Paul D,
Raegan Speaks, New York Uni press 1985, pp 13.

i0;

==Etymology==

''The Semitic root of the Greek word is derived from the Accadic term erewum, "covering"'' Does anyone else doubt that this is an authentic Akkadian word? Got the Akkadian dictionary anyone?[[User:Wetman|Wetman]] 17:38, 29 Jun 2004 (UTC)

== firefighter ==

I appreciate that there is an example, and I think that this example does distinguish between sarcasm and irony. However, I think a simpler example would make this point more clearly. -[[User:LegCircus|LegCircus]]

::"An example of sarcastic speech might be a response such as "Well done" or "Great job", said in an angry tone to a worker who has done something wrong. An ironic "Well done" would come when a fire-fighter across the street from a burning building sees a child on the window ledge and dashes across through traffic to catch the falling child in his arms. Both the speaker and the fire-fighter understand that "Well done" doesn't begin to express the half of it. They share a perception of irony."

== How is jai alai court ironic? ==

Reading this article, the single most confusing thing is how the home that shares a glass wall with a [[jai alai]] court is ironic. Isn't that just stupid, not ironic?
It would help if situational irony was further explained, along with the example. (Otherwise a new example would be good.)

== Irony ==

I guess I may be a purist by some definitions yet I see the value of a language that evolves and adapts to meet a need. Much of what I hear on TV or radio news broadcasts, written by people who are supposed to be exemplars of our prestige dialect here in the United States, almost consistently identify simple coincidence as irony: "Joe Blow, the home-run hitter, pounded in his 35th home run of the season today. Ironically, Joe's uniform bears the number 35" or "It's raining in Louisiana, ironically, an area hard hit by last month's flooding." To me, these are just coincidences and not irony at all.

Yet I see that our language seems to be groping for something more than coincidence to suit the situations in these examples. The problem I see is that there is no other word in English that so aptly describes something which is ironic. As Steven Wright the comic might observe, there is no synonym in English for synonym. So there seems to be no synonym for irony. Thus the one word we have to capture this concept should be preserved, in my humble view, for a meaning as close to those most widely understood as possible and proscribe loosening this meaning to contain simple coincidence or comparison: "The male peacock, ironically, is the gender with the most spectacular plumage."

As to the jai-alai example, I also was confused by it. A jai-alai fronton (at least those that I have seen) has a "glass wall" much like a racquetball court does, to permit spectators a better view of the action. I will grant that it is not made of window glass so fragile it would break in the action of the game, but probably some modern clear plastic. But most casual speakers would call it glass, so the confusion with the example is understandable.

Talk:Irony

2004-10-12T15:02:08Z

152.216.7.3: Irony

Vorlon

2004-09-23T21:23:17Z

152.216.7.3: /* After the Departure */

The '''Vorlons''' are an advanced ancient race from the science fiction series ''[[Babylon 5]]''.

{{spoiler}}
{{b5}}
[[Image:B5_kosh01b.jpg|right|thumb|325px|[[Kosh]] in ''[[Babylon 5]]'']]
==Homeworld==
Little is known of the Vorlon homeworld. [[Lyta Alexander]] is one of only two known humans to have visited the planet. She was sworn to secrecy about what she had seen. And she said if she told others what she had seen on Vorlon that they wouldn't believe her anyways.

The environment of the planet is assumed to be similar to the environment in Ambassador [[Kosh]]'s quarters. But as the encounter suit was proven to be just for show, the exact environmental conditions are not known.

==History==
The Vorlons are meant to represent strict lawfulness and unquestioned obedience to authority. Their question is who are you centering on ones identity. Though initially in the series they appear to provide beneficial guidance to the main characters (despite actually acting against the best interests of the characters on some occasions), they are eventually revealed to be using the younger races as pawns in their battle against the [[Shadows (Babylon 5)|Shadows]], who represent advancement through chaos and strife.

===Year 1260===
In 1260, the first [[Shadow War]] raged between the Shadows and the combined forces of the Vorlons and [[Minbari]].

===Years 2260-2261===
The second Shadow War occurred one thousand year later in [[2260]], in which the Shadows battled the combined forces of Babylon 5, [[Minbari Federation]], [[Narn Regime]], the [[League of Non-Aligned Worlds]], and the Rangers. The Vorlon Empire originally consented to aid this combined force. But following the death of the Vorlon Ambassador Kosh Naranek by the Shadows and Commander [[John Sheridan]]'s trip to [[Z'ha'dum_(planet)|Z'ha'dum]], the Vorlons became convinced that the only way to stop the war was to destroy all the planets that had been touched by the Shadows. The Shadows decided to pursue the same policy follow the destruction of one of their major cities. As a result, billions of sentients died when the two forces began destroying the planets the other held influence over.

Sheridan brought the two forces into direct contact at Corianna VI. With a combined assault of allied ships and the remaining First Ones, he managed to stop the Vorlons from destroying the planet. Later he was finally able to force the Vorlons and Shadows to agree to leave the galaxy. In the end, the Vorlons, Shadows, and remaining First Ones soon departed from the galaxy. They left to join the others beyond the rim.

===After the Departure===
After the Vorlons left the galaxy, their homeworld was left abandoned, but they left their defense systems on the planet operational. As a result, several expeditions to the planet were destroyed. The Vorlons also left a message with [[Lyta Alexander]] that the planet was not for the younger races. The Vorlon Homeworld was not to be theirs until they were ready, at least another million years.

Lyta Alexander was also left with other information as well. She was left with a command to activate the self-destruct systems on Za'ha'dum. When she did after the Drakh looted the planet, the planet exploded. In the movie ''Thirdspace'', she was able to give information on a new alien menace that was discovered in hyperspace, and to destroy that menace. When the Drakh used Shadow control pods to operate Centauri vessels during their war with the alliance, Alexander was able to identify the devices as such due to information left with her.

Finally in 2262, it was revealed that the Vorlons had modified her to be a living telepathic superweapon - a doomsday machine to be used against the Shadows if the Vorlons lost the war. They made her into the most powerful human telepath with the possible exception of Jason Ironheart who had already evolved into something similar to a First One.

One million years after the events of Babylon 5, the humans who had become First Ones in their own right left Earth for the last time after artificially causing the sun to explode, thus taking most of the solar system with it. The future humans then left for what was called "New Earth." J. Michael Straczynski indicated that New Earth was in fact the old Vorlon homeworld.

==Biology==
When in the company of aliens, Vorlons wear complex and intimidating environment encounter suits that completely conceal their physical form. Vorlons maintained this was because their ambassadors needed a specific environment. However, it eventually became clear that they could function in other environments - such as oxygen / nitrogen - just as well as their native environments.

When a Vorlon appears outside its encounter suit in the presence of others it has the ability to take the appearance of an angelic being in the shape of the observer or observers. Broadly, they usually appear to be humanoid with extremely large wings that radiate white light with their racial appearance determined on the the race of the observer. For example a human will see a human, a [[Narn]] will see a Narn, a [[Minbari]] will see a Minbari, etc though it seems the Centauri just see a being of light. This seems to be because the Vorlons possess advanced telepathic powers which cause them to be perceived on a mental level as well as a physical one. The form perceived by each race can be related to [[angel]]ic beings in their religion or mythology, betraying Vorlon involvement in the genetic and social development of many races. However this ability is especially taxing when the Vorlon is seen in the presence of so many in the instance of Kosh who was seen by the majority of Babylon 5 he had to recover for weeks in his quarters before emerging.

Later when [[John Sheridan (Babylon 5)|John Sheridan]] decided to kill the second Vorlon ambassador, the Vorlon's suit is destroyed during the attempt. The second [[Kosh]] emerges from his suit and their true appearance is seen as an energy being with a number of tendrils.

A poisoning incident involving the first Vorlon ambassador to [[Babylon 5]] suggests that Vorlons do possess a physical body of some sort or a physical component to their energy form.

==Technology==

===Space vessels===
Virtually invincible, Vorlon vessels are not only based on organic technology, they register as life forms. Among their immense fleet, "planet killers" have the ability to destroy an entire planet.

===Biotechnology===
The Vorlons have the ability to alter alien species to breathe in their native atmosphere and serve as receptacles for their spiritual forms. For example, [[Lyta Alexander]] had been physically altered to allow gills to appear on both sides of her neck though it appears that even the Narns are capable of installing gills.

Later in the series, it is revealed that the Vorlons engineered the creation of telepaths in various alien species, as weapons in the next Shadow War.

==Lyta Alexander and Sebastian==
Only two non-Vorlons are known to have ever gone into Vorlon Space and return. One is [[Lyta Alexander]], Babylon 5's first commercial telepath and assistant to Ambassador Kosh. After being touched by the Vorlons, she travelled to the borders of Vorlon Space to find them again; when she was almost dead, she was picked up by the first Ambassador Kosh and taken to the Vorlon homeworld, from which she returned alive as the assistant to both of the Vorlon Ambassadors called Kosh.

The second is Sebastian, formerly known as [[Jack the Ripper]], whom the Vorlons took from 19th century Earth in order to employ him as an Inquisitor.

[[Category:Babylon 5 races]] [[Category:Fictional deities]]

James Madison University

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'''James Madison University''', located in [[Harrisonburg|Harrisonburg, Virginia]], was founded in [[1908]] as a school for women. Since its founding in 1908, JMU has grown to today's coeducational comprehensive university with an enrollment of approximately 15,000.

Dr. Linwood H. Rose has been president of JMU since September, [[1998]]. He is only the fifth president in the university's long history. Before being named president, Rose served as a member of the institution's administration for 23 years, including service as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The university was established by the [[Virginia]] General Assembly in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg. In [[1914]], the name of the university was changed to the State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg. Authorization to award bachelor's degrees was granted in [[1916]]. During this initial period of development, the campus plan was established and six buildings were constructed.

The university became the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg in [[1924]] and continued under that name until [[1938]], when it was named Madison College in honor of the fourth president of the United States. In [[1976]] the university's name was changed to James Madison University.

The first president of the university was Julian Ashby Burruss. The university opened its doors to its first student body in [[1909]] with an enrollment of 209 students and a faculty of 15. Its first 20 graduates received diplomas in [[1911]].

Dr. Samuel Page Duke became the second president of the university in [[1919]] upon the resignation of Burruss, who became president of [[Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University]]. During Duke's administration, nine major buildings were constructed.

In [[1946]] men were first enrolled as regular day students. Dr. G. Tyler Miller became the third president of the university in [[1949]], following the retirement of Duke. During Miller's administration, from 1949 to [[1970]], the campus was enlarged by 240 acres and 19 buildings were constructed. Major curriculum changes were made and the university was authorized to grant master's degrees in [[1954]].

In [[1966]], by action of the Virginia General Assembly, the university became a coeducational institution. Dr. Ronald E. Carrier, JMU's fourth president, headed the institution from [[1971]] to [[1998]]. During Carrier's administration, student enrollment and the number of faculty and staff tripled, doctoral programs were authorized, more than 20 major campus buildings were constructed and the university was recognized repeatedly by national publications as one of the finest institutions of its type in America.

James Madison's sports teams are called the Dukes. They participate in the [[NCAA]]'s Division I, (Division I-AA for football), the [[Colonial Athletic Association]], the [[Eastern College Athletic Conference]], and the [[Atlantic 10 Conference]] for football.

JMU supports student run radio station [[WXJM]] as well as public radio station [[WMRA]].

== External link ==

*[http://www.jmu.edu James Madison University]
*[http://www.jmu.edu/wxjm 88.7 WXJM]
*[http://www.jmu.edu/wmra 90.7 WMRA]
----
JMU is also the abbreviation for John Moores University in [[Liverpool]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges in Virginia]]

Winchester, Virginia

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'''Winchester''' is a city located in the [[U.S. State|State]] of [[Virginia]]. As of the [[2000]] census, the city had a total population of 23,585. It is the [[county seat]] of [[Frederick County, Virginia|Frederick]] County.

== Geography ==

<div style="float:right;width:300px;padding-left:15px">
[[Image:Canoe1572.jpg]]
<center><small>''Canoeing on the [[Shenandoah River]]''<br>[[Winchester, Virginia]]</small></center> </div>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of 24.2 [[square kilometer|km²]] (9.3 [[square mile|mi²]]). None of the area is covered with water.

== Demographics ==
As of the [[census]] of [[2000]], there are 23,585 people, 10,001 households, and 5,650 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] is 976.0/km² (2,526.7/mi²). There are 10,587 housing units at an average density of 438.1/km² (1,134.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 82.06% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 10.47% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.24% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.59% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.03% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 3.46% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. 6.47% of the population are [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There are 10,001 households out of which 25.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% are married couples living together, 11.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% are non-families. 34.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.28 and the average family size is 2.93.

In the city the population is spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $34,335, and the median income for a family is $44,675. Males have a median income of $30,013 versus $24,857 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,500. 13.2% of the population and 8.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 15.2% are under the age of 18 and 6.9% are 65 or older.

Winchester was the home town of [[Patsy Cline]].

Winchester is the location of the annual Apple Blossom festivities, which include a carnival, the longest fireman's parade, the third longest grand feature parade, several dances and parties, and a corranation where a Apple Blossom Queen is crowned. Local school systems and many businesses close the Friday of Apple Blossom weekend.
{{Virginia}}
[[Category:Cities in Virginia]]