The Apology

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..."