Nina lives in the ship Dot, which collects space junk. She enjoys nightly duty at the observation window and hot tea. Behind the glass, the stones of the asteroid belt circled like a swarm of grey bees. That evening, the radar squeaked and fell silent, as if it had become confused. A point without data flashed on the screen, just behind a dark boulder. - 'Dad, there's something strange,' she whispered into the intercom. Olek stepped onto the bridge and squinted. The point had no signature, but was broadcasting a quiet melody. Three notes, pause, three again. - It's not junk,' he muttered. - 'We'll approach it very slowly, without lights. Dot slipped into the shadow of the asteroid, switching off almost everything. Behind the boulder hung a silver ball the size of a satchel, full of grooves. It flowed with its own rhythm, as if listening to their breaths. They pulled the sphere into the airlock and closed the inner door. Heat passed through the metal until the handle of Nina's glove twitched. - 'Dad, can you hear that rhythm? It sounds like a heart to me. Olek connected the ball to the sensors and held his breath. A graph jumped on the screen, higher and higher, denser and denser. Suddenly, the lights went out and the airlock turned green. The door, which no one had touched, let go of the locks with a quiet click. The ball moved away from the floor and headed for the panel. Then marks flowed out of the grooves, like glowing letters in the air. They formed into Nina's name and then into a new word. A word that no one knew yet. And then something answered from outside, tapping the hull three times.