Oracle of Time
| Norma Cenva | |
|---|---|
| Dune character | |
| First appearance | Dune: The Butlerian Jihad (2002) |
| Last appearance | Sandworms of Dune (2007) |
| Created by | Frank Herbert |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Oracle of Time |
| Occupation | Scientist/Researcher |
| Affiliation | Foldspace Shipping Company (Spacing Guild) |
| Spouse(s) | Aurelius Venport |
| Children | Adrien Venport |
| Relatives |
|
Norma Cenva is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Mentioned briefly in Herbert's God Emperor of Dune (1981), she plays a large role in the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy (2002–2004) written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The character reappears as the Oracle of Time in the Brian Herbert/Anderson novels Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), which conclude the original series.
Her name is an anagram of "Norma Vance", wife of author Jack Vance, with whom Frank Herbert was good friends.
Norma Cenva is first mentioned in God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, when the God Emperor Leto II notes:
Who has ever heard of Norma Cenva? ... You think a man designed the first Guild ship? Your history books told you it was Aurelius Venport? They lied. It was his mistress, Norma. She gave him the design, along with five children. He thought his ego would take no less. In the end, the knowledge that he had not really fulfilled his own image, that was what destroyed him.
This paragraph is the only mention of Norma Cenva in Frank Herbert's works, although Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson develop and expand her character considerably in their novels.
Norma Cenva (b. 218 B.G.) was the daughter of Zufa Cenva, Supreme Sorceress of Rossak. Barely 4 feet (1.2 m) tall, Norma was a gifted mathematician. Realizing her genius, famous Poritrin scientist Tio Holtzman invited her to be his assistant in 203 B.G. Despite being against slavery, which was common on Poritrin, Norma lived much of her life there because she liked working with little distraction. She also cared little that Holtzman took credit for much of her work. Nevertheless, her innovations would prove indispensable to humanity in the war against the thinking machines known as the Butlerian Jihad.
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Wikipedia