Abomination (Dune) - in The Novels

In The Novels

In the original Dune novel, the unborn child of Lady Jessica, Alia, becomes pre-born when Jessica undergoes the spice agony as part of her effort to become Reverend Mother of Sietch Tabr. Later in Alia's life (in the novel Children of Dune), Alia becomes possessed by the ancestral presence of her maternal grandfather, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

In Dune Messiah, the twin children of Paul Atreides, Leto II and Ghanima, also become pre-born as a result of high levels of spice in the diet of their mother, Chani, during their gestation. Later in Children of Dune, Leto and Ghanima avoid becoming "Abominations" through the protection of benign ancestral memory-selves. Ghanima actually finds the cure for the Abomination syndrome while trying to conceal truth through a form of deep hypnosis.