The campus library was home to a fascinating human technology - books. His people had used a digital equivalent of scrolls, but this low-tech, but highly practical mechanism was worth a report and several follow-up notes on the design on how simple it was to construct, and how useful it would be in expeditions to dry land, or even in outer space with all that cosmic radiation. A civilian-grade cortex computer would get fried instantly in outer space, but a book? This low-tech solution for information storage could last even underwater with the proper treatments. For a moment, he rued the fact that he couldn't approach the human who was serving as the 'library keeper' and borrow an armful of books to read back at his undersea field headquarters.

So, he made do by slipping in when the campus building closed up for the night. The silence of the library served to clear his senses - allowing him to work with complete focus as he scanned and transcribed the written portions into his computer for translation and study back at his ship. That, plus it was laughably easy to sense when a security staff or lone student would often enter.

He had plenty of time to blend in this way, often having the chance to study the staff, and sometimes - groups of humans as they worked together to study on something or another late into the night. Or maybe he'd listen in on their gossip and chitchat, treating it like a slice-of-life anime.

And sometimes, the humans would practice their mating rituals.

Being an extant human colony, I suppose reproduction must be a highly-sought-after skill. The humans who have experience and the confidence to do so must be very desirable.

This time, he had found a very particular, very interesting set of books as he idly browsed the general knowledge section - a collection of codexes named the 'encyclopedia humanica'. He had only skimmed through it, but even with his simple understanding of their language, he was aware that this was a concise chronicle of the entire history of their race. Perhaps he could find clues as to what happened to their civilization?

Curiosity piqued, he began the slow process of scanning each page with his cortex computer. It would be a long night tonight...