Irulan thinks of the Guild’s strategies in monetary terms. She considers that everything which is used—or “spent”—exacts some kind of loss from the spender. If Paul exploits the ghola for its value, he will pay a price. On the other hand, Irulan hopes the Guild’s exploitation of her will only prove that she is more valuable than anyone else. In these terms, no matter who wins in the Guild-Imperium battle, the winner will suffer some kind of loss.