Read the following passage and questions, then choose the right answer from options, the answer should be one of A, B, C, D.

<passage>:
"How can anyone be sure on a theoretical basis?" she asked, an oblique Man's family tree was awesome enough to give every galactic race an inferiority complex—but then he tried to climb it! In repose, Taphetta the Ribboneer resembled a fancy giant bow on a package. His four flat legs looped out and in, the ends tucked under his wide, thin body, which constituted the knot at the middle. His neck his head had appreciable thickness and it was crowned with a dozen long though narrower ribbons. Taphetta rattled the head fronds together in a surprisingly good imitation of speech. "Yes, I've heard the legend." not unexpected—non-humans tended to dismiss the data as convenient Emmer would do—and she knew. She had no concept of love outside of the physical, to make use of her body so as to gain an advantage—what advantage?—for the children she intended to have. Outside of that, nothing mattered, and for the sake of alloying the lower with the higher, she was as cruel to herself as she was to him. And yet he The racial disparity was great and she had provoked him, but it was not Taphetta rustled his speech ribbons quizzically. "But I thought it was toward the highest goal they could conceive of? Climbing over—no, through —everybody they could coerce, seduce or marry—onward and upward. He raised his hand, but it was against himself that his anger was turned. commented Taphetta dryly. "It seems an unnecessary simplification." ribbons. "Frankly, no one else is much interested in Man's theories about himself." It was easy to understand the attitude. Man was the most numerous others—and humans were more than a little feared. If they ever got together—but they hadn't except in agreement as to their common origin. Still, Taphetta the Ribboneer was an experienced pilot and could be very useful. A clear statement of their position was essential in helping him make up his mind. "You've heard of the adjacency mating systems on which humans existed prior to space travel, we get a certain pattern. Kelburn can explain it to you." The normally pink body of the Ribboneer flushed slightly. The color change was almost imperceptible, but it was enough to indicate that he was interested. "It seems I must decide quickly." The Ribboneer glanced out the visionport, where another ship hung motionless in space beside them. The Ribboneer shifted his attention. "Aside from the sudden illness of have men who could do the job in a makeshift fashion, but the region we're heading for, while mapped, is largely unknown. We'd prefer to have an expert—and Ribboneers are famous for their navigational ability." Taphetta crinkled politely at the reference to his skill. "I had other such as this should cancel out any previous agreements. Still, what are Ribboneer's standard nature, simplifying it a little and adding a per cent here and there for the crew pilot and scientist's share of the profits from any discoveries we may make." I'm defrauding you. It's honored everywhere we go and we go nearly everywhere in this sector—places men have never been." There was no choice if they wanted him, and they did. Besides, the integrity of Ribboneers was not to be questioned. Halden signed. wouldn't have been a skirt at all, revealing, while doing so, just how It would do no good to explain that Taphetta wasn't a worm, that his "The plants are healthy enough, but something's chewing them down as They couldn't set up a continuous watch and shoot the animals down because there weren't that many men to spare. Besides, the use of weapons in hydroponics would cause more damage to the thing they were trying to protect than to the pest. He'd have to devise other ways. were folded neatly around the arms and his head rested comfortably on the seat. The head ribbons, which were his hands and voice, were never "Pests on the ship? It's filthy! My people would never tolerate it!" The Ribboneer's distaste subsided. "What kind of creatures are they?" "I have a description, though I've never seen one. It's a small smarter?" "I'd say that, yes. It must be a fairly intelligent creature to be so hard to get rid of. But it can be lured into traps, if the bait's "I don't question your authority," crinkled Taphetta. "To me, all speech ribbons. "Camp, did you say?" "A faster-than-light drive and an extremely long life," mused Taphetta. "But they didn't leave any information for their descendants. Why?" "Who knows? Their mental processes were certainly far different from ours. They may have thought we'd be better off without it. We do know "What happened to those who didn't develop space travel?" asked was tacitly assumed, such a destiny? It was Halden who answered him. "There's the satisfaction of knowing where we came from." "Of course," rustled the Ribboneer. "But a lot of money and equipment was required for this expedition. I can't believe that the educational institutions that are backing you did so purely out of intellectual curiosity." "Cultural discoveries," rumbled Emmer. "How did our ancestors live? achieved that only within the last thousand years." "But I think we have a better one than they did," said the Ribboneer. "There may be things we can learn from them in mechanics or physics, but wouldn't you say they were better biologists than anything else?" fractionally and ceaselessly. "I don't like to, but we'll have to risk consent. And there was one question Halden wanted to ask it had been bothering him vaguely. "What's the difference between the Ribboneer contract and the one we offered you? Our terms are more liberal." "To the individual, they are, but it won't matter if you discover as permit you to withhold any discovery for the benefit of one race." there had been no intention of withholding hadn't intended, but could he say that was true of the institutions backing the expedition? He couldn't, and it was too late now—whatever knowledge they acquired would have to be shared. technical advancement that multiplied unceasingly. The race that could improve itself through scientific control of its germ plasm had a start that could never be headed. The Ribboneer needn't worry now. "Why do we have to watch it on the screen?" asked Meredith, glancing itself away. It rolled off the raised section and surprisingly made no it snatched up the object and frisked back to the scene of its recent machines and went out. "Do you think it will work?" "It might. We had an audience." "Did we? I didn't notice." Meredith leaned back. "Were the puppets exactly like the pests? And if not, will the pests be fooled?" "The electronic puppets were a good imitation, but the animals don't have to identify them as their species. If they're smart enough, they'll know the value of a knife, no matter who uses it." "What if they're smarter? Suppose they know a knife can't be used by a creature without real hands?" "That's part of our precautions. They'll never know until they try—and them start lower than I am?" The conflict was not new nor confined to them. In one form or another, it governed personal relations between races that were united against non-humans, but held sharp distinctions themselves. "Because you're afraid I'd refuse." It was true lead me astray." "Why not make a play for Kelburn? If you're going to be scientific about it, he'd give you children of the higher type."

<question>:
In the story, it is stated that "the integrity of the Ribboneers was not to be questioned" -- what potentially negative implications might this have?

<options>:
A The Ribboneers could use evidence from the adjacent mating principle to eradicate 'lower-level' species
B The Ribboneers could be held responsible for solving problems that even they are not qualified to resolve
C The Ribboneers could use evidence from the adjacent mating principle to further advance their own species
D The Ribboneers could wield their reputation in order to lie, manipulate, and accumulate more power

<answer>:

D