History Main / SpiceOfLife

* In PoulAnderson's TechnicHistory, Nick van Rijn heads the Solar Spice and Liquors Company. Of course, Old Nick has his pudgy (but very strong) fingers in a lot of other profitable endeavors, as well.
* Ordinary ginger turns out to be an addictive drug and aphrodisiac to the reptilian Race in HarryTurtledove's Worldwar series. The setting isn't SpaceOpera, but trade ends up developing fast.

* In ''KingdomOfLoathing'', Spices are some of the most values mundane items. They are rather hard to come by unless you are farming for them, and they are a necessary ingredient for most high-quality foods. The only way to reliably get them is if you are a Pasatamancer with one of the two spirits that can give them.

* ''{{Dune}}'', the TropeMaker. Melange is produced only by the {{sandworm}}s of Arrakis, making the planet the most strategically important planet in the galaxy. The spice [[SuperSerum gives]] various psychic organizations their [[PsychicPowers abilities]], and, as the page quote indicates, is necessary for the setting's manual [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL travel]]. Since it also extends life somewhat, nearly the entire ruling class is addicted to it. And withdrawal is fatal. Painfully. Critics generally see the spice as a metaphor for oil, making the Fremen Space Arabs.

* {{Justified}} in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' (particularly the RPG) with actual spices. The food that independent spacers (like the crew of ''Serenity'') stock the most of is packaged protein, because it's cheap and it keeps forever. It also doesn't taste like much of anything, making fresh produce, herbs and spices a welcome treat. Shepherd Book said it best in the pilot:
--> '''Book:''' The important thing is the spices. A man can live on packaged food from here 'til Judgment Day if he's got enough rosemary.

** Several versions of spice exist in the [[StarWarsExpandedUniverse EU]], and many but by no means all are mined. The most expensive and worst comes from the "spice mines of Kessel" mentioned by Threepio and later seen in the JediAcademyTrilogy, where it turns out {{Giant Spider}}s spin it out in their webs. This stuff, Glitterstim, grants one short-lived [[{{Telepathy}} telepathic powers]] if it's pure. Downsides? "Spice mania" as in berserk rage and potentially blindness. Han dumped a cargo of this into space, circled back later to pick it up. Not there.
*** In the XWingSeries, the Rogues have to talk a glitbiter -- someone who regularly takes glitterstim and shows it - via hologram, and the glitbiter apparently forgets that he's using a hologram. Glitterstim telepathy doesn't work on someone who's aware of the glitbiter's ability and hostile, so because this guy couldn't read Rogue Leader, he got defensive.
** According to Wookieepedia, spice is a slang term for all sorts of [[FantasticDrug mind-altering drugs]], all very illegal. Confusingly, it's also used to refer to flavorings.

* ''{{Dune}}'', the TropeMaker. Melange is produced only by the {{sandworm}}s of Arrakis, making the planet the most strategically important planet in the galaxy. The spice [[SuperSerum gives]] various psychic organizations their [[PsychicPowers abilities]], and, as the page quote indicates, is necessary for the setting's manual [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL travel]]. Since it also extends life somewhat, nearly the entire ruling class is addicted to it. And withdrawal is fatal. Painfully.
** The fact that the spice is so vital is what allows the main character to pull out his BatmanGambit towards the end: Using atomics against people is punishable by [[EarthShatteringKaboom the planet being destroyed]], but LoopholeAbuse gives him the excuse of using it against a rock formation to give his forces the chance to win the decisive battle. However, the people in charge still might have destroyed the planet Arrakis, had the planet not been so vital to mankind, just to be rid of him.
** That and [[spoiler: threatening to destroy the whole planet's supply of spice]] kinda held the emperor and the houses of the Landsraad at gunpoint.
** Some people feel that spice is a metaphor for oil. Especially since the Fremen are pseudo-Arabs.
*** Which adds a few layers of social commentary, as the sequels eventually hinge the very survival of humanity on moving beyond dependence on this single substance.

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<<|SpeculativeFictionTropes|>>

* Packaged spices are a Terran trade good in the ''[[{{X}} X-Universe]]'', under the name "Flavor Packs". The text describes actual spices like cinnamon and paprika.

Spices. ''Space'' spices.

* ''{{Dune}}'', the TropeMaker. Melange is produced only by the {{sandworm}}s of Arrakis, making the planet the most strategically important planet in the galaxy. The spice [[SuperSerum gives]] various psychic organizations their [[PsychicPowers abilities]], and, as the page quote indicates, is necessary for the setting's manual [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL travel]]. Since it also extends life somewhat, nearly the entire ruling class is addicted to it. And withdrawal is fatal. Painfully.
** The fact that the spice is so vital is what allows the main character to pull out his BatmanGambit towards the end: Using atomics against people is punishable by [[EarthShatteringKaboom the planet being destroyed]], but LoopholeAbuse gives him the excuse of using it against a rock formation to give his forces the chance to win the decisive battle. However, the people in charge still might have destroyed the planet Arrakis, had the planet not been so vital to mankind, just to be rid of him.
** That and [[spoiler: threatening to destroy the whole planet's supply of spice]] kinda held the emperor and the houses of the Landsraad at gunpoint.
** Some people feel that spice is a metaphor for oil. Especially since the Fremen are pseudo-Arabs.
*** Which adds a few layers of social commentary, as the sequels eventually hinge the very survival of humanity on moving beyond dependence on this single substance.
* The 1984 ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "The Caves of Androzani" featured a textbook example ("spectrox", a life-prolonging substance), with the added twist that the unrefined stuff was extremely toxic.
* In StarWars, Han Solo is in debt to Jabba the Hutt due to destroying a shipment of spice he was supposed to be transporting for him to keep it from being seized by TheEmpire. His spice was apparently some kind of drug.

** According to Wookiepedia, spice is a slang term for all sorts of [[FantasticDrug mind-altering drugs]], all very illegal. Confusingly, it's also used to refer to flavorings.
* In ''{{Spore}}'', most of the stuff you trade for sporebucks in the space stage is Spice, in various colors and ranks of rarity. The homage to Dune is obvious, down to the spice blows, although [[AllThereInTheManual the Sporepedia]] states that most of the spices are used for food.
** Additionally, the different colors of Spice from different worlds change the speech of the colonist's you put there, and although none of the creatures actually say anything identifiable, the tone and the accent is different. For example: Blue Spice, which is described as a sleep aid, results in colonist with a sort of smooth and relaxed tone. The sour Yellow Spice colonists sound somewhat high strung, and as for Pink Spice... Well, let's just say they sound ..."happy".
*** Only generally. Occasionally colonies, including the homeworld (99.9% of the time, red spice) will have different accents.
* Starport, a obscure game in the vein of StarControl. Spice is seen as a resource that can produce valuable warp fuel for the player and earn some money. Obvious as a shoutout to Dune, desert planets produce this product.
* The ''SpaceCaptainSmith'' novel, ''God-Emperor of Didcot'' is by and large one long parody of Dune, with ''Tea'' taking the place of Melange. Yes, the brown stuff in a cup with milk and two sugars. Apparently it's what gives the British Space Empire the edge over everyone else.
** Builds Moral Fibre, old boy. Very important.
* Most 4D space games will have spice as a very expensive resource to buy and sell.
* Non-science fiction example: Spice in ''SlyCooper'' is [[GRatedDrug the equivalent of cocaine]]. Eating it causes the eater to enter an UnstoppableRage. [[spoiler:Arpeggio plans to use the rage caused by spice to fuel his transformation into something akin to Clockwerk.]]

* In the {{backstory}} of ''Sword of the Stars'', spices are stated to be one of the main trade goods humans sell to the [[BeePeople Hivers]], along with smoked cheeses and other very fragrant foodstuffs. The Hivers have vastly different sensory organs and biochemical makeup than humans, and to them, strongly tasting and smelling food is something of a narcotic.
* Quafe can be said to be EVEOnline drug, despite it being a soda.

** The whole episode is a parody of Dune and it's sequels, with Mandy as an immortal giant-worm God Empress who has had thousands of Billy clones (one at a time) created over the years to serve as her constant companion and UnwittingPawn in her EvilPlan
* In the MarvelComics series ''StrikeforceMorituri'', the alien PlanetLooters find chocolate to be a powerful intoxicant.
* In KingdomOfLoathing, Spices are some of the most values mundane items. They are rather hard to come by unless you are farming for them, and they are a necessary ingredient for most high-quality foods. The only way to reliably get them is if you are a Pasatamancer with one of the two spirits that can give them.

This trope probably derives from the East Asian spice trade in the early modern era. These spices were enormously valuable in their day. For example, the cargo of cloves carried by the one ship of Magellan's that made it back reimbursed his backers for the entire cost of the expedition. The idea of a rare, extremely valuable product that cannot be synthesized artificially (along with reasonably CasualInterstellarTravel), serves as a justification for otherwise economically dubious interstellar trade, which is is a necessary background for many standard SpaceOpera tropes such as independent traders, merchant princes, smugglers, pirates, trade convoys and so on.

->"''What have the Dutch got against the Portuguese - where did they meet?''"
->"''Oh, '''spices''', of course...''"
-->-- '''David Mitchell''', ''{{QI}}''

** The fact that the spice is so vital is what allows the main character to pull out his XanatosGambit towards the end: Using atomics against people is punishable by [[EarthShatteringKaboom the planet being destroyed]], but LoopholeAbuse gives him the excuse of using it against a rock formation to give his forces the chance to win the decisive battle. However, the people in charge still might have destroyed the planet Arrakis, had the planet not been so vital to mankind, just to be rid of him.

** The whole episode is a parody of Dune and it's sequels, with Mandy as an immortal giant-worm God Empress who has had thousands of Billy clones (one at a time) created over the years to serve as her constant companion and unwitting pawn in her XanatosGambit.

-->-- David Mitchell, ''{{QI}}''

SpaceIsAnOcean for all science fiction and it shows with [[{{Two-D Space}} two dimensional space]] and {{Space Whale}}s. So what do we need to complete the trope?

* ''{{Dune}}'', the TropeMaker. Melange is produced only by the sandworms of Arrakis, making the planet the most strategically important planet in the galaxy. The spice [[SuperSerum gives]] various psychic organizations their [[PsychicPowers abilities]], and, as the page quote indicates, is necessary for the setting's manual [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL travel]]. Since it also extends life somewhat, nearly the entire ruling class is addicted to it. And withdrawal is fatal. Painfully.

* The 1984 ''DoctorWho'' serial "The Caves of Androzani" featured a textbook example ("spectrox", a life-prolonging substance), with the added twist that the unrefined stuff was extremely toxic.

For some reason, all kinds of futures have a high demand for something called "spice", though it tends to be only tenuously related to flavorings on Earth. Space spice (try saying ''that'' ten times fast) is is often a valuable {{Mineral MacGuffin}}, sometimes being the point of contention for all the known nations and smugglers. Sometimes controlling it is directly followed by controlling fates. In other futures, spice is just a valuable trade commodity. It is nearly always consumable but, depending on the canon, can do other things, such as fuel starships and act as [[FantasticDrug drugs]].

*** Some people never read about what lead FrankHerbert to write the Dune books in the first place, or else they'd ''know'' that it's a metaphor for oil.
**** Which adds a few layers of social commentary, as the sequels eventually hinge the very survival of humanity on moving beyond dependence on this single substance.

* [[PoulAnderson Nick van Rijn]] heads the Solar Spice and Liquors Company. Of course, Old Nick has his pudgy (but very strong) fingers in a lot of other profitable endeavors, as well.

For some reason, all kinds of futures have a high demand for something called "spice", though it tends to be only tenuously related to flavorings on Earth. Space spice is is often a valuable {{Mineral MacGuffin}}, sometimes being the point of contention for all the known nations and smugglers. Sometimes controlling it is directly followed by controlling fates. In other futures, spice is just a valuable trade commodity. It is nearly always consumable but, depending on the canon, can do other things, such as fuel starships and act as [[FantasticDrug drugs]].

*** Only generally. Occasionally colonies, including the homeworld (Always red spice) will have different accents.

* In the MarvelComics series StrikeforceMorituri, the alien PlanetLooters find chocolate to be a powerful intoxicant.

-->'''{{Dune}}'''

->''"What have the Dutch got against the Portugese - where did they meet?"''
->''"Oh, '''spices''', of course..."''
-->David Mitchell, ''{{QI}}''

For some reason, all kinds of futures have a high demand for something called "spice", though it tends to be only tenuously related to flavorings on Earth. Space spice is is often a valuable MineralMacGuffin, sometimes being the point of contention for all the known nations and smugglers. Sometimes controlling it is directly followed by controlling fates. In other futures, spice is just a valuable trade commodity. It is nearly always consumable but, depending on the canon, can do other things, such as fuel starships and act as [[FantasticDrug drugs]].

This trope probably derives from the East Asian spice trade in the early modern era. These spices were enormously valuable in their day. For example, the cargo of cloves carried by the one ship of Magellan's that made it back reimbursed his backers for the entire cost of the expedition. The idea of a rare, extremely valuable product that cannot be synthesised artificially (along with reasonably CasualInterstellarTravel), serves as a justification for otherwise economically dubious interstellar trade, which is is a necessary background for many standard SpaceOpera tropes such as independent traders, merchant princes, smugglers, pirates, trade convoys and so on.

*''{{Dune}}'', the TropeMaker. Melange is produced only by the sandworms of Arrakis, making the planet the most strategically important planet in the galaxy. The spice [[SuperSerum gives]] various psychic organizations their [[PsychicPowers abilities]], and, as the page quote indicates, is necessary for the setting's manual [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL travel]]. Since it also extends life somewhat, nearly the entire ruling class is addicted to it. And withdrawal is fatal. Painfully.
** Some people feel that spice is a metaphor for oil. Especially since the Fremen are pseudo-Arabs.

* In StarWars, Han Solo is in debt to Jabba the Hutt due to destroying a shipment of spice he was supposed to be transporting for him to keep it from being seized by TheEmpire. His spice was apparently some kind of drug.

*** In the XWingSeries, the Rogues have to talk a glitbiter - someone who regularly takes glitterstim and shows it - via hologram, and the glitbiter apparently forgets that he's using a hologram. Glitterstim telepathy doesn't work on someone who's aware of the glitbiter's ability and hostile, so because this guy couldn't read Rogue Leader, he got defensive.

** Additionally, the different colours of Spice from different worlds change the speech of the colonist's you put there, and although none of the creatures actually say anything identifiable, the tone and the accent is different. For example: Blue Spice, which is described as a sleep aid, results in colonist with a sort of smooth and relaxed tone. The sour Yellow Spice colonists sound somewhat high strung, and as for Pink Spice... Well, let's just say they sound ..."happy".

*The {{Space Captain Smith}} novel, ''God-Emperor of Didcot'' is by and large one long parody of Dune, with ''Tea'' taking the place of Melange. Yes, the brown stuff in a cup with milk and two sugars. Apparently it's what gives the British Space Empire the edge over everyone else.

* Non-science fiction example: Spice in ''SlyCooper'' is [[GRatedDrug the equivalent of cocaine]]. Eating it causes the eater to enter an UnstoppableRage. [[spoiler:Arpeggio plans to use the rage caused by spice to fuel his transformation into something akin to Clockwerk.]]

* In the backstory of ''Sword of the Stars'', spices are stated to be one of the main trade goods humans sell to the [[BeePeople Hivers]], along with smoked cheeses and other very fragrant foodstuffs. The Hivers have vastly different sensory organs and biochemical makeup than humans, and to them, strongly tasting and smelling food is something of a narcotic.