voice spoke to me in the night, just as I did to you,” Francis explained. “We became friends, and soon, I was introduced to many others. I’ve been with them here ever since.”

“How long have you been here?” Brian asked.

There was a pause. “About seventy years,” Francis said finally.

“Seventy years?!” Brian exclaimed. “Jeez – how old are you?”

There was more silence for a moment. This made Brian stand up suddenly, as if by getting to his feet he could hasten the answer.

“We don’t have ages here,” Francis said. “We’ve given that up, along with other things.”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand,” Brian replied.

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