If someone told Alex that they were abducted by aliens Alex would have laughed. Now all he would do is close his eyes and give his condolences before bonding over the pain that being abducted brings. Only Alex's abduction was a bit more unique than others.
Alex was forced to leave his family and loved ones behind when he was accidentally picked up by an alien probe.
Being taken by intellectual scientists, one would think that Alex's path was one of diplomacy. Not the mad experimentation and torture that it actually was.