Face Dancers are a type of human in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. Servants of the Bene Tleilax, Face Dancers are near-perfect mimics; their name is derived from their ability to change their appearance literally at will.
In the history of the Dune universe, Face Dancers have been employed for a number of purposes. Initially, their principal use was entertainment -- they served as comedians, impersonators, and actors. However, their identity-stealing skills made them highly useful as spies and assassins, and they were hired by the Great Houses in their continual political, financial, and military conflicts.
In time the Face Dancers became genetic eunuchs. They became sterile creatures, with full sentience but no sense of self and a genetically programmed loyalty to the Tleilaxu masters.
Water gathering
most days I wait
through blue and sun
till dusk
or even later
and the rose has faded
to lavender, to gray
some days, the sleet
has started
and the leaves underfoot
are slick with ice
somehow I'm never sorry
and never learn
one night I waited
till the stars were out
dropped the bucket into
sound, only felt the weight
of it filling
and the night full of stars
and the river full of stars
and the bucket full of stars
come morning, the coffee
is also full of stars
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Face Dancers are a type of human in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. Servants of the Bene Tleilax, Face Dancers are near-perfect mimics; their name is derived from their ability to change their appearance literally at will.
In the history of the Dune universe, Face Dancers have been employed for a number of purposes. Initially, their principal use was entertainment -- they served as comedians, impersonators, and actors. However, their identity-stealing skills made them highly useful as spies and assassins, and they were hired by the Great Houses in their continual political, financial, and military conflicts.
In time the Face Dancers became genetic eunuchs. They became sterile creatures, with full sentience but no sense of self and a genetically programmed loyalty to the Tleilaxu masters.
Comparison of Shapeshifter Myths in Popular Fiction
http://www.eclipse.net/~srudy/myths/were_myths.html
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