Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 568
side, they spun away like jewels. One came to rest on the cuff
of Axel’s sleeve, where it clung for a moment before slumping
as if in relief into the cloth.
"Careful, Chan, it may be a ruse."
He ignored the commander. His left hand was on the
Voice’s shoulder, his right cupping her chin. "Look at me," he
said. "What’s wrong?"
The Voice raised its eyes. He felt its jaw tremble under
his fingers. "It is the disguise," it said quietly. "I have fulfilled
my purpose. The data is delivered. I should shut down now,
but I can’t. In order to make the disguise real enough, I seem
to have removed my ability to cease existence. I have no
purpose now, but I am still here."
Questions crowded Axel’s mind; he couldn’t think of
where to start. "But--"
"Maybe," said Marya from close behind, "you’d better
start from the beginning. Tell us what happened to you after
you were captured by the swans."
The Voice locked eyes with Axel for a moment, then
looked past him at Marya. "Yes," it said. "That is enough like
my purpose to... I can do that."
The Desert Voice began her tale.
The last command I received was to destroy an aerostat
that was threatening my captain’s life. I hurried to obey, but
the action was difficult because I did not want to drop the
wreckage on top of her. So I circled, looking for the best shot,
and all the while the Diadem swans were closing their net
around me.
It was a terrible dilemma. I could still escape, and I was
her only means off the planet. On the other hand, if she were
killed now all other purposes would be rendered moot. It