Re-Writing the Ages

- Natural Phenomenons -

They joined her at the door, stepping out onto the veranda which was now covered over with a roof of clear glass. The storm clouds were forming directly overhead, but also over the entire area. Gradually, the air tinged first the green of building ozone and then the orange that warned of a thunderstorm which was going to be on the strong side of medium severity.

The air crackled and the hair on their arms stood up in reaction right before a tremendous bolt of lightening streaked from cloud to cloud followed by a massive thunderclap. Though those witnessing one of the first thunderstorms on this world, except for Abby, were unaware, thousands of other areas were undergoing storms of their own as the planetary weather system geared up.

The process in the Book had been turned on, now the Book's weather science section took over and combined with the full text of the laws of physics and geography which were included in the Book but placed in a different section decided where on this world the freshwater streams, ponds lakes and rivers should be. Some areas would see rain falling on bare rocks for months, if not years, as the Book filled underground reservoirs.

The couple would read those Book-added entries later, for now they watched as the storm cut loose and the rain as it began to fall. Now, the birds and other life bolted for the little boxes and covered perches that were available, hunching and hunkering down to wait for it to pass. Only rain fell in the compound itself and then only medium heavily so as not to flood the non-natural area.

Ball lightening in many colors but without any way to discharge floated along the vicious air currents, casting an eerie glow on the whirling waters now filling the huge lake-bed below and in front of the house. Cliffs that Abby had seeded with things that needed the ozone charged waters of thunderstorms to germinate were already sprouting.

The storm churned overhead for hours before moving inland over the desert, filling canyons and flooding natural stream and river beds as it went. It moved slowly, rain intensifying and lightening starting to make ground strikes as it moved away from the compound. Once there was no danger to the human area, it went from medium to maximum.

By morning, it was clear but each afternoon a new storm would develop, rain for a while, then moved inland or along the coast, each adding it's load of fresh water to the land which began to sprout life. After a year of working on Books with them, it was time for her to get on with other duties.

"I'm going to go, now. You have the hang of it and I have villages in three different Books that are due their Ten Year inspections. The in person ones...they have a Writer Festival every ten years, I have to be there."

Atrus nodded. "Yes, those can be a bit of a pain. I don't envy you." He told her as she reached her hand into the large, cross-body tote to a Book he could not see and linked out. "Well, at least she doesn't drop her books."

"True." Catherine agreed.

TBC