After the Great Scattering occurred, many people from the top orders like the Bene Gesserit and Bene Tleilax escaped into uncharted space. After the Bene Gesserit freed Tleilaxu women, they formed a new sisterhood called the Honored Matres. Swearing revenge against the Tleilaxu, they began destroying the patriarchal order; this led the Tleilaxu to create the Futar.
Futars – Definition
A Futar is a creature that got created by the Tleilaxu. Being the hybrid of humans and feline, the Futars had an underdeveloped brain. Because of their poor intelligence, Futars were aggressive and needed to get tamed; this led the Tleilaxu to create the Handlers.
The Handlers made the Futars fiercely loyal to them through emotional imprinting and sex. With the Futars tamed by the Handlers, the Tleilaxu began using the creatures to kill the Honored Matres. Futars used a scream to immobilize Honored Matres and kill them. However, the honored Matres soon found a way to tame them.
The Relevance and History of the Futar in the Dune Universe
The Futars first got mentioned in ‘Heretics of Dune’ and later in ‘Chapterhouse: Dune.’ In ‘Heretics of Dune,’ the Futars helped Sheena escape the Handlers. The first Futars brought into the Old Empire got taken by the Honored Matres. Though made to kill them, the Honored Matres exercised control over the creatures.
Most Futars had masters called handlers. The Handlers were enhanced Face Dancers created by the Thinking Machine empire for the sole purpose of taking over the universe. After the Honored Matres gained a method of controlling the Futars, they began using them for their purposes, which mostly involved killing the Tleilaxu. Some Futars escaped the life of being enslaved by their owners and Handlers and ended up in urban areas of planets like Junction. With the Futars free, they began to try adjusting to everyday life.
Description and Physical Appearance of a Futar
Futars have a humanoid appearance as they are a genetic hybrid of humans and felines. With limited intelligence, Futars got aggressive and were limited to speaking only abbreviated sentences. Futars could not be conceived in an Axlotl Tank because the Axlotl Tanks were women of the Tleilaxu. Since the Futars were hybrid beings, the womb of the Tleilaxu women could not incubate them.
Futars got imbibed with genetic enhancements that made them capable of making an Honored Matre immobile; this was an excellent weapon that made them the perfect hunters of the Honored Matres. To control the Futars, Handlers got created by the Tleilaxu too. The Handlers controlled Futars through sex, intimidation, and emotional imprinting. The most effective manner of control was the inputting of pheromones into the Futars to create an unbreakable loyalty in them.
Glossary Terms Associated with Futars
Here is a list of words associated with Futars:
- Handlers: A Handler is a creature created by the Tleilaxu to care for and control a Futar. The beings had a significantly increased body frame and a keen sense of smell. Their eyes were dark and looked like an animal’s eye.
- Phibian: A phibian is like the opposite of a futar. The creatures are humanoid and are the genetic mix of humans and fish.
FAQs
What are the Futars in Dune?
The Futars were humanoid creatures which got created by the Tleilaxu. Being the genetic mixture of man and cat, the Futars were distinct species. Though they had the posture of a human, Futars were limited in intelligence. Their underdeveloped brain made it difficult for them to speak words; this led to the creatures speaking short abbreviated sentences. Because the Futars were not intelligent, they became violent. To tame them, the Tleilaxu created the Handlers.
Who were the Handlers in Dune?
The Handlers were a type of humans created by the Tleilaxu to control and breed Futars. After making the Futars, the Tleilaxu created the Handlers to serve as masters to the violent creatures. Handlers tamed Futars using intimidation, emotional imprinting, or sex. Though the Futars got created to hunt and kill Honored Matres, the sisterhood found a way to tame them; this eventually led to some Futars escaping slavery and moving into developed areas.
How did Futars attack and kill the Honored Matres?
After the honored Matres returned to the Old Empire, the Tleilaxu created the Futars to hunt and kill the Honored Matres. Futars had an ability that let them unleash a voice-like scream; this scream rendered an Honored Matre sister immobile. Though the scream attack worked on the Honored Matres, the Bene Gesserit were immune to it.
What other threat were the Handlers and Futars disturbed about in Dune?
The Handlers and Futars were disturbed by a threat that superseded the Honored Matres; this threat was man’s ancient enemy; the Thinking Machines. After the Honored Matres ran away from the Thinking Machines, the reborn machine empire tracked them down to the Old Empire.