Editing Bene Gesserit (section)

=== Other Memory === <!-- This section is the redirect destination of [[Other Memory]] -->
One of the 'powers' of a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother is her '''Other Memory''': the combined ego and memories of all her female ancestors, passed on through [[genetic memory (psychology)|genetic memory]], and thus, up to the point where each following ancestor was born and the physical contact with the mother broken. The ego/memory combination remains a distinct identity within the Reverend Mother's mind, and is able to inject itself into her awareness at appropriate or emotional moments, though the Reverend Mother's ego is always dominant. The prequel novel ''Dune: The Battle of Corrin'' by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson establishes that the first Bene Gesserit to access Other Memory had been Raquella Berto-Anirul, the founder of the order.

A Reverend Mother has access only to her female lineage in Other Memory; her [[Patrilineality|male line]] is unavailable to her, present as a dark void that terrifies her. Until the time of ''God Emperor of Dune'', the purpose of the Bene Gesserit breeding scheme is to breed a Kwisatz Haderach, a male with Other Memory who can see both lines, male and female. Male memory will be complete until moment of conception, when physical contact with the father is lost.

Reverend Mothers may also pass their own ego/memory combination to other Reverend Mothers at will, merely by touching foreheads. When a Reverend Mother dies in the presence of another Reverend Mother, the second will accept the ego/memory of the first to prevent the loss of the dying Reverend Mother's experience and ancestral memories. Especially when the Mother Superior perishes, it is important to take her ego/memory so that her plans and strategies may continue uninterrupted. This is first explored in ''Dune'', when Jessica accepts the life experience of the dying Fremen [[Reverend Mother Ramallo]]. In ''Chapterhouse Dune'', Darwi Odrade is Mother Superior, a contentious choice ratified by the fact that she was present at the previous Mother Superior's death, and has her in Other Memory; she represents the most continuous line of leadership. Under extreme conditions, a large community of Bene Gesserit will practice ''Extremis Progressiva'', a mass sharing of ego/memories with each other to spread all the ego/memories amongst everyone; thus, if one survives, they all survive.  In ''Chapterhouse Dune'', the Bene Gesserit school on [[Lampadas]], under attack by the Honored Matres, undertakes ''Extremis Progressiva''; [[Lucilla (Dune)|Lucilla]] escapes with the "Lampadas Horde", hoping to return to the Bene Gesserit with them.

[[Brian Herbert]], Frank Herbert's son and biographer, explains that the concept of Other Memory is "largely based upon the writings and teachings of [[Carl Gustav Jung]], who spoke of a '[[collective unconscious]]', that supposedly inborn set of 'contents and modes of behavior' possessed by all human beings".<ref name="Dune Afterword 879">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=Kindle |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |pages=879–880}}</ref> Frank Herbert was introduced to Jung's work by two [[Jungian]] psychologists, Ralph and Irene Slattery, and Jung's teachings ultimately had "a profound and continuing influence on [Herbert's] work".<ref name="O'Reilly C2">{{cite book|url=http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch02.html|title=Frank Herbert|first=Tim|last=O'Reilly|chapter=Chapter 2: Under Pressure|access-date=March 26, 2019}}</ref><ref name="McNelly 1969">{{cite web |title=Unpublished interview with Frank Herbert and Professor Willis E. McNelly |date=February 3, 1969 |url=http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |via=sinanvural.com |access-date=March 21, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Touponce 9–10">{{cite book|last=Touponce|year=1988|title=Frank Herbert|chapter=Life and Intellectual Background|pages=9–10|publisher=Twayne Publishers |isbn=0-8057-7514-5}}</ref>