Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 634
Axel. "Because something is happening to the Winds that I
think you will want to know about. Something called
thalience."
The Voice looked up, startled. She had apparently heard
the word.
"Thalience is a myth--a story they tell one another here,"
she said. "It’s a dream of no longer being an artificial
intelligence, but of being self-determined. Of no longer fearing
that every word you speak, every thought you have, is just the
regurgitation of some human’s thoughts. They call it the
Pinnochio Change around here."
"If it’s just a myth, we need to know that too," said Axel.
"But if it’s true... that they’ve found it... what does it mean?"
A new look came into the Voice’s eye. She smiled again,
dazzlingly this time, and placed her other hand over Axel’s.
"I would like to know myself," she said. "I would like to
know, very much."