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and because COM was organic and multilayered, it was possible through hardware and uplink cables to hopscotch into the network itself. Soft Stone would transfer her consciousness into the labyrinth of data, leaving her body behind, empty and lifeless.
    Incense burned, pine needles and cloves—Soft Stone's favorite mixture. Candles sparkled next to the glowing data terminals, adding a warm light like starshine. Teresa tugged at Garth's arm, pulling him and Eduard forward so they could stand at the front of the crowd. Tears brimmed in her eyes.
    Soft Stone emerged from the rear of the library, passing between her favorite paintings and sculptures. A hush fell on the gathered crowd. Barefoot, the lean woman walked with grace and confidence, shoulders squared, chin high. Her sky-blue robes were adorned with brass bangles that tinkled as she moved. Her newly shaved scalp glistened as if she had waxed it.
    She walked toward the main interlinks in the center of the library. She reached out to brush the hands of her students in a benediction. The old monk paused in front of Teresa, Garth, and Eduard, and suddenly her expression crumpled. “It's not dying. It is living on a higher level. A much higher level.” She reached out to enfold the three friends in a deep hug. “I'll try to watch over you. Remember, COM has eyes everywhere, and I will be part of COM.”
    She kissed Chocolate on both cheeks, and the beatific smile on the administrator's chubby face flickered for just an instant. Then he backed away, leaving her alone with the computer network.
    Soft Stone reached out with callused hands to touch the inputs. All other monitors in the library chamber flared to life. Three-dimensional interactive portals painted an artificial sky with fluffy white clouds on the ceiling of the library. The monk closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.
    Living lights swirled like comets along the walls. Chimes sounded in the virtual distance, a resonance that hummed in Teresa's bones. She wondered how much was real, how much miraculous . . . and how much was staged.
    Soft Stone's trembling fingers tapped the edges of the milky screens. Then the scenes changed, crackling images replaced by a different construct. The library was transformed into a great vault, an immense cathedral far larger than the monastery building, with stained-glass windows and a thousand different passages. Her mind could spend eternity in here, wandering among all knowledge, all recorded history.
    As Soft Stone's brow wrinkled with concentration, she mentally connected herself to COM and prepared to upload her soul. Surrounded by the illusion, the others in the room held their breath. The behind-the-mind music was like crystal; the light was like gemstones.
    Glowing images appeared in the air, luminous beings that swirled like angels come to greet her. She raised her hands, then her eyes. The escort presences engulfed her like a safe cocoon, and a shadow of Soft Stone floated with them, younger and stronger. The spirits vanished into the unexplored stained-glass passageways, and the old monk left her body behind forever.
    Then the images faded, and the library came into focus again. Soft Stone's body slumped to the library floor, an empty husk.
    Teresa stood in the candlelit room, feeling cold and alone even with her friends Garth and Eduard beside her. Chocolate knelt next to Soft Stone's body, cradling her bald head in his hands.
    Garth was awed by the beauty of it. “Someday
I'll
make something that beautiful, something as moving as what we just saw.”
    Teresa wept, never expecting to see Soft Stone again. . . .
             
    Now, grown-up and on her own, Teresa found her thoughts wandering through the droning monotony of her workday. This wasn't what Soft Stone had wanted Teresa to do with her life, with her philosophical inquisitiveness. She felt lost and discouraged, wasting her time on this pointless job.
    Then the data matrices displayed on her screen