Tleilax Bene.	Tleilax Bene.		Tleilax Bene.
The "Tleilax Bene" or the Tleilaxu as they were more commonly called, were a group of secretive, genetically altered humans who inhabited Tleilax, the sole planet of the star Thalim. The customs and ethics of the Tleilax Bene led to widespread revulsion by the other cultures of the Known Universe, a reaction that did little to quench the Tleilaxu's hunger to subjugate their rivals. History Scytale, the Face Dancer The Tleilaxu directly participated in the plot to destroy the royal family with the gift to Paul ATREIDES of Hayt, the Ghola of Duncan Idaho. When Chani died giving birth to the twins Leto II and Ghanima ATREIDES, the Face Dancer Scytale was killed by the Emperor with the help of his newborn son. Leto II and The Famine Times Under Leto II, the Tleilaxu chafed just as all of the old power brokers struggled against his complete authoritarian rule. Near the end of his reign, the Tleilaxu participated in a direct assassination attempt against him in the festival city of Onn, formerly Arrakeen. They also provided information to the Ixians, who used that information to engineer his eventual fianc'ee and love, Hwi Noree, from the cells of his old friend Malky, before the God Emperor's death on Dune. When Leto died and the Famine Times began, the Tleilaxu, just as the rest of humanity, spread throughout the cosmos in The Scattering, in an attempt to find hospitable worlds. The Return During the Return of the Honored Matres to the Old Imperium, the Honored Matres, seeking revenge against all Tleilaxu males, attacked and decimated Tleilax. The only known Tleilaxu Master survivor was the most junior Master Scytale. However, his possession of numerous individuals' genetic material (including that of many Tleilaxu) made it possible for him to recreate his culture. Additionally, the successful spread of the Tleilaxu, sent out during The Scattering, made it possible that others survived in uncharted space, undiscovered by the Honored Matres. When some of these returned to the Old Imperium, they were known as the Lost Ones, especially the Lost Tleilaxu. The Matres also killed the elder Tleilaxu Master, Tylwyth WAFF, as he was on Rakis when they attacked the planet with ultra-destructive Obliterator weapons. This caused widespread revulsion amongst the surviving Tleilaxu, as they considered the sandworms of Dune to contain an essence of the God Emperor, their Prophet. Culture The Tleilaxu were an inherently isolationist culture that was dominated by a strict hierarchy and an overriding religious zeal. They had long focused their efforts on genetics, and the pursuit of spiritual elevation through physical refinement. Classes The Tleilaxu were separated into several different classes, each of which had a distinct physical appearance and role within their society. The primary groups were: Tleilaxu Masters: They looked physically similar to small humans, most often with small close-set eyes and a set of small pointed teeth. Gholas: Clones, often programmed, of the dead. Axlotl Tanks: Little more than incubation vessels, this class bred all Tleilaxu, as well as other beings (such as Gholas). It is believed these were what remain of the female sex of the Tleilaxu. Face Dancers: The warrior and worker class, who were capable of adapting their physical appearance to a specific task at hand. Their doppelganger ability was also used to perform espionage against other groups. Religion The Tleilaxu followed a strict and fervent spiritual ideology that derived itself from both the Zensunni and the Zensufi theologies. As with most cultures within the Known Universe, their faith was monotheistic. While they did not place significant importance on the Giant Sandworm, they did credit great importance to Leto ATREIDES II, whom they saw as "God's Messenger." The details of their religion remained largely hidden until the arrival of the Honored Matres. Governance Masheikh was a secret title held by Tleilaxu Masters who sat on the Ruling Council. Duties Of The Masheikh It was the duty of the ten Masheikhs to rule over the Tleilaxu empire, and plot their conquest over rival cultures and organizations, including the Landsraad, the Spacing Guild, and most notably the Gesserit Bene. The Masheikhs also viewed themselves as divine messengers and representatives of God. Continuity The title of Masheikh seldom passed from one Tleilaxu Master to another, partly due to the longevity of Tleilaxu Masters, and partly because of a perceived need to maintain continuity in the Tleilaxu's long-term plans.
Tleilax Bene.	Tleilaxu Master.		Tleilax Bene.
The Masters are the people of the Tleilax Bene, developers of the Ghola and Face Dancers. Discoveries in the nature of the Ghola, in particular, had great implications to the Masters, as they discovered they could regain their genetic memory with ease, allowing them to live forever, using the axlotl tanks to create Gholas of themselves. Tleilaxu sperm "does not carry forward in a straight genetic fashion ... Gaps occur," and that they are "naturally immune to an Ixian Probe," an interrogation device which normally can extract information even from the dead. The Tleilaxu are described as short, dwarf-like characters with gray skin, hair and eyes, elfin features and pointy teeth. The Gesserit Bene suspect that their appearance is intended to encourage others to underestimate them. Tleilaxu Masters control their creations by forcing them into a hypnotic state with some predefined, implanted sound (often a specific humming or whistling noise). In Dune Messiah, the Tleilaxu dwarf Bijaz controls the Ghola Hayt through a specific humming intonation that renders Hayt open to implanted commands. In Heretics of Dune, the Master Waff attempts to control his perfectly mimicked Face Dancer copy of High Priest Tuek with a humming language, but fails due to the copy's complete assimilation into its new form. The nine Masheikhs who governed Tleilax Bene through the Ruling Council were chosen from the Master ranks. At times, if Face Dancers lived enough serial lives as Gholas, they were elevated to Master status. Scytale was one example of this.
Tleilax Bene.	Axlotl Tanks.		Tleilax Bene.
Axlotl Tanks. The "Axlotl Tanks" are living organisms, the means by which the Tleilax Bene reproduce a living human being from the cells of a cadaver, a type of cloning called a Ghola as well as the creation of genetically engineered assassins known as Face Dancers. Later in the series, the axlotl tanks are engineered to replicate the spice M'elange, previously only available on the desert planet Arrakis where it is created naturally as part of the life cycle of giant Sandworms. The Gesserit Bene suspected that the axlotl tanks were what remained of female Tleilaxu, since no Tleilaxu females had ever been seen. Moreover, the Reverend Mother Darwi ODRADE, during the time of the Honored Matres, had declared to Tleilaxu Master Tylwyth WAFF that neither she nor any of her sisters would become an axlotl tank. This remark elicited shock from the Master, a reaction that indicated that the Gesserit Bene suspicion was true, especially since he did not deny it. Genetic information could be coded into those bred in axlotl tanks. As a result, the resulting organisms could be bred for certain aptitudes, skills, and reflexes. Despite the revulsion axlotl tanks caused in many groups and cultures, by the time the Honored Matres had conquered the planets of the Old Imperium, the Gesserit Bene had adopted them for the creation of Gholas to further their cause. The Tleilaxu also discovered an artificial method of producing the spice m'elange in their axlotl tanks as well. Some m'elange users, like the Gesserit Bene, prefer the natural m'elange of Arrakis to the Tleilaxu substitute, claiming superior potency. The axlotl tanks were described thus: "Bright lights and padded mechanical hands. The hands rotated him and, in the unfocused blurs of the newborn, he saw a great mound of female flesh- Monstrous in her almost immobile grossness ... a maze of dark tubes linked her body to giant metal containers." At some point, the Gesserit Bene obtained the secrets of the axtotl tanks. Legal Status The UGC frowns upon cloning technology, and the Tleilax Beneu aren't well liked to begin with. With the capitulation of the God Emperor, eyes quickly turned to the vassal states, of which the Tleilaxu were one; The Master Tleilaxu was "disinterested" in joining the UGC. This suited the ambassadors' purposes fine; A Battle Fleet of nearly a million combat vsls were dispatch to Tleilaxu, sufficient in numbers to blot out the local star and maintain a relatively solid coverage on the night side of the wolrd. A mini rain of death targeting fields, bridges, and roads between cities fell, something to show not the Tleilaxu so much as the other vassal states the UGC's full power. Before the bombardment ended, the Master Tleilaxu had capitulated, and the axtotl tanks were seized. Unfortunately, species continuation without them was impossible, but the Council specifically banned the continuation of Face Dancers.
Tleilax Bene.	Ghola.		Tleilax Bene.
A "Ghola" are "manufactured" human duplicates (essentially clones) grown in an axlotl tank from cells collected from a deceased subject. A true Ghola is initially shown to be the 'resurrection' of a corpse, through regrowth of damaged tissues, while later Gholas in the series are more accurately described as clones—grown from genetic material extracted from a few cells (e.g. a small scraping of skin taken moments before death). In the beginning, Gholas are merely physical copies without the memories of their original incarnations. The Tleilaxu discovered by accident that through specific stresses, Gholas can be made to recall the memories of the original, including their moment of death. Gholas are grown from a few cells. The Tleilaxu can control their creations by forcing them into a hypnotic state with some predefined sound (often a specific humming or whistling noise) that has been pre-conditioned into each Ghola. In an attempt to ingratiate themselves to Emperor Muad'Dib, the Tleilaxu offered him a such a Ghola of his deceased love Chani to gain leverage over him, which Paul ATREIDES refused. A similar offer of Duncan IDAHO Gholas to Emperor Leto II was accepted; This choice to surround himself by IDAHO Gholas drove a wedge between the emperor and the Fremen, as they displaced the Fedaykin Death Commandos as the Emperor's bodyguards. Though intense psychological trauma is the key to unlocking the memories of a Ghola, the actual situation contrived to accomplish this is specific to each individual. When militry genius Miles TEG was killed in in the Heretics War, a Ghola of him was born for the Chapterhouse War on orders from TEG'S own daughter, Gesserit Bene leader Darwi ODRADE (his memories were unlocked using sexual imprinting). The discovery of how to reawaken a Ghola has tremendous consequences for the Tleilaxu Masters themselves; They subsequently use the technology of axlotl tanks and memory recovery to grant themselves effective immortality. Every Master is "recreated" upon his death with recovered memories, accumulating many generations of knowledge and experience and permitting planning on a timespan of millennia. House Ordos attempted to use a Ghola of the now-deceased Corrino Emperor to get the Sardaukar and Fremen into allying with them in a bid to claim the Golden Lion Throne, with the Executrix as the true leaders behind the so-called "puppet Emperor." Legal Status The UGC does NOT like cloning technology; However, the survival of the Tleilaxu people depends upon it. The UGC therefore allows the Tleilaxu to continue creating Gholas, but only at the bare minimum numbers to maintain populace, and no more. The Council is pressing them to re-develop natural breeding cycles to supplant the Gholas, but this is meeting stiff resistance.
Tleilax Bene.	Face Dancers.		Tleilax Bene.
A "Face Dancer" was a member of a race bred by the Tleilax Bene. Their standing in Tleilaxu society fell below that of Tleilaxu Master, and their ability to mimic other individuals made them popular for numerous roles, including spies and assassins. Physical Attributes Tleilaxu Face Dancers had the ability to take on the physical appearance of other individuals. Their name came from the fact that when they changed shape their faces would appear to 'dance' as the flesh moved. Despite Face Dancers being neither male nor female, they had the ability to take on the physical sex of the individual they were copying. However, they were incapable of breeding. Limitations Face Dancers could generally mimic individuals to an almost perfect level of precision. As a result, the Tleilax Bene would often use them to infiltrate other organizations and governments. Ideally, the Tleilax Bene could replace almost whomever they wished with a Face Dancer and would often do so, with some of these impostors acting successfully for many years. However, the use of Face Dancers was not an infallible maneuver. There were two significant limitations. The first limitation was that their pheromones could be detected by a Gesserit Bene adept. A Gesserit Bene Sister or Reverend Mother could detect them by a subtle but distinct odor emitted by their pheromones. Indeed, the Tleilax Bene generally were not aware that the Gesserit Bene had this ability and used it to their advantage. As a result, Face Dancers were not as effective as the Tleilaxu had hoped when the Gesserit Bene were involved. By the time of the arrival of the Honored Matres, the Tleilaxu had developed Face Dancer talents so perfectly that even the Gesserit Bene had difficulty detecting them. These new Face Dancers were also capable (through a touching of foreheads) of acquiring some of the memories of those who had just died, so that when they were copying those dead individuals, they were also able to discover some of their secrets and play their role as impostor even more convincingly. The second limitation in the use of Face Dancers was that at times, if a Face Dancer had been acting in a certain role for a long time, the Face Dancer would become delusional and start to believe that they were in fact the person they were mimicking. When this happened, they would fall outside Tleilax Bene control and would need to be killed, often exposing the Tleilaxu infiltration in the process. This happened with the Rakian Chief Priest Hasmar TUEK. Legal Status The UGC has experience with the subject of cloned slaves- Had the T'sentraedi never come into existence, there might not be a UGC. That notwithstanding, cloning is deeply frowned on, and a species of clone slaves the more so. The UGC's Ambassadors to the Arakeen Worlds demanded the Face Dancers be "deactivated," which eventually came to mean no more would be created. The Face Dancers then appealed to be 'saved,' and the Ambassadors struck a separate bargain with them; They would control one tank of their own, on a separate body (eventually a moon of an otherwise uninhabited planet was chosen) and they would not in any way, attempt to engage in spying, assassination, or other criminal activity. Every Face Dancer would wear a prescribed outfit when in public (a grey tunic with white shoulders over whatever else they may be wearing)- Or would be summarily shot, without trial, right there in the street. The UGC isn't always known for their brotherhood tendencies.