I’ve been with my partner James for nearly 30 years. We are no fun to play Pictionary with because we know how to interpret each other’s cues in ways that don’t always make linear sense. My other partner Nat lives far away, and yet we know when we need to get in touch — when something is up or one of us needs support. This kind of mental telepathy isn’t received in language. It’s just a felt communication. I see no reason why we might not have something similar with alien species if and when we learned how to tune into it.