if your hand’s already in the box, the gom jabbar is already at your neck

Frank Herbert saw a lot in people and the understated thing about a gom jabbar is, most of the potential psychic initiates into the occult Elite yank their hand out the box as soon as they think it’s burning. and so they definitely get the poison, and perish: because unless they have the beyond-animal awareness to control and endure pain and terror IN THE MOMENT to save their future, they cannot be trusted with the incredible power almost within their grasp. the market wipes out paper hands, eats them, because it cannot risk rewarding their behavior. weak people with power reliably destabilize organizations and economies. they are impulsive and sadistic and petty and emotional and cannot make plans. they cannot be trusted. but fortunately, the weak and afraid rarely attain power and always lose it. inevitably, those who panic are among the casualties. not everyone is going to make it to be a great shiba house, that’s part. of. it.

tl;dr you already put your hand in the box, do what comes naturally. back out, or hodl still. either way it is for the best for the universe.