def _query_absolute(start, end):
    """
    :type start_absolute: float
    :param start_absolute: This is the absolute start time (unix time since the epoch) for the batch of metrics being retrieved.

    :type end_absolute: float
    :param end_absolute: This is the absolute start time (unix time since the epoch) for the batch of metrics being retrieved.

    :rtype: dict
    :return: a dictionary containing the query with absolute timestamps converted to KairosDBs millisceonds since the epoch.
        No metric names are present yet.
    """
    start_time = float(start) # This is here to confirm that the metric can be interpreted as a numeric

    query = {
        "start_absolute" : int(start * 1000)
    }

    if end is not None:
        end_time = float(end)
        query["end_absolute"] = int(end * 1000)

    return query