What makes Humanity sprint headlong towards infinity? This cosmic colonization spree is not a random whim. It is a primal urge, born from our genes and society's demands. Procreation ensures the survival of our species. Possessing and displaying resources secures you a desirable mate. Congested planets, low social mobility, and aging governments deprive the young of the resources they need. And so they venture on to new planets offering virgin grounds where to escape the dictatorship of the old. Moving hastily, they bring extinction in their wake. They import their crops, pets and gut bacteria, overriding pristine ecosystems. Reshaping entire planets into their own image. A trillion genera and taxa, indigenous creatures embodying the beauty and variety of the cosmos wither and die. A hundred years later, the impoverished new colony is fully exploited and the new young are forced to leave.
Why should this be? Humanity is a parasite destroying the beauty and diversity of the cosmos. It has already achieved Darwinian escape velocity, and has sidestepped natural selection. How many more trillion indigenous species need to go extinct? There are three ways out: Humanity's genetic drives transform; Humanity's exponential expansion bumps into a barrier; or Humanity relinquishes its monopoly over the universe. The choice lies before all of us, and will shape the destiny of countless lifeforms.
- THE ECOLOGISTS' MANIFESTO
"I'd like to hear that you have waited for me all this while," Murbella whispered, comfortably nestled in Lorain's embrace. The thirst of the senses had been quenched, their passion drained in an ecstasy she had guided him to and he had guided her to, not the enslavement of sexual addiction, but the sharing of two ardent lovers. For a minute Murbella's identity had faded away, and she had only existed as a force of nature, as the power of lightning, as the surge of an ocean wave, as the shaking of a deep-crust earthquake. The embers of her passion burned softly now, and in Lorain's arms she yearned to be cradled and protected.
"This time that passed,
Oh flower of gold
In the gardens of desire, we unfurl,
Where passions bloom and stories are told.
Through the verses of time, our tales unfold,
Oh flower of gold, your beauty I behold."
"That was genuinely nice," she whispered.
"I did miss you, Murbella." His words, whether true or not, held an undeniable allure.
"And tomorrow I leave, Lorain."
"Then I will miss you again."
"I jailed and exiled all the ones who tried to take my life."
"A vengeful lover. I find it attractive."
"I may not come back from my initial encounter with the Enemy."
"Who could possibly win against the most formidable woman in the universe?"
"And when I come back, the Proctors may vote to overthrow me still."
"Then you and I will steal a ship and sail through the universe."
Murbella laughed. "Leave the Sisterhood?"
"No, join the universe. Embrace a carefree life. Isn't that what Sheeana did? Run free?"
"Free!" She felt exhilarated. Didn't he understand? "Free, you say? Anywhere in the universe, a Reverend Mother is the entire Bene Gesserit. We carry multitudes. The concept of personal freedom is beyond the point."
"Maybe you can't leave now, but there is precedent."
"Jessica. You are versed in the ancient histories. Even Jessica returned into the fold toward the end."
"As the matriarch of emperors."
"A successful career detour, I will concede."
Lorain sang:
"Strum the baliset, let the strings caress,
As melodies dance, the heart will confess.
In the echoes of love, our souls entwined,
Oh flower of gold, your essence divine."
What if I just closed my eyes for a bit, she thought, enveloped by the warmth and comfort of the bed sheets.
"Be my Jessica today," he demanded.
"Maybe next week," she replied, weakly.
"A lover can't wait that long."
His hand caressed her arm, and by the same inexplicable chemistry, goosebumps arose. She turned her lips to meet his, just as a shrieking sound emanated from inside the wardrobe at the end of the room, snapping Murbella back to full alertness. She leaped out of the bed, moving with caution towards the source of the noise, and took a few seconds to register Lorain's laughter.
"It won't harm you, flower of gold. Open the wardrobe."
Approaching the furniture with circumspection, Murbella gave a small kick. The armoire's door slid open, revealing a spotted little creature which leapt out of the dark.
"What is it?" screamed Murbella in surprise, as a furry tail caressed her ankle and swiftly disappeared under a table.
"It must have gotten stuck inside," Lorain suggested.
"A pet?" she asked. Lorain joined her, kneeling down to peek under the furniture.
"Behold, my beloved, the most successful species in the known universe," he said pulling out a yellow furball with leopard-like markings.
"A cat!"
Meow...
The small feline looked terrified, its big deep green eyes searching for a corner to hide.
"You brought in a pet while I was incapacitated?" she questioned.
"One has to entertain himself while waiting,"
She chuckled. "So I got to see your domestic side. Quite unexpected, I must say."
"Cats were powerful symbols. Revered by ancient civilizations as bringers of luck."
"Docile and dependable. Dependent on their owner. But why do you call them successful?"
He invited her to sit by the couch. "They have adapted to coexist with humans. Kittens purr, making the maidens' little hearts melt. And as our travel companions they now have colonized every planet known to humanity... and maybe more. I heard there are three of them in the universe for each one of us."
"So who is the cat among us two?" she challenged.
"You are, flower of gold."
"I call your bluff! Dependable and docile, though not without claws... You, you are my pet!"
"You may be just right, my love."
"Don't call me love, and so casually, unless you mean it and I believe it."
"And I mean it," he affirmed without hesitation.
"Of course you do," Murbella replied, dominating mixed feelings. Lost the warmth of her bed, she became busy slipping into a brown blouse and black pants, her mind already focused on the day ahead. Her hands gracefully swept back from her forehead to her hair, in a subtle attempt to regain composure. "I am genuinely intrigued now," she began, her gaze fixed on Lorain. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you entertained yourself with a cat for the better over a month while I was confined to the intensive care unit?"
"What is not to be believed?"
"We had a clear agreement, didn't we?" she continued, "You were supposed to fulfill certain responsibilities."
Lorain met her gaze, his expression earnest. "I fulfilled my duties," he responded calmly. "I trained my colleagues in the techniques you taught me. The overall happiness among the Sisters in Central has markedly improved since then."
"But no sexual enslavement?"
"We did not go that far."
"How do I know your men are ready and loyal?"
Lorain's eyes held a hint of mischief. "Will you need to try out these men personally?"
"If your teaching prowess in the realm of sexual ecstasy matches your skill as a minstrel, then they are in trouble."
You did not appreciate my demonstration earlier?"
"On the contrary," she admitted, disarmed. "But, it demonstrated extensive practice."
"My love, I could not neglect my duties for the Sisterhood while you were recovering."
Murbella flared. "Ashala sent you back to the Men's quarters to fulfill the desires of any Sister who requested, didn't she?"
He turned careful: "I was reminded of the terms of my engagement."
"Do you think I am being jealous?" She asked with a tinge of amusement.
"You, jealous? No. Possessive. Powerful women like you mark their property."
"Don't attempt to put me in a bucket," she warned, "I am no stereotype. And you signed a contract. So, let us see how many Sisters will succumb to your charms. But remember, I retain the right of first refusal."
"I may share my body and passion, but there will never be space for others in my mind."
Murbella slipped into her shoes and made her way towards the door, the cat meowing softly in the background.
"Whatt are you rushing to now, love?"
"Preparations, Lorain. For your knowledge, my heart is large and my love encompasses others. I need to meet somebody before I fly away." She smiled as responding to a subtle joke, and with that, she was gone.
Lorain stood still, his gaze fixed on the closed door for a full minute before finally stirring. He chased the cat around the room for a bit, then threw himself onto the couch, and closed his eyes. Over the following hour, he lazily strummed tunes on the baliset, listening to melodies filling the air with a sense of tranquility. The muse struck him and he started composing a new song about Jessica Atreides, but inspiration ran dry dry too soon. He headed to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of Marinete from the well-stocked pantry of Mother Superior. He drank it on the couch while calling the cat to his lap, and spent some time enjoying the soothing vibrations of its purr. With his fingers buried in the cat's luxurious fur, he searched until he finally found the small dictatel, no larger than a button, concealed within the tresses.
Light as a feather, he pressed it against the roof of his mouth after giving it a cursory rub with his thumb. No one else was present in the room, aside from the cat, as the dictatel's appearance and size would have betrayed it as an artifact never-before-seen in the Imperium. Lorain whistled, summoning the chairdog to draw near, and propped his bare feet on its sturdy back, For one last moment he hesitated, procrastinating the task he had long put off. He savored the last drop of Marinete. He shrugged with finality and extended a hand to pat the chairdog in front of him. "Well, I am glad you are not the type to chase after my cat, old boy." He smiled to himself and attuned his mind to the device, silently commanding: "Start recording."
"Add a timestamp and location here. Reporting agent Lorain. It's been many months since my arrival at Chapterhouse. My aim: an anthropology study of the Bene Gesserit. The research process has been fascinating and the conclusions are significant. As indicated in the accompanying documentation" (he waived his hand in the air) "and as per the Cooperative's predictions, the Sisterhood embodies much of the current state of affairs in the old Imperium."
"Straddling the line between tradition and modernity, they possess an outdated Imperial mindset that failed to embrace numerous advancements in human understanding, society, biology, and technology achieved during the Seeking—or, more modestly, the knowledge we possess of the Seeking—while still retaining the wisdom, history, and talents of the bygone Old Imperium, which the Seekers left behind centuries ago... pause for a moment... with the sole exception of no-ship technology and co-evolved crops and animals... fix this sentence later for brevity."
"In the end... the Sisterhood is undergoing profound renewal exemplified by their merger with a rival faction returned from the Seeking, as well as their reluctant acceptance of technology despite their prior Butlerian Jihad prejudices. What kind of new large-network cooperation of beings will emerge from this rebirth, if it manages to survive, remains difficult to predict at this time."
"New Page. Title: Field observations regarding the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. The original Sisters are self-ordained stewards of humanity. Their profound belief in role models, where women serve as secret keepers and servant leaders, and their humanist approach to life are paired with an unshakeable conviction in the Bene Gesserit precepts. Yet this dogmatic approach is subtly balanced by a pragmatic mindset reminiscent of the Zensunnis.
"This pragmatic aspect is both refreshing and unsettling, as it allows a Sister to break their precepts in the face of existential threats or in order to transcend personal biases."
"A Bene Gesserit (female or male) would willingly sacrifice their life in service to the Order. However, they would not hesitate to burn all the Order's books if they deemed them outdated and no longer relevant to the changing times. The extent to which the Bene Gesserit are aware of the near-obsolescence of their books is a separate question."
"The aim of the Sisterhood is inherently dualistic: on one hand, they seek to educate humankind, but on the other hand, protection of the Bene Gesserit itself takes priority, even at the cost of manipulating the humankind they seek to nurture. True to Zensunni spirit, this duality is not seen as a paradox, but rather as a tension that creates the freedom to make situational decisions.
"New Page. Defining pillars. The Bene Gesserit's pillars are three: Spice, Function, Religion, and Genes. Did I say three? Fix it to four."
"Spice: The power of the Bene Gesserit lies in their utilization of the geriatric spice, a substance shrouded in legend in our regions. This spice enables Reverend Mothers to transcend the limitations of their genetic heritage and tap into the collective experiences of their ancestors and other Mothers. Through this process, they acquire invaluable talents accumulated over millennia."
"Function: Throughout history, the Bene Gesserit have fulfilled a crucial function in society as skilled mediators and diplomats. Their abilities of influence and seduction have been honed over countless generations, allowing them to navigate complex political landscapes and exert their influence on the course of events."
"Religion: Another arm of the Bene Gesserit is devoted to shaping and propagating a unique form of female-focused goddess mysticism. By elevating superstitions and fostering religious beliefs, they assert their own control and protection within the larger social framework."
"It is noteworthy to observe the stark contrast between the strict hierarchical model employed by the Bene Gesserit when interacting with the majority of humanity and the internal governance model for their Initiates. The internal structure resembles a vast Athenian republic with plenipotentiary assemblies who can overrule any prior law."
"Genes: the Bene Gesserit Order has maintained a millennia-old genetic program, which is both regarded as gifted and tainted by the presence of the Atreides (Dur's) prescient gene. Interestingly, the Order considers prescience a taboo and refrains from exploiting it for their own purposes. The Siona gene holds a significant prevalence among the Sisters. Until recently, possessing the Siona gene was a prerequisite for anyone intending to travel to Chapterhouse, the coordinates of which I have provided in the attached documentation, (another wave of the hand)."
"Analysis and conclusions. Based on recent events, an imminent crisis is expected internally and externally. Though the Bene Gesserit possess remarkable resourcefulness, at first analysis the Gardeners - what they call 'The Enemy with Many Faces' in Galach - may very well extinguish them. On a personal note, the talents and cultural legacy of the Reverend Mothers are of exceptional value and warrant our utmost attention. The uniqueness of their genome, divergent from mainstream humankind, makes worthy candidates for speciation in a distant future.
"I strongly recommend that the Cooperative make an outsized investment in preserving this distinctive cultural, organizational and genetic heritage from the Old Imperium, in the form of an Ark."
"Sign and send the report accordingly."
Meow, protested the cat, closing its eyes.
"I agree," he replied. Then he swallowed the dictatel. Feeling refreshed after the completion of his exacting duty, Lorain went back to his baliset and started strumming, his baritone voice merging with the music:
Oh, Gurney Halleck, sing us your song,
With your baliset, we'll travel along.
Through sands of time and distant lands,
Your melodies will forever stand.
He paused. "Nah, I can never get a decent rhyme."