"Wait, so are you a human?" Alexa asked. The entire situation had brought a curiosity out of Alexa that I had yet to see in my time knowing her. Although I had been living alone with her for well over a year now, Alexa hadn't shared much detail about her personal life. She kept conversation strictly business oriented. I didn't mind it, but a year is a long time to spend with someone you barely know.

The Luminescence replied staring blankly at Alexa, “"You could say that…" She paused briefly before continuing, "You could also say that I am somewhat more than a human. Not quite a god, but close."

Although her words were important, part of me couldn't seem to focus due to the subtle glow that was surrounding her being. Upon first inspection, she looked just like any regular child. She did have a small sequence of numbers and letters printed on her left forearm but, tattoos had become so common back on Earth that I failed that I didn’t pay it any mind. I was much more fixated on her glowing, and something about it made my mind recount the events of the past few days.

Back in the cave, when we moved the stone and revealed the inner chamber that Alexa found, her light had been blinding. But over time, the initial wave of the light slowly faded until all that was left was a dim glow around The Luminescence. She was asleep when we first found her, so we carried her to The Hyperion and informed SouthPoint of our discovery, but we had been waiting almost three days for her to wake up.

During those three days, we made the decision to call her “Luma” instead of “Luminescence,” since she did appear to be human. But in a radio transmission SouthPoint sent to us before Luma had awoken, they instructed us on what actions we could possibility to take next. It really all came down to what she knew. Ideally, she would already know exactly why we had come for her and what our intentions were. She would comply and we would be back on our way to Earth. However, once she woke up and we began to talk to her, she seemed to have no real idea why we had come for her or where she even was regardless of her claim to be "somewhat more than a human." All she was really aware of was herself, but it wasn't the kind of unawareness one has when they're simply oblivious to their surroundings. This seemed to be something more, something darker. Almost like something was withholding the information from her memory.

However, in the moment it really didn't matter to us why she had little to no memory, because it didn't change the fact that she was leaving us with unanswered questions. For instance, she didn't know how long she had been asleep, or why she had been put to sleep in the first place. Also, she didn't know of the planet’s existence. All she managed to remember about anything regarding her past was simply a "dark feeling," as she described it. Nonetheless, we tried our best to explain to her what happened: The war between the planetary gods and the sun god, The Darkening, and ultimately what her destiny as the Luminescence was. She was a little taken back by it all at first, but she must have felt somewhere deep down that it was true because she quickly turned the interrogation to us, asking us a seemingly endless barrage of questions.

Once we had explained things to the best of our ability, Luma became quiet. It was a lot to take in at once, and I didn't want to prod her. However, we needed her to be on board with us and the mission, and we needed her compliance as soon as possible. She was the only hope to restoring order to the galaxy, and every day that passed would bring Earth's population lower and lower. But before I could say anything, Luma looked up at us and simply shook her head.

"Okay, I understand… So what do we do?" She said quietly.

We discussed our plans a little further and after Alexa informed her that we would be taking her back to Earth with us she seemed content, perhaps even a little excited with the idea. I imagine that if I had no memory of anything except the cold moon of Triton, I would be excited to see another planet as well. We contacted SouthPoint and told them of our plans to return. They cleared us for travel and guided us through the protocols and preparations that needed to be made. SouthPoint estimated that it would take about three days to make all the necessary preparations. Initially, the thought of three whole days spent making inventory checks and other boring tasks seemed daunting. However, those last three days on Triton proved to be both more interesting and enjoyable than any of the days prior.

Luma’s presence had completely altered the attitude aboard The Hyperion. She had an innocence and curiosity about her that brought out the wonder of things we had grown to see as mundane. Everything was new and exciting, and her excitement was contagious. We spent hours showing Luma pictures of Earth before The Darkening-- all the things that we had taken for granted on our planet. Fields of grass, the Grand Canyon, the pyramids, and countless other landmarks that had once captivated the people of our planet. Luma found all of these things interesting, but the thing she found most intriguing was the ocean. She made Alexa and I promise to take her to the ocean as soon as we arrived on Earth. I had gotten so caught up in her excitement that I promised it without thinking that our interaction with her on Earth may be strictly monitored and controlled by The Order’s officials.

Luma had the appearance of a human child around the age of nine, but her mental capacity and reasoning was far beyond that. She could speak and reason at the same level that any normal adult could. At first it was a little strange, having deep intellectual conversations with what appeared to be a nine-year-old. But, just like her constant glow, we got used to it after a little while. By the time we had completed all of the tasks that SouthPoint had ordered, I was speaking to her so freely that I could easily forget that she wasn’t human.

"This is going to take over seven years, Luma," I said perhaps a little bit too bluntly. We had gotten so caught up in the excitement of Luma that we failed to consider her condition. Since she could not sleep, she would have to be awake for the entire journey while we were put into hibernation. But Luma didn't seem worried. "I've been alone as long as I can remember. A few more years won't be so hard." Her constant positivity rested well with both Alexa and me, so it was easy to make the final preparations before stepping into the hibernation pods once again.

SouthPoint did order that we take precaution with Luma since she would be alone. Although she did seem eager to comply, they didn’t trust her just yet. Now that we were so close to finally coming home, they didn’t want her potentially hijacking the mission. So, she was placed in a safe-room in the back of the ship. SouthPoint would be able to monitor her via radio and they would deactivate the hibernation pods in case things didn't go as planned. With a gentle smile, I closed the armored door to the safe-room. We were finally going home to Earth.

I sat down in the pilot’s seat and double checked the autopilot settings. We would awake approximately one hour before entering Earth’s atmosphere so that we could prepare everything for landing. I walked slowly back to the hibernation chamber, and shut myself in. As the door closed, I glanced over and saw Alexa. She was inside her pod and had already been put under by the machine.

Soon, I felt the effects of it myself as my eyes grew heavier and heavier. But just before I fell asleep, I felt it again: that same eerie feeling I get every time I walked through the doors to the outside world of Triton. The feeling was strong, but I quickly brushed it off as I felt the effects of the hibernation chamber begin to set in. I had felt this every time I left The Hyperion and yet nothing horrible had ever happened directly to me. Why would this time be any different? This was a comforting thought; however, the comfort would prove to be short lived. I was about to be faced with that same question about whether or not it would be better to die or live alone, except this time things would be different. I didn’t know it yet, but the answer to my question would be waiting for me when I awoke. Because when I did finally wake up, I immediately wished I hadn't.