1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,560 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and 5 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: moments in time. Though this week we should be considering 6 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: an artifact from the fictional universe of Frank Herbert's June novels. 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: Under Hearken and Rule, the death tripod became a common 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: sight and a common symbol of tyranny on the planet Aracus. 9 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: While the death tripod is not described in tremendous detail, 10 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: the terror and weight of the concept is sufficiently conveyed. 11 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: Aracus is a desert world, and so when the Hearken 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: and oppressors wish to make an example by execution, they 13 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: would leave the bodies for all to see on the 14 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: death tripod. It is unclear, at least to this reader, 15 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: if a death tripod is merely a means of displaying 16 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: the bodies of the executed, much like various pikes and 17 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 1: gibbets and human history, or if the tripod structure is 18 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: itself a means of execution, functioning like a gallows or 19 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: a structure for crucifixion. One assumes they are imported or 20 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: made of imported or repurposed parts. At any rate, the 21 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: use of the death tripod would seem necessitated, at least 22 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 1: in the cruel minds of the Hearkenings, by the planet's 23 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: sandy ground conditions and lack of trees, But the symbol 24 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,199 Speaker 1: of the death tripod ultimately transcends this usage and comes 25 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:41,119 Speaker 1: to refer to collective efforts of vengeance, in which three 26 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 1: individuals work against an enemy. I am a naive, says 27 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: the fremen stillgar, never to be taken alive. I am 28 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: a leg of the death Tripod that will destroy our foes. 29 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: Tripods also factor heavily into the novel as a means 30 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: of understanding the delicate balance of power within the broader empire. 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: The three legs of the political tripod and Dune are 32 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 1: the Patashah Emperor, the Spacing Guild, and the lands Rod, 33 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: all of more or less equal power. The Emperor is, 34 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: of course, the ruler of the interstellar Imperium, backed by 35 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: his legions of elite Sardakar warriors. The Spacing Guild controls 36 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 1: a complete monopoly on space travel through the Imperium, and 37 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: the lands Rod is a collective composed of the various 38 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: great houses in the feudal Dune universe. And yet we 39 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: are also told quote in politics, the tripod is the 40 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: most unstable of all structures in the world of done. 41 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 1: This initially refers to the fact that, amid the lands Rod, 42 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: the Spacing Guild, and the Emperor, each quote unquote leg 43 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: of the tripod is simultaneously in league with and opposed 44 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: to the other two legs. The Emperor cannot become too 45 00:02:56,919 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: powerful because the Guild and the lands Rod keep him 46 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,919 Speaker 1: in But at the same time, the Spacing Guild cannot 47 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: become too powerful because the Emperor and the lands Rode 48 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: keep them in check. And so forth. It's a delicate balance, 49 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: and if things become unbalanced, then two sides might move 50 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: against the third. We of course, have historical examples to 51 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: turn to here on Earth various rules of three, from 52 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,519 Speaker 1: the Triumvirates of Rome to notable examples in Chinese and 53 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: Russian history, amid many others, but we also see the 54 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: basic dynamics of the political tripod borne out in game theory. 55 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: Many of the more famous problems in game theories, such 56 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: as the prisoners dilemma, relate to two player games. These 57 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: are often the simplest models of conflict on which to ruminate, 58 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: but as Roger A. McCain describes in the two thousand 59 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: four book Game Theory, three player games are also important 60 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: for two reasons. Number One, they're just one step of 61 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: complexity beyond two player games, but often entail complexities that 62 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: then translate into games with even or players. And then secondly, 63 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: they enable two players to gain up on a third. 64 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: In short, they allow for alliances. You've probably encountered some 65 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: examples of this playing three player competitive board games. Take 66 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 1: Settlers of Katan, for example, what do players one and 67 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: two do when player three appears to be in the lead. 68 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,039 Speaker 1: Why they gang up on them, of course? And then 69 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: what happens when player two moves into the lead, why 70 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: the alliance is likely to shift. This very roughly illustrates 71 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: the instability of the political tripod. The power balance in Dune, 72 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: and certainly the power balance in real world scenarios, is 73 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: generally far more complicated than a friendly game of Katan, 74 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: but you get the picture. I'm not sure to what 75 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: extent Herbert intended us to contemplate connections between unstable political 76 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: tripods and the death tripod. Itself, but certainly the hearkening 77 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: approach to power and governance proves unstable. In the end, 78 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: It's appetite for cruelty and its thirst for power eventually 79 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:12,919 Speaker 1: leads to its demise. Tune in for additional episodes of 80 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: The Artifact or The Monster Fact each week. As always, 81 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: you can email us at contact it's Stuff to Blow 82 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is 83 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts for 84 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,720 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 85 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.