“A picture is worth eight kilobytes,” Sheldon replied, and up popped an image on a monitor.

Sheldon had helpfully included an image of me and, presumably, Alaric for scale. The Lorann was humanoid, in fact much closer to human than Alaric was. A little shorter, a little stockier, with a slightly reptilian look. We’d all been referring to the Loranna as reptilian or lizard-like, but it had been a metaphor. It was funny to realize it was literally true.

The most surprising feature was its distinctly orange color.

“No way that’s going to pass for human,” I said.

The skin faded to white around the eyes, forming a sort of reverse-raccoon effect. And there was a tuft of what might or might not have been hair on the Lorann’s head, in a somewhat more muted shade.

“Actually, they very likely will have an easy time of it,” Sheldon replied. “They are the right size and proportions, more or less. Even the right number of digits. The cloaking field takes care of the rest.”

“Uh, excuse me?” I said.

“Hmm. I realize I have neglected to mention this. A device that can make individuals invisible can also make individuals look different. Changing the skin color and texture is trivial, at least visually. If you were to shake hands, you might notice something odd.”

“How so?” I asked.

“I can’t say, Jack. I have no experience with the nuances of touch and texture. But Lorannic integument is objectively different from human skin, so I’m certain there would be a noticeable difference.” Sheldon paused, then continued, “A Gen would have more trouble, because of their height. They could project a shorter presence, but that would break down as soon as they interacted with their surroundings—for instance, having to duck to go through entrances that were visually more than high enough for them. And the fur obviously wouldn’t pass muster the first time they were touched.”

I looked at Patrick and Nat, but neither seemed to want to take over. “Okay, so the point is that the Loranna could be physically interacting with people. Under cover, so to speak.”

“Correct. Although simple prudence would dictate that they keep it to a minimum. They would do as much as possible through human proxies.”

“Human proxies?” I repeated. “You mean there are people cooperating with them?”

“Some unknowingly. Others with full knowledge. Collaborationists are a fact of life, and not just in your own history. There will always be those who can be bought with promises of power and privilege in the new reality.”

Now Nat rejoined the conversation. “And you know this how? A day ago you didn’t even know if they were here!”