The loud buzzing that tore through the processed air of the space
station's utility bay was enough to jerk Al Scott out of his
catnap.
Scott had been dozing, tethered to the computer rack when the
noise intruded, along with a puff of displaced air. He shook his head
and looked around. There were no alarms, and no indication that
anything was wrong.
"Roh, did you hear that?" he called over to the science bay,
but the South Korean astronaut was either asleep himself, or was at
work somewhere in a sealed-off area.
Scott unstrapped and rubbed the sleep from
his eyes. He kicked over to the axis hatch. There was nothing beyond
that hatch but endless space. Sunlight streamed from almost directly
overhead, casting a thin sliver of white light through the viewing
port to illuminate the foreign objects sitting on the deck.
Scott blinked his eyes, but the objects didn't go away. One was
a cylinder, about six inches wide and eight inches long, made of a
silvery reflective material that Scott could see his own surprised
face in. The other was a one-inch cube, made of the same material.
Both sat solidly on the deck, as if attached, for there was no other
way for object to sit anywhere in zero-gravity.
"Roh!"
No answer. Roh Shi-Hyun was out of earshot. Scott inverted himself
and looked closely at the objects. They didn't look like any
equipment he was aware of aboard the space station. He couldn't
discern any markings, interfaces, mounting points, or even seams in
the silver surface.
Scott considered a moment, then reached down and touched the cube
with his right index finger.
The cube writhed and expanded, causing Scott to flinch and push
himself away. He fetched up hard against the computer rack, probably
gaining a few bruises, but his eyes were riveted on the cube that was
no longer a cube. It became a blob, and expanded to the size of a
spacesuit helmet. As Scott continued to watch, the object slowly
formed itself into something... alien.
It was squat, about the size of a small dog, and still the same
metallic silver. The head was the shape of a football, with the eyes
poking out of each point. Two arms sprouted from each side of the
torso, ending in hands with four slender fingers. The legs looked
like tree stumps, with no apparent joints.
The creature looked at Scott with its protruding silver eyes and
opened a wide slit of a mouth to emit a series of squeaks.
Scott managed to get over his astonishment to respond as best he
could.
"Huh?"
The creature paused, then a gossamer-thin thread shot from its
chest toward Scott, to embed itself in the computer at his back.
Still frozen in shock, Scott could nevertheless hear the computer
come alive and emit noises acknowledging access. He slowly turned,
and saw files and folders being opened and scanned at a rate too fast
for him to follow. It was over in seconds. The thread retracted, and
Scott turned to face the creature once more.
"Greetings, Albertscott," it said with a voice small and
tinny, as if being spoken through a long tube. "My apologies for
the mix-up with the incorrect language."
"Huh?" Scott said again.
"The Bouth Republic has inserted this avatar into your station
to offer sincere apologies for the destruction of your homeworld and
the loss of life and property resulting from the event. While no
apology alone can atone for the negligent manner in which our
hyperspace node was operated, nor the devastating consequences that
resulted, we hope this apology, along with this gift--"the avatar
gestured at the cylinder with one of its four arms,"--via our
rebuilt hyperspace node so that we may begin healing the rift between
our nations. You will find that the gift contains the most advanced
nanotechnology the Republic could offer to assist in the rebuilding
effort."
"Uh, what event?"
Despite its utterly alien features, the avatar managed to look
nonplussed.
"Are you not a representative of the Kirri commonwealth,
designated to receive our apology, Albertscott?"
"I've never heard of it. I'm, uh... from Earth."
"Is Earth the planet referenced in your ship's database which
I just accessed?"
"Yeah."
"And it still exists? It has not been destroyed?"
"We're orbiting Earth right now."
The avatar's arms drooped, followed by its eye stalks.
"I'm afraid I have terrible news for you, Albertscott. There
has been a mistake."
"What do you mean?"
"We sent the gift, and this message, via hyperspace node with
the understanding that the recipient's planet was already
destroyed! With no planet, there would be no danger, and the node
would function normally."
"So, what does this mean?"
"Your planet's time is limited. The hyperspace energies
concentrating in its gravity well will destroy it in a matter of your
days. I'm terribly sorry."
For the second time since waking up, Scott was tongue-tied. He
began shaking his head, wondering if this was all a dream.
"If it helps, you may keep the gift," said the avatar. "It
will aid in rebuilding your society. On behalf of the Bouth Republic,
I offer our sincere apologies for the destruction of Earth."
The avatar rippled, then in the blink of an eye, shrank back into
the same silver cube from which it came.
Scott floated silently while staring at the silver cylinder,
trying to wrap his mind around what just happened. He began to wonder
if the objects in front of him were real. His thoughts were answered
seconds later.
Roh Shi-Hyun entered.
"What's going on, Al?" he asked. "Who were you talking
to?"
Roh saw the cylinder and the cube.
"Where did those come from?"
Scott reached over and picked up the cylinder, feeling its heft.
It was slightly warm to the touch. He looked out the viewport at the
blue curve of Earth.
"You're not going to believe this..."
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