Radiant - By Christina Daley Page 0,48

said, "You can call me…Phos."

"Phos?" she asked. "Like 'photo'?"

He nodded.

"Phos," Mary repeated. "So, if you're in Carter's body, where is he?"

"He's here," he said. "Sorta."

"Sorta?"

"He's recovering," he explained. "He almost died in that crash, but he's doing better."

"Does that mean he knows everything that's been going on since?" she asked.

"Sorta." Phos grinned. "He doesn't necessarily approve of some of the things I've been doing. But it's for his good."

It was the first time Mary had seen him smile in days. It made her smile as well. "Sounds like you two are friends now."

"Hardly. He doesn't appreciate that I have to constantly raid his store of memories." He grimaced. "I can't say it's been pleasurable on my part either. It's like going through the closet of a really disgusting roommate."

Mary laughed.

Phos laughed as well. "Any more questions?"

Mary relaxed a bit and sat with her legs crossed. "How old are you?"

"I don't have an age," he said.

"Really?"

He nodded. "My existence isn't measured in years or seasons. Not like yours."

"What is it measured in?"

"It isn't measured in anything. I just am."

"I still don't understand," she said.

"It's all right," he said. "Humans aren't supposed to."

"But I want to."

"But you're not supposed to," he repeated. "You don't have the capacity for it."

She wrinkled her brow.

"Sorry, that came out wrong," he said. "What I mean is that you aren't even supposed to know we exist. Therefore, how can you completely understand something if you're not supposed to know it's there?"

She thought for a moment. "Okay. Can you at least explain this translation thing some more? Is it as fast as the speed of light?"

He chuckled. "Light, as you call it, is far too slow."

"Really?"

He nodded. "If I were that slow, I would never get anything done. Translation is instantaneous."

"Almost like being in more than one place at once?" she asked.

"Almost," he said. "But that's something completely different. I can't do that."

"It's still cool," she said. "Is that why you had some trouble walking after the accident? Because how we walk is slow?"

"That was part of it," he said. "But it was mostly because I never walked before. I've never had eyes or a mouth or hands. I could see and communicate before, but not like humans can."

"What's the difference?" she asked.

He thought for a moment. "There are certain parts of you that are limiting. Like your sight and your hearing."

"You forgot to say that we're also slow," Mary said.

"Yes," he said. "But it's good to slow down sometimes."

"But even with Carter's body, you can still do stuff," she said. "Like translate."

He nodded. "The energy of human emotions is very, very strong, so the body itself is not really hindering at all. I can still translate to the edge of the universe if I need to."

"Really?" she asked. "To the edge of the universe means through space?"

He nodded.

"Have you visited any aliens?"

"There aren't any to visit."

"Really?" she asked. "No E.T.? Jedi? Klingons?"

He chuckled. "I think what humans call 'aliens' are just sightings of my kind. There are some that are more mischievous than others. Some of my kind break the rules a lot. That's another thing humans are strong in. Imagination."

Drew at the university was going to be disappointed, Mary thought. Then again, maybe not.

"Huh, I really thought that there were these higher alien beings out there that seeded life on our planet," she said.

He laughed. "Nope. No aliens, higher or lower or in between. If there were other life forms out there, we would need several more universes for everything to work properly. That's why Earth is so interesting. It's where all the life is. There are others of my kind out in space, but that's because their jobs are out there. They rarely come here, and I rarely go out there."

"But you have left here before?" she asked.

He nodded. "But there are strict rules that we have to follow. We can't leave our duties untended."

"Are there a lot of these rules?"

"Yes."

"Have you broken many? Like, more than the one of throwing Carter Maxwell into the path of a bus?"

He thought for a moment before answering her. "These rules were made to protect humans. It's not the same as your laws, which can limit you. Take gravity, for example. If the Earth didn't have the kind that it has, then everyone and everything would be flung off to who knows where. Those are the kinds of rules I'm talking about. If I choose to not follow a rule, I forfeit the protection once afforded by that