The 'Dit Dat Dot' chapter is my favorite Dune chapter. (It's at page 346 of 471 in my copy of Heretics of Dune.)

Miles Teg, the mentat Bashar, is captured by the forces of Scattering, and despite the protective abilities of shere, he is connected to a fearsome machine called the T-probe.

The first thing that greets the Bashar on his inner journey is the feeling of déjà vu; a significant moment out of time.

It marks the beginning of decomposure; a jump of consciousness to a level that was always there, but not accessed before.

The agony of physical and mental captivity creates a new background of the world: The universe has just changed. Will you change with it, with a profound act of balance, or will you let the universe leave you behind, as something not truly alive?

Death of the mental self is a frightening thing, perhaps overshadowed only by the death of the emotional. In comparison, death of the physical body is not much more than simple annoyance.

Frightening, but beautiful.

It puts things into perspective.

Paired opposites define our longings, and those longings imprison us. Unless they don't. Each time the universe moves, it gives us a chance at death; it gives us a chance to get back to the chalking board and breathe anew.

This is the birth experience!

A non-conscious machine with set pathways may trace back the lane of memories, but going further would require a decision of aliveness - and death.

No wonder the Bashar was always able to do the unexpected: He was a new person each moment - he was alive!

Puppets and their blinking eyes...
So slow.