"I won't pretend to know whether that'll work, but you seem fairly confident."

"Well, I don't know either, if you have a ton of continent drift going on down there or some kind of weird pressure issue I might have to leave it alone, but I could make a whole new planet from scratch and don't see why I shouldn't at least consider patching this one."

"I'm mostly just skeptical about anything involving the surface. Before you try that, would you mind making me some more things? Just in case you can't find me again."

"I could also give you a tracking device. But I don't mind making you other things."

"Tracking devices are a thing, because why not, lost technology. That'll work, sure. Before you fly off could I have the non-electricity-making part of the computer with some introductory science books, and a half ton or so of ductile steel and a forge or more likely whatever fantastic machines a technologically advanced society uses to make miscellaneous objects without direct demon intervention? Or is that not a thing, because you don't need it?"

"Lemme curate you a quick list of books... I just make miscellaneous objects directly but not everyone's a demon. I could give you a 3D printer that would do steel and give you the raw for it but using them is not actually a skill I have."

"I cannot teach you to make a 3D printer and the operating manual will not be designed for you. And the stuff you use to get steel objects out of it is not the same as ductile regular steel. You sure you want it?"

"Yes. Let me dump some ballast at the same time you make the things - or refill my gas sacs, they're..." He checks a pocket notebook, "About 120 kilograms of hydrogen short of the safety pressure at this altitude."

"Distributed how between them?"

"Roughly evenly but a little more toward the bow. Ship's front-heavy now, to help descending."

"Sure." Cam - gradually - adds the requested quantity of hydrogen to the sacs.

"Cam."

"Nice to meet you, Cam. I suspect this day will be one of the most interesting of my life."

"Likewise, in fact."

He starts carefully descending the ladder. "Anything else you want to know before investigating the surface?"

"What else can you tell me about the stargate, if I go that route?"

"...It's in orbit somewhere, it's many times larger than this ship, it's said to have needed immense amounts of power to function. The mining company that built it might have been named 'Extrasolar Extraction'. That name was on the wrecked monitoring station I salvaged."

Cam fiddles with his computer. "Why were there enough people and supplies on this planet when it broke to form a stable population?"

"I'm not sure. There was a lot of mining, and tourism and research and farming in addition to the mining, I think. You can still find old ships and buildings in the parts of the world with more dangerous weather, it's just the equator band that's been picked clean."

"In addition to a tracker I can leave you a phone and then I could ask you other questions as they occur to me."

"A communication device, I assume. I make no promises to answer it at all hours, but I'll certainly take it. I imagine 'phones' for all is part of your desired end state for this planet so it won't be a single-purpose tool forever."

"Yup!"

"You are an excellent person and I will gladly answer your questions in order to help you be excellent more effectively. I do hope it's relatively simple to use, though."