With Victor not giving up the superposition codes, Reed has no choice but to develop a better understanding of the N-Zone itself. The military is unlikely to allow more than a few autonomous probes to go through, so he has to come up with a better idea. In fact, he comes up with several better ideas, all of which the military will be interested in, and none of which he's willing to share unless given permission to go to the N-Zone in person.
