        He took a sip from his Camelback—which got him a strange look from the alien—before reaching for his backpack.  He was about to take out the first-grade primer, when he thought of making introductions.  Surely the alien had a name?  Maybe that was a false assumption; maybe they had grown past that.  Maybe they were a hivemind, like the Borg.  That could be the reason why there weren’t any others this time around.