After becoming the God-emperor, Leto II saw that an all-women army was necessary to place humanity on the Golden Path. With his reason being that male-dominated armies tended towards violence and anarchy when there was no enemy, Leto II formed the Fish speakers.

The Fish Speakers of Dune Definition
The Fish speakers are an all-women army adopted by Leto II Atreides during his 3500-year reign. After becoming the immortal God-emperor, Leto foresaw that an all-women army was best for humanity; this made his form the Fish Speaker.
Though the Fish Speakers were a military force, they also served other purposes in education and law. After Leto’s death, the Fish Speakers’ relevance waned as humans scattered into uncharted space.
The Fish Speakers’ Role in the Dune Universe
Leto II employed an all-women army to enforce the law. Citing a reason for women being nurturing and loving, Leto II formed the Fish speakers. The army whose women had Sardaukar and Fremen blood became the enforcers of the law. Leto II’s 3500-year reign made the Fish Speakers the most formidable army in the universe.
On realizing that he had successfully placed humanity on the Golden Path, Leto II lets himself get killed. After Leto’s death, the Fish Speakers still tried to maintain their influence on humans. However, a great famine causes humanity to scatter into uncharted space. One thousand five hundred years later, the power of the Fish Speakers had become almost negligible; this was due to the emergence of the Honored Matres, an order of Tleilaxu females, Bene Gesserit, and defunct Fish Speakers. With the advent of the enhanced Face Dancers, Fish Speaker leaders got replaced by the Tleilaxu; this further reduced the power held by the military faction.
With little military power, some of the Fish speakers from the old empire got together and formed cults that worshipped Leto II and his father, Paul Atreides. One of such cults was the Cult of Sheena. With Ardeth as their leader, the last remaining Fish Speaker loyalists guarded Leto II’s blade and Paul Atreides’s nullentropy tube containing his blood. However, Khrone, the Face Dancer, found out about the temple, stormed it, and killed Ardeth. He retrieved the nullentropy tube to make a clone of Paul.
Structure of the Fish Speakers
The Fish speakers were an all-in-one faction that Leto II used for military and bureaucracy purposes. With the Fish Speakers serving as teachers, courtiers, and archivists, Leto II branded the Fish Speakers to make them deadly soldiers and loving women. Men had no use to the Fish Speaker women except for being husbands.
Aside from being teachers, a faction of the Fish Speakers comprised of judges and assassins who Leto II used extensively. The Fish Speaker guards used weapons similar to that of the Sardaukar. From stun clubs to stun grenades, Elacca whips, silver-blades, long knives, and Lasguns, the Fish speakers got trained in all manner of weaponry.
Armor and Clothing Culture of the Fish Speakers
The Fish Speakers clothing featured skintight uniforms that usually came in shades of dark blue. The uniforms featured a Hawk symbol on the left side of the left breast. The uniforms also featured high boots and cloak robes. Fish Speaker spies wore a Cibus mask to conceal their identity. For trainees and acolytes, a green-colored short robe got worn, while Imperial guards wore Atreides green. The commanders used a black-colored uniform with gold piping, heavy black armor, and a facemask.
Glossary Terms Associated with the Fish Speakers
Here is a list of words associated with the Fish Speakers:
- Cibus mask: This is a mask that got designed by the Ixians. The Cibus gives its wearer the ability to be completely undetectable by changing their facial features.
- Groundcar: A Groundcar is an automobile that could combine traditional wheels with antigravity floater bulbs.
- Suspensor-sled: Suspensor-sleds are automobiles that utilize the secondary phase of a Holtzman field generator to nullify the effects of gravity within a range.
FAQs
What are the Fish Speakers in Dune?
The Fish Speakers are an army created by the God-emperor, Leto II Atreides. On ascending the throne, Leto realized that an all-women army was the key to achieving the golden path. Leto II believed that an all-men army turned against the population in the lack of an enemy but, an all-women army nurtured and cared for the people like mothers. Throughout his 3,500-year reign, the Fish Speakers were Leto II Atreides’s primary army.
Are the Fish speakers stronger than the Sardaukar?
At the time of the Fish Speakers, strength and speed were higher than before; this caused the Fish Speakers to be stronger than the Sardaukar. Also, with the Fish speakers having Fremen and Sardaukar blood running through their veins, they were much stronger than the Sardaukar.
Are the Fish Speakers stronger than the Fremen?
Though the Fish Speakers are an all-women army, they were more advanced than the Fremen. However, the Fremen had better adaptation to the desert. As for who was better, the Fish Speakers were; this was because they had Fremen blood running through them.
Did Leto use the Fish Speakers genetically?
In ‘God Emperor of Dune,’ Leto II took over the Bene Gesserit’s breeding program. He used the Fish Speakers to sponsor his plans. With Leto II being the God-emperor, there was little resistance to his rule, and the Bene Gesserit, who were once the master at selective breeding, became second to Leto II.