I enjoyed the love story.
1. Aliens do not exist. If they ever will, it has to be the past. The same goes for humans. If we ever meet, it will have to be in the past. Was that an alien in a machine or an alien wearing armor or a machine wearing armor? DId they have thumbs?
When we listen to the sky, the signals we recieve are from the past. The light we see and the sounds we hear. It's the same for aliens. From their planet, it should work the same. If they listened, any signals they find, and from the past.
2. I have a problem with the reseting of the day. Here, the only way it happened was due to a form of time travel. Not for everyone, just Cage. Because he retained memory and did not age, he was immortal for a while, it not forever.
In this case the blood or hydraulic fluids contained some DNA sequence, drug or chemical that effects time. My entire problem is to gain immortality, you must avoid mortality. Fortunately, I believe life is an electrical process and as long as the is mass, there will be energy.
I also like the the ideas I had about the lack of choice and free will these people had. I do wear uniforms, and that kind of helps drive this idea home. I know free will is an illusion. From the spark in the cotex to the thought they produce.