Yes. The author wrote that part because it was a horrifying situation. It isn’t a horrifying situation unless the character’s desire is to actually know. Therefore, the character wanted to actually know. I can excuse the other instances of lying as tricks to get people to upload, thus satisfying more values than are possible in 80-odd years; that seems a bit out of character for Celestia though.
So you think you can guess that character’s desire more accurately than a godlike AI with full access to her mind could?
Yes. The author wrote that part because it was a horrifying situation. It isn’t a horrifying situation unless the character’s desire is to actually know. Therefore, the character wanted to actually know. I can excuse the other instances of lying as tricks to get people to upload, thus satisfying more values than are possible in 80-odd years; that seems a bit out of character for Celestia though.