Hydraulic Empire - in Fiction

In Fiction

• The most famous hydraulic empire in fiction is probably described in Frank Herbert's Dune universe, which describes a traditional hydraulic empire on the planet Arrakis, as well as a galactic empire controlled by the limitation of the spice drug produced on Arrakis.
• The protagonist in Larry Niven's 1976 book, A World Out of Time, describes the concept of a water-monopoly empire to the antagonist. This becomes a major plot point.
• In S. M. Stirling's novel Drakon (The Domination series), the female drakensis Gwendolyn Ingolfson comments on Wittfogel's Oriental Despotism: "Interesting analysis. Very acute...my ancestors would probably have killed him."
• Hamdo, the primary villain of the 1999 anime series Now and Then, Here and There, seeks to control the entire desert world of Hellywood through complete control of its water.
• The 2011 western animated film Rango concerns the struggle for water between the local mafia and the inhabitants of the drought-stricken desert town of Dirt. As its mayor said, "Control the water and you control everything."
• 1995 film Tank Girl shows a similar set up, there has been no rain for over 11 years - water is extremely scarce, and what little is available is controlled by the Water & Power company, led by Kesslee (Malcolm McDowell).