Glowglobe/XD

A Glowglobe was a suspensor-buoyed illuminating device. It is a glowing pale golden-yellow ball-shaped sphere that floats gracefully above a surface like a portable, personal sun. It is normally self-powered usually by organic batteries.

Origins


The glowglobes were conceived by Norma Cenva while working for Tio Holtzman; she based them on the principles of the glowpanels and made use of his own field equations. Both the buoyancy and the illumination were consequences of the Holtzman Effect. She gifted the technology to Aurelius Venport who then distributed them commercially.

20 years later, there was a dispute between VenKee Enterprises and the Poritrin government over patents and distribution rights for the now popular devices. Lord Niko Bludd had filed briefs in the court of the League of Nobles demanding restitution of all VenKee profits gained from unauthorized use of proprietary technologies.

Through negotiations, Aurelius Venport solved this dispute by offering 1/3 of his future gains to Poritrin and Lord Niko Bludd for the next 20 years. One major condition was that Norma would be released from her contract with Tio Holtzman.

Behind the scenes
Glowglobes appeared throughout Original Dune, however their origins and legal issues are expanded upon the Legends of Dune trilogy.

Appearances

 * Dune
 * Dune: The Butlerian Jihad
 * Dune: The Machine Crusade