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?"

"Yes."

Once again, Constance struggled to sit up. This time nothing stopped her. She tried to focus on the shapes in front of her. "Where 'm I?"

"Safe."

Blue's face loomed close then pulled back. A pair of strong arms held Constance, supporting her. Her vision cleared and Constance could see that she was in a shelter of some kind. The shelter had been woven from branches and leaves, with the gaps filled by moss and other forest litter. Despite the constant hiss of rain from outside, the shelter was dry. "Where am I?" Constance asked again, but more forcefully.

Blue held up a small clay bowl, brimming with a milky liquid. "Drink some of this. It'll keep the pain away." Knowing she wouldn't get any answers until she had done as she was told, Constance took a gulp of the fluid. It was cold and thin, with a bitter taste; but, as promised, it dulled the growing aches.

"You're lucky," Blue said, sitting down beside her. "If we hadn't been there, who knows what might have happened to you. We managed to get you here."

"Lucky?" A wave of fury threatened to overwhelm Constance. She forced it back. "If those natives hadn't been in the way, I'd have been fine. I was trying to avoid them - but they just stood there!"

"We were surprised that someone would be stupid enough to be driving at that speed."

Something nagged at Constance. "We?" she asked. Blue said nothing. "Who's 'we'?"

"We are," Blue replied.

"You and those ... ?" Constance made a sweeping gesture. "You mean you're with those tribesmen?"

"Yes."

Constance tried to get to her feet, but this only caused a sharp pain to cut through the haze of Blue's drugs. She faltered, and Blue rushed to steady her. "The boat," Constance said. "We're being evacuated soon. You have to come."

"No. I don't."

"I don't have time to argue. Get your things. We'll leave now."

"No," Blue repeated. "I'm going to stay. With my new people." Constance stared at him, unable to speak. "It took a while for them to trust me," Blue continued, "but when they did, I started to learn so much." He leaned forward, his eyes glowing. Constance tired to meet his gaze, but there was something about Blue's intensity that made this impossible. "You know that these people are finally reclaiming their lands?"

Constance shook her head. "I thought they lived on the coast."

"Only because they were forced there. The colonists dragged them from the forest and tried to civilise them. When the rains came and the sea rose, they escaped and came back here. Back home."

"It's not your home."

"It wasn't." Blue tugged at Constance's arm, pulling her towards the shelter's entrance. "See what they've done." Constance staggered forward as Blue pulled aside the blanket that served as the shelter's door. "There," he said. "Look."

The shelter was at the edge of a clearing. But, rather than being open to the sky and the rain, there was a thick canopy of vegetation above that thrummed with the sound of falling rain. Wooden platforms had been raised a few feet above the floor of the clearing. Shelters had been built on the platforms, which were linked by wooden walkways. Some natives - maybe a dozen, Constance estimated - sat outside the shelters, talking to each other. They were dressed in a mixture of traditional clothing and western-style cast-offs. A few of them stopped talking to look at Constance, their expressions unreadable.

"What is this place?" Constance asked.

"These people have adapted to the new world. They have abandoned our world and come back here to wait out the rain. And, if the rain never stops, it doesn't matter to them. They won't fight the floods. They will learn to live with them." Blue looked at Constance, obviously expecting her to say something. When she didn't, Blue went on. "What do your people do? They waste themselves trying to understand the floods. How many years have you been here, working on that dish? And what have you learnt? Let me tell you - nothing! But there is an answer here."

"And that's your solution?" Constance asked. She rested against the shelter, hoping to take some weight off her limbs.

"It is!" Blue nodded enthusiastically. "Join us! You understand - don't you?"

Constance closed her eyes: partly to give her time to gather her thoughts, partly to allow her to concentrate and try to resist the growing pain she felt. She wanted Blue to come with her and Elise, to abandon the rainforest and go home together. But that was the Blue she had known. This Blue was different. "I understand," Constance finally said. Blue smiled. "But I won't stay. I can't."

"Why not?"

"You think this place is perfect. Maybe it is. But if it is, you don't want me here."

"I do!" Blue interrupted.

"But you wouldn't want me to change it. Blue - this is your Eden. You don't want a snake in it, and I would be that snake." Constance reached out to stroke Blue's face, but he recoiled. Constance grabbed at him, making him look at her. This time it was Blue who could not meet her gaze.

"I can't change your mind?" Blue asked.

"No."

* * * *

Constance stood by the wreckage that had been her jeep. Despite the rain, the wreck smelt of spilt fuel. She was glad that Blue had brought her at least this far - she would never have found her way on her own.

"You can still stay. It's not too late to change your mind," Blue said. He reached out to touch Constance's shoulder. Constance winced. She had drunk some more of Blue's potion before setting out, hoping that its effects would last until she reached the base and the evacuation boat.

"I can't," Constance said. "You know I can't."

Blue sighed. "I understand," he said quietly. "Good luck."

"And you."

Constance hefted her toolbar and set off down the trail. Blue watched her go until the rain hid her from sight. Then he headed back into the rainforest to rejoin his people.