If you’ve ever ventured to Arrakis, you’ve heard the whispers: Sandworms, the Maker, possibly you’e even heard of Shai-Hulud. You probably know them as an existential menace, the sort of enemy you’ll be able to’t hope to kill, but additionally as an ecological necessity — their existence brings forth the Spice Melange, on which our survival relies upon.
But the Maker is greater than a set of tooth that produces spice. It’s a god determine, a being to be revered, and — most significantly — a option to traverse the Arrakeen desert. That’s proper, Shai-Hulud might be ridden — however what’s it really prefer to experience?
Full Disclosure: The Fremen flew me out to Arrakis to attempt my hand at driving a sandworm. The Spacing Guild provided my transportation, and the Fremen offered my meals, lodging, and valuable life-giving water.
What’s New About The 10191 Arrakeen Sandworm?
Not a lot. Most sandworms sufficiently old to experience are a whole bunch if not 1000’s of years previous — little or no has modified for them over the course of their years within the sand.
But if it ain’t broke, don’t repair it. The Maker is dependable transport, simple to foretell and manageable to manage — as long as you understand what you’re doing. For amateurs, wormriding generally is a battle, however with a little bit of follow it turns into second nature.
What Are the Specs?
Sandworms can develop to a whole bunch of yards in size, and a few assume that worms as much as 1,000 yards lengthy exist within the planet’s most distant deserts. My tester wasn’t fairly so massive, someplace within the 250-yard vary, which made it considerably extra nimble than its bigger brethren.
How Does It Look?
I’ll be actual: Sandworms usually are not fairly. They’re a function-over-form design, grey and drab with thick, plated pores and skin. But each a part of the Maker’s look serves a operate—its mouth for intaking vitamins, its plates for steering the worm in the direction of your vacation spot. Shai-Hulud is probably not a magnificence, but it surely will get the job carried out.
How Does It Ride?
I stated my Maker was smaller than many, which made for a nimbler experience. That, nevertheless, is faint reward — no sandworm is really nimble, all are sluggish to reply and require full-body exertion to maneuver. Even with expert riders on again, Shai-Hulud nonetheless understeers on the restrict, and every experience is extra about reaching your vacation spot than having any enjoyable alongside the way in which.
Power is satisfactory; worms are centered extra on torque than top-end, which might typically confuse the “butt dyno” into studying greater than is de facto correct. The actual trick with sandworms, although, is management — at first the concept of controlling a Maker along with your two little hooks appears absurd. With some follow below your belt, nevertheless, all of it turns into second nature: The Maker hooks fall readily at hand, and the steering scramble from left to proper turns into extra of an intentional dance.
How’s The Interior?
I didn’t take a look at this. If you wanna get eaten by a sandworm to find what it’s like, be my visitor. I hear it’s scorching.
How Does It Compare to the Competition?
For long-distance journey on Arrakis, the closest competitor to the Maker is probably going your customary ornithopter. But these require gas and upkeep, and also you aren’t prone to discover one other one fueled and ready when yours falters. Worms, in contrast, handle themselves — and when one will get drained, you’re only a thumper away from discovering one other experience.
For quick journeys, an ornithopter could also be extra handy. But for lengthy hauls throughout the Arrakeen desert, the Maker is unmatched. There’s a motive the Fremen, these most attuned to abandon life, don’t maintain fleets of ‘thopters at every sietch.
Final Thoughts
Riding Shai-Hulud is a rare opportunity, one I’m grateful to have been given. Large, high-capacity sandworms actually really feel like the way forward for long-haul transportation in a method that makes ornithopters really feel out of date — so restricted in measurement, carry weight, and gas vary. The Fremen know Dune finest, so it’s no marvel they’ve chosen the best technique of transport by the large, open desert. Bless the Maker and His water, bless the approaching and going of Him.
Source: jalopnik.com