The use of the word ‘alien’ makes Nel giggle and she tries to amend the expectations, “Not aliens exactly, but from another world like ours! ...at least, I don’t think anyone sees alien memories.” She pauses with a look of concentration, then shakes her head lightly when she cannot recall any instances described that would match.

“Then you need to learn about our neighbor Benjiro, Walter, Sadie, uh...Russell, and, of course, Chad! Chad is a dog too.” Her voice softens as she relays a warning, “Some people that had Numbers left the Network. A man named Jim taught me a lot about it but...he’s not around anymore.”