- You may be looking for the individual.
A pile was a heap of objects.
History
After an interview with Henry Van Statten, hosted by Mickey on his website in early 2006, Mickey announced that there was a competition for his readers, where they'd have to write about why they would want to meet an alien. The prize, as "generously" offered by Van Statten, was a pile of Geocomtex Hardware. (PROSE: Henry Van Statten [+]BBC webteam, Who is Doctor Who? (BBC, 2005).)