Cymek (left) and Erasmus (right) from the cover of Dune: The Machine Crusade.
A Cymek was an advanced form of thinking machine which was once living human, but at some point in time had been converted into a cyborg: a robotic body controlled by a legacy human brain. They lived in the ten-or-so millennia before the establishment of the Spacing Guild.
The cymek's human brain was held in a preservation canister filled with electrafluid. In this state, and with frequent upkeep, the brain could live for tens of thousands of years, and could control interchangeable robotic bodies through thoughtrodes.
Types of Cymeks[]
Cymeks could be broadly separated into two categories:
- Titans - the original 20 individuals who conquered and ruled over the Old Empire until the rise of Omnius the Evermind. It is not known how many of them became cymeks and who died as humans, though it can be assumed that many fell victim to the allure of immortality and gave up their humanity willingly.
- Neocymeks - all cymeks who came after the establishment of the 20 Titans. These cymeks were slightly less advanced than the Titans form which they had taken their inspiration, and were usually relegated to minor roles within the Synchronized Empire.
Cymek, as a Starship - from the Hungarian cover of Dune: The Machine Crusade.
Cymek Attitudes[]
Despite once being human themselves, all cymeks considered themselves superior to humans in every respect. Where mankind was weak in both body and mind, the cymeks were strong in every way, and unbound by the constraints of mortality.
Consequently, the cymeks began to refer to humans in a derogatory manner by using a term coined by the original Titans - hrethgir. Omnius and its servants in the Synchronized Empire later adopted this term for their own human chattel.
Jihad soldiers attacking what may be a cymek from Dune: Prophecy.
Their ability to detach from their robotic bodies proved both a major strength and a major weakness for the cymeks. Without their bodies they were vulnerable to numerous forms of manipulation. Thus, newly created cymeks were often indoctrinated into total subservience to their new masters, either Omnius or one of the Titans.
List of known Cymeks[]
Titans[]
Others[]
See also[]
Behind the scenes[]
Cymeks are never mentioned by Frank Herbert in his original Dune novels. They are the creation of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, and feature prominently in their Legends of Dune and Great Schools of Dune trilogies of novels.