An image flashed through his mind. Two shining beings staring down at the incubation pod Max shared with his sister. He felt a rush of the beings' giddy, practically giggly excitement, their eagerness to see their children born.

But they never had.

Max felt a stab of grief from his parents, a grief he was also experiencing himself. Then music began to play, humming, almost vibrating music, more like the sound a finger makes rubbing around the rim of a crystal glass than any musical instrument Max knew. It was a lullaby. The lullaby his mother's mother had sung for her, the one his mother had planned to sing to her children. This knowledge was somehow passed along to Max as he listened.

A new presence touched Max's aura, and the image of two moons, half covered by acid green clouds, filled his mind. Seconds later another new presence touched him, and a sweet, tangy liquid poured down his throat. It tasted exactly right, the way no earth food ever did. Max was always having to mix mouthwash into his orange soda or pickle juice into his milk to get them to taste good to him. But this-more of the liquid filled his mouth-this was perfect just the way it was.

Again a new presence touched Max, and a lemony, peppery smell enveloped him. With the smell came the knowledge that the scent belonged to a kind of berry that could be used to treat digestive problems.

They're each sharing a little scrap of information about my planet, Max thought. This was too cool.

Another presence touched him. He recognized the aura instantly. It belonged to Ray Iburg, Max's boss at the UFO museum, and the only adult who had survived the crash. "Ray!" Max cried, not sure if he was actually using his vocal cords to shout the name or just his brain. "Ray, you saved my life. You, and Michael, and Isabel! I never thought you guys would make it back with the communication crystals in time! I don't even know what to say, how to thank you. All I know is we're going to have to have a serious party-maybe at the museum after we close tomorrow night."