The Hunter-Seeker is a microcosm of Dune’s technology. One of the most sophisticated pieces of single technology seen on screen, a small device with its own miniature Holtzman field, allowing it to move against gravity, used for the purpose of killing.

 

In a universe, where each House rises at the expense of another, where the divide between the ruling elite and the common person is wide, all this is present in the Hunter-Seeker. The technology is available to help all, especially for the people of Arrakis who are, a major reason for the Houses to be in the position they are in.

On paper the Hunter-Seeker works by identifying it’s victim via a stored image, Frank Herbert’s Dune changed that to motion sensors, any motion, taking out some of the sophistication, but also allowing Paul to have a ‘hero’ moment. They work by injecting a deadly poison, although in one version the Hunter-Seeker works its way through the body targeting vital organs. For all their technology on the inside they are destroyed easily, either through brute destruction or submerging it in water, providing you can catch it and it doesn’t kill you first.