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Yes, absolutely there is ample evidence of a Warhammer 40k/Dune connection. Even a cursory look will reveal a number of similarities between Warhammer 40k and Dune that it’s impossible to overlook them.
The Warhammer 40k/Dune Caveat
Warhammer 40k was inspired by a TON of different IPs–everything from Alien to Predator to Starship Troopers to the history of the Roman Catholic church. And the truth is that Dune, which came out more than 20 years before Warhammer 40k launched, has influenced a TON of IPs, everything from Tremors to The Matrix to Star Wars to Terminator (and dozens more). This is the nature of great works of art. If Dune is the Lord of the Rings of science fiction (which many people claim it is) then it should be no surprise that a thousand copies of it have been made.
Also, I’m going to assume that you’re well aware of Warhammer 40k lore (or acquainted with it) and I’m going to assume you may have seen the new Dune movie (or read the book). I’ll go into detail, but not try to overwhelm you with backstory.
The Similarities Between Warhammer 40k and Dune
Frank Herbert’s epic masterpiece, Dune, takes place on a desert world called Arrakis, otherwise known as Dune. The central conflicts of the book all revolve around the spice mélange, which has many uses but which essentially allows the galaxy-wide empire to exist in the way that it does. There are mining vehicles on Arrakis that extract the spice, and anyone who controls the spice is powerful indeed.
Let’s look at some similarities.
1. The Archaic Technology in a Far Distant World
In both Warhammer 40k and Dune, there is a lack of technological innovation. There is a stagnation of sorts. Despite the fact that they can travel the stars, and use massive machinery and have lasguns (yes, both worlds have lasguns) there was, in each, a technological standstill.
In Warhammer 40k there was the War of Iron that led to the Dark Age of Technology. In the War of Iron, which took place in the 23rd Millennium, the galaxy was in a golden age of exploration and settlement made possible by the Men of Iron and the Men of Stone. These were powerful, intelligent robots that did the bidding of their human masters. But at some point, known as the Cybernetic Revolt, these intelligent robots rose up against their masters and the war was terrible. Humanity won, but at terrible cost, which led to the Age of Strife. Artificial intelligence, or “abominable intelligence” as it is called, was outlawed.
In Dune, the Butlerian Jihad was a similar war, in which similar artificial intelligences rose up to fight against humanity. And it ended in a similar way: the human forces visited each of the robot planets and blasted them with pulse-atomics, destroying everything on these worlds–humans and robots alike. This led to a new commandment appearing in the Orange Catholic Bible, “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.”
Consequently, all machines in both Warhammer 40k and Dune are limited in intelligence, and while there are cybernetics, there are no robots of any kind. (Or, at least no sanctioned robots.)
2. Both Warhammer 40k and Dune Use Human Computers
In both worlds, humanity has accommodated for the lack of computers with human computers. In Warhammer, these are known as Servitors, which are mindless cybernetic slaves that are generally grown in vats and are considered sub-human (though some criminals are turned into servitors as part of their punishment). Servitors are known by the type of task they fulfill, such as technomats, which operate machines, and holomats, which are holographic recording devices.
But while Warhammer 40k human computers are mindless slaves, the human computers in Dune are mind-bogglingly intelligent: they are called Mentats. A Mentat has incredible processing ability for memory and cognition. Mentats’ abilities can be increased through the use of sapho juice, an addictive substance.
3. The Emperor (also the God Emperor)
God Emperors have existed as an idea since the Pharaohs, but in Warhammer 40k/Dune, they really take it to the next level (though, admittedly, Dune doesn’t get into true God Emperor territory until book four).
The Emperor of Mankind in Warhammer 40k was an immortal man who watched the rise of mankind over generations until he finally took control of Earth, created the Primarchs, eventually the Space Marines, but who now rules in a perpetually almost-dead state, controlling things only with psyker abilities and being essentially an absent monarch for 10,000 years. He is revered as a God, worshipped unconditionally, and can even possible grant miracles. But the point is that he is in essential stasis, and his servants rule with cruelty and brutality in the name of the preservation of mankind.
The Padishah Emperor of Dune is not detached from the action nearly as much as the Warhammer Emperor, but he does also have a self-created military force (the Sardukar) and he rules with cruelty and brutality for the sake of humanity.
4. The Bene Gesserit and the Adepta Sororitas, Sisters of Silence, and Psykers
The Bene Gesserit in Dune are a sacred organization of women who are overseen by a Mother Superior, and are sometimes referred to as the Sisterhood. The objective of the Bene Gesserit is nothing less than finding the a super being who can be a messiah figure–the Kwisatz Haderach.
The Bene Gesserit are incredible hand-to-hand fighters, using the Weirding Way. They are said to be able to control each individual fiber of their being, giving them amazing reflexes, strength, and resourcefulness. They are only rivalled by the Sardukar in combat skill.
On top of this they are potent telepaths who can disable opponents, alter the minds of opponents, and read emotions and motivations.
Compare the Bene Gesserit in physical prowess to either the Adepta Sororitas (Sisters of Battle) or the Sisters of Silence who guard the Emperor himself. It is the Sisters of Silence who hunt down psykers and collect them for the tithe to the Emperor. They are psychic Nulls, because of the Pariah Gene, which means that no psychic abilities have any affect on them.
They are described as having close combat skills which are oriented toward high-intensity fighting when they are numerically outnumbered. They are brutal warmachines and can kill with the lethality that is only matched by the Adeptus Custodes.
5. Aristocrats and Feudalism
This isn’t reflective of a single unit in the Warhammer 40k/Dune universes, but both of them live in worlds that are run by political machinations of feudal aristocrats. Whether it is the lords who live at the very peaks of the 40k hive cities and have every luxury (at the price of the servitude of the billions beneath them) or Baron Harkonnen who rules with a personal army (and plenty of political backstabbing and manipulation.)
6. Space Travel: Astropaths and The Guild
The ability to travel the stars, in both Warhammer 40k and Dune, is what keeps the entire galaxy held together. But the cost of that travel is the manipulation of individuals into something altogether different and either Abhuman or Inhuman.
The Guild Navigators in Dune are mutated through immense consumption of the spice mélange. Through their use of spice they become able to see the future, and it is this prescience that allows them the ability to navigate their ships through the galaxy. They have elongated heads and their eyes are overwhelmingly blue to the point of being almost black. In the books, one is described as a “humanoid fish”. But Guild Navigators are absolutely a requirement for the existence of humanity itself.
In Warhammer 40k, Astropaths are a must-have for ability through the stars. They are potent psykers who are able to navigate the warp through being “soul bound”. Astropaths can see things through the warp that no one would be able to tell, such as the fate of a planet thousands of light years away, and they can be used as a kind of communication device when they’re not navigating a ship through the Warp. Physically, Astropaths are often emaciated and blind.
7. Religion and Religiosity
There is an interesting commonality in both Warhammer 40k and Dune that originates in modern (and ancient) religion. The Warhammer 40k world is rife with Roman Catholic symbology, from the appearance of its gothic and baroque cathedrals and Ministorums, to the Ecclesiarchy, to the existence of the Sisters of Battle, to the Chaplains who recite litanies, to religious crusades in the name of the God Emperor, to the actual existence of gods, angels and demons.
Dune is also filled with religious symbolism, with Paul Atriedes being the Messianic Muad’Dib, the countless references to Jihad, the Orange Catholic Bible, the references to Buddhism, Judaism, and various forms of Christianity. The Bene Gesserit are their nun warriors, like the Sisters of Battle, and prayers are recited in both works.
Conclusion
I’m sure that I’m missing more of the Warhammer 40k/Dune connections. I’m basing all of this on memory, and I have yet to see the Dune film (I’m watching it Tuesday). There are many things we only touched on here (such as the comparison of the Sardukar to the Space Marines, as well as the fact that in a future sci-fi world the fighting is most effectively done up close with knives rather than far away with guns).
Suffice it to say that Warhammer 40k and Dune have a LOT in common. But is this a bad thing? Is Warhammer 40k stealing things whole cloth? I don’t really think so. All art imitates other art, and I think the same thing goes for lore. Warhammer 40k borrows heavily from a number of sources, but a number of modern sources borrow heavily from Warhammer 40k (despite what the Games Workshop lawyers try to do). It’s just the nature of art. Mimicry can be plagiarism or it can be inspiration.
For now, I’m content to enjoy the lore and stories of two of my favorite science fiction properties.