The Bene Tleilax are genetic sorcerers, known for their expertise in unconventional and ethically dubious methods involving the manipulation of both living and dead flesh. The Tleilaxu jealously guard the secrets of their axlotl tanks, which are rumored to be the source of clones made from living cells and gholas from the dead.

One of their early creations was a remarkable new food source known as the slig, often described as the “sweetest meat this side of heaven.” However, despite its delicious taste, sligs are processed in secret off-world facilities so their true nature is hidden from the general population. In reality, the slig is an unattractive hybrid of a giant slug and a Terran pig that produces a slimy, foul-smelling excretion from its multiple garbage-seeking mouth-holes.

Of the Tleilaxu themselves, little is known. The grey-skinned, gnome-like individuals are extremely secretive and are unwelcoming to strangers. Despite their unfavorable reputation among other worlds, the Tleilaxu send representatives throughout the Imperium to observe and negotiate deals for slig meat and other ‘unique’ bioengineered products.

There are persistent rumors that no outsider has ever seen a Tleilaxu woman.