From TheBestLinks.com
(Redirected from
Shai-Hulud)
Sandworms are fictional creatures from Frank Herbert's science-fiction novel Dune. They are called Shai-Hulud by the Fremen; other names for them include the "Old Man of the Desert," "Old Father Eternity," and "Grandfather of the Desert."
They are enormous animals, growing up to hundreds of meters in length, that burrow beneath the sands of the desert planet Arrakis. They begin their lives as sandtrout before metamorphosing to sandworms. They have very long lifespans, in the thousands of years, but are vulnerable to water, which is poisonous to sandworms though not to sandtrout. It is suggested sandworms gain the energy to sustain them from the ingestion of 'sand plankton'. Exactly where sand-dwelling microorganisms would gain energy from is unclear - it is obvious they do not photosynthesise.
They produce, as excretions from their body, three important substances: oxygen, the sands of Dune, and the extremely valuable spice melange. The exact chemical processes remain unclear.
They are very dangerous, as they will aggressively attack anything that produces vibrations on the surface of the sands. They are, however, ridden using "maker hooks" by the Fremen, who revere or even worship them.
Related links
Top visited
0 of
0 links
[no links posted yet]
>> place link >>
Discussion
Last posted
0 of
0 messages
[no messages posted yet]
>> post message >>
Watch
You can
add this article to your own "watchlist" and receive e-mail notification about all changes in this page.
