{"id":2820,"date":"2025-10-12T12:01:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T19:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2820"},"modified":"2025-10-12T12:01:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T19:01:33","slug":"hell-is-high-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/12\/hell-is-high-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Hell is High Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Start or end your story with a character looking out at a river, ocean, or the sea.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there was one place in the universe that could be the literal hell, eternal damnation, perdition, Te had found it and had found himself assigned there. The air clung to him, the unfamiliar scents put his mind off kilter. The ever-shifting surface beyond the rocky promontory where he now stood left him dizzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te turned around to face the building that would be his home for as long as his assignment lasted. The steady structure and solid ground around and behind it helped ease his vertigo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He grabbed the handle on his luggage, activating its hover mode, and stepped toward the building. He\u2019d been assured that everything had been set up for his comfort prior to his arrival, but he had serious doubts. Not a bit of heat was evident from the building, despite the chill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he approached, the cameras around the property caught his image. The building recognized him, opening the front door with a mechanical voice saying, \u201cWelcome, Professor Te A\u2019ota,\u201d in his own language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heat inside was near blinding, and most welcome. He hurried in, the door closing behind him. \u201cThank you? Um, building?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am this house\u2019s AI assistant. You may refer to me as \u2018house\u2019 or you may choose a name to refer to me as. Do you wish to choose a name for me?\u201d the house asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUh, no. House is fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe current temperature inside is forty degrees Celsius, humidity is twelve percent. If you require any adjustments to either, let me know,\u201d the house said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, no, this is perfect.\u201d Te took a deep breath, the feeling of his scales drying and warming revitalizing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoctor Saira Andersen, from the university, is here to see you,\u201d the house said. \u201cShould I let her in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te flicked his tail in acknowledgement. Nothing happened. \u201cYes,\u201d he said, flicking his tail in the same way. \u201cThis means yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will remember that,\u201d the house said, as the door opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saira stepped in, dressed in a full-body cooling suit. \u201cDoctor A\u2019ota? You here?\u201d she called out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te switched to speaking English. \u201cComing.\u201d He met Saira in the entryway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA pleasure to finally meet you in person,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLikewise. I believe the proper thing to do when welcoming a human into the home is to offer something to drink?\u201d he asked. \u201cVery rude in my culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is your<\/em> home while you\u2019re here, and you determine what is rude and not rude for yourself.\u201d Saira gave a little nod. \u201cThat said, I will be certain to not<\/em> offer you or any other garians a beverage when you visit my home. I do endeavor to be a good host, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI too, which to be a good host.\u201d Te switched to his native language. \u201cHouse, is there a human beverage available in your storage?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can prepare a glass of ice-water in the dining room, if you like,\u201d the house answered in the same language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saira chimed in, speaking Te\u2019s language, \u201cThat is accepted,\u201d then switched back to English, \u201cyes, please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did not know you spoke Otolakk, Dr. Andersen.\u201d Te stepped into the dining room and used an insulated mitt to pick up the cold glass and hand it to Saira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust a few phrases but I expect I\u2019ll learn more as we work together.\u201d She drank down half the glass of water. \u201cPlease, call me Saira, and may I call you Te?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, you may. Shall we sit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s.\u201d Saira followed him into the living room. It had been fitted with furniture that was suitable for humans or garians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te turned one of the chairs, so it faced away from the picture window that looked out on the sea and took a seat. Saira sat in a chair near it, facing both Te and the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He motioned toward the window with his tail. \u201cThe constant movement \u2026 I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI understand. I was raised on a ship and never saw an open body of water until I went to university. The constant movement gave me vertigo. Even just a breeze across tall grass was unsettling at first. Now, I find the waves calming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you say. I will see with time, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe replaced the environmental systems in this house. Upgraded insulation and materials to handle the temperatures without softening or sagging, added dehumidifiers and a sand bath. Is it too your liking?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVery much. I was not expecting such generosity for a visiting professor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe \u2014 a bunch of the faculty \u2014 got together and demanded it. When we offered to put the CFO up in a tent in Death Valley on Earth, she relented and released the funds to make it happen. This house, is only the first, though, as all the guest houses are being refitted. It can be set for any humidity from five percent to ninety-five percent, and anywhere from five to fifty degrees Celsius.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te was stunned. \u201cThat is a large investment just to make visitors more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe university is focused on bringing in more diverse educators from more worlds. That\u2019s kind of the good thing about setting up on a terraformed world in the middle of nowhere.\u201d Saira smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs this the university you attended?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saira shook her head. \u201cNo, I went to Swansea University. On Earth. How about you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is my first trip off world,\u201d he said. \u201cI grew up in the capital on Oto and went to Kralo Krim.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, you\u2019ve never seen an ocean world?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly in media, until the shuttle dropped me off today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your first impression?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His tail swished in nervous response. \u201cI thought I had landed in Luklit, closest to what you would call hell.\u201d He forced his tail to stillness. \u201cI hope to understand why humans choose to cover the majority of your worlds with water, when you are land-dwellers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, our combined Environmental Engineering course should make that clearer. Just as I expect to learn how the environment on Oto works with so little water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te pushed himself forward slightly with his tail. \u201cAnd we will learn as we teach how to mold worlds for our respective kinds. There is, though, one thing our course doesn\u2019t cover that I\u2019d like to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te rocked himself with his tail and pointed at it. \u201cHow do humans stay upright and move about so well without a tail to balance?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saira laughed. \u201cI\u2019ll recommend some kinesiology books for you. Although, I often wish our ancestors hadn\u2019t ditched their tails. Oh, have you tried on your environmental suit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. I\u2019m not even sure how to hook it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll walk you through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They spent an hour going over all the details of his warming suit, from putting it on, setting the temperature and humidity, to taking it off, charging it up and checking for damage. In the end, he knew more about the warming suit than he thought would be involved in creating his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they finished, he sat on the floor and noticed a sound he hadn\u2019t heard before. A rhythmic swish of the waves. \u201cWhy can I hear the water?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI turned on the external mics,\u201d Saira said. \u201cJust close your eyes and listen to it. It\u2019s soothing, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs long as I don\u2019t think about what<\/em> it is, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saira sat next to him on the floor and turned him, his eyes still closed, until he was facing the window. \u201cWhen you look, just think of it as watching a holo,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I did from inside my dorm window until I got used to the movement of the water and the grass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te opened his eyes and looked out at the waves. Steady, rhythmic, rolling. He put his hands on the floor and felt centered, with no dizziness. He took a deep breath of the warm, dry air of his new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI might find the appeal,\u201d he said. \u201cUnless the water gets high.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWon\u2019t happen here,\u201d she said with a hint of sadness, \u201cgravity is too low, and the moons are too small to make really spectacular tides. The greatest difference between high tide and low tide is around ten centimeters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKnowing that helps. I saw holos of humans riding giant waves on boards. It was horrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou said this place was like your hell. What is your hell, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te watched the waves with a new-found interest. \u201cIf you live an evil life, you are sent to a world covered with icy water. You never get warm, you stay sluggish and slow, and your scales soften until they\u2019re in danger of sloughing off at the slightest touch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saira whistled. \u201cThat\u2019s rough. We have a saying about doing something regardless of the situation. It\u2019s \u2018come hell or high water,\u2019 but that would be redundant for you, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt: Start or end your story with a character looking out at a river, ocean, or the sea. available at Reedsy If there was one place in the universe that could be the literal hell, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pxT7i-Ju","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2821,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2820\/revisions\/2821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}