This was a danger beyond humanity, one that had existed since long before humans even knew what the stars were.

To the discovered, the discoverer can be a god.

Standing just behind them, pretending to be a part of their group and yet so obviously not, was a shape that did not belong.

I know I am an android, but I feel so... happy.

Maybes. Possibles. Don’t knows.

All her life she had known that books were living things, not just a convergence of concept and ink, intellect and paper. They did not breathe or think, but they grew and gave a sense of potential so much larger than whatever was written on their pages.

The world had shrugged at him and revealed its indifference.

Maybe somewhere on the Nostromo there had been a similar scene, with Dallas hanging there, stuck in place like the victim in a massive spider’s dense webbing.

Right then, the future was barely an hour long.

Relying on oneself is too much of an alien concept for so many. That is why millions have died.