'Why not?'
'He doesn't want to talk about it-remember?'
'But time's running out for him!'
'Time is running out for everyone.'
'All right. What is happening now?'
'He is floating down the river. He is drowning. He wants to die.' Prot stated this matter-of-factly, as if he were a disinterested observer.
'Can't you stop him?'
'What can I do?'
'You could talk to him. Help him.'
'If he wants to die, that's his right, don't you think?'
'But he is your friend. If he dies you will never see him again.'
'I am his friend. That is why I won't interfere.'
'All right. Is he conscious?'
'Barely.'
'But still in the water?'
'Yes.'
'There is still time. Help him, for God's sake.'
'There is no need. The stream has washed him onto the bank. He will survive.'
'How far downstream did it carry him?'
'Just a few jarts - a mile or so.'
'What is he doing now?'
'He's coughing. He's full of water, but he's coming around.'
'And you are with him?'
'As close as I am to you right now.'
'Can you talk to him?'
'I can talk to him, but he won't talk to me.'
'What is he doing now?'
'He's just lying there.' At this point prot took off his shirt and lay it on the floor in front of him. 'You covered him?'
'He is shivering.' Prot lay down on the carpet beside his shirt.
'You are lying down beside him?'
'Yes. We are going to sleep now.'
'Yes, you do that. And now I'm going to ask you to come forward in time to the next morning. The sun is up. Where are you now?'
'Still lying here.'
'He is sleeping?'
'No. He just doesn't want to get up.'
'Did he say anything during the night?'
'No.'
'Did you say anything to him?'
'No.'
'All right. Now it's late afternoon. Where are you now?' Prot got up and returned to his chair. 'In zaire.'
'Zaire? How did you get to Zaire?'
'It's difficult to explain. You see, light has certain-'
'What I meant was, why did you go back there? Is your friend with you?'
'It looked like a beautiful country. I thought some sightseeing might cheer him up.'
'Did you talk to him about it?'
'Yes. I said, 'Let's get out of here.' '
'What did he say?'
'Nothing.'
'So now you're in Zaire.'
'Yes.'
'Both of you.'
'Yes.'
'What will you do next?'
'Get to know the beings here.'
'And then what?'
'We'll move on to another place.'
'All right. It's six months later. February seventeenth, 1986. Where are you?'
'Egypt.'
'Still in Africa?'
'It's a big continent. By EARTH standards, anyway.'
'Is your friend still with you?'
'Of course.'
'What did you use for money on these travels?'
'Nothing. We just took what we needed.'
'And nobody objected?'
'Not after I explained who we were.'
'All right. It's one year after you left the river. August seventeenth, 1986. Where are you now?'
'Sweden.'
'Do you like it there?'
'Very much. They are more like K-PAXians here than anywhere else we've been.'
'In what way?'
'They are less warlike, and more tolerant toward their fellow beings than the other countries we have visited.'
'August seventeenth, 1987.'
'Saudi arabia.'
'August seventeenth, 1988.'
'Queensland, australia.'
'August seventeenth, 1989.'
'Bolivia.'
'October seventeenth, same year.'
'The united states. Indiana.'
'December seventeenth.'
'New york.'
'February seventeenth, 1990.'
'The long island psychiatric hospital.'
'May seventeenth.'
'The manhattan psychiatric institute.'
'The present.'
'Same old place.'
'And your friend hasn't spoken to you in all this time?'
'Hardly a word.'
'Have you tried to talk to him?'
'Occasionally.'
'May I try?'
'Be my guest.'
