In the world of Dune, thinking machines became anathema after the infamous Butlerian Jihad, with their very existence forbidden. This was seen in the first episode of Dune: Prophecy, and the sentiment continues in the rest of the series. Despite this, one of the main characters uses them for an arguably noble reason, though this actually changes everything.
Lila’s Early Death Was a Major Twist In Dune: Prophecy
In Dune: Prophecy, the Bene Gesserit, as in the later era of the Denis Villeneuve Dune movies, are the power behind the galaxy’s political structure. Their actions influence the paths that dukes and emperors follow, with theirs being a shadowy form of power. Unfortunately, this is all challenged as much by internal rivalries as by external forces, with the latter being seen in the threat of Desmond Hart.
A former soldier who had served on Arrakis, he supposedly gained a strange power from the resident sandworms of this world. This allows him to mentally burn others alive, all while he’s able to resist the powers of the Bene Gesserit, including Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen. Her ineffective status against him convinces her that the Bene Gesserit must take drastic measures, and she hopes to commune with her deceased mentor Mother Superior Raquella for answers.
This desperation sends one of the youngest Bene Gesserit trainees on a dangerous path, with Lila, who’s actually Raquella’s descendant. The goal is to make her undergo the Spice Agony, which is analogous to the later tradition of taking the similar “Water of Life.” Doing so would allow Lila access to her ancestral knowledge, namely Raquella. Unfortunately, this act is incredibly dangerous, as proven by Lila’s death after she’s attacked by the spirit of her grandmother, Reverend Mother Dorotea.
Following Lila’s death, the Bene Gesserit mourn the young girl, who was known to be untrained for the Spice Agony by that point. Taking it hardest is Tula Harkonnen, Valya’s sister who was a veritable mother to Lila. She had already objected to Valya’s plans for the young girl, and she’s unable to cope with what was done. This eventually results in her resurrecting Lila, though she does so through arcane means.
Lila Was Revived Through Notorious Means
It’s eventually shown that Tula hasn’t taken so easily to the idea of Lila’s death, and she’s intent on cheating this fate. In Episode 3 of Dune: Prophecy, Tula is shown putting the girl’s dead body into none other than a Thinking Machine. This releases an amount of spice to revive Lila (played by Chloe Lea), though the means in which it does so is left somewhat unexplained. Tula notes that the spice will expand her mind further to revive her, and the logic makes some sense given what’s known about the substance.
Any latent brain activity would be further stimulated by the spice as the Thinking Machine helps to revive her body. The influx of spice would allow the remnants of Lila’s dying mind to exert its powers. Thus, she would be able to make the Water of Life benign as the machine heals her, bringing her back to the land of the living. Of course, this happens thanks to one of the most controversial devices from the world of the series.
Thinking Machines in Dune: Prophecy are despised and seen as more than simply banned. These sentient forms of technology were once ubiquitous, but their rise against humanity made the survivors of the Butlerian Jihad ban the machines outright. Some humans were less intolerant of these machines, with the young Pruwet Richese even allowed to play with a Thinking Machine toy that his father had given him. This lax sense of urgency, however, gets his father scolded by Emperor Javicco Corrino, however, with the Landsraad overall despising the machines and banning them.
The same goes for the Bene Gesserit, with Valya’s former rival Dorotea harping on an edict preaching against this form of technology. This is meant to display her piety and contrast her with Valya, though it’s Valya’s less renegade sister, Tula, who ultimately breaks this major rule. In the fourth episode of Dune: Prophecy, Lila is revived thanks to the Thinking Machine that Tula placed her in. This act is kept secret from the other Bene Gesserit, and it showcases how, despite the veritable ban on families, Tula is the closest thing to Lila’s mother.
It’s actually a rather sad irony, as Lila had undergone the Spice Agony in the hopes of finally meeting her mother, whom she had been kept from meeting during her youth. In the end, her actual mother was the one who saved her from the result of this act, whereas the “sisterhood” that claimed to be her family almost doomed her. Before her rival, other young recruits had already said their goodbyes to Lila’s dead body. Thus, her revival — namely the fact that it’s linked to a Thinking Machine — could have drastic consequences for the rest of the series.
How Lila’s Revival Could Change Everything for the Bene Gesserit
Given that she was already publicly mourned by her sisters, the revival of Lila will turn many heads in Dune: Prophecy. Her return from the grip of death will be seen by some as a miracle, though some will obviously question what happened. This brings into question what she or Tula will tell the others, namely, if Tula says anything at all about her connection to what happened.
Valya and more discerning members of the Bene Gesserit will already know that something is up, which could complicate things between the sisters. Valya is obviously unafraid of breaking the rules to meet her own ends, but it’s unknown how she’ll react to her more demure sister doing the same. Worst of all, the way in which Tula broke the rules is more insidious than many would expect, even from her sister Valya.
The use of Thinking Machines is seen as almost sacrilegious, with Desmond Hart outright using it as justification for killing the young Pruwet Richese, who was only a boy. The idea of a Bene Gesserit member using the Thinking Machines to revive one of the group’s own will only make others resent the matriarchy, especially since they’re already seen by some as something of a “necessary evil.” Desmond Hart would definitely use this act as a reason why the Bene Gesserit should not be trusted, and it would only further justify his hand in getting Valya Harkonnen thrown out of the emperor’s court.
It’s also worth noting that the Bene Gesserit supposedly never engaged in such devious uses of technology. Tula doing so to revive Lila goes against canon in this way, though it could prove to be an act so contentious and sacrilegious that her sisters blot it out from history. Regardless of what exactly happens, it’s obvious that Tula using a Thinking Machine, particularly to undo one of the Bene Gesserit’s own dark rituals, will certainly be something that the group can’t easily come back from.
Dune: Prophecy is streaming now on Max.
