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This article refers to elements from Original Dune
Pages for this subject as it appears in other canons:
Tleilaxu Master article for Expanded Dune
Tleilaxu Master article for The Dune Encyclopedia
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Tylwyth Waff

Tleilaxu Masters were an elite social caste of the Bene Tleilax, served by subservient constructs such as gholas and Face Dancers in their daily lives and political machinations. Having conditioned immunity to the Bene Gesserit Voice, a construct's behavior could only be halted and controlled by a Master's unique command language - keening, whining and monotonous humming like the noises of angry insects - but this was rarely necessary.

Despite their caste being regarded as little more than organic automatons, Face Dancers who lived enough serial lives as gholas after making significant contributions to Tleilaxu society were biologically "upgraded" into new Masters. Scytale was the most prominent example of this "purification" process, becoming not only a Tleilaxu Master but eventually one of the ten Masheikhs of the Ruling Council.

Description[]

Tleilaxu Masters were generally short and child-like in stature compared to powindahs, with Ambassador Nunepi being an apparent exception to this phenotype (although his height and build are never directly described). Considering Bijaz, Nunepi, Waff, Scytale and the limited measures taken to disguise a teenaged ghola of Duncan Idaho, Masters somewhat varied in appearance, having either blond or grey hair, grey or dark eyes, pale or olive skin, and typically round cheeks and hairless genitalia.

The ten Masheikhs, however, had the unique oddity of sharp teeth and metallic grey skin pigment that resisted Ixian Probes and other intrusive scanners, for their knowledge and nullentropy implants were much too valuable to fall into powindah hands.

Known members[]

Mahai[]

Masheikhs[]

Masters[]

Appearances[]