Richard

Richard - Prologue

Richard

By MW Hickman

Copyright ® 2021

Prologue

An older man looked down upon a world with his hands clasped behind his back. Lightning lit the clouds from within on the northern part of the planet. Pushing back his shabby old fedora, the older gentleman studied other parts of the world that had fewer clouds. Being of average size for a human, his hair had telltale reddish streaks running through his mostly white hair. He wore old battered tan slacks and a faded yellow dress shirt that was baggy on him. With a careworn face and green eyes, he looked unremarkable in the rest of his appearance.

This scene would not be all that strange, an older man looking out an observation area of a ship, as if peering at the world he once lived on. Except, this older gentleman stood in the blackness of space, without a vacuum suit. With no ship in sight, nor would there be for over three billion years. Alone, standing in the nothingness of space, he watched this barren world with its small oceans. The world was in its early stages of development.

Concentrating on the planet, he did not notice a bus-sized asteroid as it passed by him within a couple of hundred feet. It continued to tumble on its way to the planet's surface.

Scratching at the white stubble on his chin, he shoved his hands in his pants pockets. With the pinpricks of faraway stars to his back, he studied the world with great interest.

This world, along with the other two, occupied the Goldilocks zone of this system. Of this planetary system, the Goldilocks zone is from the sun, out to where a planet could support water flowing on its surface. From this Sun, the first planet would have to be within seventy million miles. The outer world could be only one hundred and fifty million miles at its edge.

The first world was closer to the sun from where he stood. The other was in the outer region of the Goldilocks zone. The world he stood above was the one he had been waiting for. This planet seemed remarkable in no other way from other worlds in this neck of the galaxy. Except that he knew, with his help, life would evolve on its surface one day.

"If it had more damn water," he reflected.

"I have not come all this way and waited all this time to be stopped by the scarcity of water," he said to himself. The planet only contained about half the water it would need to form sentient life one day.

"And I'll be damned if the scarcity of water will stop me," he said out loud.

Not willing to wait to see if more water-rich comets would bring enough water, he made a plan in his mind. The older gentleman wanted to move forward with it as soon as possible. Besides, he had been away from his family for far too long.

Looking in the sun's direction, he sensed the world at the inner edge of the Goldilocks zone, but just. It was now on the other side of the sun, but he did not care. Glancing one last time at the world beneath his feet, he vanished, with a small pop. The pop was his doing, of course. Since there is no air in space, he did like the effect.

Appearing over that world, it was much like the last in size and composition. Only this world had fewer flashes of lightning. Seeing green on the surface along with an ocean he was hopeful. Then he sighed. The problem was, this world had the same amount of water as its sister, which would yet be not enough. Crossing his arms over his chest, he turned his attention back towards the way he came. Beyond the first planet was another world. This one, being on the outer limits of the zone.

"The planet should have water, and I hope enough." He considered the third world before he vanished with a pop.

A moment later, he stood on the surface by a body of water. Taking in a deep breath of the cool air, he enjoyed the clean smell which had a hint of new-mown grass. Staring across the sea, he could not see to the far shore. Looking to his left, he saw rolling hills looming off in the distance with what appeared to be green something on the slopes and clouds hovering above them. The atmosphere was moist and felt heavy and had a clean smell to the air. The water was clear, so clear, he had no troubles seeing the smooth stones on its shallow bottom. He could see nothing swimming around in its waters, but he could sense microscopic life but nothing more significant.