Caladan/DE

"We had no need to build a paradise of the mind on Caladan — we could see it physically all around us."

- Paul Atreides/DE



Caladan is the third planet orbiting the star Delta Pavonis. It was a lush oceanic world, and the ancestral home of House Atreides for 26 generations, prior to their relocation to the planet Arrakis in 10191 AG

Climate
The temperature was mild and the weather was seldom severe therefore shelter was not a serious concern.

Flora

 * vine eucalyptus

Society
Minor families, 6 in number, ruled on each of Caladan's three continents, and 400 provincial regents under them. Paulos XVI Atreides in 8677 AG was granted the planet by Emperor Elrood VIII.

Siridar governors ruled over towns and villages and successfully imposed peace and put an end to tribal battles. There were no military arts since rivalries among villages were settled by sporting contests.

With no military forces the planet was vulnerable to invasion and the ruling House often relied on mercenaries and outside advisors to support the (disinterested) local groups.

Economy
Food was readily available from the fertile seas and from the 'lush plants full of fruit, berries and wholesome legumes.

The economic base was limited mostly to tourism and the export of whale fur.

The tourist trade used some skilled persons, but the majority of jobs it supported were either in ancillary, family-owned small businesses or in minimally trained staff personnel. Often the inter-planetary hotel chains handled all necessary jobtraining programs.

The small businesses that catered to the needs of the tourists were little more than cottage industries.

Wines
The bulk of small wine production is of no more than ordinary quality, locally made for local consumption since viniculture has not been developed as an art form anywhere in the Delta Pavonis system, owing to a yeast inhibiting radiation spectrum thrown by the star itself as to the history and traditions of the system's native peoples.

Average per capita annual wine consumption on Caladan is a meager 1.5 liters, and there is no commercial off-world export industry until 500 years of oenological experimentation patronized by the ruling Atreides family. While imported vines simply will not grow in Caladan soil under the Delta Pavonis rays, native rootstocks take grafting readily, which however introduce a strong mustiness into the flavor of the wines produced by whatever fruitstocks are grafted onto them.

Laboratory and hothouse work in the areas of plant hybridization, climate control, bacteriology, and nontraditional winemaking technique have made possible for the Atreides to produce 4 notable varieties: Casyrack, Bornolla, Delkai and Suugee.

Education
The population felt no need for formal training in business methods or marketing. Most people of Caladan felt little need to work at all. There was an issue encountered by those who tried to bring formal education to the planet since there was little need for vocational training since food was readily available.

Children of aristocracy studied in the Governance School in the capital city for a 4-year program in statecraft, tactics-, leadership, management, and civilian control. But even this program was hardly as rigorous or demanding as it might have been, for after all, the problems the students would face would not be great and there was time to learn in the way that Caladan had always teamed, from "watching and doing."

The education of those groomed for real authority like Paul Atreides, was an exception.

Culture
Louis Katsher IV founded an artist colony, the first Caladan Artists Conservatory at Epidaurus in the province of Orange and was soon followed by others and grew in numbers, respect and quality. After a few years Caladanians could appreciate and also participate in fine music, poetry, theater, and the arts. The planetary governors supported his work eagerly because it helped the local population aspire to excellence and attracted tourists from many other planets.

Within 250 years the entire population had relatively easy access to some form of reading room, studio, theater, or auditorium. A prodigious number of productions in dance, music and theater were presented. The people particularly preferred what Dr. Katsher called the "ephemeral" arts such as music, oral readings of poetry, short stories, theater, water colors, and paper folding (known as "oreegahamee").

There was some interest also in sculpture, composing, oil painting, film and philosophy. Nevertheless, the people had a saying, "Art is a flower; enjoy it now, for tomorrow another comes."

Family life
There was great reliance on "family teaching" and on "watching and doing." A child could learn how to live by simply participating in normal family life. A little time spent on the family vegetable plot, maybe a few hours spent fishing or swimming, or tending the family garden preceded an evening of quiet stories or campfire dances. One day was much like another.

Of primary concern was preparation for the dangers of their water-rich environment. Children were taught to swim before they learned to walk. They learned the dangers of mud slides, flash floods, and the various methods of water transport, the most popular of which was sail rafting. They learned to fish both for pleasure and for food. They also learned how to find their way through the dense, fastgrowing vegetation that covered most of the land masses on the planet.