# Finally got around to reading Dune

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-got-around-to-reading-dune/720688>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 24, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-got-around-to-reading-dune/720688 "2015-05-24T01:24:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-got-around-to-reading-dune/720688/61 "2015-05-29T07:39:02Z")

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> [@grude](#):
>
> Is there any plot relevance to Arrakis not being the native home of the sandworms and being said to have been originally a lush planet? At first I wondered if it was actually a far future earth, but that was shot down in a Dune topic I made once.

Earth is described as “gone” by Darwi Odrade in Chapterhouse, but the Dune Encyclopedia describes it as once depopulated (possibly asteroid stike) and then re-populated and the ultimate source of the Zensunni.

The plot significance is that worms _can_ be transplanted to other planets, I guess.

> [@](#):
>
> Oh and the ships and navigators, it is never really said whether the ships have some kind of warp or FTL drive and the navigators just mentally plot a course using spice, or if they are actually somehow mentally teleporting the ship was it?

They’re guiding them, but they have FTL engines (Holtzman drive). They’re not just plotting a course ahead of time, they’re actively steering the ship (Steersman is an alternate title for a Navigator).

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**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-got-around-to-reading-dune/720688/62 "2015-05-29T10:47:55Z")

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> [@grude](#):
>
> Is there any plot relevance to Arrakis not being the native home of the sandworms and being said to have been originally a lush planet?

I think the point of bringing that up is to start cluing the reader in to the fact that the worms are the _cause_ of Arrakis’ climate.

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