Imago

by Octavia E. Butler

It had used all its tricks to protect us from becoming ooloi. It had used all its tricks to keep itself agonizingly alone.

There were times when I envied Humans their ability to shut off their sight by closing their eyes, shut off their understanding by some conscious act of denial that was beyond me.

“They will never understand what treasure they are,” Nikanj had said to me once while it sat with me. “They see our differences—even yours, Lelka—and they wonder why we want them.”