ARY these initial investigations of the Bcne Gessent matcnal in the Rakis Hoard to show us how little we really know of a past more ancient than we had supposed possible J A C THE BENE GESSERIT LIBRARY ON WALLACH IX, The holdings of the Bene Gessent Library on Wallach IX and ike cooperation of its staff have been most valuable in understanding many of the crystals in the Rafas Finds Our thanks are due the Council of Reverend Mothers who have allowed outsiders access to pans of the restricted portion for the first tune Obviously, it was naive to have thought of the above ground General Collection as the entire holdings If the Sisterhood had shared onfy the recordings of the voice of Paul Muad'Dib, their contribution to the study of Lew II s diaries would have been significant, but there has been much more Admittedly, some members of the Dares-Baiat research team still insist that the Bene Gessent were acting sel/iskfy when they opened the Chapter House collections These critics cite Leto II's prohibition of mentat training and its crippling effect on the retrieval capabilities of the Sisterhood" s holdings as prime motivations for their new generosity Indeed, the God Emperor's conspicuous mental superiority over the most adept Reverend Mothers, even the legendary Gaius Helen Mohiam, drastically reduced the marketability of the Bene Gessent-tramed teachers and soothsay ers among the houses Major and Minor This loss of income, along with the GodEmperor's control of the Sisterhood's spice quota and the almost complete unavailability of it after the Scattering, prevented the Bene Gessent from purchasing all but the least sophistical ed oflxtan memory and retrieval devices And there is no question that researchers found the Bene Gessent holdings, even the most secret ones, in disarray A taskforce of the Library Canfratermty ts now cataloging ami indexing large amounts of unprocessed nunmic film and piles of written and coded reports using the very devices that the Sister hood has been unable to afford since the second century of Leto IPs reign -*-Ed Even in obvious decline, the Bene Gessent Library still echoes the glory and comfort of its prime Cleverly designed as a respite from the severe training and service duties imposed upon the acolyte, some of whom began their training as early as seven years old, the mam reading room js distinguished by its great metaglass windows that overlook the starkly beautiful landscape of the planet These twenty meter panoramas at one time alternated with massive murals and nchly colored hangings Sadly most of the murals and hangings were sold to support die order and the ones from Rakis were long ago consumed for their melange content AH that remain are numerous reproductions Here it is supposed, weary acolytes and retired agents came to find intellectual relaxation, the only kind the former were allowed One can imag ine an aging Margot, Lady Fenrmg seeking a moment away from her teaching duties to writ