T-Probe

A T-Probe is a fictional device in Frank Herbert's "Dune" universe used to capture the thoughts of a person (living or dead) for analysis. They appear in "Heretics of Dune" and "Chapterhouse Dune".

Usage

The probe is attached to the body through a series of electrodes placed around the skull and on major nerve centers. It is controlled by a 'computer' and this 'computer' is controlled by an operator who can increase or decrease the power supplied to the probe to maximize the efficacy of the probe while at the same time not overloading the nervous system of the subject. The probe works by stimulating the person's brain in different areas, and then reading the responses in terms of electrical signals. In this way, it builds a 'digital' framework of the person. This framework can be subjected to stimuli, and will respond as the person would. The T-Probe also causes massive, virtually unendurable pain in a living subject.

Specifics

Unlike Ixian Probes, a T-Probe's function cannot be blocked by the substance shere, and so there is no way to prevent the probe from functioning. In "Heretics of Dune", the Honored Matres have engineered or been given the technology to create this new kind of probe that is not affected by shere. This probe is what causes Bashar Miles Teg's brain to change its structure, giving him the blinding speed and amazing abilities seen in end of "Heretics". This mental alteration continues in Teg even after being 'reborn' as a Tleilaxu ghola.