Chapter 24

[Freakzilla]

A major concept guides the Missionaria Protectiva: Purposeful instruction of
the masses. This is firmly seated in our belief that the aim of argument should
be to change the nature of truth. In such matters, we prefer the use of power
rather than force.
-The Coda

To Duncan, life on the no-ship had become a game and Teg's addition was a deceptive move. He notes the similarities between his own ghola education and Teg's. He's learned to be even more evasive with Sheeana's help. The enormous size of the no-ship gives some illusion of freedom. He thinks the cost to bring the no-ship down to the planet surface is to high to be justified by keeping three people captive, maybe it's a lab to find a way to nullify a no-field's invisibility. Sheeana has begun practicing Honored Matre Techniques on males he has trained. She seeks info on his memories of the Tyrant and personal details about Murbella, he wants more info on the Bene Gesserit. He wonders if she will help him reactivate the flight controls. Duncan has been recording all of his memories from his serial lives on the ship's computer and boobytrapped it to dump automatically. The Bene Gesserit data recently opened to him raised new questions about the organization of Honored Matre opposition. Were Futars and Handlers a Tleilaxu offshoot? Were the couple in his visions their creaters and could it be possible that they are independant Face Dancers? He needs more data and feels they are holding it back from him. He regongnizes his fidgeting and feels on the edge of a mentat breakthrough. The no-ship is a piece in the game which can't be moved. Thinking you know why you do what you do gives you all sorts of excuses of extraordinary behaivior. The Bene Gesserit want his willing participation in their dream. These are pieces of the puzzle. He recalls Odrade bringing him a holorecord of her Van Gogh in the middle of one night and claiming it was her hold on humanity. The artist had tested the limits, that was another piece. Get in tune, don't think, do it... all pieces of the puzzle but he still can't put them together.

[Norma Cenva]

this mosiac thing puzzles me, altho i've read this chapter, and all the other chapters about this thing many times, i still don't get is. i don't get what it means. can someone explain it to me?

[Freakzilla]

One of the talents of mentats is being able to extrapolate a complete picture from incomplete data. Duncan is struggling to see the complete picture (mosaic), he feels he has all the pieces but doesn't know how they go together.

[Frybread]

One of the talents of mentats is being able to extrapolate a complete picture from incomplete data. Duncan is struggling to see the complete picture (mosaic), he feels he has all the pieces but doesn't know how they go together.

I can't remember which book it was, but one said the most talented Mentats are those who can make accurate predictions, deductions, and/or hypotheses from incomplete data.

[Freakzilla]

One of the talents of mentats is being able to extrapolate a complete picture from incomplete data. Duncan is struggling to see the complete picture (mosaic), he feels he has all the pieces but doesn't know how they go together.

I can't remember which book it was, but one said the most talented Mentats are those who can make accurate predictions, deductions, and/or hypotheses from incomplete data.

I think that's what all mentats do.

[SadisticCynic]

The more data the better. I think there is a quote about Mentats and something to do with patterns somewhere in the books although I could be mixing this up with my own ideas. I remember thinking that the Mentats simply do on an amplified scale what we do all the time - pattern recognition.

What Frank has done is to cleverly (as usual) take something we do naturally but at a relatively low level of consciousness (i.e. we don't always realise we're doing it) and imagine what would happen if you took that particular ability and trained it up.

I hope you get where I'm coming from; I don't think I'm explaining myself brilliantly here. It's been awhile since I thought of that...

[Norma Cenva]

well i got THAT! the thing i didn't get, is what the solution to the puzzle is. So what projection does Duncan make?

[Freakzilla]

well i got THAT! the thing i didn't get, is what the solution to the puzzle is. So what projection does Duncan make?

That the HMs are running from an unknown enemy in The Scattering, I believe.

[Frybread]

One of the talents of mentats is being able to extrapolate a complete picture from incomplete data. Duncan is struggling to see the complete picture (mosaic), he feels he has all the pieces but doesn't know how they go together.

I can't remember which book it was, but one said the most talented Mentats are those who can make accurate predictions, deductions, and/or hypotheses from incomplete data.

I think that's what all mentats do.

And the more talented a Mentat is the less data he/she needs to come up with accurate conclusions.

[Freakzilla]

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