obscure and unimportant nephew, the computer technician and generally
undistinguished man who had been christened Dave. They'd gotten the
right man for the name, all right. But the wrong man for the job.

Dave Hanson could repair anything that contained electrical circuits or
ran on tiny jeweled bearings, but he could handle almost nothing else.
It wasn't stupidity or incapacity to learn, but simply that he had never
been subjected to the discipline of construction engineering. Even on
the project, while working with his uncle, he had seen little of what
went on, and hadn't really understood that, except when it produced data
that he could feed into his computer. He couldn't drive a nail in the
wall to hang a picture or patch a hole in the plaster.

But it seemed that he'd better put on a good show of trying if he wanted
to continue enjoying good health.

"I suppose you've got a sample of the sky that's fallen?" he asked Nema.
"And what the heck are you doing here, anyhow? I thought you were a
nurse."

She frowned at him, but went to a corner where a small ball of some
clear crystalline substance stood. She muttered into it, while a surly
face stared out. Then she turned back to him, nodding. "They are sending
some of the sky to you. As to my being a nurse, of course I am. All
student magicians take up the Medical Art for a time. Surely one so
skilled can also be a secretary, even to the great Dave Hanson? As to
why I'm here--" She dropped her eyes, frowning, while a touch of added
color reached her cheeks. "In the sleep spell I used, I invoked that you
should be well and true. But I'm only a bachelor in magic, not even a
master, and I slipped. I phrased it that I wanted you well and true.