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Heighliner

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In the Dune universe originated by Frank Herbert, the Heighliners of the Spacing Guild are enormous starships used for interstellar travel.

Their operation requires both a Guild Navigator and a Holtzman generator. The Holtzman generator uses the Holtzman effect to "fold space" and allows virtually instantaneous interstellar travel. The Navigator is responsible for finding a safe path through folded space and guiding the ship. This is accomplished under the influence of melange in the form of orange spice gas. Melange provides the Navigator with the limited form of prescience required.

Unable to land, heighliners jump from point to point, parking in planetary orbits. Orbital ferries or interplanetary spacecraft load and unload the heighliner. Special laws govern travel aboard a heighliner; heighliners are considered neutral territory and all acts of war aboard heighliners carry stiff penalties.

According to the Legends of Dune series, heighliners were invented by Norma Cenva and are manufactured on the planet Ix. During the events described in these prequels, a heighliner was expertly spacefolded into a cavern under the surface of Ix, crushing a rebel army. This is the only known occasion on which a heighliner has been used below planetary orbit, and it was only accomplished due to the expertise of the Navigator.

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