No-ship

Did You Know?

• Chobyn is killed and the technology lost until it is reinvented by the Ixians millennia later during the reign of Leto II.
• The no-room was originally called a no-room in Herbert's God Emperor of Dune.

The original series

In the time of Heretics of Dune, no-ships are operational. Like no-chambers, they conceal everything within from prescient sight and other detection, and the vessel itself is invisible to both the eye and cameras. Yet a no-ship surpasses a no-chamber in technological scope, as it can replicate the duties of a Guild Navigator. Its navigation machine possesses a limited form of prescience, enough to guide the ship through foldspace.

Miles Teg steals a huge no-ship from the Honored Matres on Gammu in Heretics of Dune; its Great Hold alone measures one kilometer in length, sufficient to carry a full-grown sandworm. In Chapterhouse: Dune, the Bene Gesserit first confine Duncan Idaho and Murbella to this no-ship on Chapterhouse, shielding them from prescient surveillance. After Murbella rises to lead a New Sisterhood uniting the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres, Duncan and Teg escape Chapterhouse aboard the no-ship, taking Sheeana and others with them.

Sequels

In the concluding novels of Frank Herbert's original series, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the escaping no-ship is christened the Ithaca by its crew, a nod to the lengthy voyage of the Greek hero Odysseus. On board with Duncan Idaho, Miles Teg, and Sheeana are roughly 150 refugees, among them the apparent final Tleilaxu Master, Scytale, several Bene Gesserit Sisters, and a community of secret Jews. Their goal is to find a new planet where they can release the captive sandworms and establish a home for the Jews, all while fleeing the Unknown Enemy, who aims to trap the vessel in a tachyon net. Using genetic samples from Scytale, the Ithaca's passengers start cultivating gholas of legendary figures like Paul Atreides and Lady Jessica, preparing for an inevitable final confrontation with their pursuer.