I stepped out of Denis Villeneuve’s house Dune: part two weighed down by a heavy existential question: am I the kind of person who drinks sandworm piss in exchange for supernatural foresight? Maybe you can help me decide.
First, what is sandworm piss? The Water of Life, as it is formally called, is an electric-blue liquid that – as seen in the film – is extracted from the esophagus of a baby sandworm by drowning the animal and then siphoning its bile through a long, awkward-looking snake. tube. The Bene Gesserit sisters guzzle cups of this poisonous juice to ascend to the status of Reverend Mother: the liquid unlocks their ancestral consciousness and gives them access to the memories of their predecessors. The Water of Life also plays a crucial function in the prophecy of the Kwisatz Haderach, the role that is the canonical fate of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet).
None of this answers my question. Would I drink it? To solve this particular puzzle, I have to weigh the two sides:
Drinking the blue juice would almost certainly kill me for several reasons. First of all, I’m a man. Second, I was not trained by a Bene Gesserit mother in the art of transmogrifying toxins. I’m also pretty sure I’m not supported by the burden of the prophecy. Pretty big disadvantage, if you ask me. However, drinking the blue juice would have a small chance of giving me centuries of shared pain – and much better odds at gambling.
Okay, for all the Dune fans rushing to the comments, I know that Paul Atreides’ visions don’t give him control over the future; they flow through him, more like possibilities than a superhero power that can be wielded. But come on! You’re telling me that if I drink the worm germ, survive, and go to a casino every day, I won’t have a vision or two of me winning billions over a conversation involving a local horse race and the total points of a Detroit Red Wings game?
And I should not underestimate the culinary aspect: what if it tastes good? Do I want to miss this opportunity that has never before been offered to an ordinary, non-prophesied man? I drank a lot of blue Gatorade in high school, so it’s possible that I too have been subconsciously training for this my entire life.
I can not decide. That’s why I’m asking you the question in the next survey. I have a follow-up question for the comments: What do you think the Water of Life tastes like?