'I would say you are wrong.' In his frustration he tugged hard at his straps. 'I have done nothing wrong! I seek knowledge, and through it travel the path of the lore. Intellect to understanding to comprehension! I honour the Machine-God in all I do. I want to ascend the mysteries like any other person of our creed. The Quest for Knowledge is all that matters in the universe.'

'But you perform experiments on yourself,' she said. 'Without consolation with the ancient teachings and without full understanding. This sort of work should only be undertaken after you have absorbed the knowledge necessary from the existing sources, and then only with sanction from your betters. How can you have the temerity to reinvent what is already known?'

'It is because it is already known that I knew I could work it out.' he snarled.

'You presume to be as good as the sages of the holy Age of Technology? A poor answer,' she said. She sounded almost regretful. 'No!' shrieked Cawl. Another bolt of power burned through him. 'This sort of cybermancy is above your position. You are not entitled to engage with these mysteries.'

'There are many paths to knowledge,' panted Cawl. His heart palpitated worryingly. Muscles clenched and unclenched randomly inside him. He was in danger of soiling himself. When he looked inside his mind, his supplemental mind's eye display was a wall of aching static. 'Experimentation is one of them. I have done nothing against the Machine-God.'

'Many would disagree,' said Hester Aspertia Sigma-Sigma. 'Most would say your actions are the basest form of heresy. You presume knowledge you do not have. You assume the wisdom of the ancients when you have no right. And yet…'

Cawl screwed his eyes shut in anticipation of another bursa of pain.

None came. He opened his eyes Aspertia was pondering the alterations to his intelligence core. 'There is genius in this work ergo, there is genius in you.' He let out an involuntary gasp, perhaps of relief, perhaps of fear unrealised. He was afraid, he wasn't ashamed to admit that.

'Really?' he said, more to delay the next jolt of pain than any other reason.

'Careful, Cawl,' warned the domina, wagging a metallic claw at him. 'Genius is rare, but genius is still only sentience, the third level of the mysteries. You have much yet to learn.'

'Learning is all I have ever striven to do.'

She withdrew and performed movements outside Cawl's sightline. The probes detached themselves from Cawl's limbs with so many metallic rasps, like mechanical leeches sated with knowledge and done with their feeding.

The restraints followed, unclasping and beeping out deactivations. The domina muttered prayers for proper function as she released her prisoner.