There are 35,150 documented alien species worldwide, threatening ecosystems and human economies

I don't even know what is happening in my book anymore. This excerpt is a continuation of the meeting of Jocelyn's alien-saving 'Dream Team'.

"Aliens in caves"

~~~

“Did you start the meeting without me?” Gordon asks as he struggled to catch his breath, his face red with the effort presumably from running here and knocking down the bunker door.

“Indeed we did start without you, as you were not invited,” Jocelyn hisses.

“But I have important information about the aliens!” Gordon whines.

Jackie fixes Jocelyn with a withering stare, which would work on many people but Jocelyn has steel in her spine. 

“Fine,” she relents. “I’ll allow it.”

“What are friends for?” Gordon asks the room cheerfully, all while awkwardly trying to give Jackie a hug. His efforts are unceremoniously rebuffed.

Gordon conspicuously clears his throat. “I found this article online. I thought that you all would need to know it. And maybe, since I’m such a good researcher, that I can join the dream team, too?”

Jocelyn’s placid look remains unchanged.

“The article is called Aliens in caves: the global dimension of biological invasions in subterranean ecosystems (ed note: a real article). I thought that this would be really important information for us to have, if we plan to save them. What could they do to our planet, these biological invaders?”

“And what did that article conclude?” I ask, with interest. I reach out my hand for him to pass me a copy. I love a good scientific journal article. 

I am half-listening to Gordon as I skim the paper he has given me.

“'Alien species are a significant threat to natural ecosystems and human economies,’” Gordon reads with impressive theatricality. “‘Despite global efforts to address this challenge, the documented number of alien species is rapidly increasing worldwide.’ Ummm, hmmmm. We will skip that part… And yes, I’ll continue here. ‘Subterranean ecosystems are quintessential examples of habitats with strong environmental filters (e.g. lack of light and scarcity of food), driving convergent adaptations in species that have successfully adapted to life in darkness. Despite these stringent environmental constraints, the number of records of alien species in subterranean ecosystems has increased in recent decades… Therefore, even though caves are generally considered very fragile ecosystems, their susceptibility to impacts by alien species remains untested other than for some very specific cases.’”

Shocked gasps ricochet around the table.

“If we aren’t careful, they are going to take over the planet and destroy our ecosystems and economy!” Gordon’s voice has risen to a shriek of terror.

“Gordon!” I chide. “ Calm down. This article is talking about invasive species. Earthly invasive species. Not extraterrestrials.”

“Thanks for clarifying that, Claire,” Jocelyn says with a chuckle. “Get it? ‘Claire-ifying’? Anyway. Gordon. That was not relevant and did not make a compelling case for you to join my dream team.”

Gordon’s shoulders slump in disappointment.

“Since he is already here, can he at least stay while we lay out the issue and the plan. Just to see if perhaps there is a role for him on the team after all?” I ask, surprised at my own generosity.

“Otherwise, we would have to kill him if he knows about us but is not one of us,” Jackie says ominously.

“Jackie!” Jocelyn says sharply. “We talked about this: no killing.”

Jackie sighs. A long suffering sigh of exasperation.

“Fine.” He says tersely.