Dune: Scytale

Last of the remaining Bene Tleilax Masters.

(More information will follow)

From jraynor@minerva.cis.yale.edu (John P. Raynor)

The original Scytale was a Face Dancer, who was born (or, perhaps, "grown") prior to the development of the Master caste. During his original life, the ability to force gholas to recover their original memories was discovered. Although Scytale, the Face Dancer, was killed by Paul Muad'Dib at the end of "Dune Messiah," his body was recovered, a ghola was grown, and then forced to recover its original memories. Just what Scytale was at this point is a mystery: it depends upon whether Face Dancers were, at that point, a biologically engineered race (as they were during the "Heretics/Chapterhouse" era), or the products of delicate, but non-genetic, surgical techniques. Fortunately, however, it doesn't matter - Scytale is reborn through an unknown number of ghola incarnations. Eventually, the ruling class of the Bene Tleilax (including the reincarnated Scytale) intentionally decide to "adopt" the enigmatic, vaguely disturbing "Master" form.

(Taken from the Dune FAQ)


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