Science fiction. The Rainman

 

#Sciencefiction. The Rainman

When myth meets #science, and the myth is proven correct, it is bound to become very popular and also extremely extraordinary. Particularly so when it has applications in the real world. And in 2075, there is a strong need for such myths to survive the assault of scientific probing. In 2075 it is the desperate need of the hour because humans are resorting to all means to find solutions to the crisis they are in; and of their own doings. One reason they are referring to old myths and folklore with scientific context, and evaluating their credibility and genuine applications in the world that exists in 2075.

One such myth in 2075, is that of the Rainman!

And everyone wants to know if the Rainman really exists; and if he does, he can definitely save the planet from the crisis of extreme Global Warming and Climate Change. This short story is not about myth busting or myth busters, it is only about the Rainman. 

About: who he is or what he is!

The Rainman who is desperately needed by the humans in 2075.

Usually every habitable planet is supported by a star that grants it energy to sustain life. And as the star ages, it tends to get hotter by burning the gases in its core. As a result the planet it supports tends to experience hotter climate, until one day it gets so hot that the planet is unable to support any form of life on land. Few life forms do exist in water though, but after sometime these life forms also die out. Giving rise to a dead planet.

In 2075, planet Earth has entered into this stage. The Earth is still able to sustain life, which it would for more than a million years easily. Obviously with few adaptations and lifestyle related adjustments. 

And to make life easier in 2075, people on Earth are desperately looking for a true Rainman.

It was January 2075, and there was a slight chill in the air, people were out in the streets, to attend to their basic needs and prodigal fascinations as well. As a morning routine I went out to buy some fresh bread. My only prodigal indulgence I suppose.

I was at the baker’s shop, and someone asked me if I could lend him a few loaves of bread. I was about to pay the baker, with my right hand still stretched towards the baker, bearing a 50 rupee note. I turned around and saw someone with a lean outward appearance, and shoulders that were unusually broad, and his face had a very clear and dominant jawline, creating an expression of someone very strict but at the same time very reliable.

The strict part of his face hindered me from offering him a few loaves of bread; but the reliable feature of his face somehow forced me to pull a few loaves of bread. Which with some hesitation I finally handed over to him. My parsimoniousness helped me to hesitate less. That is how I felt after I had offered him a few loaves of bread.

He shook my hand, and I obliged. Then without saying anything I left. In no more than 5 minutes I was in my room. There my friend was already preparing breakfast because she had to leave early. So, we ate breakfast together, and I accompanied her to the railway station. She placed her hand on my shoulder, as she always did, and then in her usual style she winked her eyes, smiled a bit, and her hand slowly slid along the left side of my body, where as her hand was about to feel the slight undulation between my waistline and my left leg, she paused; the winking of  her eyes came to a halt as well, and then she moved so close to the left side of my face, that I could feel the warmth of her cheeks. At this moment she said, “I will come again on Saturday. You be happy and miss me until then!”

With these words, she boarded the train, and in a few minutes, neither the train was there nor she. Both had left and I had no reason now to stand at the railway station. So, I walked towards my room.

I must have walked a few steps when I saw a shadow on the pavement, it reminded me of someone. Someone, I had known or seen recently. But I was not able to recall. Nevertheless, I let it be.

It was not important because shadows on walls and shadows on pavements usually have no significance. They are like flowers without any colour and without any scent. 

And I walked ahead, without thinking at all about the shadow that reminded me of someone I knew or had met recently.

I had placed my left foot on the first step of the staircase that leads to my room, and I felt someone reaching for my back with his/her fingertips. I withdrew my foot, and as it joined the company of my right foot, I turned and saw the same stranger whom I had met at the baker’s shop, standing behind me. I was not shocked to see him, but I definitely felt awkward to see him again. A complete stranger who made me wonder what could it be that he needed this time.

Just like morning, he shifted his body weight between his left foot and right foot. And in doing so, he often had to lift one of his shoulders upwards while the other one retained its original alignment. Then as he tried to smile, I asked him if there was anything I could help him with.

The way he reacted, instantly by nodding his head in approval. I felt he was waiting for me to ask him this question. And his predictable behaviour helped me develop some interest in him.

I waited to hear him say something, which he did after a few seconds, “I can make rain. And I am the one you all know as the Rainman. I have been sent here to show you how rain can be made. Only you!”

I did not know how to react. I felt completely stupefied and totally frozen in the moment. With a feeling that reproached me for my inability to express myself. I somehow managed to overcome my inhibition, and this state of utter shock. Finally I managed to say these words in the faintest syllables possible, “Please tell me why should I believe you? Could you show me something that proves you are the actual Rainman?”

He smiled once again, and asked me to look up, and in a few minutes it started raining where I was standing. There was some rainfall and I got slightly wet.

The Rainman did not smile this time, but he grinned. A decent grin that is not derogatory at all. So I asked him to accompany me to my room. Before he could enter my room, I politely told him not to expect anything prodigious, because I lived on limited savings and a very lean source of income due to some circumstantial impudence and due to the book that I have been working on for quite some time now.

He smiled, softly shook his head and said, “That is just like me. And trust me, you shall receive nothing but the best very soon. Just do not lose your focus!”

The door opened and he was inside the room with me sitting beside him. Then he took out something from one of his pockets and asked me to examine it.

I turned it around from every side, it looked sleek with many buttons and few holes. He placed it on the table, and then he asked me if I was ready to witness the rainmaking process.

I tried to look as confident as I possibly could, and I admitted I was ready. But if truth be told, I was bit nervous, and he had already sensed it. Being nervous was ok, I was overcome with a feeling that prevented me from remitting the exact amount of confidence required to learn such a fine art. However, his frequent smiles offered me assurances that I was prepared and he was willing to teach me his art of rainmaking. Yet in this moment I relied more on vicissitudes than on the Rainman’s talent and my own confidence.

He had assessed my mental state and without wasting any moment, he placed the device in my hand and asked me to turn it in the left direction. I did so and it emitted a beam ( whatever it was made up of ) then as directed by him, I turned it in the right direction. Once again it emitted a beam. Then he asked me to press the button in the centre, it created a laser umbrella like ring, and when these two beams intersected with this ring, it flashed bursts of light. Then in a moment it formed a myst like film below the laser ring ( or whatever it was ) Now he pressed a green button on the side, this seemed to intensify the charge of the mist like cloud, and in few minutes, it started to rain in my room. Just a brief shower that fell over the table, sparing me this time.

Now do you want to know what is the composition of these beams and how did the rain form?” Asked the Rainman.

I really liked his candour and his willingness to share knowledge that we humans needed the most in 2075. And it easily made me say yes. He immediately opened a notebook. It was very unique, because its pages could not be torn, and whatever he wrote on it, could be wiped off by a finger or if you chose to retain it, it would stay there forever. It was a notebook with smart technology based digital pages. He asked me to lean closer so that he could explain it to me in detail.

He began writing the names of few gases, a catalyst, an ionic bombardment device, the operational mechanism of the device, and a few sequences to calibrate the entire process. Then he asked me to try it myself. I was not at all appalled to realise I could do it perfectly well in my first attempt. Because it was in his presence and largely based on his assistance.

I had learned the art of rainmaking, and it was a secret I shared with just one person for now, the Rainman himself.

He turned off the devices and closed his notebook. That I wanted to try once. It was something he realised, but he did not want to fulfil this wish of mine. Because for him the notebook was special- According to him it belonged to his father. And right now he was its sole possessor and he intended to be so as long as he lived!

“How about something to drink?” I asked him fervently, and he agreed and reoccupied his chair. We both drank our hot beverage for an hour. Then he smiled. Thank God he did because I was beginning to believe he had forgotten to smile. Since he smiled so often, but had not done so for nearly 1 hour. And right now the hot beverage reminded him of it and he obliged instantly to the compulsions of his good habit.

“Now I must leave, and you must use this technology well. Make your planet a better place. I maybe gone now, but as far as you are concerned, you just think of me and I will be with you. Infact I have been around you for many years now, since you were a kid. Today it was time to reveal myself and gift you something unique. Because I was convinced you will use it well. I am confident you will, and make Earth a better planet for all. A more sustainable planet. You have many secrets within you, you can uncover them whenever you choose to. 

For now make rain and make lot of good rain!”

These were the last words of the Rainman as he bent, held my hand, and placed his own over mine, and kissed them. With this final act the Rainman had vanished. Only his signs remained in the form of wet table, my still wet clothes, my warm hand, and the knowledge he had passed on to me. 

And I have shared the Rainman’s knowledge in the #sciencefiction novel, They Loved in 2075. Where the scifi novel reveals technologies that would be a reality in 2075. It also explains how innovation will transform human lives and the planet. All in the form of an intense romance #scifi set in 2075 and the harsh world that would exist then.

However, as technology advances in 2075, human society is caught in the vortex of drastic social changes which is causing fast paced evolution of humans at emotional level. And this has given rise to a new generation of men and women. Who feel and emote less like humans used to earlier. They express machine like emotions and feelings. Which has advanced into a crisis: crisis of human affection, human relationships and love.

To know how human race will survive in 2075, please feel free to explore the #scifi novel, They Loved in 2075. Where the Rainman creates the rain of love that completely soaks two persons. And then, they rescue the entire population of Earth from extinction. Not all #scifibooks tell #scifiromance stories where two people experience the rain of love.