<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #00BFFF"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;">David</span></div></span><br/><br/>“Magnifique,” David said, huffing as he followed Tessa’s lead and pulled his childhood dish closer to him. He let Tessa handle the questions as he stared into his food, spoon in hand. He hadn’t realized how hungry he actually was. He and John had only had a small lunch and... John. Where was he? David took a bite and the Bacheofe was delicious. It was almost as if his mom had made it herself. <br/><br/>David nodded absently when the Caretaker asked if they were comfortable. The word, “Cosmonauts,” made him think about space and the cosmos. He took a few more bites, his mind wandering from his own thoughts to the conversation the Caretaker and Tessa were having. A thought struck him when Tessa looked at him, ‘is she the girl the guy in the bowler hat was talking about?’ <br/><br/>The concern and questioning look on Tessa’s face drew him out of his reclusive thoughts. <br/><br/>David shifted his gaze to the old man, trying to remember what had been said during his meditation, “Cosmonauts - so - space? Are we traveling into space?” Just talking about this seemed absurd. Of course they weren’t going into space. What kind of ridiculous idea was that? “I mean - I sort of forgot my space uniform back at the museum, dude.” David was getting snarky, he knew, but this was all too much. This game needed to end. Every now and then, his French accent would come out when he was nervous or annoyed or angry, even though his english accent was flawless <br/><br/>David set his spoon down and wiped his mouth. Then he stood and said, “Ok, Je m'en vais.” <br/><br/>“Let’s speak English, Noé.” The voice caught David off guard when it used his middle name. Only his grandmother ever called him that, because it was his grandfather’s name and she had missed him so much ever since he had died. It caught him so off guard that he sat back down. “For Tessa’s benefit,” the voice continued. “Communication will be key if the two of you are to be successful in your ventures.”<br/><br/>The voice pivoted, “Please forgive me for not properly introducing myself until now, my name is Echo. It is nice to meet you, Tessa, David.” She was back to calling him David again. He wondered if he had imagined her calling him by another name. “To answer your question Tessa, the After Image, which is a translation from,” Echo made an odd sound that hurt David’s ears. It sounded like a high pitched whistle. The Caretaker didn’t seem to react it to it at all. “Of course, humans are incapable of speaking or understanding,” David quickly covered his ears again as she spoke the language before uncovering them again, he gave Tessa a grimacing look, “so it has been translated into the dominant language of the current time. The After Image is a metaphysical plane, beyond existence itself. No one really knows exactly what it is, not even me. However, what we do know is that it is a crucial turning point in the activation of Cosmonauts. It sets your destinies in motion. The creatures you both saw are Óvinurinn. But we don’t have time to get into it now.”</div>