“I thought that was what you meant.”
“We work to keep it that way,” she said. “Everything goes to them through a tight filter, which excludes all but that which has immediate survival value.”
“No great issues,” he said.
“You are offended but it doesn’t matter,” she said. “To those out there, a great issue is: ‘Will I eat today?’ ‘Do I have shelter tonight that will not be invaded by attackers or vermin?’ Luxury? Luxury is the possession of a drug or a member of the opposite sex who can, for a time, keep the beast at bay.”
And you are the beast, he thought.
“I am taking some time with you, Bashar, because I see that you could be more valuable to us even than Muzzafar. And he is extremely valuable indeed. Even now, we are repaying him for bringing you to us in a receptive condition.”
When Teg still remained silent, she chuckled. “You do not think you are receptive?”
Teg held himself quiet. Had they given him some drug in his food? He saw the flickering of doubled vision but the movements of violence had receded as the orange flecks left the Honored Matre’s eyes. Her feet were to be avoided, though. They were deadly weapons.
“It’s just that you think of the muck in the wrong way,” she said. “Luckily, they are most self-limiting. They know this somewhere in the damps of their deepest consciousness but cannot spare the time to deal with that or anything else except the immediate scramble for survival.”
“They cannot be improved?” he asked.
“They must not be improved! Oh, we see to it that self-improvement remains a great fad among them. Nothing real about it, of course.”
“Another luxury they must be denied,” he said.
“Not a luxury! Nonexistent! It must be occluded at all times behind a barrier that we like to call protective ignorance.”
“What you don’t know cannot hurt you.”
“I don’t like your tone, Bashar.”
Again, the orange flecks danced in her eyes. The sense of violence diminished, however, as she once more chuckled. “The thing you beware of is the opposite of what-you-don’t-know. We teach that new knowledge can be dangerous. You see the obvious extension: All new knowledge is non-survival!”
The door behind the Honored Matre opened and Muzzafar returned. It was a changed Muzzafar, his face flushed, his eyes bright. He stopped behind the Honored Matre’s chair.
“One day, I will be able to permit you behind me this way,” she said. “It is in my power to do this.”
What had they done to Muzzafar? Teg wondered. The man looked almost drugged.
“You do see that I have power?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “That’s obvious.”
“I am a banker, remember? We have just made a deposit with our loyal Muzzafar. Do you thank us, Muzzafar?”
“I do, Honored Matre.” His voice was hoarse.
“I’m sure you understand this kind of power generally, Bashar,” she said. “The Bene Gesserit trained you well. They are quite talented but not, I fear, as talented as we are.”
“And I am told you are quite numerous,” he said.
“Our numbers are not the key, Bashar. Power such as ours has a way of becoming channeled so that it can be controlled by small numbers.”
She was like a Reverend Mother, he thought, in the way she could appear to answer without revealing much.
“In essence,” she said, “power such as ours is allowed to become the substance of survival for many people. Then, the threat of withdrawal is all that’s required for us to rule.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Would you wish us to withdraw our favor from you Muzzafar?”
“No, Honored Matre.” He was actually trembling!
“You have found a new drug,” Teg said.
Her laughter was spontaneous and loud, almost raucous. “No, Bashar! We have an old one.”
“And you would make an addict of me?”
“Like all the others we control, Bashar, you have a choice: death or obedience.”
“That is a rather old choice,” he agreed. What was her immediate threat? He could sense no violence. Quite the contrary. His doubled vision showed him broken glimpses of extremely sensuous overtones. Did they think they could imprint him?