Dune: Why Is Spice So Important?

thegamer.com:

Even if you've never read any of the Dune books or seen the movie adaptations, you've probably heard the phrase "the Spice must flow" in reference to the series' setting. In the Dune universe, Spice is the most valuable commodity that exists. Empires rise and fall by it, and controlling Spice is the surest way to gain financial and political power.

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What makes the Spice so important that a backwater desert world is effectively the most critical location in the galaxy? If you're wondering why wars are fought over this sci-fi substance, read on to learn all about the Spice Melange.

The substance referred to as Spice is a by-product created during the life cycle of giant subterranean sandworms native to the planet Arrakis. These colossal creatures are capable of swallowing freight vehicles whole, and their natural aggressiveness is a large part of the reason Spice is so hard to come by - collecting it risks thousands of lives every day.

In their larval stage, the sandworms excrete the chemical that ultimately becomes Spice. When this chemical eventually makes its way to the planet's surface, exposure to heat and atmosphere causes a reaction that forms Spice Melange, the final form of the galaxy's most coveted chemical.

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Large amounts of Spice are usually found near sandworm breeding grounds. The people native to Arrakis, the Fremen, have long since developed techniques to take sustainable amounts of Spice without disturbing the underground megafauna. The Fremen use Spice in their everyday life, both as a drug and as a crafting material.

Since Spice is so valuable, off-world colonizers constantly seek to harvest industrial