Page 151 of Project Hail Mary

I writhe in my bed. The burns on my arm hurt more than ever. The painkillers barely do anything. I’m beginning to wonder if I can find Ilyukhina’s heroin.

I won’t, I won’t. But I definitelywouldif this were still a suicide mission.

Focus on that. This is no longer a suicide mission. If I play my cards right, I save the worldandgo home.

The pain subsides somewhat. It comes and goes. When I get a chance, I’ll take a look at whatever books I have on burns. I’d at least like to know when it’ll stop hurting.

Tap.

“Huh?” I mumble.

Tap.

I look at the source of the noise. It’s Rocky tapping on the airlock wall.

“Rocky!” I fall out of my bunk and roll onto my right side before landing. I scrabble along the floor to the airlock wall. “Rocky, buddy! Are you okay?!”

I hear a low thrum from within him.

“I don’t understand. Speak louder.”

“Sick…”he mumbles.

“Yeah, you’re sick. You came into my air. Of course you’re sick! You almost died!”

He tries to lift himself from the floor, then slumps back down.“How I return here, question?”

“I moved you.”

He taps the ground with a claw, annoyed.“You touch me air, question?”

“A little, yeah.”

He points to my left arm.“Skin on arm is not smooth. Damage, question?”

I guess he can see right through the bandages with his sonar. Must be pretty ugly under there. I kind of figured that would be the case, but now I know. “Yeah. But I’ll be fine.”

“You damage self to save me. Thank.”

“You did the same thing. Is your radiator organ okay? You were on fire and got full of soot and oxides.”

“It healing.”He points to the soot all along the wall and floor. “This come from inside me, question?”

“Yes.”

“How it leave me, question?”

I preen a little. Why shouldn’t I? It was no easy task and I got it done. I point to the now-triply-covered steel box on the airlock wall. “I made a device to blow air at you. I aimed at your radiator vents and all that nasty stuff came out.”

He’s quiet for a moment. Then, still a little wobbly, he says,“How long was that stuff inside me, question?”

I run through the day in my mind. “About…two days.”

“You almost kill me.”

“What?! How?! I blew all the soot out of your radiator!”

He shifts his weight a little.“Black substance is not soot. My body make this. It cover damage while body repairs.”