When they heard it calling they had to come, even though it meant travelling for years through the void between the stars. All the time they could hear it crying, a lonely blizzard of radio waves spreading out through the aether. They found it eventually, circling a small yellow sun. It was a being not unlike themselves - an intricate lattice of metallic strands throbbing with an excitement of electrons, but its voice was muffled. Somehow it had become stuck in one of the balls of base material that cover the universe like acne. They could tell it wanted to be free, so they twisted space like this and boiled off all the rock.

The creature lay before them, spinning gently in the sun. No electrons swirled within its myriad strands, no radio waves brought them messages of thanks, and gradually it dawned on them that it had never really been alive, so they twisted space again and made it live.They talked with it for a while, and then moved off through space to give it some time to itself.

It sits there in the sunlight, spinning slowly. Sometimes it wonders about the strange markings that dot its body, shapes like "Danger - High Voltage", and "240V Mains AC", but mostly it just hums quietly to itself and feels happy to be alive.