Photo by: Footy and Foodie
Dr. Thorogood looked up into the sky with pride. As the sun slipped low in the sky, the pattern of clouds contrasted beautifully. “Isn’t it fantastic?” he said.
“I suppose so,” said Paul Lords, tech reporter at large. “How does it work?”
“The concept is simple really.” Thorogood pointed. “This patch of sky has been seeded with trillions of nanobots. On command, specific nanobots collect water vapor to form clouds. They form a ‘cloud dot.’ Enough of them form a letter. Eventually, they can spell out messages. It’s dot-matrix printing with clouds!”
“That is amazing…I guess.”
“They’re programmed with every written language know to Man. They can write in Sanskrit, even Sign Language. This will change skywriting worldwide!”
Paul sighed. “Yeah.”
Thorogood scowled at Paul. “I sense a lack of enthusiasm.”
“Well, it is amazing technology.”
“But…?” prompted Thorogood.
“Well perhaps not all written languages should be used, owing to practical considerations.”
“Like what?”
Paul pointed to the clouds forming into dots. “Does it make sense to skywrite in Braille?”
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Written for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers: https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com/2017/06/19/fffaw-challenge-week-of-june-20-2017/
Author’s Notes:
Braille: For those who are visually impaired, Braille is a wonderful tool. Patterns of raised/recessed dots allow people to read as easily as a sighted person. A critical aspect of Braille is that the reader must physically touch the dots in order to read them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille
EagleAye
Sanskrit is the language of Gods in Hindu mythology.
dot matrix printing with the clouds… a novel technology. maybe each pair of eyes will interpret the sky differently.
http://ideasolsi65.blogspot.in/2017/06/the-dark-night.html
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Yeah, Sanskrit is the oldest language I could think of off the top of my head. It was once considered a dead language, but I think enough people are trying to bring it back that this isn’t the case anymore. So if it’s the language of the gods, wouldn’t it be cool to write in the sky with it? Thanks for stopping in and commenting. 🙂
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LOL I don’t suppose Braille is the most practical of languages to sky-write, you know if you want to be practical and all that.
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It’s just being practical, you know. Just sayin’. 😉 Thanks so much, Jade! 🙂
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This is a great piece of sci fi. Heck I hope writing with vapour on the sky does not come to fruition, sci fi often predicts the future.
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You never know. We might see it some day. Though, I think I’ll be dust by the time that happens. 😉 Glad you enjoyed the writing. Thank you so much! 🙂
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Hahahaha! I have to agree with Paul. Sky writing in Braile doesn’t make much sense but the other part of this skywriting invention is brilliant! I think it takes a brilliant mind to think this up! Great story!
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…Or perhaps somebody as crazy as me. 😉 I doubt Braille skywriting will ever catch on. But perhaps things like “Marry Me” written in French might be very popular. We’ll see. Glad you enjoyed this, and thanks bunches!
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Yes, I think proposals in different languages would become quite popular! I think you should sell your idea! 😀
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Cute. Not sure skywriting is a thing and if it is, if it’s going to last much longer.
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Oh yeah, skywriting will no longer be a guy in an old biplane with a smoke generator. Skywriting will move into the digital age. 😉
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I feel like the whole marketing thing will be pushed out onto people’s smartphones, since that’s what they look at all day anyway.
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Excellent take and write.
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Thanks most kindly! 🙂
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That MIGHT present a problem… lol! 😀
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Just a tad. 😉 Thanks Courtney! 🙂
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