Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 636
history, and just what the Winds had done to make it habitable.
Jordan drew maps from the pictures in his mind.
They learned what nanotechnology was; what computers
were; how the mecha truly differed from evolved life. Jordan
wanted to know how Armiger intended to conquer the Winds,
so over and over he asked about how the Winds issued their
commands, and how they were ruled. The swans were not the
ultimate power, it seemed--Diadem itself gave the highest
decrees, but in time of emergency the swans could act on their
own. Armiger probably intended to cut Diadem off somehow,
or take its place in the hierarchy. Questions about how led to
discussions about codes and keys, radio, electromagnetism,
desperate feeling that he was making up for lost time kept him
asking questions.
embedded in every stone and grain of sand. For all of history,
men had starved and died amongst untold riches, surrounded
by an environment that could cater to their every whim if they
could but talk to it. Jordan alternated between horror at the
waste of the past centuries, and an equal feeling of disquiet as
he contemplated the things he could do now. For commanding
the elements and even living things, like these docile horses,
simply be.
Mediation fed him updates on the movements of
Thalience, and had given him huge resources he had not had
time to catalog. Jordan could close his eyes and see banks of
glowing numbers, each representing some vast mechanism that
could affect things on a giant scale now: cause storms, floods,