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November 23

"tap the true power" in Dune (2021 film)

Leto says to Paul:

Leto: By taking Arrakis from the Harkonnens and making it ours, he sets the stage for a war which would weaken both houses. But if we hold firm, and tap the true power of Arrakis, we could be stronger than ever.

What does "tap the true power" mean? Rizosome (talk) 04:03, 23 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The verb to tap means to draw off something from a source. Initially the term was used for liquids: water can be tapped from a spring, and beer from a beer keg. More generally, it can be applied to things like electric energy. Leto's idea is that Arrakis is a source of power, and that House Atreides can draw off some of that power and thereby become more powerful. Leto calls this power the "true" power because, I guess, he feels that the Harkonnens have failed to recognize the full power he sees in Arrakis. --Lambiam 08:22, 23 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

More: As Arrakis is the only planet in the galaxy that produces the drug "melange" (aka "spice"), a substance upon which the entire civilization depends. Thus, Leto knows that controlling Arrakis means that one will control the galaxy. Leto's pronouncement is prophetic, as Paul will learn to control the Fremen as their messianic leader "Muad'Dib", and the Fremen turn out to be the key to controlling Arrakis. Prior to Paul, the Fremen were basically ignored or marginally tolerated by whichever house controlled Arrakis. The main plot of Dune centers on Paul's realization that the key to Arrakis (and thus the key to the galaxy), lies not with controlling the spice trade directly, but with controlling the Fremen, whom Paul recognizes as the "true power" of Arrakis. --Jayron 32 12:15, 23 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

Risozome might be acquainted with another metaphorical use of tap: to tap a telephone line is to draw from a flow of information. —Tamfang (talk) 02:31, 25 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]