T-Probe
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T-Probe in Frank Herbert's Dune is a fictional device that allows for the thoughts of a person, living, or even dead to be read. They appear in Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune.
[edit] Usage
The probe is attached to the body through a series of electrodes placed around the skull and on major nerve centers. It is controlled by a 'computer' and this 'computer' is controlled by an operator who can increase or decrease the power supplied to the probe to maximize the efficacy of the probe while at the same time not overloading the nervous system of the subject. The probe works by stimulating the person's brain in different areas, and then reading the responses in terms of electrical signals. In this way, it builds a 'digital' framework of the person. This framework can be subjected to stimuli, and will respond as the person would.
[edit] Specifics
Unlike Ixian Probes, a T-Probe's function cannot be blocked by shere, and so there is no way to prevent the probe from functioning. In the second to the last book in the series, Heretics of Dune, the Honored Matres have engineered or been given the technology to create this new kind of probe that is not affected by shere. This probe is what causes Bashar Miles Teg's brain to change its structure, giving him the blinding speed and amazing abilities seen in end of Heretics. This mental alteration continues in the Bashar even after being 'reborn' as a Tleilaxu ghola.
