In science fiction, humans are usually boring compared to other spacefaring races: small, weak, with no claws or tentacles, and no special abilities to speak of. If we’re lucky, humans have an indomitable spirit when the chips are down. Not much more than that.

But what if they weren’t? What if humans were the ones who all the other aliens talked about, in tones of appreciation, fear, or utter confusion? What if humans weren’t the boring ones, but the weirdest things among the stars?

28 authors explore some of the many ways that we can be the talk of the cosmos.