The weather in the savannah could be unpredictable in July 2026. One moment the air shimmered with mild warmth, the next moment deep black walls of clouds pushed over the Nairobi skyline. A strong gust of wind swept through the open safari vehicle, followed by the first thick raindrops.
“Cloudburst!” shouted the guide, hastily trying to pull the tarp roof of the vehicle forward. But the sky was already opening all its sluices. A torrent of water poured down on the group.
“Kiko!” Amina shouted. For a holographic pet, water was the absolute arch-enemy. Kiko’s light projection, sitting on the dashboard, began flickering wildly. The fine pygmy marmoset shattered into colorful pixel artifacts. His voice distorted into a mechanical “Tsch-tsch-iiilp”, while his digital tail flickered like a broken television. Amina panicked and ripped open her jacket to protect the projector emitter on her shoulder from the water.
Lukas was about to help when a loud, unhealthy buzzing sounded from the back seat. Wurst, who had just returned from his lion espionage, had been hit full force by the rain sluices. His carbon fiber ears rotated uncontrollably, and his usually faithful OLED eyes suddenly displayed a bluescreen-like state.
“Critical moisture ingress in ventilation nozzle 3,” stammered Wurst as he staggered through the interior of the vehicle like a drunk helicopter. “Initiating... Bavarian... emergency drying program... Yes, we’re here by bike...”
“Not now, Wurst!” shouted Lukas. He jumped up, threw himself over the swaying metal dachshund and caught him just before Wurst crashed into the windshield. Wurst’s engines sputtered out with a last cough. He was soaking wet, ice cold, and heavy like a wet sack of cement.
The vehicle slid through the mud of the park roads while the rain mercilessly lashed down on them. Lukas sat on the floor of the safari vehicle, holding the dripping robot dog tightly in his arms and pressed close to Amina, who was crouched trying to keep Kiko’s hardware dry.
Although water was running into their shoes and the technology was failing by the minute, Lukas looked over at Amina. Her wet curls stuck to her face, but when she met his worried gaze, her eyes sparkled full of humor.
“Welcome to the real wilderness, IT specialist!” she shouted against the thunderclap.
Lukas laughed out loud, pulled her protectively closer, and felt Wurst quietly but steadily vibrating in his arms – the dachshund’s internal heater had switched on to keep the two humans warm in the African deluge.