Yes, LFS is an alien system, the devs are studying. Eric uses a telescope and is recreating what he sees. Scawen has a long-long-long range code-a-scope and is slowly reconstructing the executable. Vic is an alien who caught them stealing the work, came here to give them a stern telling off but liked the place too much so stayed and decided to help out instead. He thried his hand at music but few people from Earth could appreciate the alien sounds.