Prompts for 15 August 2025 from
Write about divine intervention
decisive uncertainty
“something’s up”
A character who is healed
Harry bowed his head with decisive uncertainty as he prayed, "I don't know what's happening. Something's up and I can't make sense of it. Show me what to do, Amen."
He wiped the sweat from his bald head and the tears from his eyes as he looked out the window to the storm outside. He had never seen such violent weather in all his years living on Titan. It reminded him of hurricanes and tornadoes back on Earth, but with a ferocity that terrified him. The battering of the unit walls deafened Harry. He could feel the force of the wind even though he was safely inside.
Turning from the window, Harry looked at the large dog stretched out on the floor. Roscoe was Harry's only companion away from the office. Harry liked his coworkers well enough, but Roscoe was his buddy. All the dogs on Titan were specialists, trained to detect changes in atmospheric pressure and unstable oxygen in the modular living and work spaces. This morning, Roscoe had awakened early, barked at Harry until he put on his emergency suit, and promptly passed out. He hadn't moved for hours.
Harry was devastated. He couldn't imagine moving forward without his best friend. He leaned over the dog, letting his tears fall freely before putting his helmet back on his head until whatever weather this was calmed down and it was safe to breathe again. He repeated his prayer in his head as he stroked Roscoe's broad head.
A knock on his door startled him. The pale face of his coworker behind a helmet made Harry wonder what he looked like.
"Sam! Come in! What the heck is happening out there?"
Sam entered the room and knelt by Roscoe. "My Chance is laid out just like Roscoe. I had to know if he was the only dog who responded to the storm like this."
"I'm hoping for some divine intervention here. I know these dogs are supposed to be working dogs, but dang it, Roscoe is family, in spite of his leaky mouth when he wakes me up in the mornings."
"I know what you mean. Chance and I have been together his whole existence. I can't imagine life without him. When he sleeps at night, he breathes in such a comforting cadence. He's the best white-noise generator I know of. "
Sam stood to return to his unit. "I just wanted to see Roscoe. I'm going to sit with Chance." The men stood for a moment, looking for words, but gave up. There wasn't an adequate expression for this.
Soberly, Harry walked with Sam to the door. Sam hesitated and sighed in longing and despair. As Sam opened the door, a bright-eyed yellow labrador-droid bounded into the room.
"Chance!! How? What? Oh good boy!!" Sam scratched behind the animal's ears and laughed.
Harry reached down to pet Chance, but was bowled over by an enthusiastic rottweiler-droid. Except for a squeaky tail, Roscoe seemed good as new. Harry pulled off his helmet and wrapped his arms around his pal. In the distance, the storm abated, leaving chaos in its wake. There would be plenty of work to do in cleaning up, but Harry didn't care. Roscoe was back.
I wonder if animal-droids will replace animals in the future- not totally of course, but on some level. I wouldn't be surprised by that at all. I'm glad the fellows got their companions back. Wonderful, thought-provoking story, Stephanie.