The Humans

Andrew runs to his house, worried that the new alien is now on to eliminating Isobel and Gulliver. He blames himself for Ari’s death. Though he no longer receives violet warning signs when he reveals something he shouldn’t to one of the humans, he realizes that the hosts were listening to him tell Ari about his true self. Even though Ari didn’t believe him, he was punished for Andrew’s confession.

When he arrives home, he comes face to face with another Andrew Martin, who goes by the name Jonathan. The replacement tells him that his mission is to destroy information and anyone who knows about Andrew’s origins, such as Ari. Andrew asks him why he didn’t eliminate everyone the night he broke into the house, and the replacement reminds him that no Vonnadorian has ever directly killed another Vonnadorian. Jonathan tells Andrew that he has been living with a human woman during his time on Earth and that this experience has only confirmed his disgust for the way humans behave. Andrew tries to convince him of the beauty within the paradoxes of human life, but Jonathan is uninterested. Historically, humans have simply not proven that they won’t use math to destroy. Andrew tells Jonathan that he can’t kill the son without killing the mother, but Jonathan tells him he’s talking in riddles just like the humans. Andrew decides to create a plan. He sits on the sofa and agrees with Jonathan. He tells him he’ll help him finish his mission.

Andrew tells Jonathan that he’s right—that Andrew has been seduced by the vices of human life. He couldn’t accomplish his mission, he acknowledges, but he tells Jonathan he’s glad he’s here to finish it. He tells him about Gulliver’s near death by suicide, suggesting that he make the murder of Gulliver look like a death by suicide. The two hear footsteps outside.

Andrew hides from Gulliver in the sitting room. He listens as Jonathan uses his powers to control Gulliver’s mind, instructing him to get a knife from the kitchen and kill himself. Andrew turns the radio to 90.2 MHz, so loud that the Debussy playing from the speakers creates a cacophony. Gulliver is momentarily distracted by the music, but when Andrew enters the kitchen, he sees that Jonathan, his back to Andrew, has placed his hand on Gulliver’s head to kill him with his powers. Gulliver convulses, and Andrew grabs Jonathan’s arm away. Jonathan holds Andrew by the throat, but it’s enough of a distraction to wake Gulliver out of his trance. Gulliver sees two men who look like his father, one trying to choke the other. Andrew tells Gulliver that his real father is dead and both he and Jonathan are disguised as Andrew to accomplish the missions of their home planet. Gulliver taps into his own primal anger and pushes the knife into Jonathan’s back. Andrew watches the pain in Jonathan’s eyes as he loses his grip and consciousness.

Andrew knows that they won’t be able to kill Jonathan while he has access to his power. Andrew and Gulliver place Johnathan’s hand against the hot plate, and as Jonathan screams in agony, Andrew doesn’t let go. Andrew keeps Jonathan’s hand against the burn, knowing that he is “committing the ultimate crime. I was destroying gifts and killing one of my own kind” (404). He and Gulliver watch as Jonathan loses consciousness and transforms back into his original form. Now, looking at Jonathan in the shape of the alien Andrew once was, Andrew feels disgust, as though he’s seeing a monster. As Isobel’s car pulls into the driveway, Andrew quickly thinks through their predicament. He doesn’t know how much the hosts have heard or seen, and he must move quickly. He tells Gulliver to keep Isobel away. 

Andrew reflects on the objective nature of reality. Though he is witnessing his own self turn into a different kind of monster, one that kills his own kind, he knows that in a different version of that reality, there is the promise of happiness at the end of the difficult tunnel. He knows now that this is how humans grow old: by denying their own knowledge and rejecting the inevitability of change.

Gulliver helps Andrew drag the body of the alien into the backyard. They don’t really need to bury it, as the body of the alien will disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere. Isobel watches on in absolute shock. Andrew knows it will be especially difficult for Isobel, a historian whose job it is to look for patterns throughout human societies and time periods, to grapple with what she is witnessing. Afterwards, Isobel seeks medical help, taking pills to help alleviate the trauma of what she has seen. She doesn’t seem to mourn her dead husband, but rather the loss of the reality she once knew. She rejects Andrew, further traumatized by the idea that she has loved and slept with a man who is in fact an unidentifiable alien. The only thing keeping Andrew around is Gulliver, who seems to embrace him for the odd and interesting person that he is, the man who has given him support and care that he never experienced with his real father. Andrew tries to explain to Gulliver where he’s from, how far away his home planet is, and how he arrived on Earth. The explanation is far too foreign for Gulliver to understand, but his interest gives Andrew hope. He’s been sleeping on the sofa, and Isobel grows more and more distanced from him. He tells Gulliver that he will leave the house; this was never meant to be his home even though he wants it to be. Andrew wishes for Isobel’s forgiveness and for the warmth of her love, but when she confirms that it’s a good idea for him to leave, he cries of sadness for the first time in his life.  

Andrew talks to Gulliver about leaving. Gulliver expresses his loneliness and his unhappiness at his life. Gulliver doesn’t understand why his father wasn’t interested in having a relationship with him, and he feels alienated from the world around him. Andrew tells Gulliver that on his home planet, there is no hatred because there is no love. Gulliver likes that idea, but Andrew tries to tell him how much richer life is when there is a range of emotions and the exciting possibility for growth. The phone rings, and Isobel answers. She calls up to Gulliver, telling him that a girl named Nat is on the phone for him. Gulliver smiles before answering. Andrew turns to Gulliver’s computer and begins to type out a guide for being human.

Andrew’s guide to being human is a list of 97 pieces of advice for Gulliver. This list ranges from scientific facts to how to look after Isobel to how to live the fullest life. Andrew encourages Gulliver to be kind and to look for happiness in himself instead of outside and around him. He assures Gulliver that he is lucky to be human.

Andrew packs a bag of clothes and says goodbye to Isobel. They hug, a brief but meaningful embrace. As he walks away, he feels that his life has become like a black hole.

Andrew decides to keep his identity as Andrew Martin to avoid putting Isobel through more scandals. He applies for jobs abroad and moves to America to teach at Stanford University. He continues to teach mathematics, taking care not to reveal too much about what he really knows about math. Andrew’s life in California is stable but lonely. He drinks a lot and gets high, helps walk his neighbor’s dog, reads poetry, and often wakes up crying. He avoids making friends so as not to lie to more people about his past life. He travels all over the world for work, and the more he explores Earth the more he thinks about Isobel. He tries to forget himself in nature, going on many hikes, watching the sunset, and sitting on the beach to appreciate the sheer beauty of Earth. He can’t stop thinking about Isobel and Gulliver and accepts an invitation to return to England to speak at Cambridge.  

After his lecture at Cambridge, Andrew rejects an invitation from Maggie and gravitates towards Isobel’s college. He sees her from afar, and he is struck by how absence has made him love her even more. He watches as Isobel gives money to a homeless man, the same one Andrew met in the park the night Ari died.

Satisfied that he has seen Isobel alive and well, Andrew gives her space and follows the homeless man instead. They sit on a bench together, and Andrew knows he recognizes him when the man tells him not to touch his leg again. They speak about the things they have lost, then the man leaves Andrew alone. As Andrew sits on the bench by himself, he considers how much has changed in the last year—his first year of being a human. A dog comes up to him. It’s Newton, and Andrew can see that the dog’s old age and arthritis have caught up to him. He hears a voice say hello and turns to see Gulliver. Gulliver tells him he’s been well and says that he thinks Isobel wants Andrew to come home. Andrew says it would be difficult to imagine; he doesn’t have the powers anymore that allowed him to take care of the family, and he doesn’t even have his own name. Gulliver tells him he misses him. As Gulliver gets up to leave, he reminds Andrew that he knows where they live. Andrew, alone on the bench again, considers the open sky above him. He thinks about the sentimentality of the planet and of his own desires for family and love. He decides to go back home.