"So you're sure it's not that all of Special Circumstances is after us?"

"No.  Shay-la and the other Cutters told me not to.  And now we're well out of skintenna range."

The shuttle resumes going up. "What does this imply about how much surveillance you had him under?" Cam wonders.

"I didn't have him under any.  No one even told me he was out of the hospital until tonight.  We were about to pay a visit."

"We? Should we go pick up some more folks? I might need to replace this with a bigger model."

"Sounds icy."

"- Absolutely not."

"I see we lack consensus."

"Zane, you're..."  She doesn't seem to be able to find the words.  "Shaking.  You shouldn't be going to space like this, however magical you think your help is.  Let's head back down."

"I'm fine, Tally-wa.  It's not like the nanos are still eating my brain.  I think I'm less likely to need my reflexes up here, honestly."

"If you happen to know of any documentation I could be reading on the brain nanos..."

"...If you could get outfits from a date, would it help anything to know when I took them?"

"I mean, that would get me a sample, it would not get me documentation."

"Dr. Cable can fix you, Zane.  She wouldn't because she didn't think you were icy, but if you come back and do something tricky on the way she'll have to realize you should be a Special.  Maybe this is already enough."

"I'd rather go to the moon, Tally-wa."

"But you're not well.  And being a Special is - it's incredible, Zane.  You wouldn't believe how good it feels.  Icy - bubbly - all the time.  And it's all so clear; I remember everything.  - Do..."

"I remember things, Tally.  And I'm fine at thinking.  Brains are good at rewiring themselves.  Yours did, when you thought your way out of being pretty."

"You can do it again."

"I don't have any lesions."

"If you say so."

"Do you want me to check?"

"...How."

"Make a copy of your brain and have a look? It will not be conscious, I can't make minds, anything I make of a species smarter than a snail doesn't behave smarter than a snail. But it'd show structural issues."

"I don't consent to that."