I'm gonna die here.

Nick immediately thought of fighting his depression, but this time he couldn't work up the energy. He vaguely realized that that was a bad sign, but he just didn't care.

I want to go home. I want to go home. I want to see Earth again. I want to see a nice round moon, and a sun that isn't trying to kill me. I want to walk on grass. I want to sit under a tree. I want...

Nick broke down, and didn't think anything else for a while. There was no one to hear, no one to see. Nick lost all track of how much time he spent lying on the floor, just feeling how sad he was. He was lonely, and tired, and bored, and depressed, and he wanted to see people again.

I'm gonna die out here.

“Nick?” Petra called. He didn't bother to respond. It's just her parroting something I set up earlier. She can run things just fine, better than I can. I don't know what use I am, really.

“Nick?” Petra repeated. He ignored her.

“Nick? Query, sleep mode?”

“Yes. I'm asleep. Go away.”

“Incorrect.”

What kind of alien rock logic is that? Nick wondered in faint exasperation.

“Nick, I detect no damage. Your health is at 100%.”

“Yay,” Nick mock cheered in a groan. Just go away and let me die.

“Query, Nick takes undetected damage?”

“No.”

“Nick has a debuff?”

Nick gave a very small laugh at that. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Petra casts Heal.”

“This isn't something the med bot can fix, Petra.” Regardless, the med bot came trundling over. Nick felt a vague apprehension wondering what Petra was going to try to do to him.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Hello! I am Healy, your personal health-care companion.”

I should never have told Petra about that movie, Nick groaned.

“Please show the debuff on the map.”

Nick opened one eye, curious despite himself. Medbot was holding a display, currently showing a diagram of Nick's body, like the one on his status page, but even more detailed. It kept slowly moving the display closer and closer to his face until he reached up and tapped the image of his brain.

A suspicion crossed his mind. “Petra, did I take my pills today?”

“Pills were made at 7:56 AM today.” Nick had Petra print out his medication fresh every day, and he always caught each pill in his hand and swallowed it at once. If Petra printed it, that meant that he took it.

“Oh. So that's not it.”

“Come again?” Nick had taught Petra that as another way to say, “I do not understand.”

He thought wearily about how to explain in words Petra could understand. “Pills heal debuff.”

“Petra make more pills?”

“No. That's dangerous. Too many pills decrease health.”

“Petra make small pills.”

“What?”

“Petra make small pills.”

“No, I heard—never mind...” Nick closed his eyes and he could hear Medbot trundle away. Thank you. Leave me in peace.

It was not to be. Medbot returned in a few minutes, offering a cup of water, and a small bowl. Heaving a sigh, Nick sat up enough to drink some water, and peered into the bowl.

Petra had manufactured a great many tiny med pills. Vaguely curious, Nick picked one up and held it carefully between his fingertips. “Petra. My pills are 150 milligrams. How many milligrams is this?”

“Five milligrams.”

Nick sat and stared at the mini-pills for a while, debating with himself. I'm not supposed to change my dosage without approval of my psychopharmacologist. I know too much of this stuff can cause heart problems and seizures and shit like that.

On the other hand, five milligrams is really fucking tiny. It probably wouldn't kill me to take one of these as extra. And if I do it, Petra will shut up and leave me alone for a while.

Sighing, Nick picked up his cup and took one of the tiny pills. Then he lay back down. He asked for his phone, and Petra had a bot fetch it for him so he didn't have to move. Nick started playing the games on his phone to try to make time pass.

Way too many solitaire games later, Nick checked his status. His heart rate was normal, possibly even low. Fuck it. Nick took one more tiny pill, washed it down with water, and switched to a different game.

An hour later, he summoned enough energy to get in bed properly. He slept fitfully for most of an Earth night. Whenever he woke, he checked his status, then went back to sleep.

In the morning, Nick took his regular dose, and then took three tiny pills as well. An hour later, his mood was definitely slightly better. He had enough energy to notice, and to wonder how much more he should take. I guess I'll stay at this dosage for a while and make sure I'm not having seizures or anything.

He sighed. “Good job, Petra,” he reluctantly told the alien device.