Alien Rain

The Light of Titan #1

by Tom Howard

Urban fantasy - think Charles de Lint with a science fiction twist. Justine Des Jardins de Chartres feels she has no future, her dream of being the twenty-first century’s principal artistic interpreter of humanity’s spiritual place in the universe dashed. She has made a mess of her life, gotten pregnant by a man who rejected her, ruining her family’s upstanding reputation. And people think this once promising young woman has gone crazy. She sees visions of a forest spirit who encourages her to follow her dream, and of her own spirit merging with Chartres Cathedral near where she was born. She is not really crazy – she just sees more deeply than most people, and the forest spirit turns out to be the “shade” or “avatar” of Ila Stratford, a scientific genius, who is the first person born on the Moon. Both Justine and Ila feel that the intelligence of Titan, a world not yet known to have life, pulls on them. Justine studies art in Boston where she meets some troubled people, including a tragically hurt “Goth” named Amber. Justine gives birth to her daughter whom she names Mary Lynne, and her parents raise Mary Lynne while Justine pursues a career at a museum in Salem. Justine is also a budding scientist, and her Master’s Thesis on three possible types of life on Titan, is a brilliant work, and will lead Ila, now a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to hire her as part of the team for the unmanned Vonnegut Probe, which will investigate Titan after the impact of a comet. This probe brings back an object that could be an artifact, and, as the Chinese are planning a manned mission to Titan, Ila and Justine are chosen as part of the crew of an international mission. Thus, Justine will be the first artist to reach the outer solar system. All seems well for Justine, but the deaths of Amber and another friend Alyssa, put her into a deep depression that only Mary Lynne can lift her out of. In Chartres Cathedral, Justine experiences a vision that shows that her life, the life of Titan, and the universe beyond are deeply connected. She is inspired to create several paintings that establish her as the spiritual artist she dreams of being. And she knows that someday she and Mary Lynne will be at peace while the alien rain drums on their house on Titan.

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2010

About the author

Pseudonym for John Howard Reid.