Ktheg!lik and Odaual stared at each other. She pointed at her throat and then gestured for him to answer.

  Odaual blurted, “Eyta! You're alive!” They knew that Nik!eh—Nick—had named the golem “Petra”, but “Eyta” was about as close as fuak!a could come to pronouncing it.

  “I'm sorry, but I don't understand, Odaual.”

  “What is your...status?”

  “I don't understand.”

  “Your condition.”

  “I don't understand.”

  Petra doesn't know those words in Kthufu yet, Odaual. We haven't taught it. Ktheg!lik sighed inwardly. Are we ever going to hear from Petra what happened out there? I can't think of a good way to ask.

  One of the small automata stirred in the corner, floating slightly, and glided out of the workroom. Both of them watched it go in some surprise. “What is it doing?” Odaual wondered aloud.

  “Automaton get vanadium from carriage,” Petra—the golem—reported. I'm starting to think of it as a person. Not sure how true it is. Should I err on the side of politeness, just in case?

  “What are you going to do next?” Odaual asked. That's actually a good question. What are her standing orders?

  “I make food, medicine, and parts.”

  Medicine. Will it work? Ktheg!lik held up a finger to Odaual and ticked it back and forth in the common gesture for time passing.

  “Petra, how long will it take to make those?” Odaual, her Kthufu is probably not up—

  “Next food bag, five zegs. First medicine, twenty zegs. Next part, four kozegs and three zegs.

  Ktheg!lik's ears fanned back in surprise. She held up three fingers.

  “You make three things at the same time?”

  “Yes.”

  Ktheg!lik got an idea, and picked up one of the glowing boards. She played with it a minute until it blanked, then started drawing on it with a fingertip. The board followed her finger with a line of light. It would have helped to have one of these at the mine. We've long since run out of things to write with, or on.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I see language. Is language Kthufu?” Petra suddenly asked.

  Success! Ktheg!lik would have cheered if she could. Quickly she wrote out part of the Kthufu syllabary, and got Odaual to pronounce each one while pointing at it. Getting through all 186 syllables took a while, but was well worth it.

  As soon as they finished, Ktheg!lik wrote, < Do you understand writing? >

  “I don't understand, Ktheg!lik.”

  Ktheg!lik blinked a couple of times, turning that paradox over in her head. Then she wrote, < Do you see what I say here now? >

  More words appeared, created by the golem. < I see what you say on thing in you hands now. What is ? >

  Ktheg!lik's ears flicked as she thought about it, then wanted to laugh.

  < ? is question. >

  Since they needed one, Ktheg!lik finally decided on tablet as the Kthufu word for the glowing boards. She also taught Petra several more words pertaining to writing, and learned the equivalents in Galactic.

  Petra rapidly showed an absolute genius for facilitating writing. In a few more zegs, Petra had a whole setup with three tablets for her convenience. One was set up like a typing machine for Kthufu, another for Galactic, and the third showed the words written by both Petra and herself. With the speed of a spinning clockwork, Petra would make tiny boxes appear with single word translations, or short definitions, and the ghostly letters could flow like water. It was amazing.

  After a few minutes of watching her work, Odaual commented, “Wow. We're really lucky you're the one doing this, Ktheg!lik.”

  It wasn't luck, I risked my life to be here and still might die, Ktheg!lik thought, but she nodded at the implied compliment anyway. He's just trying to say that I'm good at this, and the best of our group for it. Take it in the spirit it was intended, Ktheg.

  Fortunately, Odaual did not appear to have fallen ill just yet. There was no telling how long it would take, or if Odaual had a lucky immunity somehow. He kept glancing around in amazement. “Nik!eh's golem did all this in just a season or two?”

  “Medicine now?” Petra asked abruptly.

  That was the point of Nik!eh's misadventure. Does Petra really know what she's doing? I'm not one of her little automata. I don't have any better option, though.

  < Yes. >

  “Medicine come now,” the golem announced. Ktheg!lik turned and watched the doorway to the main hall, and a zeg later, a strange procession glided in: the cylindrical automaton that had approached her when she first got sick, followed by a small automaton carrying a glass vial with a pale purple liquid, and finally, the very strange looking automaton that resembled the child of a bed blanket and a sea creature. Ktheg!lik tensed upon seeing the creepy device that had forced the tube down her throat.

  “Ktheg!lik drink,” Petra instructed, as the automaton with the glass vial stopped next to her lower knee.

  She took a few breaths through the tube, working up her nerve, then took the vial. She lifted and inspected the liquid within for a moment, then set it down on the table. Quickly at the Kthufu keyboard, she typed < Hope for me. >

  “I hope for you, Ktheg!lik,” Odaual assured her.

  < Drink all? > she typed to the golem.

  “Yes. Drink all,” Petra confirmed.

  She pulled out the glass stopper, lifted the vial and tilted the contents into her mouth, bracing for a bad smell and taste. After a moment, her ears flicked in surprise. She reached out and typed, < It tastes like uzzanua leaves. >

  Odaual read it and said, “Well, that's a good sign, right? Uzzanua leaves go into breathing medicine, don't they? For allergies?”

  Ktheg!lik reached for the keyboard to answer, but suddenly felt very tired. She leaned forward on her arms. The keyboard was much too far away. She dimly heard Odaual asking if she was all right, and then she fell asleep.