Nick swallowed. What do you mean, 'insufficient resources'? He just barely kept himself from saying it out loud, since Petra's response was unlikely to be helpful.
“Show list of needed resources to heal Kathy.”
A list popped up, mostly the ordinary elements in food, with small amounts of several others. It looked as if a simple feedstock ingot would have more than enough of everything except...that one.
The current supply of element 23 was zero, and 4 units were needed. Four units was probably a very small amount, but it was apparently essential. And in all their digging through Bare Hill and the nearby valley, they had never come up with any of it at all.
“Shit.” Nick squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the annoying headache to retreat for a minute. “Petra, did element 23 show up on scans of the element 90 site?”
“No, Nick.”
“Did element 23 show up on scans of the other dungeon? Kathy's dungeon?”
“No, Nick.”
“Scan for element 23 now.”
“Element 23 detected.”
“How much and where?”
“Nik!eh...”
“One unit, in Kathy.”
Nick facepalmed, then shook his head. “What about me? Petra, is element 23 in me?”
“No, Nick.”
“Nik!eh...”
The conversation in Kthufu had paused. Kathy was trying to get his attention. Nick got his head out of his ass and concentrated on his guest. “Yes, Kathy?”
“What you do?”
“I ask Petra heal you.”
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“Petra heal me?”
“Petra needs element 23. Then Petra heal you.”
“What is element 23?” Kathy asked her people. A different fuakala started talking and came into the camera view. The others made room for him. Kathy talked with him for a minute.
“Nick, you have element 23?”
“No. Zero. You have one unit, in you. You need four more.”
Kathy fumbled for a moment with the oxygen tank which she had set on his “desk”--essentially a stone shelf in the wall with a space for his legs. She took several breaths using it, then closed it again.
“You know I have one unit element 23? My blood?”
“Yes,” Nick answered, though he suspected the truth was a bit more invasive, to the tune of two dozen tiny robots. I really should have checked with her first before letting her eat the stew. Oops. Actually, I'm not sure that Petra fed her medical probes like she did me, but...
“Nik!eh, I and you go get element 23?”
Nick looked at Kathy, sagging on the metal chair, and shook his head. “No. You stay. I go. I search. Small time, big time. I do not know.”
He looked at the oxygen tank. “Petra, bring all the oxygen reserve tanks to this room. How many do we have?”
“Four tanks.”
“Show me the printer queues.” The lists popped up on the tablet in his hands. Nick scanned it quickly. “Abort queue on printer number two. Set it to make twenty more oxygen tanks. Begin now.”
“Yes, Nick.”
“Petra, fill the tanks with oxygen as you create them,” he said, just in case Petra was going to make empty tanks without the instruction.
“Yes, Nick.”
“When each tank is finished and full, bring it to Kathy.”
“Yes, Nick.”
Nick looked at Kathy, and pointed at the oxygen tank. “Petra make more.”
“Thank you, Nick.”
“I go. I search for element 23.” He turned to leave.
“Nik!eh, wait!” One of the other fuakala shouted over the comm. “I know where is element 23!”
Nick leaned in towards the camera. “Where?”
The translation came out, “big big big water place.”
“The ocean. Petra, Earth has seven oceans and seven continents. All of Earth is seven and seven. Ocean is water. Continent is dirt and rock.”
“Element 23 is in the ocean place,” Petra amended.
“Where is the ocean? Where...was...the ocean? Southwest?” Nick guessed, remembering the glimpse of a flat expanse, the day he had climbed Bare Hill just after sunset.
“No, south. Ocean has element 23. Water gone, place has element 23.”
“How far?”
Petra translated, “184 kilometers to 368 kilometers south of Kathy's dungeon.”
“Good enough. Thank you. Kathy, stay, please.” Nick chewed his lip a moment. “Petra, bring Kathy everything she asks for.”
“I don't understand, Nick.”
“If Kathy ask you give Kathy, then you give Kathy. Oxygen, water, food, anything.”
“Yes, Nick.”
“I ask, Petra answer,” Kathy suddenly said.
“When Kathy asks Petra, Petra give answer. All questions.”
“Yes, Nick.”
“Thank you, Nik!eh,” Kathy rasped.
“I go.” Nick reached out, wanting to shake her hand or something, but there wasn't time to go through social customs. Instead he gave her a little wave, and then left to get some of the guys for mining, and to load up Rockhunter.
