Chapter 11 Part 3

"Impudent fool," Cerberus had growled in a deep, snarling voice. "Did you think you could deceive me with such juvenile chicanery? I was before you were born. I will be long after you are gone. You will not be permitted access to touch these books. You will not be permitted because you are unworthy. You seek knowledge, but you lack courage. Look now how you shake in your shoes. You try to substitute cleverness for courage because of your cowardice."

"You," stammered the scholar, "You are just an AI! An artificial intelligence--just a computer program!"

Cerberus let loose a horrible peal of laughter. Then he composed himself. "You, mortal, think you have things divided into neat categories. These categories comfort your mind. Before the emergence of the holonosphere, people had neat categories that were shattered in seconds. Men since ancient times have had categories that helped them explain the world, only to find that those neat categories dissolved like mist in the light of the sun. The essence of spirit assumes whatever form it desires. The wise cultivate the discernment necessary to realize it however and whenever it appears in front of them."

The scholar found Cerberus's speech strangely hypnotic partly because when Cerberus spoke he spoke for awhile from one head, then he would switch to another. Then finally he would switch to the last and start all over again. Nonetheless, the scholar with an insouciant boldness, bolstered his mind that whether Cerberus admitted it or not, he was a computer program and subject to the laws of computer programs.

"Cerberus, you have spoken well, but as a computer program, you are subject to obeying me if I change your code, and with this device, I endeavor to do just that." The scholar held up a digital code injector or digi C for short. "I intend to reprogram you to let me in, and you will do nothing to stop me. Already I have found the subroutine directing you to say such things."

"Foolish mortal. I shall enjoy tearing the limbs from your body."

"I think not, Cerberus!" With these words, the scholar made the program modification and watched Cerberus closely. There was no flicker. No distortion indicating that the code change had taken effect. Cerberus sat quietly and stared silently.

After five minutes had elapsed, which felt like an eternity, the scholar supposed perhaps he had introduced something that had caused Cerberus to glitch. With this final obstacle surmounted, and the remaining guards still fooled by the looping imagery, the scholar elected to remove a book from the shelf. An astute observer would have noticed the quiver of his hand as it reached for the book. If they had been extremely observant, they would have interpreted this tremor of the hand not to be excitement, but trepidation. The body often betrays what a person knows, even if they have deluded themselves into thinking they know otherwise. As soon as his fingers had touched the spine of the book, Cerberus let loose an unearthly howl.