Arrakis, also called Dune, is a planet in the constellation Canopus, a star over 300 light-years from the Sol System. It is a desert planet, largely uninhabited except for a handful of species adapted to live in such a hostile world. Among them are great Sandworms which burrow under the dunes. Their existence and life cycle are responsible for a substance that has been in various times in galactic history, one of the most important substances in existence. The drug is known as Melange or simply as the Spice.
Sometime in the distant past, the Imperium which controlled the galaxy utilized the Spice for a variety of purposes. The Noble Houses used it as a method of life-extension; the Spacing Guild required it for their Navigators which made interplanetary travel possible, and the Bene Gesserit needed it to expand and fuel their potent psychic powers. The Spice was mined by the Fremen a population of humans who dwell on the planet's mountainous outcroppings.
They attempted to transplant the building blocks for the creation of the drug to other worlds in order to reduce the importance of Arrakis. Sandworm skeletons and fungal deposits have been discovered over a dozen worlds, along with the telltale signs of mining settlements. In almost every situation, these export attempts seem to have been failures, but their remains have provided some sources of Spice outside Dune, as evidenced by the Spice Mines of Kessel.
Spice is formed when subterranean fungal deposits come in contact with fluids produced by newly-born Sandworms. The resulting chemical reaction creates the Spice along with an occupying gaseous discharge known as a blowout. Getting Spice on Arrakis requires sifting through tons of sand particles in order to extract the tiny hidden grains of narcotic within. After an expensive processing process, the drug is ready to be utilized, normally through some sort of inhaler.
The main ability of Spice is to expand consciousness, granting minor psychic awareness to most normal individuals and greatly enhancing the psionic powers of mentalists. This, accompanied by extreme euphoria, makes the drug highly prized on the black market. In addition, prolonged use has anti-agathic properties, extending the lifespans of most carbon-based lifeforms. However, tests have shown that multi-generational use can cause genetic mutations to occur.
Arrakis was under the protection of the Nova Empire, which kept a strict quarantine to prevent unauthorized mining and to protect the Sandworms. With the fall of the first empire and the chaotic formation of the Second Nova Empire, the planet's security detail is poorly staffed and under-equipped. This has allowed rogue mining operations to flourish on the planet, stopped only by the Fremen.
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