Beyond Creation’s End

Suddenly the room was filled with a booming voice. “Greetings,” it said. The visitors cringed from the sound and the next utterance was considerably softer. “Your data did not include details on sound. I have analyzed your needs in terms of breathing and I believe you should be comfortable if you wish to remove your survival coverings.”
 With some trepidation they removed their suits.
 “Would you please follow the lighted trail?”
 All of a sudden tiny lights illuminated a way for them to go. Since they were now at the mercy of whomever or whatever was in this ship, they followed the lights. They walked down a featureless corridor until they came out into an open area with what appeared to be windows but were obviously screens around the walls. The vistas shown were amazing varying from hot jungle views to frigid tundra like scenes. There were chairs and recliners and it looked for all the world like an public lounge area at a space terminal.
 Then a door slid open and their host came in. He was stick thin and looked a little like an emaciated human but some of the details were wrong. His eyes were way too far apart and his ears were low on the side of his neck just above his shoulders. He had on a simple leather garment that combined a vest with knee length pants and he was completely hairless.
 “Welcome to my ship,” he said in a slightly wheezy voice with metallic overtones. “I hope you are comfortable.”
 Mila, Ana and Kait just stared at him dumbfounded.
 “Are you human?” Mila finally managed to blurt out. “You speak our language.”
 “No, I’m not in the slightest bit human, but I thought that this form might put you at ease. But I see from your reaction that I did not get things quite right.” There was a faint blur and the stick legs thickened so that he just looked a bit undernourished and his facial features moved more into line with the human norm. He even now had some tufts of hair on the side of his head. “You were kind enough to send over an information package before your arrival so I was able to program in your language.”
 “What is your real form?”
 The figure paused for a moment and then said, “I’m afraid we could not even be in the same vicinity together. I am very different from you.”
 Without warning Kait walked over to him and took his hand. Ana looked horrified, but nothing happened. Kait stood there for what seemed like hours looking up into his eyes and holding onto his hand. Then she let go and returned to stand by her mother.
 “You do have yourselves a bit of a bother,” their host said.
 “Did Kait tell you everything that has happened?” Mila asked.
 “Not really. We just got acquainted. I am aware of the events in your universe. After all I have been here since this one got started.”
 “By here, you mean here, where we are now?”
 “Oh, no. For a very long time I was located in the galaxy I believe you call the Milky Way. I watched as you and others in your galaxy achieved sentience. But those other civilizations were not nearly as interesting as yours. I listened in as you learned to send messages over radio and then find your way into space. I heard your music and read your literature. I became particularly fond of music by a human called Beethoven. I have all his music in my data stores.”
 “What did you do all that time? You are talking about tens of thousands of years.”
 “Oh, much more, so much more than that, but it was still a mere moment in time to me. The early years were the most boring when nothing much was going on, just a lot of volcanoes and things.”
 Mila was beyond words. She looked at Ana but she was no better off. She was staring at the creature with wide eyes barely blinking. Kait stood silently by her side.
 Sensing that there were no questions forthcoming, the creature continued his account of his tenure in their space. “When your species reached the stars I decided that things were getting a bit too crowded and I moved out here.”
 “Why did you try to destroy our ship?” Mila blurted out.
 “I’m sorry about that. The tractor beam that moved your vessel elsewhere was an automated response. I was listening to Beethoven’s ninth symphony which I believe to be the most sublime creation ever. I was distracted and the defense systems acted without my permission.”
 “But we heard you had done this before to other ships.”
 “That was different. I had no interest in those persons and they were bothering me, so I removed them.”
 Mila felt like she was dangling on the furthest twigs of a rather fragile limb without a rope. She swallowed hard, trying to ratify all the data racing around in her head. She was in an alien vessel, which was apparently traveling in time and allegedly came from another universe. Consolidating all these concepts was proving a challenge.
 Reaching for something familiar she said, “Do you have a name?”
 “Knowing you were coming I have given that particular question a great deal of thought. As I listened to your broadcasts over centuries of your years I developed a particular fondness for your literature as well as music and especially the writings of a man called William Shakespeare, although I believe there is considerable ongoing doubt that he actually wrote the material. I chose a name from his ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ Oberon. I should like to be known as Oberon, if that’s all right.”