19

Rei stared at the restricted section of books in front of her in Ashram Conservatorium. The moment felt surreal. Had she really just been able to walk in, past the guards? Was she going to be able to pick out the Tao Te Ching? Her eyes scanned over the spines of many texts with unfamiliar names. One was called The Bible. Another, The Koran. Still another was called The Odyssey. She wished her assignment was to become familiar with all these books instead of just the one.

Still, nervousness wracked her gut. Though she had gotten past the guards, what would happen if she reached out to take the book she had been asked to take? Would Cerberus emerge from nowhere and maul her? It seemed ludicrous to Rei to have such apprehension, but she could not entirely shake the feeling. When she had opened that message she knew her life would be different, and she felt opening this book would be another such moment. her understanding of reality and what that entailed at least as she had known it appeared to be eroding at an alarmingly steady rate.

Rei had slept fitfully the night before. She was able to reassure herself that all the messages she had received that seemed to speak to the issue of Cerberus were merely coincidence. With her mind thus reassured of one of the basic guiding principles that made the world make sense to her, she had been able to fall into a shallow sleep. Unfortunately, the entirety of her mind did not buy her theory, and so the deeper parts of herself kept dreaming about going to check her mail and being told all manner of urgent information. In her dream, she would open her mail and would be bombarded with messages hinting at various serious things that it appeared only she was able to decipher. When she attempted to explain what was happening to her friends, they thought her crazy. Eventually, her dream turned to being pursued by Inner Sanctum officials to be taken in for questioning. What they really wanted to do, Rei knew, was lock her away for being mentally compromised. Rei woke up in a cold sweat just as in her dream she heard the magnetic locks snap into place and felt the holonospheric restraints around her wrists and ankles as she sat in the corner of a padded room."

When she had finally woken up that morning, she could ALMOST dismiss the entirety of yesterday as a bad dream. She fell into her morning routine as she had for the majority of her life. Rei had almost completely convinced herself of this truth when she stepped outside to begin her walk to the Conservatorium.

She felt an inner disquiet at first when she glanced back at the street sign that she used as a landmark for her apartment, but was relieved to see that the advertisement had nothing to do with Cerberus at all. Instead, it featured some kind of home security system that illuminated the darkness outside and had a tagline that read "Scared? We'll show you the way!"

Cerberus sat in what Rei concluded must be pensiveness. "So what are you saying, exactly, mortal Rei?"

"I'm saying that my question to you was malformed. Ultimately, whether you are code or not is not relevant. What matters is whether your essence exists. if your essence exists, then it matters not in what form it appears to be--be it in computer code or physical-biological code."

"I am beginning to see why Reipawn has selected you for the task ahead, young Rei," snarled Cerberus. "Take only the book which you have been advised to take. Leave the rest, and we shall have no quarrel."

Rei took the book half off the shelf and then turned toward Cerberus. "I have a question that, since you are here, you can answer. Did you kill that scholar, and if so, why?"

Cerberus showed his gruesome canines on each of his heads in a dog smile. "I feasted on his flesh, yes. He overreached himself. He believed his merit was greater than it was. Ultimately, though, it was his arrogance that killed him. he held certain presuppositions of what knowledge was in his mind, and expected the world to obey his mental model. As a guardian of knowledge, I could not allow him to take the books he sought because he would have only corrupted the information inside with his own ego."

"But, did you have to kill him?" asked Rei pointedly.

"Mortal Rei, you are what you are, and I am what I am. I am a hell beast pulling guard duty on a bunch of old books. I am not free to act as you are. My task is simple, and my purpose is direct. Compassion is an asset, misplaced compassion in an unbalanced way but a hindrance. As a guardian, it is not, strictly speaking, my job to be compassionate. it is my job to guard and act. In that I perform this task flawlessly, I am compassionate for there is no greater act of compassion than being truly what you are."

"I guess I'm glad I'm not a hellish guard dog, then," replied Rei.

Cerberus began his laughter once again.

Rei pulled the book from the shelf. She was surprised at how little Cerberus had alarmed her after the initial shock. It seemed to her it should have taken her a little longer to recover emotionally. In some way, it was if some part of her had expected to see him there, although she couldn't explain why. It was a curious bit of paradox--like not believing in Santa but at the same time expecting to see him coming down the chimney and KNOWING he would be there. 

Cerberus took no steps to stop Rei from taking the book. She opened it to a random dusty page. The first snippet she read went as follows:

Rule a nation with justice. Wage war with surprise moves. Become a master of the universe without striving. How do I know this is so? Because of this!

The more laws and restrictions there are, The poorer the people become. The sharper men's weapons, The more trouble in the land. The more trouble in the land, The more ingenious and clever men are, The more strange things happen, The more rules and regulations, The more thieves and robbers.

Therefore the sage says:

I take no action and people are reformed. I enjoy peace and people become honest. I do nothing and people become rich. I have no desires and people return to the good, and simple life.

Rei wondered what kind of book this was. It sounded like some kind of Shaper manuscript. yet, it didn't sound exactly like the Shapers because the Shapers had always had the task of imposing order and devising ways to make sure that order resulted. There were always laws and restrictions. There were weapons. However, there did not seem to be any trouble in the land--at least Rei never heard of any. Rei carefully tucked the book away in what was the glove compartment of her digital interface. Interfaces offered limited storage capacity. Cerberus jerked his ears when she placed the book there.

"Mortal Rei, you do realize that while you have this book, I must guard it just as if it were here, do you not?"

Rei did not think of this, but she nodded her head anyway.

"Be sure you keep it safe and do not give it to anyone else. I will protect the book if I a must, but I would prefer not to be needed."  spat Cerberus. With this final sentence, he leaped to his feet and began to go wherever he went when he was not on duty. His gait was strange in that the distance he covered did not match what one would expect from his build. He was out of sight within seconds. 

The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious, profound, and responsive. 

It had been three days since Rei had picked up the instructed book. She had finished reading it the first day, but had re-read it the second, and the third. It was as if each time she read it, some new weird layer of her brain appreciated it on some other level than it did before. One thing she hadn't done since she had gotten the book was return to her job at the Ashram Conservatorium. Even though she would likely be disciplined for her absence, she simply didn't care. She'd remain at home. This book seemed way more important than anything the Ashram might need from her. Something about what was written seemed inherently right. Her problem with the Shapers had been the insistence that they were holy--above reproach. Not unlike the kings and queens of ancient eras, the Shapers had been lifted to the status of gods because people needed them to be. Nothing unifies a diverse nation like the deification of its leaders. The only way they lose their god status is if they are deposed or defeated in battle. Some emperors encouraged their god-like status to the extent that they had temples built in their own honor so that even after death, they could still rule the people.

Rei believed many of the shapers were inspired people, but gods they most certainly were not. She could never put her finger on why, until reading this book. No wonder it was restricted. A book like this could shake the confidence of the entire society in which she lived. What was more unsettling was that many societies had had access to this book freely over time, but even with it circulating it was ignored. Perhaps a select few had read it. A smaller select few had understood it. Smaller still were those who both understood and applied it. Someone or something in her society, though, had considered it dangerous enough to be competition. Perhaps the assumption had been if one can control books such as these, then the citizenry has little to no choice but to accept the authority placed before it.

Rei opened the book to a random page. This time, though, she noticed something that her previous reads had not revealed.

High Priestess Rei,

I am glad to see that you are enjoying the suggested little book. Is it not odd how you were at the right place, at the right time, in the Ashram Conservatorium, such that you were able to access it? You even managed to generate what passes for a compliment from Cerberus. 

It is important now for you to initiate slipstream travel from the confines of your closet. I realize this is not the most elegant place or way to travel, but it is imperative you do so.

Kindest Regards,

Reipawn

Rei closed the book in disbelief and re-opened it to the same page. She saw nothing there. She glanced up at her bedroom wall in confusion as she tried to make sense of what she was experiencing. As her eyes softly focused on the wall, she started to see more words.

Remember, slipstream travel in your closet. Try thinking less. It will make you less distressed.

Rei started to breathe in a belabored way. Wasn't this what happened to people who lost their minds? Was she making this all up? She seemed to remember that people who described this process of going crazy often heard voices. As she had thought, a voice rang through her head.

You aren't crazy. Settle down.

Rei did just that as she blacked out.