Pardot Kynes

Pardot Kynes is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He was the Imperial Planetologist (Planetary Ecologist) of Arrakis prior to the start of the novel Dune, and was featured in the Prelude to Dune series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

Pardot Kynes was first introduced in the original novel Dune. Although he didn't directly take part in the story, his introduction into Fremen society and his ecological plan for Arrakis are described in the first appendix of Dune.

Pardot Kynes first appeared as a character in Dune: House Atreides as "an expert and well-respected ecologist, geologist, and meteorologist, with added specialties in botany and microbiology. Driven, he enjoyed absorbing the mysteries of entire worlds. But the people themselves often remained a complete mystery to him." His interest in the sciences and the environment came from his studying of his homeworld, Salusa Secundus.

On his visit to Kaitain for an audience with Padishah Emperor Elrood Corrino IX, Kynes noted:

Official Imperial reports claimed it was always warm, the climate forever temperate. Storms were unknown. No clouds marred the skies ... when the ornate Guild escort craft descended, [Kynes] had noted the flotilla of weather satellites, climate-bending technology that — through brute force — kept Kaitain a peaceful and serene place ... Climate engineers could certainly strong-arm the weather to what someone had foolishly decided was optimal — though they did it at their own peril, creating an environment that led, ultimately, to malaise of the mind, body, and spirit. The Imperial family would never understand that. They continued to relax under their sunny skies and stroll through their well-watered arboretums, oblivious to an environmental catastrophe just waiting to unfold before their covered eyes.

Kynes was named the Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis by Elrood IX. Originally from Salusa Secundus, a planet that since ancient times had been the Imperial prison planet of the Corrino dynasty, Kynes was ordered by the Emperor to go to Arrakis to find out exactly how the spice melange was produced. Arrakis was, of course, the only known source of melange, the precious spice without which the Imperium would collapse.

The planetologist arrived to Arrakis in 10,154 A.G. After being on the planet a few months, Glossu Rabban took him out for hunting sandworms. Rabban blew up a sandworm with explosives to find that the worm disintegrated. This prompted Kynes to begin to investigate the ecology of the planet, soon realizing that it was possible to change Arrakis to a green and lush paradise.

Kynes found his way into Fremen society after saving the lives of three young Fremen, one of them named Stilgar. They took him to their sietch, but the naib and the elders council considered him a risk and decided to assassinate him. The Fremen Uliet was given the mission, and was trusted to do this act using a poisoned crysknife, a traditional Fremen weapon that once drawn, had to draw blood. But when Uliet finally stood before the outworlder and heard that amazing dreams of a green flourishing Dune, he killed himself with the crysknife, taking Kynes's place as the one to die. The Fremen took this as an omen, and Kynes was declared a prophet, Umma, and "went native." He married the Fremen woman named Frieth, and together they had a son, who was named after the man who was supposed to kill Kynes, and gave the boy the name Liet Kynes. With his dream as a goal, the Fremen started uniting, helping Kynes to unravel the mysteries of the planet and achieving his dream of a green Dune. Kynes estimated that this would take 400 to 500 Standard years.

Kynes finally died trying to get fruit to give to his wife, when one of his cave-biostations crashed in. The Fremen decided not to search for his corpse and take his water, which was the Fremen custom, and left their beloved old prophet to rest in peace among his beloved plants.

Several millennia later, under the rule of his great-grandchild, the God Emperor Leto II, his dream came true, and the great ocean then covering much of Dune, was named the Kynes Sea in honour of him and his son, and their work.