Ascending - James Alan Gardner [156]
A part of me realized this might not be true. If Nimbus’s little misty bits were all trapped separately, like millions of bubbles in a solid block of ice, I could never carve them loose in time to save Festina. But if there was one big chamber in the middle, a single holding area like an egg, and all I had to do was pierce the shell to let the cloud man out…
A great gust of mist shot out from the hole, straight into my face. It felt cool and kindly, a fog of salvation. “Nimbus!” I cried. “There are nanites down Festina’s throat! You must clear them out and start her breathing again.”
I expected the cloud man’s mist to swoop immediately toward Festina; but it only wisped around and around, swirling close to me, then shying away again. “Clear them out?” Nimbus whispered. “How? I’m not designed for fighting other nanites. I couldn’t begin to take on warrior nano…”
“These nanites are not warriors, you foolish cloud, they are just translator things. But they will kill Festina unless you take action.”
“It’s not that easy, Oar!” Mist was all around me, wreathing my head, brushing my cheek. “My only way to stop the nanites is smashing my particles against them. High-speed collisions that will hurt me just as much as the nano.”
“Are you such a coward that you fear a little pain?”
“I’m not talking about pain; I’m talking about mutual destruction.”
“And I am talking about the death of my friend!” I swept my hands at him viciously, trying to push him away from me. “You are a healer, are you not? Festina needs healing. That is all you have to think about.”
“No, Oar. I also have to think about my daughter. And…” His mist shuddered. “…and my owner. My owner’s wishes.”
“Your owner? Uclod would wish you to help Festina!”
“I told you, Uclod isn’t my owner—he’s just renting me. I’m the property of…of someone who doesn’t know or care about your friend Festina, and who wouldn’t want me to risk myself on her behalf.” The mist-man shuddered again. “I’m a valuable investment,” he said bitterly. “I have strict orders not to endanger myself on ‘unprofitable moral whims.’”
“And you listen to such orders?”
“Oar,” he said. “I told you when I met you, obedience is hard-wired into my genes. I despise it, but I don’t have a choice. It’s how I was built.”
I stared at him a moment, then closed my eyes. “I will tell you a thing, Nimbus. We are all built in ways we would change if we could—we are flawed or damaged or broken by forces beyond our control. In the end, we are limited creatures who cannot exceed our boundaries.” I opened my eyes again, seeing only mist. “But here is the other half of the truth: our boundaries are never where we think they are. Sometimes we think we are the most wonderful person in the world, then find we are nothing special; sometimes we think we are too weak to do a great deed, then find we are stronger than we believe.” I took a deep breath. “Please save Festina, Nimbus. You do not have to be so hard-wired and obedient. Please save her, and prove you are more than you think.”
For a moment, he did not answer. His mist shimmered…as if it were glistening in some light beyond the dimness of that dusky room. Then his voice murmured in my ear, “All right. I’ll do what I can.”
He swept around me one last time, brushing tenderly against my neck. “My daughter is still inside the web. Get her out and keep her safe.”
“I will,” I promised.
He swirled away, streaming across the room as fast as an eagle, not slowing down as he flew straight into Festina’s face. The cloud man disappeared up Festina’s nose as he had once before…only this time I was not scandalized by his effrontery, but overjoyed he was going to save her. He would fly down her throat to fight the gold nanites…
And who would win the battle? Who would survive?
I did not know.
Carefully, because I had nothing else to do, I widened the hole into the