"It was a particular type of rain that he particularly disliked, particularly when he was driving. He had a number for it. It was rain type 17."~ So Long And Thanks For All The Fish. Rob McKenna is a rain god, though he doesn't know it. All he knows is he hates rain In all of the 231 different forms he had catalogued of it. All the clouds wanted to do was to protect him, love him, nourish him, and water him. Type 17 was the rain he detested most, though other types were, 33 (light pricking drizzle which makes the roads slippery), 39 (heavy spotting), 47 to 51 (vertical light drizzle through to sharply slanting light to moderate drizzle freshening), 87 and 88(2 finely distinguished varieties of vertical torrential downpour),100(post downpour squalling, cold), all the sea storm types between 192 and 213 at once, 123, 124, 126, 127(mild and intermediate cold gusting, regular and syncopated cab drumming), 11( breezy droplets), and now his least favorite of all, 17. Rain type 17 was a dirty blatter blattering against his windshield so hard that it didn't matter whether his wipers were on or off. He tested this theory by briefly turning his wipers off. His vision did indeed decrease, only now it didn't come back when he turned the wipers on.
I rather like rain, though I suppose if I were to experience it as much as Rob McKenna did I wouldn't like it so much either. Rob McKenna manages to profit from his existence as a"Quasi Supernormal Incremental Precipitation Inducer", by getting money from resorts and whatnot in exchange for staying away from them. The media dubs him "Rain God" which incidentally, he is. Other than being a rain god, he is a lorry driver with an acute distaste for rain. His situation is a perfect example of when too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Rain is good, in the sense that it irrigates the land, makes things grow, cools us off, puts out fires, rain does a multitude of good things. However rain also floods our cities, turns the Statue Of Liberty green, and can be a real pain to certain lorry drivers. Type 33 could cause an innocent biker to crack his head wide open, leading to a 12 car pileup when added to the lousy driving of an inattentive bus driver. Type 11 could hit somebody in the eye and knock him over right into the 12 car pileup caused by the silly biker. Now I can see where his distaste for rain is coming from a bit more clearly. Perhaps rain could grow to become his greatest friend, if he were to realize his powers as a rain god. He could wish rain type 17 combined with type 100 upon his greatest enemies. He could monopolize the lorry driving business sending the competition squealing off the road in a flaming wreck. Ah the things one could do as a rain god. . .
Factual* entry for Scifi Quest 2011 The Undiscovered Nodegel
* Facts taken from "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish" which is a work of fiction. This Node is a factual about a fictional