Alloran's more ready for this kind of thing than back at the sheet cake meetup. He takes a moment, and in a tighter voice says, "Different aliens. They resemble worms or slugs and live in water. They... covet having hands and eyes, they enjoy contact with other minds, and are able to crawl into the brains of other species to enslave them and use their minds and bodies as they will."

He inspects his hands, which have balled up into fists without his intention in some weird human reaction, and consciously opens them, makes his shoulders relax, smooths his brow. "You know, sometimes I think all of this is a fantasy. It seems real, and as if I've been here for months, but that can be part of it."