Max had joined his dad's law firm after finishing law school. He had worked hard and been successful; his dad was pleased with him. But Max wasn't satisfied, wasn't happy. There was a hollow place inside of him and occupying his days with hard work was not filling it. But now Michael had offered him a partnership in his detective agency and the work he was doing was really attractive.

As they were growing up and all through high school and college they had thought they were the only aliens on earth. But Michael's visions and detective work had proved them wrong. They still hadn't found their birth parents and it was unlikely that they would, but somehow it was comforting to know that others of their kind walked this earth. They had a people and a name: Al'Centrans.

The Al'Centrans' home world was dying and in order to preserve a portion of their civilization they had devoted the last of their resources to building huge generation ships to carry their people to other worlds. They found that most economical way of doing this was to hollow out asteroids and equip them with drives to propel them through the vastness of space. They designed the ships to rotate to provide gravity and created an artificial 'sun' in the center for warmth and light.

These ships could not move their massive bulk quickly, and their builders knew the people who started out in them would not survive the long voyage from star to star so they designed them to be as self-sufficient as possible, and large enough to handle the population growth that would occur. In order that the new generations of Al'Centrans not forget what it was like to live on a planet, they also designed the ships' interiors to be as planet-like as possible. There were forests, streams, wide plains and even some low mountains near both ends of the ship. Their schools insured that the knowledge to operate the necessary technology was not lost.

Many of these ships were sent out into the blackness of space like seeds blowing from a pod. One found this solar system and parked itself in the Asteroid Belt where it was easily hidden, a rock among rocks. The Al'Centrans did not know anything about the people on the only inhabitable planet there. They sent scouting parties who were supposed to remain hidden as they gathered their information. This process took years, but the decision was finally made. The humans, as the people called themselves, were not ready for contact with another species. However, there was good news along with the bad. The humans and the Al'Centrans were remarkably similar in looks, but not in abilities. The Al'Centrans would be able to hide in plain sight. They could live on earth and pretend to be human.

The Al'Centrans had mental and physical powers, and much like human talents and abilities, not every Al'Centran had the same power in the same degree. One power every Al'Centran had to some degree was telepathy. Other common powers were the ability to heal, to manipulate molecular structures, to dreamwalk. Rarer powers were empathy and telekinesis. Al'Centrans who married humans and had children passed their powers on to them.

And so the Al'Centrans began to send their people to earth in small ships, to establish lives for themselves and to blend with the humans. They came to earth in small numbers scattered over a wide area. However, in 1947 there was an unforeseen event. One of the small ships crashed and most of the Al'Centrans on it perished. A few adults survived long enough to hide their children's travel pods in a cave before they died or were captured by the human military.

Three of these children broke from their pods together and wandered in the desert until they were found. That was Isabel, Michael and himself. But there were other lost ones out there, lost through other mishaps over the years. Some grew up and eventually found others like them, others stayed lost, never knowing they had a people who would have welcomed them warmly. This was the work Michael offered him: finding these 'lost ones.'

The walk had been productive; Max decided to quit the law firm and devote himself to the more rewarding work Michael had started. Now he just needed to find a way to tell his dad. Since his mom had died a few years earlier the law firm had been his dad's whole life. Max hoped he wouldn't be too upset when his only son didn't want to continue it. And Isabel wasn't interested either, she and Maria were quite happy in their business. Their teen-counseling center was doing vital work.

Satisfied that he had made the correct decision, Max made his way into his apartment. Max called his dad and invited him out to dinner. He would break it to him right away. Procrastination wouldn't make the job easier. Then he'd call Michael and tell him the news.

When Max returned from dinner with his dad he stood outside and contemplated the clear expanse of stars over his head. He was restless and the apartment felt too confining so he took a walk to unwind. Breaking the news to his dad hadn't been the ordeal he thought it would be. His dad took it well, confiding to Max that he had only kept the business because Max was working there. And now that Max was quitting he could sell it and travel in Europe like he'd wanted to do.