Designing a Secret Eugenics Society

[Sindri]

I'm thinking about how a secret society practicing classical positive eugenics in a low-tech world might function. The aim is to get something somewhat like the Bene Gesserit; an organization that uses normal breeding, that focuses on (in their view) producing superior specimens rather than eliminating inferior ones, whose methods involve results that may not be ideal for the people involved in their breeding program but aren't deliberately malicious and who, while capable of making mistakes, still approach their goal as rationally as they can rather than letting their methods be clouded by ideology. Significant differences would be that they don't need to be a single sex organization and that they are limiting themselves to normal breeding because of limited technology rather than religious beliefs.

Appearing as a religious organization to the outside world is probably a good idea. That gives a good excuse to keeping secrets about the organization that are revealed as people reach greater levels of initiation. It also helps with the funding situation through tithes, fees for priestly services or whatever depending on which is more common in the regions the organization has influence in. The rest of the funding could come from owned lands, selling high quality education, donations from those on the inside and investments. It would probably be useful to have a small sacred island that they can operate out of.

The inside organization might be led by adopted children who do not show promise as breeding members made eunuchs and educated in the importance of their mission and how to lead so that they owe the organization and can maintain neutrality in regards to other members and do not have a dynasty to consider. The rest of the organization would probably be composed of hereditary members, promising orphans and the occasional carefully selected member of the laity.

They have a dedication to understanding heredity and will try to amass a lot of records but the also have no understanding of anything like DNA perse which will make their job hard. I imagine that they will come up with a set of traits they aim to improve and which they at least attempt to test for which will probably get revised as they accumulate more data. Then they will try to improve each trait in parallel slowly raising the bar with each generation with any above average but below bar individuals or bloodlines that haven't shown improvement in a while bred with counterparts in the other trait breeding programs.

They will want access to as much genetic stock as possible. Measuring those on the outside won't be easy. Perhaps they can use a combination of their educational services for mental abilities, regular religious festivals for physical abilities and if nothing else very limited guesswork by members nearby. When a useful addition to the program is found they might be selected to join the organization, a member might use seduction, they might try to set up a generous arranged marriage or if a member is trusted they might try to play matchmaker with another useful addition to the program. Dabbling in politics might even be useful occasionally.

Any ideas or comments?