A test of humanity administered by the Bene Gesserit using the gom jabbar, a meta-cyanide tipped needle, held at the subject's neck while their hand was placed in a box that inflicted escalating pain through nerve induction. The test determined whether a person could master their animal instinct to withdraw from pain through conscious will. Those who withdrew their hand were killed by the gom jabbar, judged to be mere animals acting on instinct rather than true humans capable of overriding base impulses with reason. Paul Atreides famously survived this test administered by Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam.