Written by Connor Bouffard
The world of Dune does not have access to computerized systems. Much of the world’s access to information comes from face-to-face encounters, as mentioned in chapter 3. This means that unlike the governments of our world, Dune does not have access to databases of information about different individuals. As well the governments of Dune do not have access to any methods of collecting that type of information at scale. This makes the general individual’s privacy from the government much more secure in the world of Dune.
However, this does not mean that it is impossible for those in power to try and gather information, secretly or otherwise. The Harkonnens leave a spy on Arrakis armed with a hunter seeker to attempt to kill Paul. The hunter seeker is a very small spy drone armed with a poison that is able to burrow through walls, fly, and detect motion. As well, the workers on Dune have access to sandworm detecting drones that are able to fly and scan their surroundings for wormsign. These technologies could easily be modified into drones capable of monitoring the people of Dune, if the infrastructure existed to store the data.
Dune, however, still relies mainly on talking as their main form of relaying information. In this way ambassadors and scouts are the main suppliers of information from other governments or the public. Only so much data can be gathered at once, and that information is often kept private. When the Bene Gesserit converse with the Baron of the Harkonnens, a wall is put up that prevents any sound from escaping it. This is Dune’s version of an encrypted message, preventing unwanted parties from intercepting information. Because they rely on word-of-mouth communication, the need to prevent information from falling into the wrong hands can simply be solved by ensuring their words are not heard.