Surprisingly, Eddie’s own hunger pains seemed to disappear as he watched the glowing entity absorb the energy around it. The walls of the cave they occupied reflected the light emanating from the two, giving an eerie glow around the cavern.

The entity hadn’t spoken for some time, apparently preferring to concentrate on the task of taking in its sustenance. Eddie was starting to become antsy.

“So, what do you do for fun?” he asked aloud.

The entity shuddered slightly as contact with the energy feed was broken. It remained silent for a moment.

FUN? WHAT IS THAT?

“Fun. Fun is…” Eddie had to think about that one. “It’s something you do. It’s something you enjoy. It’s…fun.” Eddie shrugged.

Eddie felt a slight burning on his forehead. Suddenly, his mind’s eye was flooded with a whirl of memories, mostly of himself and his mother engaged in a number of happy activities: playing a game on a rainy afternoon, running through a field where the cornstalks were as tall as the boy, eating ice cream and trying to catch the runoff before it hit the ground.

Tears began to well up in his eyes.

THERE IS TROUBLE? THIS FUN DOES NOT SEEM PLEASURABLE.

Eddie ran his hand across his eyes, wiping away the tears. He shook his head. “It is fun,” he explained, “but they are what we call bittersweet memories.”

WHY?

“My mother died over a year ago. It hurts to think about her now.”

UNDERSTOOD. STUDIED YOUR MENTAL PROCESSES SUFFICIENTLY NOW. CONFIDENCE IN REMOVING THE OFFENDING MEMORIES.

“What?” Eddie asked, shocked. “No! No! That’s all right. I…” Eddie smirked, changing the subject. “You know, I don’t know what to call you. What’s your name?”

NAME?

“Yeah, name.” Eddie saw this meant nothing to his new friend. He searched his memory for something that might make more sense. “How about designation? What is your designation?”

NO DESIGNATION, EDDIE JOHNSON. IDENTIFIED BY RESONANCE.

“Well, I might not be able to recognize you in a crowd of your people. I gotta give you a name.”

ACCEPTABLE. IDENTIFIED AS AN INDIVIDUAL.

“It isn’t easy being you, right?” Eddie asked. “I know how you feel.” Eddie looked down at his hands and watched as the swirling energy that was the entity sparked and snapped with loud crackles.

“I know,” he said, looking up. “I’ll call you Sparky!”