Honored Matres
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The Honored Matres are a fictional matriarchal organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction universe of Dune. They are described as an aggressive cult obsessed with power, violence and sexual domination. For this reason they are often described as 'whores', especially by the Bene Gesserit and their allies.
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[edit] History
[edit] Origins
After the death of Leto II, the God Emperor, billions of people of the Old Empire took to the stars in a diaspora known as the Scattering. Representatives from each major race and order of the Empire took to the cosmos in fleets of no-ships, beginning the journey along Leto II's Golden Path.
The Honored Matres developed during this Scattering, as an outgrowth from or a combination of the Fish Speakers and Bene Gesserit. However, this alliance only truly developed their violent tendencies with its third addition: awakened Tleilaxu females. The best kept secret of the Tleilaxu — that their famed axlotl tanks were in fact their race's females kept in a vegetative state — was laid bare before the matriarchal alliance, and their wrath knew no bounds. Attacking every Tleilaxu planet on their way out of the galaxy, the martial prowess of both the Fish Speakers and the Bene Gesserit ensured their victory, and they managed to liberate a number of the axlotl tanks. Their next task was to rehabilitate the brain-dead women. The fledgling order enjoyed a modicum of success, and eventually the Tleilaxu females, angry at their males for treating them in such a way, vowed revenge. Thus when the Honored Matres bust upon the universe again, they took special care to lay waste to every extant Tleilaxu world. This anger led to the name of the order, "Honored Matres", or Respected Mothers.
By all accounts they ruled a huge empire in the Scattering (several times larger than the Old Empire in size and population), but were eventually overthrown. A young commander invaded an area controlled by the remnants of Omnius' thinking machines empire with initial success. However, the Thinking Machines' retribution was terrible, especially when they realized that humans still existed. They destroyed the empire, and the remnant of the Honored Matres then fled back to the Old Empire to build a new dominion. There is also a hint in Chapterhouse Dune of some force or weapon that makes them vegetables.
[edit] Back into the Old Empire
Several different historical implications are inherent with the appearance of the Honoured Matres - they are the reverse of the events described in Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse, where the Bene Gesserit allied themselves with the Bene Tleilax, though naturally in command of that alliance by virtue of their tools of religious statecraft and manipulation, the Missionaria Protectiva.
The Honored Matres, broken by the assault of the Thinking Machines of the Butlerian Jihad, fled back into the Old Empire, wreaking havoc as they came. In particular, their targets were the Bene Tleilax, who were responsible for the enslavement of millions of Tleilaxu females, and the Bene Gesserit, who the Honored Matres saw as competitors. The Bene Gesserit possessed much that the Honored Matres didn't, such as melange and Other Memories. To that end, they marked the Bene Gesserit as enemies, and captured and tortured many Reverend Mothers in an attempt to glean these secrets.
The Honored Matres make many attacks on Bene Gesserit Keeps throughout the known bounds of the pre-Scattering galaxy. They mark the Bene Gesserit Bashar, Miles Teg, and the Duncan Idaho ghola for death, destroying the Gammu Keep in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Idaho, and annhilating Rakis with their Obliterators, killing Teg.
Eventually, the core of the Honored Matres is destroyed according to Mother Superior Darwi Odrade's plan. At the Battle of Junction, the Honored Matre main stronghold, both Odrade and Great Honored Matre Logno perish, giving Murbella, a former Honored Matre, the chance to ascend to both positions, carrying out the rest of Odrade's plan by unifying the orders.
[edit] The Enemy's Approach
When the Honored Matres first burst into the galaxy, they claimed that an "Enemy" was following them. Omnius and the Thinking Machines were in fact, planning to launch an attack on the galaxy.
Odrade and Murbella both knew this, and they also knew that the galaxy had to be unified to face this threat. To this end, they unified the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres into a New Sisterhood.
But renegade Matres still persisted. The renegades led by Matre Superior Hellica still maintained strongholds on captured worlds such as Buzzell, Gammu, and Tleilax. Over the course of twenty years, Murbella led the Sisterhood against the renegades, culminating in the Battle of Tleilax, when Hellica was killed and the planet was utterly destroyed. With the destruction of Tleilax, the unbalanced and vindictive breed of Honored Matres was crushed. Humanity could now stand united against the dread presence of Omnius.
[edit] Characteristics
The Honored Matres rule through sexual enslavement, sheer physical power, and the terror inspired by their draconian methods. They are completely without mercy and quick to anger, often resorting to extreme measures of violence in the face of the slightest provocations. The Bene Gesserit initially believe that these tendencies arise from the rage that comes from inability to satisfy the increasingly jaded tastes that necessarily come from being able to exercise absolute sexual or sensual control over another person. However, Murbella, the combined Mother Commander of both the Honored Matres and Bene Gesserit, is able to access the Other Memories of the Honored Matres to find that these tendencies come from the Tleilaxu females retribution towards males from the millennia of abuse they suffered as axlotl tanks. The leadership succession practices employed by the order are severe; a subordinate sister that manages to kill the leader, the so-called Great Honored Matre or Matre Superior, takes her place.
[edit] Sexual Imprinting
The Honored Matres are characterized by their extremely violent tendencies and their ability to imprint a man sexually, amplifying his orgasmic response to such an ecstatic (and addictive) height that the victim of an imprinting is a willing slave of the Honored Matre who "marks" him. Both of these qualities are presumably evolutions of the unbridled sexual energies of the Siaynoq communion once enjoyed by the Fish Speakers with the God Emperor Leto Atreides II, once those energies ceased to have a singular focus. The sexual imprinting practiced by the Honored Matres hearkens back to the obvious roots of this order in the original Bene Gesserit, however the Honored Matre form of imprinting has been shown to be far more potent than anything practiced by their progenitors.
[edit] Alternatives to Melange
Due to no longer having access to Melange, the Honored Matres employed a substitute drug that satisfied their addictions. One of the benefits of the drug is that it stimulates production of adrenaline and other chemicals typically produced by the body when experiencing pain. In addition to heightening the senses and responses of a user, this stimulant has the unique property of causing the eyes of an addict to be covered in flecks of orange when agitated, and when an addict is completely enraged the eyes are consumed by the color orange. However, it does not give access to the Other Memories possessed by the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mothers, nor is there any evidence that it provides the same prescient abilities that sometimes accompany large doses of Melange.
In order to replace what was gained from Other Memory, the Honored Matres use an agony inducing device known as a T-Probe in order to impress knowledge directly to their nervous system.
[edit] 'Prana Bindu' and the Hormu fighting style
The Honored Matres exercise a form of what the Bene Gesserit refer to as 'prana bindu', but enhanced to a far higher degree. This is coupled with their fighting style, which is known only as 'Hormu' and is centered around the use of kicks to weak points on the body. The combination of these produces a warrior that is superhumanly fast and more than a match for any fully trained Reverend Mother in direct combat.
[edit] Linguistic skills
Honored Matres are capable of using combinations of language and tone in order to compel listeners into obedience on a subconscious level. Through manipulating the use of these skills, an Honored Matre is capable of prompting the unconscious mind on a level that may be difficult to resist. However in Chapterhouse: Dune both Odrade and Murbella comment that these skills are nowhere near as potent as the Bene Gesserit Voice. Further, in Heretics of Dune, Odrade theorises that the Honored Matres may have been driven back from the Scattering as their subjects have developed resistance to their form of Voice control due to its over use.
[edit] Notable Honored Matres
[edit] Dama
In Chapterhouse Dune, the Great Honored Matre on Gammu is Dama; she is referred to as "Spider Queen" by the Bene Gesserit leader Darwi Odrade. Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Lucilla flees the destruction of Lampadas by the Honored Matres, but is forced to land on Gammu. She is captured and brought before Dama, but not killed outright. A game of words begins, and the Dama tries to persuade Lucilla to join the Honored Matres, preserving her life in exchange for Bene Gesserit secrets. Dama does not try to hide the fact that the Matres dearly want to learn to modify their biochemistry as the Bene Gesserit do. These word battles with Lucilla continue for weeks. When she reveals to Dama that although the Bene Gesserit know how to manipulate and control the populace, they practice and believe in democracy, Dama's desire to destroy the Sisterhood is redoubled; the Bene Gesserit teach dangerous knowledge and believe in ridiculous ideas like democracy! Dama kills Lucilla. Dama soon meets with Mother Superior Odrade; Dama at first seems surprisingly cooperative, but Odrade soon realizes that Dama intends no reasonable negotiation. Under cover of Odrade's diplomacy, the Bene Gesserit forces under Miles Teg attack Gammu with tremendous force. Logno — chief advisor to Dama — assassinates Dama with poison and assumes control of the Honored Matres.
[edit] Hellica
In Hunters of Dune, Hellica has declared herself Matre Superior of the largest renegade Honored Matre force. Based on the conquered planet Tleilax in the formal capital Bandalong, Hellica forces captive Lost Tleilaxu Uxtal to produce increased quantities of the orange spice substitute using the secret of the Tleilaxu axlotl tanks. Uxtal is also producing gholas for the Face Dancer Khrone; Hellica befriends the sociopathic ghola of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. When Guild Navigator Edrik seeks Uxtal's knowledge in producing melange in the tanks, Hellica's price for his expertise is Edrik's help transporting a certain cargo. He agrees, delivering by heighliner the Obliterators that destroy the planet Richese, where the Bene Gesserit are mass-producing weapons and armed battleships. Later, Hellica attempts an Obliterator attack on Chapterhouse itself, but the plan fails. Murbella's forces conquer Tleilax, and Hellica is killed. However, it is revealed that she and some of her elite guard were actually Face Dancer duplicates; it is unknown when the original Hellica was disposed of and replaced.
[edit] Logno
In Chapterhouse Dune, Logno assassinates Great Honored Matre Dama with poison while the Bene Gesserit forces are attacking Gammu. Logno, the former chief advisor to Dama, assumes control of the Honored Matres and immediately surrenders. Bene Gesserit leader Odrade is surprised, but she and Miles Teg soon realize they have fallen into a trap. The Honored Matres use "the Weapon" and turn defeat into victory. Murbella saves as much of the Bene Gesserit force as she can and they begin to withdraw to Chapterhouse. Odrade, however, had planned for the possible failure of the Bene Gesserit attack and left Murbella instructions for a last desperate gamble. Murbella pilots a small craft down to the surface, announcing herself as an Honored Matre who, in the confusion, has managed to escape the Bene Gesserit with all their secrets. She arrives on the planet and immediately announces her intentions by killing an overeager Honored Matre with a blinding speed enhanced by Bene Gesserit training that makes her faster than any Honored Matre before her. Murbella is taken to Logno, and immediately declares herself hostile. Logno cannot help herself and attacks, Murbella disposes of her and some allies. She takes charge of the Honored Matres, who are awed by her physical prowess.
