The Librarian (2015) is a short First Contact novel by author M. N. Arzú.
Jane Logan is brought to Arlington Base to identify her husband's impostor, just to find out he's not exactly what she thought he was. On his part, Nick Logan is finding how hard it is to tell his wife the truth, especially behind a cell and with the military in between.
Not to be confused with The Librarian movie series.
This short novel provides examples of:
- Alien Among Us: Played straight except for the fact that not even the aliens knew they were aliens to begin with.
- Alien Non-Interference Clause: Nick says he shouldn't be interfering with other species, and cringes at the thought he's just messed up First Contact to begin with.
- Bizarre Alien Reproduction: Nick's race doesn't have sex, they take other species and transform them into their own.
- Bizarre Alien Psychology: Dr. Greenwood points out that they have no clue how an alien mind might interpret love. As long as Nick thinks he's human, they're on equal psychological terms.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Jane asks Nick why he looks like her husband. He answers this is the only human form he knows. It's also explained that he goes through a re-acclimation process, trying to achieve an actual full human form. He's just stuck in the middle.
- Human Outside, Alien Inside: Nick looks and sounds human to the human senses. Looked at through anything else — cameras, x-rays, monitors —, his true form can be seen.
- I Come in Peace: Nick convinces the First Contact Team his intentions are peaceful, but if they want to hear what exactly they are, they better call his wife.
- Immortal Procreation Clause: Whenever Nick's species census indicates they're running low, they recruit beings from the species they're studying.
- Interspecies Romance: To be fair, until this morning, they thought they were the same species.
- Masquerade: It's design so deep that not even the aliens know they are aliens until they die.
