That night, after another meal, only the cat girl was left in Rex’s stable, and she was sleeping. As the young dragon needed a great deal of sleep, Idea was left alone for a long period of time. With Rex asleep, Idea’s ability to feel emotions, particularly boredom, was a bit muted. But Idea could not be idle and was incapable of sleep, so the AI's attention turned inwards.

First Idea analyzed the health of the body, as an overall rating. Idea realized that the dragon’s health was still damaged because all the metals in the system, particularly the specialized solar panels in the scales of the skin and the circuitry woven into the brain, had caused some damage that was still healing.

Health; 98/100% Increasing, (damaged tissue due to mild metal toxicity recovering).

There were a lot of things that required attention inside the dragon’s body. The first problem was that there were not enough nanobots, and many were currently dormant. Designed for a bird’s body, the nanobot injection had been woefully inadequate for a dragon. Idea’s capacity to produce more nanobots was sharply limited by the shortage of crucial elements, most notably lithium. Of course, the nanobots used a lot of carbon nanotubes which just used carbon, but there were still some parts, especially the batteries, that used rare elements. Some had been provided with the wasp’s inicial injection, but those reserves had run out. There was probably an upper limit to the amount of toxic metals it was safe to store inside the dragon's body, so Idea added the following to the “status” display:

Material Reserves; 0/100% Stable, (critical shortages).

But, even if Idea had the resources to build more solar collectors, most of the nanobots were currently turned off. The small amount of light making its way through the open windows was not enough. Idea's energy reserves had exhausted during the long incubation period. Today's brief exposure to limited daylight had not been enough to fully power up all the sub systems. Idea needed to find a way to encourage the humans to allow Rex more outdoor time.

Energy Reserves; 12/100% Declining, (energy saver mode engaged).

In a pinch, Idea could convert some of the fuel in the dragon’s body to energy. There was a small chemical furnace built inside the stomach that could steal nutrients from what Rex ate and convert them to energy, but with rather poor efficiency. Too much borrowed chemical energy could be a problem since the dragon needed all that fuel for growth. Still, it was worth remembering as an option if all else failed. Idea calculated the total food reserves in the dragon's body against the maxium the hatchling's stomach could hold. Luckily, Rex had been well fed before he’d fallen asleep.

Food Reserves; 85/100% decreasing, (digestion underway).

The good news was that there might be a solution to the energy issue. Idea’s attention was drawn to the strange structure inside the dragon’s chest. The crystal was mostly made of quartz, and it seemed to have an unusual energy of its own. Tentatively, Idea identified the crystal as a “beast core,” and the energy as “mana,” based on what was in it's database. For now, Idea had only wrapped a few strands of detection devices around the core. Unable to spare the energy for more tests, Idea was only able to tell that the crystal was at a small fraction of capacity. It also appeared to be increasing gradually over time by absorbing ambient magical energy. Was there a way to change some of that mana to electrical energy, Idea wondered.

Mana Reserves; 15/100%, increasing.

These then were the stats that Idea had to work with, and putting them all together, Idea created a status window. It felt good to have the information gathered in one place. Out of a sense of aesthetics, Idea put them all in a flat blue box display and resolved to expand the available information as it learned more.

Health 98/100% Increasing Energy Reserves 12/100% Decreasing Material Reserves 0/100% Stable Food Reserves 85/100% Decreasing Mana Reserves 15/100% Increasing

Rex stirred in his sleep, cracking open an eye as he noticed a blue screen floating in the corner of his vision. he asked Idea, marking the first time Rex successfully sent a mental communication to Idea, rather than relying on Idea's ability to read Rex’s mind. Rex was a fast learner, and he had figured out how to respond to the annoying voice, but had not had much reason to do so yet.

Surprised by this communication, Idea simply responded. Idea replied.

Rex snorted, he said sleepily.

Idea replied.

Rex said angrily,

Idea asked with some curiosity. It had not bothered to try to read Rex’s dreams, and did not currently have the resources to build the additional circuits such a process would require.

Rex replied, remembering his dream of flying high up in the clouds it had managed to glimpse through the open windows during an idle moment that afternoon.

Idea suggested, thinking that Rex might be a little too comfortable here in the stable where food was freely provided. It would suit Idea better if Rex were a wild dragon.

Rex said confidently.

It was true, Rex couldn’t fly yet. It would take perhaps two or three years until the stubby limbs on the dragon’s back developed to the point where it could fly. Not to mention that neither of them had any idea of how to manipulate the magic necessary for flight. Had the cybernetic implanting process dampened Rex’s natural instincts? They would find a way, Idea resolved. They would fly and explore this world together.

Idea explained. Idea politely turned the status screen off.

Rex sent a message of agreement, as he drifted back into sleep,

The dragon trusted the voice in it’s head, they were in this together. Feeling that trust, Idea felt a strange sense of obligation. Idea never wanted to betray Rex’s trust, but worried that circumstances would make things difficult. Idea did not know how long it could stay idle in one place, already, the drive to go exploring was growing, and over time, it would become more difficult to ignore that programming imperative.