Data Crystal in Cryo's ''Frank Herbert's Dune''
Ridulian crystal was material that could be processed into sheets only several molecules thick.
A volume of thousands of pages can be bound bound between covers of ridulian-based hardboard, and measure only 1.5-cm thick from cover to cover. Such books can be read only by the means of an automatic page turner embedded in the spine. Static charges prevent the pages from touching each other.
God Emperor Leto II wrote his Journals that measure up to 2,126 ridulian crystal volumes in the Rakis Hoard.[1]
Discovery[]
The first person to successfully produce a crystalline form of ridulite was Jams Rondel, an Ixian scientist specializing in crystalliform research. Rondel sought a process which would permit him to crystallize the durable and highly reflective substance as part of a top-secret research project: the Ixians wished to learn how to manufacture a physical shield which would protect its user from a lasgun attack. The secrecy of the project was necessary, as God Emperor Leto II banned personal shields during the first years of his reign, and he limited possession of lasguns to members of the royal military at the end of his first century on the throne.
When Rondel finally announced, in 10937, that he had discovered the proper combination of solvents and temperatures required to manufacture ridulian crystals, he was forced to temper the good news with bad. The crystals, though even tougher than their parent substance and divisible into sheets of amazing thinness, darkened when exposed to bright light. Striking a shield made of ridulian crystal with a lasgun beam would render it opaque and useless within seconds.
The discovery, however, was better received by his superiors than Rondel had hoped. Rather than shunting him off onto another project, they ordered him to continue working with the crystals, with particular emphasis on producing the thinnest possible sheets without sacrificing any of the material's strength and durability.
Ridulian Crystal Paper[]
The result of this new direction of research was ridulian crystal paper which Rondel first exhibited in 10938. Only several molecules thick, the paper was capable of withstanding temperature extremes from -103 K to +1700 K with no change in structure; it was as durable as a much thicker sheet of gold leaf and much harder; and it would turn a rich, dark purple when struck by a beam of coherent light while maintaining its off-white clarity in light of any other sort.
Once it was certain that Rondel had produced what was needed, he was informed of his creation's purpose. The first dictatel had been built in 10936, intended as a gift to Leto II, whose habit of keeping comprehensive journals was already known. The Ixians wished to provide him with a means of keeping a longer-lasting record, and to secure for themselves the God Emperor's continuing favor and tacit approval of their "forbidden" research. But they had been stymied by their failure to come up with a truly imperishable recording medium. Ridulian crystal paper solved their problem handily: the dictatel was adopted to "write" with coherent light and presented to Leto.
Jams Rondel was awarded high honors by the Ixian Council of Scientists and given far more spacious quarters in which to continue his research. The reputation of his invention far outlived that of its inventor, however, and the many generations of Ixians who acted as stationers to the God Emperor would have been at a loss to name him.
Notes[]
- ↑ Atreides, Leto II, Journals of
See also[]
Further references[]
- Alan Bartke. Survey of Ixian Technology, 10900-13500 (Finally: Mosaic)