The communications efforts had failed. The girl, Reilly, had not known them. She was unable. Even cloaking themselves in the memories of her father, they had been unable to truly reach her.
The sleeping ones, though, were easier. They were without thought. They only dreamed. The other humans, they thought that the dreaming was impossible. It was not. It was merely hidden. Very finely hidden, deep within, but there.
The Current. That’s what they would call themselves. It fit. With all that they had learned of the humans, they knew that their new name would be important. Humans need names. They need to name things. Better to choose your own name.
The Current watched as the visitors settled into their homes and lives. It was invisible to them. It could be seen and heard when it chose, but right now it remained silent. The sleeping ones had taught it a great deal about these people and about their lives. It would use what it had learned and … well, it hadn’t decided yet. But one thing was clear: The Current now had a new way of looking at the world, thanks to these humans. It had never understood things the way it did now. It liked its new knowledge and the new source of energy that the humans had brought with them. And it now knew that it could have everything it wanted.
All it had to do was take it.