Ghola

Ghola is a term that appears in the science fiction saga Dune by Frank Herbert. The gholas are human beings, developed in the so-called axlotl tanks from a few cells of the already dead individual. These gholas are one of the specialties of the Bene Tleilax school of thought, who also specialize in Face Dancers.

Clone or ghola?

The main divergence or difference between a clone per se, and a ghola (from the English word "ghoul" or gul, which means scary-undead), is that the clone is taken from material living genetic material, and the ghola, is taken from dead genetic material. (Later in the Dune story, the Tleilaxu apparently learn to create gholas from living material.)

Unexpected characteristics of a ghola

The ghola retains the personality of the individual donor, and although it does not retain its memories, it has been proven that these can be recovered when the ghola experiences a traumatic event that brings him closer to his past life as a human being or, as shown in the last book in the series written by Frank Herbert, Dune Chapterhouse, memories can also be retrieved through seduction. Someone trained to repel a sexual seduction in his other life triggers his memories when confronted with a seduction in his new body, as in the case of the Bene Gesserit Ghola Mentat Bashar, Miles Teg.

Bibliographic reference

• Frank Herbert, Dune. Barcelona: Editions Debolsillo, 2003. ISBN 978-84-9759-682-4
• Frank Herbert, The Messiah of Dune. Editions Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2003. ISBN 978-84-9759-667-1
• Frank Herbert, Children of Dune. Editions Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2003. ISBN 978-84-9759-432-5
• Frank Herbert, God Emperor of Dune. Editions Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2003. ISBN 978-84-9759-748
• Frank Herbert, Herejes de Dune. Editions Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2003. ISBN 978-84-9759-731-9
• Frank Herbert, Dune Capitular House. Editions Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2003. ISBN 978-84-9759-770-8
• Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Dune: The Atreides House. Best Seller Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2003. ISBN 978-84-9759-316-8
• Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Dune: The Harkonnen House. Best Seller Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2003. ISBN 978-84-9759-347-2
• Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Dune: The Corrino House. Best Seller Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2004. ISBN 978-84-9793-246
• Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. Best Seller Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2005. ISBN 978-84-9793-672-9
• Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Dune: The Crusade of Machines. Best Seller Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2007. ISBN 978-84-8346-365-9
• Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Dune: The Battle of Corrin. Best Seller Debolsillo: Barcelona, 2007. ISBN 978-84-01-336-2
• Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Dune Hunters. Plaza & Janés, Barcelona, 2008. ISBN 978-84-01-33679-9
• Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Dune sandblas. Plaza & Janés, Barcelona, 2009. ISBN 978-84-01-33727-7