The Muad'Dib, A Mouse-Descendant Creature Of Arrakis.	Dissonance.		The Muad'Dib, A Mouse-Descendant Creature Of Arrakis.
The First MUAD'DIB Paul ATREIDES. "Behold, the muad'dib; A creature descended from mice, a marsupial that moves on their hind legs. The first God-Emperor, Paul Of ATREIDES Of Caladaan, thought himself such a one. The muad'dib are dangerous creatures, known to dig through hardened rock quickly. In numbers, they can kill all but the largest sandworms, and have. Individually, they can kill a man if he's unawares. "Duke ATREIDES, as he was then known, the Fremen Duke as he was referred to, sought to emulate the muad'dib, though this would come later, after the name 'Muad'Dib,' was already applied to him, with cunning, size, numbers, razor claw and piercing teeth rending down the Corrino-Harkonnen 'sandworm' until it succumbed to Muad'dib and his Fremen. "But this is the danger of the histories; For the Muad'Dib then became the sandworm, forgetting that the muad'dib could still kill it." - The Book Of The Muad'Dib (better known as "The Dissonance") by "Edward." Exactly where Dissonance started is a mystery, since it didn't "start" anywhere in particular; Various writers were critical of the first Muad'Dib, Paul ATREIDES, from the outset- Some even before he'd actually taken the throne. They comprise the millions of voices (amongst quintillions of people) who are in one way or another 'disaffected' by the various edicts of the Muad'Dibs. Most are of no importance, and many are amongst the planets settled after the Scattering in any case, but some did rise to varying degrees of fame, speaking out against the Muad'Dibs; Particulalry the Second Muad'Dib, Leto ATREIDES The Second, cracked down on the dissonant voices, going so far as to order the deaths of such people without trial if they could be caught. Not all Dissonants are pointedly against the Muad'Dibs; Some 'quibble' minor points. LetoII's Golden Path created a lot of confusion and chaos, however, and his critics are quite pointed and numerous. The successor Muad'Dibs hve never failed to defend his actions, describing them as "critically necessary for the survival of the species in the era he ruled," even as they've torn down significant parts of the empire he 'unbuilt.' That's not to say the historians get a free pass; If caught, they can be imprisoned, even killed, if their 'antisocial rhetoric' gets too far out of hand. Most are ignored to this day, nonetheless. Interestingly, many of the Dissonants defend Muad'Dib himself, per se, calling his actions "necessary to save the Imperium from the corrupt plutocratic oligarchs of the Padishah Emperors," but the later Muad'Dibs have seen criticism almost universally; Only the third, Paul II, received no great criticism, a rather unsurprising development since he was the one to travel to Dissonance Town Square. Dissonance does have a 'home' of sorts; After the Scattering, the town square of Juve on the planet Juve became a meeting place for Dissonants. Soon, the square became a building of its own, and the entire town followed as part of the building, with an entire city built around the forum. Paul II travelled there to meet the Dissonants, promising that they would not be unneedfully abused so long as their actions did not interfere with the Muad'Dibs agendas- He even welcomed their "respectfully submitted wise words as considered idea," meaning he he'd take into consideration anything they said if it was well-conceived and developed. (That's what he implied, at least; very little of it actually got any attention.) Dissonance remains a bit of an annoyance, but not a danger to the Muad'Dibs, who usually ignore the "impertinent voices" but on occasion make small adjustments to conceived plans to accommodate the least vexing 'demands' made; The Global Hospitals was one such adjustment (though the Fourth Muad'Dib, Leto III, raised taxes far beyond the actual expense, thus enriching House ATREIDES and the Muad'Dib and their allies the Fremen, Fish Speakers, and IDAHOS, without any 'real' cost- it also supplies the Court with a great deal of intelligence on the intentions of the various houses and factions, since every contact with a patient inevitably finds its way to the Court). Interaction With The Muad'Dib: The Muad'Dib is spying on Dissonance, and Dissonance members know it. They even know that IDAHOS routinely monitor their communiques, though parcel letters are reasonably safe, since there's far too much hard copy mail to read everything, and it travels far too slowly to use for any plots or coups. They even know that their office building on Arrakis is wired for sound and video (using the building's own security system), even though that's 'supposed to be' a secret. This is why they keep a very high standard within themselves, both in deportment and in intellectual reasoning; Many a retired Mentat can be found in their ranks, amongst their earliest members was Thufir HAWAT, in the era before "Dissonance" was a thing per se, and obviously before his suicide to spite the not-yet dead Baron Vladimir HARKONNEN. Dissonance is a loose guild, without any particularly pointed alliance. Type: Loose guild. Leader Title: None. There is no leader. Membership Types: Anyone who has any criticism of the Muad'Dib. Goals: Provide those who criticize the Muad'Dibs with a place to speak. Size and Orientation: Guild (300) Features:
A: Sponsorship:	B: Dress:	C: Equipment:	D: Weaponry:
None	None (0)	Large Library (20); Alchemist (60); Forge (10); The members have many assets and skills sets that allow them to assist each other.	None (0); At least in theory, they don't need any.
E: Communications:	F: Security:	G: Stronghold:	H: Intelligence:
Letter Service (10): They can use any public information conveance that anyone else can. Some have varouius encryption and encoding techniques used in small groups, but nothing by the organization itself.	None (0); In theory, they don't need it.	Surrounding City (60); The city of Juve has become their castle, and around it the city of Little Juve has ben built.	Spy Network (50); They have in fact a fairly significant spy network, though this was not the intention; They also ARE a spy network, as the Muad'Dibs are able to track who is part of Dissonance, where they go, and who they talk to.
I: General Alignment	J: Criminal Activity	K: Reputation	L: Salary
Scrupulous (8); At minimum, they MUST maintain scrupuolos adhreance to the finest points of law, logic, and argument. The Muad'Dibs can reject ANYTHING based even on a misspelled word, though this extreme has never actually been applied.	None (0); Dissonance does not support any criminal activity, and those discovered to engage in such activity are cast out (they don't however, assist in the investigation if they can avoid it).	Suspicious (2); The Muad 'Dibs are naturally suspicious of Dissonance, and keep a close eye on their actions.	None (5); Dissonance neither charges for nor pays its members, as a general matter. All members offer a small sum that goes to maintenance of the Town Square, but it's a pittance, and completely volentariy, while major accomplishments "might" garner the member a small reward (the largest to date being 100 lbs of mélange and a sow).
M: SPECIALS:
Sub Guilds: Many, encompassing many disciplines and many of them competitory. Leased Land: They actually have an office building on Arrakis. It's a half-mile from the Court itself, right in the castle. Friendship- Royalty: The Muad'Dibs are, at least nominally, their friends. Friendship- Merchants: Many of Dissonce's members are in fact merchants themselves. Friendship- Government: The Muad'Dibs are, at least nominally, their friends. Great Competition: Dissonance isn't the only wheel in town, but they're the biggest and the least distrusted. Enemy Factions: The Harkonnen Remnant, Fish Speakers, House Harkonnen (resurrected), the Gerrerit Bene, the Honored Matres, some merchants, really the only specifically not enmies are the Fremen (who's loyalty to the Muad'Dibs has waned) and the IDAHOS (who are, ironically, spying on Dissonance, and Dissonance knows all about it).