Rho

it was a slow day
and the sun was beating
on the soldiers by the side of the road
We come from a blue planet light-years away
There was light, everywhere. So much light-
Where everything multiplies at an amazing rate
( "In the place where there is no darkness?" he said hesitantly. O'Brien nodded without appearance of surprise. . . )
We're out here in the universe buying real estate
He put a hand up to his face, blinking furiously. Neither fingers nor lids availed him of anything. It was only proprioception that told him he was doing either at all, and then the tactile sense of fingertips against plastic, against glass.
Hope we haven't gotten here too late
there was a bright light
a shattering of shop windows
the bomb in the baby carriage was wired to the radio. . .
We're humans from earth / We're humans from earth
Wherever he was supposed to be, he was pretty sure this wasn't it.
You have nothing at all to fear / I think we're gonna like it here
( "I told you"' said O'Brien,"'that if we met again it would be here.'" )
We're looking for a planet with atmosphere
There was no point in panic. There was no point in fear. This was an unknown situation and the only possible use for either emotional response would be the heightened sensory awareness that came with the involuntary dumping of adrenaline into the bloodstream- and that, he suspected, might be a very bad idea under the circumstances. He liked his retinas.
Where the air is fresh and the water clear
it was a dry wind
and it swept across the desert
and it curled into the circle of birth
With lots of sun like you have here
It occurred to him that the perception of light might well be symptomatic of some kind of nerve damage. What could've provoked that he didn't know, but the prospect was enough to prompt him to close his eyes and run an inward inventory. Every muscle, every bone, every movable joint- were they there? Did they respond?
Three or four hundred days a year
We're humans from earth / We're humans from earth
( And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he rode forth to receive his victories… )
You have nothing at all to fear / I think we're gonna like it here
All systems normal. The only deficiencies were visual- no. No, not true. There was no ground beneath his feet, not even a sense of gravity-
Bought Manhattan for a string of beads
and the dead sand
falling on the children
the mothers and the fathers and the automatic earth…
Brought along some gadgets for you to see
He wondered, briefly, if this was the moment after you walked towards the light. They never talked about that part in the reports. If it was after, he rather resented not having been asked if he wanted to make the walk in the first place.
Here's a crazy little thing we call TV
these are the days of miracle and wonder
this is the long distance call
Do you have electricity?
I don't know where I am, he thought, but I refuse to stay here. There might not be ground to stand on, but as long as he had feet he could walk, and he might not have a path but anywhere had to be better than nothing but undifferentiated brilliance-
We're humans from earth / We're humans from earth
the way the camera follows us in slo-mo
the way we look to us all
You have nothing at all to fear / I think we're gonna like it here
He stopped. He hadn't been aware he'd started moving yet, but he stopped; there was no other word for it.
I know we may seem pretty strange to you
the way we look to a distant constellation that's dying in a corner of the sky
But we got know-how and a golden rule
"Got a name?"
We're here to see manifest destiny through
A simple question. It deserved thought, and careful consideration; it deserved a true answer.
Ain't nothing we can't get used to-
-these are the days of miracle and wonder
and don't cry, baby, don't cry, don't cry-
"Rho," he said at last, and the light was gone and the shadows rushed back as the world swam back into reality around him-
We're humans from earth
"Good answer," said Zedd, and smiled a proper smile for the first time that Rho could ever remember. "Welcome home."
We're humans from earth
You have nothing at all to fear
I think we're going to like it here…