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The Promise of Distant Rain

The Promise of Distant Rain

Sudden rain pelted the surface of the ocean. Fat drops smashed the mirror calm surface and obliterated the reflection of the woman who floated face up in the sea, the gentle swell continually changing her view of the sky. Laughing in delight, she thrilled at the stinging cold as it lashed her face and body, her dark hair slicked back over her scalp as lightning coruscated across the storm darkened clouds.

- You'll miss this -

Aye, I know.

- We should be getting back in -

Yes, I know that too. But I can think out here, and besides when are we going to see an ocean again?

- Or the rain -

Or the rain. She echoed mentally.

The brief squall passed and she trod water, turning to look back at the coast. The storm stabbed at the skies above the neon-lit Tower that brooded over the harbour; the new Space Control centre the focal point of nature's fury, energy tracking the equipotential anomaly provided by the Tower.

It had been over an hour since she'd left her escort on the beach. She'd always been a strong swimmer, and the wine-dark seas had proved an irresistible lure after weeks of meetings and briefings, serious looking men and women, and endless uniforms. Now, floating several kilometres away from the shore with fresh rain dancing across her face and tracking into her taste buds, she realised the enormity of her acceptance of the future.

- We are ready -

Are we? We represent humanity's first expedition to a new planet we think may contain alien life. Are we really ready to show ourselves to an alien civilisation with our flaws standing mirror plain in our eyes?

- We know we have received a signal. That signal was sent light years ago. For all we know they may be dead and gone. They may have evolved, suffered extinction or simply won't be interested in our puny life-form. They may even make it here before we get to them, despite the new Overlight drive. We cannot apply human models to what is in all probability a non-humanoid race -

Yes, I know all that. But how can we proclaim ourselves ready if we as a race still cannot drag ourselves into a state of continuing peace. That at least would show another race that we have managed to rise above our base instincts.

- Maybe, but what is to say that they have managed to do anything different? Could it be that all intelligent races will end up warring and obeying their instincts rather than the science of logic? We're still waiting for the probe to come back before we can launch -

So we're ready then? Your own argument would suggest otherwise...

- We're ready to go. We'll never be fully ready for first contact, despite all the preparation, but by the same token they may well be unprepared to receive us. Is the signal we've received actually a communication from another race or simply a blast of space noise? It seems to have structure and form, but so do many naturally occurring electromagnetic anomalies. All we can do is equip ourselves with the cloak of our humanity and show the best of ourselves, but be honest about our flaws. If they are as technologically advanced as we think they may be, then they will soon discover what we really are anyway -

Says the non-human.

- Ah, I wondered if you'd throw that one at me. If I'm not human, then are you? You're the one floating around in the sea with a bio AI stuck in their head and talking to a 'conscience chip'. You're just a computer-augmented hairless floating ape with a sarcastic streak -

She paused, and marshalled her thoughts, floating once more on her back and staring at the endlessly changing clouds above her.

I'm sorry, that was below the belt. I wouldn't be me without you; you know that. Most people can only argue with themselves and win after all. I get to have whole days of philosophical debate with someone I've grown up with and whose opinion I value more highly than any other. So, can someone who isn't entirely human represent humanity?

- Perhaps you're more than human -

Possibly.

- You're also tired and starting to get cold. Time to go in -

Yes, Mum.

She struck out for shore, an easy crawl devouring the water until she drew close to the docks where she switched to breaststroke to get her bearings. The hulk of a Third War Battlebot crouched obscenely on the small beach next to the foot of the Tower, its brooding spider-like presence a constant reminder of the mistakes of the recent past. She shuddered, a combination of involuntary reaction to the memories of the past and the cold that was beginning to seep into her bones.

- We have certainly become more humane now than perhaps we were only a few decades ago at least -

Aye, and I think that the Signal has cemented that, but does our more humane outlook make us more or less human? We can only hope that we Augmented can adequately perform the task in hand and not recreate the mistakes of the past.

- At least now, humanity has grown enough that they can admit most of their mistakes and go about fixing them. You certainly wouldn't have wanted to swim in the radioactive soup that was a sea a few years ago. Technological advancement in combination with humanitarian sense are evolutionary plus points to counter the idiocy of war thankfully -

She staggered slightly as she left the surf, the sallow tide dragging the rounded pebbles from under her cold numbed feet with a slippery rasp of flint. A uniformed adjutant met her with a soft blanket and a quiet "morning ma'am", and she gazed out to sea as he handed her a warm cup of cocoa from a flask. Murmuring her thanks into the sweet warmth, the rich smell of chocolate warring with the salt spray, she watched the skies clear behind the storm, her thoughts turning to the stars blanked by the mantle of daylight.

Do you think we'll see rain again?

- I hope so, it relaxes you. The first probes through the Overlight Portal seem to indicate water in the atmosphere of the planet though, so even if we have to chuck you out of the airlock into a cloud we'll try and get you a little soggy at some point -

You've just had that data in now?

- Yes, a few minutes ago while you were swimming, I didn't want to break your rhythm. The system has indications that at some point in the past there has been terraforming of several of the outlying planets: mining too. There are some life signs, although we don't know how complex at present, but these are concentrated on the fourth and fifth planets, which are in a similar orbit to Earth and around a similar sun to our own. The data seems to pose more questions than it answers as you thought it might. There's a serious amount of noise in the atmosphere too, but that could be many things -

Lightning perhaps. A thunderstorm?

- Possibly. It might even be a very distant promise of rain -

Then I think we'd better go have a look. Ready for a trip old friend?

- You'll have a job leaving me behind... -

~~~ The End ~~~ 

Another lovely little idea from the Seniors Crew. This time on the theme of Humanity. Restrictions were to do a story between 500 and 2000 words, any genre (so I went a little SF as it's always a favourite), and using three of the pictures selected (see link on right). 

I used the picture of the lady floating in water in a shower of rain, the picture of the tall tower (possibly the Spinnaker in Portsmouth?), and the picture of the serious looking folk in uniform. This one is just over 1200 words in length.

Hope you liked it, all feedback welcomed as always =]