assessment of ix quotes

Quite naturally, holders of power wish to suppress wild research. Unrestricte
d questing after knowledge has a long history of producing unwanted competitio
n. The powerful want a "safe line of investigations," which will develop only
those products and ideas that can be controlled and, most important, that wil
l allow the larger part of the benefits to be captured by inside investors. U
nfortunately, a random universe full of relative variables does not insure suc
h a "safe line of investigations."

-Assessment of Ix, Bene Gesserit Archives

Technology, in common with many other activities, tends toward avoidance of ri
sks by investors. Uncertainty is ruled out if possible. Capital investment f
ollows this rule, since people generally prefer the predictable. Few recogniz
e how destructive this can be, how it imposes severe limits on variability and
thus makes whole populations fatally vulnerable to the shocking ways our univ
erse can throw the dice.

-Assessment of Ix, Bene Gesserit Archives