“They’re not afraid because there’s so many of them. Master has also not been present for eleven hundred years to keep mortals in fear.”

“True. I will remedy their arrogance in due time. Now tell me why there are no longer any stars.”

“There’s still stars, master. You just can’t see them with all these lights on.”

“What are these lights?”

“They’re lights. You turn them on and off with electricity and they make light.”

“Electricity? Does this cab also run on electricity?”

“This one doesn’t but some cars do. Most run on petrol, though.”

“Petrol?” I gave his explanations some thought. “There is much I do not understand, Jack. Cars, lights, electricity, petrol – they’re all a mystery and I will need help understanding them. Likewise this English people are speaking. Does my home have electricity and petrol?”

“Everyone’s home’s got electricity. Everything today works with electricity.” The thought of a home reminded me of another important detail.

“What of my coffin?”

“I managed to get that and take it home before I got you from the hospital. I tell you, you’ve been lucky. They found you in the middle of the day but no one ever opened you up outside or in the sun.”

“How fortuitous. However, what is good for me will be a curse on mortals.”

“What a bitch.”

“What do you mean?” I asked Jack and he explained the phrase in its modern sense. What a bitch seemed all too odd to me but I knew that if I were to blend in, these are things I would need to reach an understanding with. The people, as with all things in this alien world, were not those of my home and before my plans were set into action I would need to acclimatise myself to their ways. Learning the way they act, the way they talk, the things they do, all this and more was my first task.

The cab arrived outside a tower that must have scraped the sky at its peak. Looking up at the building made me dizzy. Such a monument highlighted the unfathomable accomplishments of this world. The pyramids themselves could not rival the design that kept this building standing.

“This is our home?” I asked Jack. He was paying the driver when he answered me.

“Well you live in the penthouse up top there. The rest of the building is also apartments and a few studios in there. There’s some restaurants down the bottom here.”

“So we are not alone?”

“No.” Jack came walking over to me and stood by my side. The old man was only as tall as my shoulder, which was strange. I had memory of him being much taller when I met him. Of course he was much younger, too and not nearly so pathetically frail. I sometimes looked at him and wondered if a strong wind would knock him off his feet. “Lots of people live here, all of them paying rent.”

“So who owns this building?”

“You do, master.” I smiled and took my first steps into the building. Jack followed and waited anxiously for the satisfaction of my approval. Without looking at him I spoke the words he longed to hear. “Perfect. Well done.”