The Fiction of Ideas

    In the story "Dune" by Frank Herbert, the sleeper awakes when Paul, the son of the Duke, opens his mind to the possibility of the spice. They live in a desert world without water and mining spice is the way they make money. Many rulers of the galaxy want to control the spice so there are always plots by traitors to kill the leader. Paul is special because his mother is a type of witch and he has some of her powers. One mind experiment is done to Paul by the head of the witches. She makes him put his hand in a box to feel pain and he is supposed to use his mind to overcome it. Another example of mind - control is when the doctor drinks some potion to open his mind before he betrays the people he serves. The biggest example of opening the mind is when Paul drinks the water of life and survives. His mind is then merged with the sand people and he can control the giant sandworms. The bad guys are examples of closed minds because all they can think about is power and money.