The Humans

Andrew is losing his human form. His body is returning to its original alien state, which will make it difficult for him to survive on Earth. He tells Isobel to stay with Gulliver, and Andrew drags himself into the bushes so she doesn’t see his true figure. Isobel calls for an ambulance for Gulliver. As the mother and son walk away, Andrew stays hidden in the bushes. He knows that it would be easy for him to be saved by returning home, but he doesn’t call out for his hosts. He wants to stay, and not because he needs to complete his mission. He knows now that he will never complete the mission. He wants to stay because he loves this family. His hosts speak to him, encouraging him to come back to them. They tell him he has been corrupted by the humans, but he tries to explain the logic of human emotions—how emotions help humans survive in communities. 

At the hospital, Gulliver receives treatment, and Isobel and Andrew discuss their son. If Gulliver attempts to die by suicide again, he’ll be admitted into the hospital for further treatment, a suggestion Andrew balks at after his own experiences being institutionalized. Isobel doesn’t blame Andrew for Gulliver’s depression, but she does point out that Andrew wasn’t there for Gulliver. Even on family vacations, he’s always working, obsessed with his own little world and without a second thought for his family. Andrew says he’ll talk more with Gulliver, an attempt to settle some of Isobel’s agony.

Andrew hacks into Gulliver’s Facebook and changes the account names and settings for all the teenagers who bullied him. Instead of their names, Andrew displays “I Am the Cause of Shame,” and he installs a virus that would disable the bullies from writing anything other than “I am hurt and so I hurt” (175). Andrew has never had to do anything so vindictive before, and he enjoys the sensation.

Andrew and Gulliver sit and reflect on the night before. Gulliver is confused, both by his lack of severe injuries and by his father’s kindness and compassion. Andrew tells Gulliver not to kill himself; he has many more days of life to experience and enjoy. Gulliver tells him how difficult it can be to be his son and how all his teachers expect him to be smarter because of who his father is. Gulliver accuses Andrew of making things at home stressful with Isobel and declares that they should have divorced years ago. Gulliver nearly notices Andrew accidentally change the color of a leaf but is distracted by two girls and a boy named Theo Clarke. They’re laughing at the Martins, and Gulliver tells Andrew that Theo is the one who gave him the black eye. Andrew calls Theo over with a threat and tells Gulliver it’s time to act like a human.

As Theo approaches, Andrew gives Gulliver a pep talk for the fight. He tells Gulliver that he and Theo have the same biochemical ingredients so there’s no reason to believe that Theo will win. Gulliver is smarter, Andrew says, and fearless. If Gulliver can tap into the feelings he had that night he hit Andrew in his sleep, he’ll be able to win the fight. When the fight begins, Theo is in the lead, punching Gulliver repeatedly to the ground, but Gulliver waits for his opportunity, then seizes it. He grabs Theo by the leg, tripping him to the ground. Gulliver punches Theo again and again until it is clear he has won the fight. As Andrew and Gulliver walk away, Gulliver remarks that Andrew is not himself. Andrew confirms, but Gulliver asks no further questions.

That night, Andrew is seized by a sensation that his hosts have a hold on him. The light in the bedroom is violet, and Andrew feels distanced from Isobel, asleep beside him. When he reaches for her, she is not his wife nor is she the woman he has come to admire. She is just another microbe on planet Earth. The hosts have taken over Andrew’s body to help him kill Isobel, but he manages to fight them off before they stop her beating heart. Isobel wakes up at his touch. They say they love each other, and Andrew is struck by how deeply he means it. He truly loves Isobel and wants her around him, alive and happy. They kiss with longing and then have sex. Andrew finds sex to be not only pleasurable but deeply connecting, and he reflects that humans don’t appreciate how beautiful sex is.  

Later, Andrew communicates with his hosts. He demands that they disconnect him and take away his gifts. He wants to be human. At first, the hosts deny him. No one in their species has ever wished to be only human, which carries with it a limiting and painful existence. Andrew insists, and the hosts take away his gifts. They tell him he is now a full human with no powers and that it is easy to replace him anyway.

Andrew wakes up feeling creaky and tired. Now fully human, he experiences the downsides of being weak in body, old in age, and mortal. What really starts to bother him, though, is the repetition of the days; humans live their lives in a routine. Humans have a finite time on Earth, and Andrew believes they should try to live each day with more imagination. 

Isobel is preoccupied with her worry for Gulliver. Andrew tells her that Gulliver has been skipping school, starting an argument between Isobel and Gulliver. Gulliver blames Andrew for telling her, but after the argument Andrew tries to reason with Gulliver. Gulliver opens the door and asks him if he is responsible for what happened to his bullies’ Facebook profiles, suppressing a smile for his father. With Gulliver calmer, Andrew spends time with Isobel. She tells him she has tickets for a production of Hamlet, and given Gulliver’s suicidal ideation, they decide it best for him to stay at home. Andrew is fascinated by the human beings’ attraction to death by suicide.

Isobel and Andrew get drunk together on the couch. It’s Andrew’s first time trying wine, and he enjoys it. Isobel remarks that he usually hates Australian wine, but Andrew is content with the wine and her company. They drunkenly hold each other on the couch.

Andrew feels that he is being watched. He looks out the window of his house and sees a man standing by a car, looking back at him. When he rushes out into the street, the man runs away, and Andrew loses track of him. As he goes through his days, Andrew feels eyes on him, though he doesn’t see the man again. Realizing that whoever is following him has enough intelligence and speed not to be seen, he suspects that the man following him is not actually human.

As Isobel writes a history article for a friend’s blog, Andrew admires her and the power of human beings to heal everything with time. He is impressed by how humans have been able to survive given the pain and fleeting happiness they endure. Because everything on Earth is so random and irrational, he is mesmerized by the idea of Isobel’s existence and the sheer miracle of having her in his home with him. When Isobel notices him gazing at her, she shuts the laptop and asks him what’s on his mind. He can’t answer her and instead continues to reflect on how Isobel has taught him love. He realizes that love helps humans transcend the trap of their self-perceptions. He struggles to tell her about his secret—about where he’s really from. Instead, they kiss and lay in bed, talking about new furniture and music. He assures her that the old Andrew is dead.

Early in the morning, Isobel wakes Andrew. She hears footsteps in the house and believes an intruder is indoors. Andrew listens for the footsteps, and when he hears them, he tells her to stay in the bedroom no matter what. Andrew investigates downstairs. Newton has not been disturbed, and though he can’t see anyone, Andrew can’t help but sense that there is another presence around him. Without his former abilities, he is unable to discern what exactly that presence is. Though there’s nobody around, Andrew sees that the computer in the study is illuminated. Somebody, or something, has indeed been in the house. Andrew goes back upstairs and assures Isobel that there’s nobody downstairs.

The next morning, Gulliver plays Nirvana’s “All Apologies” on the guitar for his parents. Despite the danger looming, Andrew forgets about his troubles and enjoys Gulliver’s talent with pride.

Isobel and Andrew go to the theater to watch Hamlet, a play that Andrew finds depressing. He and Isobel go out for dinner after, and they have deep conversations about death, fiction writing, and their first date. Andrew grows restless, upset that he doesn’t have the memories Isobel has and worried that he’s left Gulliver in the house for too long. As they walk away from the restaurant, Andrew tries again to tell Isobel the truth about his past. He then spots Zoë, the young woman he met in the mental hospital. She is in an argument with a large man with tattoos, and Andrew remembers what she told him about her relationships with violent men. As the two continue to scream at each other, Zoë sees Andrew.

Andrew and Isobel attempt to break up the argument. When the man grabs Isobel, Andrew’s anger is visceral, but he knows he is essentially helpless as a mere human. The man beats up Andrew, a proper beating that knocks him out. Andrew comes to in the ambulance with Isobel by his side. She holds him and tells him she loves him. Andrew comes to terms with the reality of mortality and realizes that love also helps you to transcend the realities of the short human lifespan.

Andrew wakes up in the hospital experiencing excruciating pain for the first time. The doctors perform several tests on him, and they’re confused by his rapid neuroadaptive activity that they can’t quite define. Andrew passes his tests and is discharged. While resting at home, Ari comes to visit. Andrew decides to tell him all about his true alien identity, but Ari laughs and can’t believe him. Andrew asks him to at least promise that if Isobel and Gulliver need to stay at Ari’s house, then they’ll be able to stay there safely.

Andrew returns to work and begins to realize that he often feels lonely, a new and unpleasant sensation for him. One day, while sitting in his office, a young woman knocks and enters. It’s his student Maggie, who strokes his body and tells him to come with her to Hat and Feathers. Though he doesn’t know why she’s touching him, he follows her.

Maggie brings Andrew to a pub called Hat and Feathers. They drink in a quiet corner, and their conversation flows naturally. She laughs about the 220,000 hits his naked video has achieved on You Tube. He’s genuinely curious about her experience as a human, so he asks her what it means to be human.

Maggie tells him that for her, being a human is like being a child with an ideal castle. You can see the picture on the box of what the castle should look like, but when you open the box, you find that the castle is in intricate little pieces. Only you can build the castle; nobody can help you reach that now overwhelmingly impossible ideal.

Andrew thanks Maggie for her interpretation. When she asks him if he’s ready to move on somewhere else, he recognizes the hint of seduction in her voice. He asks her if they’re going to have sex, and she laughs. He feels no love for Maggie. He follows her to her apartment, unimpressed by her humor and personality. Nonetheless, he has sex with her on her messy floor, though he realizes that it doesn’t feel the same as when he’s with Isobel. Andrew does feel pleasure with Maggie, but one that feels purely anatomical and not at all connected with his emotions. He feels anxious after sex with Maggie, though he knows it was just sex. 

Andrew arrives home late. Isobel is cooking and tells him she’s been worried about him. She asks about his day, and he tells her that he did some teaching and had sex with his student Maggie. He sees Isobel processing, then asks her question again. He is surprised that she seems so focused on the sex part. He tells her it meant nothing. Andrew doesn’t have knowledge about the expectations of monogamy, but he realizes he has done something wrong. Though he wants to lie, finding that conversations between humans are fraught with potential for problems, he knows that he needs to honor his love for Isobel with the truth. Isobel says Andrew is an alien to her, and Andrew tries to use that opportunity to explain his past. Isobel smacks him across the face. She demands a divorce and tells him to move out of the house.