Glossary of Dune Terminology - C

C

• Caid – "Sardaukar officer rank given to a military official whose duties call mostly for dealings with civilians; A military governorship over a full planetary district; Above the rank of Bashar but not equal to a Burseg."
• Carryall – Aircraft used on Arrakis to "transport large spice mining, hunting and refining equipment."
• Chakobsa – Language of the Fremen of Arrakis.
• Chaumas – "Poison in solid food as distinguished from poison administered in some other way."
• Chaumurky – "Poison administered in a drink."
• CHOAM (Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles) – the "universal development corporation controlled by the Emperor and Great Houses with the Guild and Bene Gesserit as silent partners." This corporation essentially controls the economy of the known universe, with shares and directorships determining each House's income and financial leverage.
• Cogitor – One of several ancient philosophers whose brains are transplanted into fluid-filled canisters so that they can analyze the universe indefinitely.
• Cone of silence – Sound-deadening "field of a distorter that limits the carrying power of the voice or any other vibrator by damping the vibrations with an image-vibration 180 degrees out of phase." Used for privacy, the field does not visually obscure lip movement.
• Coriolis storm – Sandstorms on Arrakis in which "winds across the open flatlands are amplified by the planet's own revolutionary motion to reach speeds up to 700 kilometres per hour."
• Crysknife – Weapon made from the tooth of a sandworm from Arrakis.
• Cutterray – "Short-range version of a lasgun used mostly as a cutting tool and surgeon's scalpel."
• Cymek – Type of cyborg; specifically, a human brain implanted into a large, weaponized machine body.