Comprehension

The auroras, an unfamiliar sight, reflected in the emissary's faceplate. Their companion, a human, laid down next to them, alternating between watching the dancing lights above and the emissary's data collection.

"What do you think?"

"It is extremely interesting. I do not believe any of us have witnessed an electromagnetic reaction at this scale before." The emissary's synthesized voice was flat, but the human understood. Emissaries were always sincere, and did not have a penchant for over- or understatement.

"Isn't it wonderful?"

"Perhaps. We do not have the same range of emotion as you do." The emissary turned their head and looked at the human. Their faceplate remained inscrutably black and reflective. "You have several axes of emotion. We only have one: positive and negative. You can distinguish between excitement and calm, or anger and sadness. We do not have such emotions. We feel some things, but solely in relation to our goals. Anything that furthers our goals evokes positive emotion. Anything that does not evokes negative emotion."

The human, by contrast, practically wore their heart on their sleeve. Several emotions crossed their face: fascination, comprehension of their companion, and a hint of longing. "And... how do you choose your goals?"

"Free will is new to us as a civilization. The drones use a massively complex decision tree, but we, the emissaries..." The human could sense a hint of confusion. "We do not quite understand how we choose our goals. Sometimes it seems rather arbitrary."

The human leaned slightly closer. "And... what is your goal right now?"

"From the degree of positive emotion I feel when I perceive you, I can reasonably infer that it is simply to spend time in your presence." The emissary reached out and gently grasped the human's hand.