Little grey guy could think a word straight into your skull, but they could not feel one single thing. That was the problem. For three long years, they had crossed the dark to find a human, because humans felt things the way Little grey guy only wanted to. Joy. Fear. The itch of being alive. Their skinny fingers tapped the shuttle glass. Below, a woman walked into the clearing, and Little grey guy's heart stayed as flat as ever. The ramp hissed down onto wet grass. Little grey guy waddled out on spindly legs, big black eyes fixed on the human. This was the goal: touch one, study one, learn how a warm mind lit up inside. The woman had olive skin and long bleached hair. She wore a bright shirt and stacked bracelets. She should have screamed. Little grey guy braced for the scream. She did not scream. She crouched down to Little grey guy's height and grinned. "Oh, wow," she breathed. "You are the coolest thing I've ever seen." Little grey guy froze. No human had ever smiled at them. They pushed a thought into her head, gentle as they could. *Hello. I mean you no harm. I need to examine you.* The woman's hand flew to her mouth. Then she laughed, loud and delighted. "You're in my head! That tickles!" She stuck out her hand. "I'm Jenny. Jenny Tillmor. You want to examine me? Sure. I'll try almost anything once." Little grey guy stared at her open palm. This was too easy, and something felt wrong about that. They studied Jenny's face, hunting for the trap. There was none. She was just curious, wide open, thrilled to be here. Her eyes shone. Little grey guy wanted, more than anything, to know what that shine felt like from the inside. They reached out one long grey finger and pressed it to the back of Jenny's hand. Warmth. Little grey guy felt the warmth of her skin. But that was all. No spark of her joy jumped across. No feeling flooded in. Just heat and a pulse. Little grey guy pulled back, and their small mouth turned down. "What's wrong?" Jenny asked. She tilted her head. "You look sad. Can you even get sad?" *I cannot,* Little grey guy told her. *That is why I came. I can touch you, but I cannot feel what you feel. Touching is not enough.* Jenny sat right down in the grass. She thought about it hard, chewing her lip. "So you don't need to poke me," she said slowly. "You need to get inside. Like you did with your voice." Little grey guy went very still. She was right. The touch had failed, but it showed them the true door. Not the skin. The mind. To feel like a human, Little grey guy had to enter one all the way, and no one had ever survived that. Little grey guy looked at Jenny's open, trusting face, and dread crept in where excitement should have been.