“You make the future from one of James Cameron’s flicks sound like Candy Land,” Zoe remarked.

“It is…” The albino hesitated a bit in his delivery. I could sense a hit of emotion hidden behind the careful delivery in his voice. “It is not a very nice place to live.”

“So…is there any place left that’s free?” I asked.

“Some free land remains in the American West, Eastern Europe, and a much-contested area in the Middle East. I, however, am not from those parts. I am here to fulfill a promise.”

“What kind of promise?”

“It is a promise I made to a man to his final breath. He, too, was a time traveler…neither old age nor disease can kill us, you know, but when it comes to a grave bodily injury, all bets are off. I promised him I would take up his quest, and succeed where he had failed.”

It was slowly dawning on me who he meant. “Hey, wait a minute…” I started.

I wasn’t able to finish, as he looked me straight in the eye, and I into the irisless depths of his pupils. “I watched you die,” he declared.