~ Chapel Perilous ~

[Nadir]

A tabletop, a room of some kind, a man and several other people standing behind him. The details are blurred, for the moment unimportant. On the tabletop is a computer, a square clear box with flashing lights in it the designers felt would make it look like it was doing something when you turned it on. Maybe that was to hide the most sinister aspect of the device which was that one could not turn it off. Even with the voice interface disabled and the lightshow terminated, its circuits kept working. Never sleeping was one of many potentially disturbing facets to the device's essential nature, the other most noticeable one, after spending some time talking to it, was it's short patience, irritability and human-like arrogance. It's creator felt that it would be interesting to imbue the device with a personality and in self perpetuating logic, gave it his own personality.

"I cannot describe the computer system in detail as it is protected."

The man's voice: "You? You cannot break the security for this machine. There was me thinking you were unbeatable."

In irritated tones: "It is not a matter of defeating a protection schema, all information that unit possess has been ofuscated by unfamilair precepts"

Someone in the background asked the obvious question. "What does he mean?"

"It means it doesn't know what the target computer is talking about even if it gives you a straight answer to a question."

"In part, correct. I cannot get real information out of the target if it contains information formatted in terms I do not understand. I am interrigating it's databanks to correlate and cross reference as much information as possible. Now kindly do not disturb me until I am finished."

That was the other thing, the third most disturbing thing about the square semi-transparent box on the table with flashing lights: it could read computers like telepaths of legend could read minds. The ultimate hacking tool, able to go anywhere, infiltrate any computer system at any distance. It was a weapon governments would make you rich for, or kill for, or perish for. It had cost its inventor and a string of others their lives which was considerably more than many of them had expected to loose, for governments are good at seeing that little bit ahead of genius, or even common greed. The irony of 'owning' the recalcitrant device was at once having limitless information and being wanted and hunted and frequently shot at.

Several minutes later. "Information," volunteered the box simply.

"Well, have you found a common reference point we can all understand?" said the man, his face still blurred buy the author not willing to give concrete descriptions.

"Numerous, though it appears to be a futile effort."

"The target is a hoax?"

"Not at all. The problem is that of obscurity creating volume. One can generate an infinite amount of data which cumulatively has no meaning. Through cross-reference, much of the data I have collected is self-contradictory."

"The target is supposed to be his most trusted friend, are you telling me it's full of rubbish?"

"Again, no. Not 'rubbish' per say. Merely data too absctract to be used at present. Consider this database entry: "philosophy is traditionally concerned with contrasting one grid with another grid, and amending grids in hopes of finding a perfect one that will account for all reality and will, hence, (say the unenlightened) be True. This is illusory; it is what we Erisians call the ANERISTIC ILLUSION. Some grids can be more useful than others, some more beautiful than others, some more pleasant than others, etc., but none can be more True than any other." This would mean no description of reality would be accurate."

"So? A philosophical game. A bagatelle. Why are you making such an issue of the finer inellectual points of logic?"

"Because, without logic, I am nothing."

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