Rakis Hoard

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The Rakis Hoard refers to the collection of 2,126 ridulian crystal volumes, hidden in a primitive Ixian no-room, containing the preserved writings of God Emperor Leto Atreides II. It is the central find of the library discovered at Dar-es-Balat in 15525 AG. Among the materials discovered in the Rakis Hoard were the original copies of The Stolen Journals.

Background[]

Rakis finds sketch from the Dune encyclopedia

Leto II's no-room was a labyrinth of tunnels and rooms enclosed by the two-kilometer diameter of the Holtzman Effect sphere, impressive in its magnitude. The explorers who discovered this no-room were amazed to find that almost every room was stacked floor to ceiling with imprinted ridulian crystals with information of an extent comparable to the Atreides Imperial Library. Since the Atreides Imperial Library was known to have existed, and no story of its destruction had been handed down, even the earliest conjectures posited that the library had been recovered, and possibly in its entirety. It was apparent that scholars faced an archaeological discovery unparalleled in magnitude in the history of mankind. They held two Discovery Conferences in order to establish an agenda for the planning of the investigation of the find and deciding on procedure and a cataloging system.

Cataloging[]

At the outset of the Discovery Conferences, many agreed that a classification system was needed immediately, since the time required to transcribe the contents of every crystal was inestimable. Furthermore, since some of contents were written in languages thousands of years old, special translators were required, and they needed to be trained in library procedures.

A sampling procedure was ultimately used in order to gain insight into the basic scope of the documents, known today as the Rakis Reference Catalog (RRC). Each crystal was assigned a subject identification letter, categorized as follows:

A: Imperial House Records: Atreides
BG: Bene Gesserit
BL: Belles Lettres
C: CHOAM
D: Diplomatic
E: Exploration
F: Fine Arts
G: Government
H: History (post-Butlerian)
I: Imperial House Records: Corrino
J: History (pre-Butlerian)
K: Ixian Affairs and Mentats
L: Landsraad
M: Military Science
N: Natural Sciences
O (For future assignment)
P: Applied Sciences
Q (Not now in use)
R: Miscellaneous Records
S: Spacing Guild
T: Theology
TL: Tleilaxu Affairs & Artifacts
U: Sport and Recreation
V: Social Sciences
W: Planet-Bound Commerce
X (For future assignment)
Y (For future assignment)
Z: Zensunni and Fremen

Thus, the first crystal found to contain material pertaining to the Bene Gesserit was labeled "BG1"; the first work on that crystal was assigned the number "1-BG1," the second work on the same crystal "2-BG1," and so on. For example, a picto-disc of the Great Mother found in the hoard carries the Rakis Reference Catalog Number 435-F23, indicating that it is the 435th item on crystal number 23 in the Fine Arts section of the catalog.

Occasionally records were so extensive that they occupy more than one crystal: The Funeral Plain Scrolls, for example, extend through crystals R2345, R2346, R2347 and R2348.

The Funeral Plain Scrolls were misclassified by the original investigators: they should bear "Z" numbers in the "Zensunni and Fremen" sequence. It is anticipated that errors such as this will be corrected only when the investigation is completed; at that time a revised catalog will be issued.

Criticism[]

This system was not without flaws. While critics argue that other systems would have been superior to the one adopted in one way or another, the Rakis Reference Catalog (RRC) method is a simple, workable system that has aided materially in presenting the fruits of this enormous archaeological find to the general public.

Notations and Abbreviations[]

This bibliography lists the works most important to the compilation of the encyclopedia, classified according to the Library Confraternity system. When the date of original publication is significant, it is supplied preceding the name of the reprinting publisher. Works marked with an asterisk are those not found in the Rakis Hoard.

Abbreviations[]

AJM Antares Journal of Medicine
AMCE Atreides Memorial Contributions to Embryology
AS Arrakis Studies
BGFS Bene Gesserit Foundation Studies
BNM Bestimmtes Neufilologishe Mitteylunken
comp. compiled by
ed. edited by, editor
IG-FC Institute of Galacto-Fremen Culture
LCTS Library Confraternity Temporary Series
OS Old Series
PD Patrologia Diasporae
RRC Rakis Reference Catalog
SAH Studies in Atreidean History
SIH Studies in Imperial History
tr. translated by, translator
UP University Press
v. volumes

Contributors to the Rakis Reference Catalog[]

Joan Bouchelle —J.B.
Edgar L. Chapman —E.C.
Judith A. Clark —J.A.C.
Michael Clayton Grace W. Eckley —G.W.E.
Greta Eisner —G.E.
Peter Facione —P.F.
J. L. Germain —J.L.G.
J. H. Gervais —J.H.G.
Stephen Goldman —S.G.
Lee Granell —L.G.
Jane Hipolito—I.H.
William Hornaday —W.H.
Wesley D. Ives —W.D.I.
Edward M. Jennings —E.J.
Alan Kaye —A.K.
Dorothy Kilter —D.K.
Gillian Kitrick —G.K.
Linda R. Levy. —L.R.L.
Gregory Lichtenberg —G.L.
Victoria Lustbader —V.L.
Michael W. McClintock —M.M.
Willis McNelly —W.M.
Douglas J. McReynolds —D.M.
Walter E. Meyers —W.E.M.
Frederic H. Miller —F.M.
Myron Orleans —M.O.
Charles A. Povlovich —C.A.P.
John Quijada —J.Q.
Julia Reed —J.R.M.
R. Reginald —R.R.
Thomas E. Roberts —T.R.
John A. Ryan —J.R.
Roger Schlobin —R.S.
Maureen A. Shifflett —M.S.
Ray C. Shiflett —R.C.S.
Joyce Tally —J.T.
Stephen Tobias —S.T.
Michael Tolley —M.T.
Robert Trowbridge —R.T.
John A. Turner —J.A.T.
Christine Watson —C.W.
Carl B. Yoke —C.Y