Yoshiwara

Under the Sky

The rain fell into the dish of the radio telescope. The great metal structure towered above the canopy of the rainforest; its single, great eye trying to see beyond the layer of clouds that blanketed the world. Raindrops fell from the metal dish and from the nearby trees alike, then joined into small streams that ran downhill, heading for the sea from whence they had come.

A lone figure stood beneath the telescope. She was busy, working on the connections of an electrical junction box. Every so often the sleeves of her waterproof poncho would get in the way of her hands, and she would pull at the slick fabric, hitching the sleeves back into place. Then, they would slowly slip back down her arms again. Sometimes she would reach up to her forehead and push and unruly fringe of blonde hair back into place under her hood, moving it out from under the unceasing rain.

A rust-streaked jeep stood on the trail behind her. There was a radio on the front seat, its electronics protected by a transparent plastic bag. The radio crackled into life. "Constance?" a voice marred by static asked. "Come in?"

The woman ignored the radio. She carefully applied a layer of waterproof grease to a brass connector, then pushed a rubber shroud over the metal. Finally, she retreated to the jeep to answer the increasingly-frantic voice.

"I'm here. Is that you, Blue?"

"No. It's me - Elise. Are you finished?"

Constance keyed the radio's microphone. "Just now. What's up?"

"I've heard from home. They've decided to move the evacuation schedule up. The boat will be here tonight. Something to do with the tides."

"Alright. I'll start heading back. Has there been any sign of Blue yet?"

"No. But keep an eye out for him. He needs to know."

Constance felt a pang of worry. Blue was the third - and youngest - member of the team manning the telescope. While she was responsible for all of them, Constance felt more responsibility for him than she did for Elise. "Alright. If I see him, I'll tell him."

Constance put the radio into its holster, then clambered into the jeep. She pulled a pair of goggles up from under the poncho and settled them on her nose. Only then did she start the vehicle's engine. The motor coughed twice, then started. Constance let out the clutch and turned the jeep so it was facing downhill.

The trail was broken and raddled with rills and potholes. A decade of constant rain had washed away the poor rainforest soil, leaving a mess of rocks and gravel that shifted under the jeeps wheels. Some solar anomaly had caused the rain and raised the global temperature. Ice caps had melted and the seas had risen. Millions of cubic miles of water had been released into the atmosphere. More than a billion people had died in the years since, and countless acres of land had been lost. None of this mattered right now to Constance. All she wanted to do was to get back to base - and find Blue if she could!

The jeep hurtled downhill, Constance peering through rain-smeared goggles as she tried to control it. Ahead of her she could see shapes moving in the rain. Constance hammered the vehicle's horn, hoping to scare off whatever was in her way. The shapes stopped moving and turned to face the jeep. Constance jerked the steering wheel and hit the brakes, hoping she could stop in time. Instead, the jeep went into a skid. The gravel of the trail gave way, and - !

* * * *

All Constance could feel was a dull ache that was more unpleasant than painful. She tried to sit up to see where she was, but a pair of invisible hands pushed her down.

"Hush. You've been hurt."

Constance tried to place the voice, pulling memories from the grey fog that clouded her mind. "Blue?"