You must be wondering: after all, what has Willian become? Is he still the same person?

  No. Even a human changes and adapts over time. Perhaps it is precisely this ability to adapt that made us different from other peoples—and gave rise to the Sekvens.

  I think the most accurate way to put it is that the human Willian, with the support of others, adapted and became someone capable of seeing far beyond his own limitations. Unity gives you the power to explore the universe… and, at the same time, to understand that none of it is truly necessary. What we desire, in the end, is the comfort of having millions by your side. It is extraordinary to feel the presence of someone who is thousands of light-years away from you.

  But, of course, there is still much of a human within me. I still find myself asking meaningless questions—perhaps the same ones you, if you are human, are asking right now:

  Wasn’t all of this imposed on you? Weren’t you practically forced to love all those people?

  From the moment we are born—or even before that—life is imposed on us. Fight or die.

  The brevity of human existence has made them, as a species, incredibly adaptable, always in search of survival and happiness.

  So I answer with another question: what difference does it make whether it was imposed or not, whether it was my choice or someone else’s?

  The Sekvens saw in me someone who longed for more… and they reached out.

  What would you do?

  “The Sekvens will arrive in half an hour,” Jazzia informed us.

  “I’m excited!” Tariel ran her fingers through her own hair. “I want another kiss.”

  “Forget it,” I said, laughing. “Another one so soon could be bad for you.”

  “Eat.” Anastácia handed her some strawberries and offered some to Ana as well. “I’ll get a comb to fix your hair.”

  The scent of the fruit and the sensual way Tariel bit into it drew a sigh from me. I didn’t have time for that right now.

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  “Jazzia, ask Aluram to come here.”

  I met Aluram seconds before Mirtis appeared in the sky. I massaged my neck as if there were some pain there. Beside me, he rubbed his hands together, restless.

  “We shouldn’t be this nervous,” I commented, watching the ship land.

  We remained silent, muffled by the displacement of air, until the door opened. Zircon and Julis emerged accompanied by six Sekvens: the trio who had always been with us, Yoko and her partners, Gheta and Frederik.

  Their smiles struck us like incandescent arrows in the chest, making us gasp.

  “Incredible…” Aluram murmured.

  Then something unusual happened.

  Sacha and Kane ran along the shore and pointed east. Beside us, Melissa did the same.

  “What’s happening?” I asked, driven by the curiosity that had always defined me.

  “We don’t know,” the Sekvens replied, without hiding her anxiety. “We feel something coming from that direction. This has never happened before. But we believe that, since all human and Selium love is gathered here, it has become possible to pick up a solitary signal.”

  “We’ve already sent observers,” AX informed us.

  “How is this possible? Is it technology?” Aluram asked, stepping a little away from Melissa. “Sorry… it’s tempting.”

  “Don’t apologize. When you get used to our energy, you’ll be touched by it.” She smiled. “And, answering your question: it isn’t technology. It’s biology.”

  “Please, explain,” I asked.

  “Light sometimes behaves like a wave, sometimes like a particle…” She paused briefly. “Your eyes evolved to perceive light. My body evolved to perceive emotions.”

  “With our eyes closed, a Sekvens can still see normally,” Melissa said, watching her partners. “And by combining that with sounds, smells, images, and touch, I can say, for example, that Beatriz will appear at Mirtis’s door in two seconds.”

  Beatriz appeared at the entrance, and I couldn’t help laughing when I saw all of Aluram’s hair stand on end.

  “So there could be people there?” I asked.

  “There is love,” Melissa replied.

  “I’m betting on Seliums!” Sacha ran past us, fleeing from Kane.

  For a moment, our attention shifted to their game, which ended in passionate kisses.

  Melissa joined them. Without any ceremony, the contagious Sekvens kiss spread. Soon, everyone was kissing.

  In the end, the two of us lay on the ground, exhausted and breathless.

  “What is this?” Aluram’s voice was filled with satisfaction and apprehension. “I’m shaking…”

  “It just proves that, like them, we can also ‘feel’ feelings,” I replied, smiling between breaths. “Have you ever been in a room with someone who was in a bad mood, even without talking to them?”

  “Yes… I get in a bad mood too…” he answered, with difficulty. “Amazing…”