A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then that is is the year 10,191. The known universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, my father. In this time the most precious substance in the universe is the spice, melange. The spice extends life, the spice expands conciousness, the spice is vital to space travel. The Spacing Guild and its Navigators, whom the spice has mutated over 4,000 years, use the orange spice gas which gives them the ability to “fold space”. That is, travel to any part of the universe without moving.
Oh yes, I forgot to tell you: the spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe. A desolate, dry planet with vast deserts. Hidden away in the rocks of these deserts are a people known as the Fremen, who have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah, who would lead them to true freedom. The planet is Arrakis, also known as Dune.
