Chapter 25, Meal, Elephant Factory, Trap Summary

The Narrator and the Chubby Girl finally reach the top of the rope where they meet the Professor. He is healthy but hungry and spends a long time talking about the nature and history of his experimentation. The Professor deduced that all deterministic ciphers were subject to successful attack because they are based on logical assumptions. Thus, he sought to develop an encryption methodology which did not rely on any knowable assumptions. His solution was to use the subconscious mind of encryption specialists as s sort of 'black box' through which data could pass and emerge encrypted. A subsequent pass would decrypt the data. Since the assumptions of the consciousness, if any, are unknowable, the cipher should be impossible to crack.

However, one's consciousness continues to evolve and change due to new experiences and new...