Fremen device of wide apph cation in the transfer of liquids Examples of watertubes found on Rakis speak eloquently of the highly developed technology achieved by the Zensunm Wanderers during the final stage of their migrations Stnct conservation of moisture especially that given off by the human body was crucial to survival on Arrakis, and the simple sophistication of the watertube is a good example of the Fremen attention to minute detail that reflected this concern The watertube was used anywhere that liquids especially distilled water had to be transferred from one place to another They were used in stillsuits between catch pockets and mouth, and even between bodily orifices and processing catches Tubes were built into the catchpockets of stilltents The Huanui (or Deathstill) used watertubing in the dramway and between the waiting basin and the flowmeter Watertubes were also used in hterjons flowmeter spouts, and portable wmdtraps WATERTUBE WORM RIDING Construction of the normal watertube was somewhat simpler than the device's sophistication suggests The compound used for the body of the tube was melange-based plastic with plyotyl mixed in to provide the needed flexibility The plastic was hquified and forced into a mold of plasteel, usually 10 to 15 cm square and 2 m long The mold consisted of a group of holes of different diameters A cap at one end allowed extrusion of rods as long as the mold and of varying diameters The cap at the far end of the mold received the rods and thus helped maintain consistent thickness of the watertube being formed A half dozen of the molds discovered so far at two sites on Rakis have led to speculation that tube walls could be varied in thickness depending on which way the caps were put on the mold No matter how the caps were installed, the rods would penetrate the match-up holes But when the caps were rotated a quarter turn, the relation of rod size to mold-hole diameter changed The result could have been that different production needs for watertubes of different flexibility and inside diameter were taken care of by a small number of multi-purpose mold-and-cap combinations There ate not yet enough examples to confirm this speculation or the possibility that switching caps among molds could have given the Fremen almost infinite varieties of tube characteristics Some ana lysts say that these speculation!) overlook the Fremen characteristic of keeping technology simple, others say that this kind of flexibility and adaptability would reflect their sophistication Because the examples of watertubes uncov ered so far show extraordinary uniformity of dimension, we believe that some supplemental mechanism must have been used to keep the rods perfectly straight inside the mold holes The best guess so far, although no conclusive evidence has been found, is that ultrasonic radiation, applied to the cooling plastic/plyotyl m the mold, contributed to stabilization of the fluid and thus to macroscopic uniformity of tube wall Partially cooled tubes were removed from the molds and passed through the bonding vat where the still-tacky inner surfaces, but not the cooler outsides, collected the crystal- line solution which formed, as it "dried" and bonded to the plastic tube, the friction release coating Finally* the active processes completed, the watertubes now looking like dun, limp cords of slightly different diameters, were taken to drying racks where they 'set up" and cured The "crystalline solution" probably would not have been looked for, and the function of tile "bonding vat" would have remained unclear, if not for the mention in the Dunebuk of the nearly fnctionless surface of equipment associated with water measurement Careful search of many watertube relics did turn up trace samples of a flexible crystal that is almost inert at normal temperatures Significant amounts of the substance have been found only in the vicinity of some "bonding vats " Pen/pherometnc analysis indicates that the Fremen s fnctiontess mate rial has an intramolecular structure close to present-day Pethlax and the prototype Frolmyr compound Watertube technology looks at first to be fairly simple, as befits a commonplace item of everyday use The close investigation prompted by scattered comments in the Dunebuk, however, reveals sophisticated attention to details of watertube design and manufacture which in turn confinm the ex traordmary importance of water conservation in the desert environment of Arrakis JLG Further reference Princess Irulan Atreides Comno ed The Dunebuk Rakis Ref Cat 7 Z33I WORM RIDING According to the chronicles which record that people's history the Fremen did not learn the art of worm riding for two generations after their transport to Arrakis in 7193 Dunng those early years in then- new home, they traveled either on foot or by orrathopter, finding neither method completely acceptable walking was slow and dangerous, and the 'thopters were Guild machines on which the Fremen did not wish to rely too heavily They waited, studying their sur roundmgs for a method more in harmony with the planet to suggest itself That suggestion came in 7265 when a large sandworm appeared near a party of Fremen who were investigating a new spice- WORM RIDING 504 sand.