II #4
"You mean button mushrooms and the like?"
"Yes, exactly that."
"And where do we find button mushrooms? I don't see any supermarket anywhere, Nika, be realistic."
Nika grew a little dejected.
"There you're right. The only hope is to find spores in the warehouses with the agricultural material. If there are no spores in them, we'll have to think of something."
"What are spores?" Tomi probed.
Nika was quite willing to explain, because she'd been completely right in her assessment of Tomi.
He had a brain that loved to learn and soaked up knowledge like a sponge.
And that was a trait Nika loved, because her own flaw was that she over-explained.
And she could bore her friends terribly with her explanations.
"Spores are like flower pollen, you know what pollen is?" Tomi confirmed, and Nika nodded. "With spores, mushrooms reproduce and spread their genetic material. Without spores there are no mushrooms."
"So, again we're done for if we don't find spores somewhere. Interesting."
Tomi grew dejected, and for the first time Nika didn't have a ready answer either.
The thing was that producing protein was essential to survival, and in the sterility of the shelter's concrete and stone walls she really didn't know where and how to secure a certain amount of protein in the diet.
She believed the warehouses had a solid supply of protein in cans or whatever, but that would run out, even with careful rationing.
There were, admittedly, protein plants that would yield nuts full of protein, but those couldn't be grown in their underground conditions, or the labor required to grow them would replace all the other crops, and that again they couldn't afford.
She needed ideas. She needed other people who would offer solutions.
They should sit down at a table and not rise from it until a solution was found.
And that could be arranged. The main thing was they wouldn't starve, at least not at first.
Until the supplies ran out and until they lost muscle mass from a lack of protein, they'd think of something.
After all, they were young, full of vigor and will.
That's right. Nika brightened. They'd think of something.
With those thoughts she entered the clinic accompanied by Tomi, who was mulling in silence.
They found Vlasta sitting at the reception desk, writing something on a piece of paper. She noticed them and waved.
"Hi, Vlasta, what's up?" Nika greeted her.
Vlasta answered without lifting her gaze from the paper on which she was still writing something:
"I'm doing an inventory for the pharmacy. It's neither good nor sufficient."
"What do you mean?" Nika asked.
"No one replenished the medicine stocks. The ones that exist are either expired or near expiry. Not to mention medicines for chronic illnesses. No one even thought of that."
"You mean diabetes and the like?"
Vlasta finally lifted her gaze and confirmed:
"That's right — diabetes, cholesterol, epilepsy, a whole range of ailments that I guarantee a certain percentage of the people above our heads have. Illnesses for which there were no medicines when this clinic was designed and equipped, and which are now curable or can be kept under control."
Nika agreed. "I see you have your problems too. I've just solved some and gotten others, but that's how it goes in life. On a positive note…"
Nika paused dramatically, then continued when Vlasta gave her a probing look.
"Behind us is a fully functional laboratory, and for some of the diagnoses, I believe, the composition of medicines can be copied or new ones made. In most processes only the chemicals matter."
"Chemicals, you say?" Vlasta fell to thinking.
"Yes, medicines today are produced from chemicals. Gone are the days when mold was scraped off old bread to get penicillin." Nika laughed.
"I saw barrels with various chemicals a bit deeper in the fridge."
"The clinic has a fridge?" Nika looked at her.
"Yes, a fairly spacious fridge where infusion fluids, blood, and similar things are kept. Only those chemicals weren't quite meant to be part of the inventory. As if someone put them in there afterward."
"It's possible that was put in when the laboratory was set up. Many components require certain chemicals for experiments. I have to check that." Nika stirred.
"Go right ahead, the fridge is behind the operating room, you turn left at the recovery beds and you'll see wide metal doors with a large handle. That's it."
Nika thanked her and headed into the interior of the clinic. Tomi started after Nika, but Vlasta stopped him:
"Wait, I think Erik called something over the radio. He needs help up in security."
Tomi paused indecisively, looked toward the clinic where Nika had gone, but then decided and nodded to Vlasta.
"Security, you say?"
Vlasta nodded in confirmation, and Tomi, without a goodbye, turned toward the laboratory and headed for the staircase, bracing himself for the long climb.
Vlasta watched after him for a while and thought what a strange guy he was, but then returned to her lists and the work she intended to finish as soon as possible.