THE BENE GESSERIT SISTERHOOD
The
Bene Gesserrit is one of the most powerful factions in the Imperium. Their membership
is exclusively women who are raised from childhood with strict temperance to
their character, stamina, physical prowess, and mental strength. Extreme tests
and training excercises push the capabilities of these girls to their limit,
creatures often called "witches" for their seemingly magical and persuasive
abilities.
After a member of the sisterhood as honed her skills and proven herself of great
loyalty and capability to the Bene Gesserrit, she is then given the water of
life--a heavy melange based solution comprising of the secretion of a Arrakis
sandworm after dying from immersion in water. If the woman survives this test
of excruciating agony in which the solution tears at her mind and her very essence,
she becomes a Reverend Mother, an inheritor of all the memories and knowledge
of the previous Reverend Mothers. Reverend Mother status seems highly acclaimed
and sought after by their members, as it establishes them in a position of great
power and trust.
The Gom Jabbar is a test performed by Reverend Mothers on the girls of the Bene
Gesserrit. The test requires that the subject place their hand inside a small
black box. After a few moments the subject will notice a tingling, then a burning,
and the pain will become worse than any pain they have ever experienced. This
pain's magnitude will continue to rise as the subject can not only smell the
flesh of their hand burning, but fell the skin and muscle melt away until their
very bones singe from the burning pain. At all times, the subject must keep
their hand in the box. If the subject pulls away, the Reverend Mother kills
the subject with a small poisonous needle that is instantaneously deadly. The
test is supposed to prove whether the subject is human or animal. An animals
first instinct is to pull back when it experiences pain. However, a human is
supposed to possess a mind which can overcome this inherent animal instinct
even in the face of unimaginable pain. If the subject succeeds, they remove
their hand from the box only to see it totally unharmed. The remarkable effect
of this box is created through the use of technology in which the nerves in
the hand are affected to make them believe that the hand is encountering great
pain. However, while their remains no physical evidence of this traumatic experience,
no Reverend Mother ever loses the potency of this memory in her mind.
Voice is one incredible ability of the Bene Gesserrit. Through training for
very long periods, one can manipulate his or her voice to such detail that they
can use the sound of their voice to influence the mind of normal-minded individuals.
The person on who the voice is being used on then responds beyond their control
with a sudden urge to do what the voice user commanded. It is truly remarkable.
Truthsayers are Reverend Mothers who have trained and honed their Bene Gesserrit
abilities to an extreme point. Their perception is so sharp that they can sense
the slightest subtleties in a person's voice, mannerisms, or posture. In this
way, they can determine without doubt if a subject is being deceptive.
Some notable members of the Bene Gesserrit are the high powerful Reverend Mother
Gaius M., Princess Irulan--daughter of former Emperor Shaddam IV, and member
of House Atreides: Jessica Atreides.
