No name."
That's weird. "How do you refer to others of your kind, then?"
"We each have own…scent? Is hard to translate."
You weren't prepared for aliens that sniff each other like dogs. "So you, what, emit the scent for the person?"
"Is not scent, but is like scent."
"Human."
"No, that's us. What do you call your species?"
The alien radiates puzzlement. "Human. That is right word for us."
Of course. The alien doesn't think of themself as alien, any more than you think of yourself as alien to them. "What was your physical form like, then?"
"You would think us clouds of particles."
Of all of your expectations for how today would go, "meeting a sapient gas cloud" wasn't on the list.
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