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12Isaac Asimov - "Nightfall"(1941)5678If the stars should appear one night ina thousand years, how would men believeand adore, and preserve for manygenerations the remembrance of the cityof God?' 06191054553453Aton 77, director of Saro University,thrust out a belligerent lower lip andglared at the young newspaperman in ahot fury.Theremon 762 took that fury in hisstride. In his earlier days, when his nowwidely syndicated column was only a madidea in a cub reporter's mind, he hadspecialized in 'impossible' interviews. Ithad cost him bruises, black eyes, andbroken bones; but it had given him anample supply of coolness and selfconfidence. So he lowered the outthrusthand that had been so pointedly ignoredand calmly waited for the aged director toget over the worst. Astronomers werequeer ducks, anyway, and if Aton's actionsof the last two months meant anything;this same Aton was the queer-duckiest ofthe lot.Aton 77 found his voice, and though ittrembled with restrained emotion, thecareful, somewhat pedantic phraseology,for which the famous astronomer wasnoted, did not abandon him.'Sir,' he said, 'you display an infernalgall in coming to me with that impudentproposition of yours.' The huskytelephotographer of the Observatory,Beenay 25, thrust a tongue's tip acrossdry lips and interposed nervously, 'Now,sir, after all -- 'The director turned to him and lifted awhite eyebrow.'Do not interfere, Beenay. I will credityou with good intentions in bringing thisman here; but I will tolerate noinsubordination now.'Theremon decided it was time to takea part. 'Director Aton, if you'll let me finishwhat I started saying, I think -- ''I don't believe, young man,' retortedAton, 'that anything you could say 58687888990919293949596979899100101102103104would count much as compared with yourdaily columns of these last two months.You have led a vast newspaper campaignagainst the efforts of myself and mycolleagues to organize the world againstthe menace which it is now too late toavert. You have done your best with yourhighly personal attacks to make the staff ofthis Observatory objects of ridicule.'The director lifted a copy of the SaroCity Chronicle from the table and shook itat Theremon furiously. 'Even a person ofyour well-known impudence should havehesitated before coming to me with arequest that he be allowed to cover today'sevents for his paper. Of all newsmen, you!'Aton dashed the newspaper to thefloor, strode to the window, and clasped hisarms behind his back.'You may leave,' he snapped over hisshoulder. He stared moodily out at theskyline where Gamma, the brightest of theplanet's six suns, was setting. It hadalready faded and yellowed into the horizonmists, and Aton knew he would never see itagain as a sane man. He whirled. 'No, wait,come here!' He gestured peremptorily. I'llgive you your story.'The newsman had made no motion toleave, and now he approached the old manslowly. Aton gestured outward.'Of the six suns, only Beta is left in thesky. Do you see it?'The question was rather unnecessary.Beta was almost at zenith, its ruddy lightflooding the landscape to an unusualorange as the brilliant rays of settingGamma died. Beta was at aphelion. It wassmall; smaller than Theremon had everseen it before, and for the moment it wasundisputed ruler of Lagash's sky.Lagash's own sun. Alpha, the oneabout which it revolved, was at theantipodes, as were the two distantcompanion pairs. The red dwarf Beta -Alpha's immediate companion -- was alone,grimly alone.Aton's upturned face flushed redly inthe sunlight. 'In just under four hours,' hesaid, 'civilization, as we know it, comes toan end. It will do so because, as you see.Beta is the only sun in the sky.' He smiled1
y. 'Print that! There'll be no one toread it.''But if it turns out that four hourspass -- and another four -- and nothinghappens?' asked Theremon softly.'Don't let that worry you. Enough willhappen.''Granted! And still -- it nothinghappens?'For a second time, Beenay 25 spoke.'Sir, I think you ought to listen to him.'Theremon said, 'Put it to a vote,Director Aton.'There was a stir among the remainingfive members of the Observatory staff,who till now had maintained an attitude ofwary neutrality.'That,' stated Aton flatly, 'is notnecessary.' He drew out his pocket watch.'Since your good friend, Beenay, insists sourgently, I will give you five minutes. Talkaway.''Good! Now, just what differencewould it make if you allowed me to takedown an eyewitness account of what's tocome? If your prediction comes true, mypresence won't hurt; for in that case mycolumn would never be written. On theother hand, if nothing comes of it, you willjust have to expect ridicule or worse. Itwould be wise to leave that ridicule tofriendly hands.'Aton snorted. 'Do you mean yourswhen you speak of friendly hands?''Certainly!' Theremon sat down andcrossed his legs.'My columns may have been a littlerough, but I gave you people the benefitof the doubt every time. After all. this isnot the century to preach "The end of theworld is at hand" to Lagash. You have tounderstand that people don't believe theBook of Revelations anymore, and itannoys them to have scientists turnaboutface and tell us the Cultists are rightafter all -- ''No such thing, young man,'interrupted Aton. 'While a great deal ofour data has been supplied us by the Cult,our results contain none of the Cult'smysticism. Facts are facts, and the Cult'sso-called mythology has certain 00101102103104behind it. We've exposed them and rippedaway their mystery. I assure you that theCult hates us now worse than you do.''I don't hate you. I'm just trying to tellyou that the public is in an ugly humor.They're angry.'Aton twisted his mouth in derision. 'Letthem be angry.''Yes, but what about tomorrow?''There'll be no tomorrow!''But if there is. Say that there is -- justto see what happens. That anger mighttake shape into something serious. Afterall, you know, business has taken anosedive these last two months. Investorsdon't really believe the world is coming toan end, but just the same they're beingcagy with their money until it's all over.Johnny Public doesn't believe you, either,but the new spring furniture might just aswell wait a few months -- just to makesure.'You see the point. Just as soon as thisis all over, the business interests will beafter your hide. They'll say that if crackpots-- begging your pardon -- can upset thecountry's prosperity any time they want,simply by making some cockeyed prediction-- it's up to the planet to prevent them. Thesparks will fly, sir.'The director regarded the columniststernly. 'And just what were you proposingto do to help the situation?''Well' -- Theremon grinned -- 'I wasproposing to take charge of the publicity. Ican handle things so that only theridiculous side will show. It would be hardto stand, I admit, because I'd have to makeyou all out to be a bunch of gibberingidiots, but if I can get people laughing atyou, they might forget to be angry. Inreturn for that, all my publisher asks is anexclusive story.'Beenay nodded and burst out, 'Sir, therest of us think he's right. These last twomonths we've considered everything butthe million-to-one chance that there is anerror somewhere in our theory or in ourcalculations. We ought to take care of that,too.'There was a murmur of agreementfrom the men grouped about the table, and2
s expression became that of one whofound his mouth full of something bitterand couldn't get rid of it.'You may stay if you wish, then. Youwill kindly refrain, however, fromhampering us in our duties in any way.You will also remember that I am incharge of all activities here, and in spite ofyour opinions as expressed in yourcolumns, I will expect full cooperation andfull respect -- 'His hands were behind his back, andhis wrinkled face thrust forwarddeterminedly as he spoke. He might havecontinued indefinitely but for the intrusionof a new voice.'Hello, hello, hello!' It came in a hightenor, and the plump cheeks of thenewcomer expanded in a pleased smile.'What's this morgue-like atmosphereabout here? No one's losing his nerve, Ihope.'Aton started in consternation and saidpeevishly, 'Now what the devil are youdoing here, Sheerin? I thought you weregoing to stay behind in the Hideout.'Sheerin laughed and dropped hisstubby figure into a chair. 'Hideout beblowed! The place bored me. I wanted tobe here, where things are getting hot.Don't you suppose I have my share ofcuriosity? I want to see these Stars theCultists are forever speaking about.' Herubbed his hands and added in a soberertone. 'It's freezing outside. The wind'senough to hang icicles on your nose. Betadoesn't seem to give any heat at all, atthe distance it is.'The white-haired director ground histeeth in sudden exasperation. 'Why doyou go out of your way to do crazy things,Sheerin? What kind of good are youaround here?''What kind of good am I aroundthere?' Sheerin spread his palms incomical resignation. 'A psychologist isn'tworth his salt in the Hideout. They needmen of action and strong, healthy womenthat can breed children. Me? I'm ahundred pounds too heavy for a man ofaction, and I wouldn't be a success atbreeding children. So why bother 0101102103104with an extra mouth to feed? I feel betterover here.'Theremon spoke briskly. 'Just what isthe Hideout, sir?'Sheerin seemed to see the columnistfor the first time. He frowned and blew hisample cheeks out. 'And just who in Lagashare you, redhead?'Aton compressed his lips and thenmuttered sullenly, 'That's Theremon 762,the newspaper fellow. I suppose you'veheard of him.'The columnist offered his hand. 'And,of course, you're Sheerin 501 of SaroUniversity. I've heard of you.' Then herepeated, 'What is this Hideout, sir?''Well,' said Sheerin, 'we have managedto convince a few people of the validity ofour prophecy of -- er -- doom, to bespectacular about it, and those few havetaken proper measures. They consistmainly of the immediate members of thefamilies of the Observatory staff, certain ofthe faculty of Saro University, and a fewoutsiders. Altogether, they number aboutthree hundred, but three quarters arewomen and children.''I see! They're supposed to hide wherethe Darkness and the -- er -- Stars can'tget at them, and then hold out when therest of the world goes poof.''If they can. It won't be easy. With allof mankind insane, with the great citiesgoing up in flames -- environment will notbe conducive to survival. But they havefood, water, shelter, and weapons -- ''They've got more,' said Aton. 'They'vegot all our records, except for What we willcollect today. Those records will meaneverything to the next cycle, and that'swhat must survive. The rest can go hang.'Theremon uttered a long, low whistleand sat brooding for several minutes. Themen about the table had brought out amulti-chess board and started a sixmember game. Moves were made rapidlyand in silence. All eyes bent in furiousconcentration on the board. Theremonwatched them intently and then rose andapproached Aton, who sat apart inwhispered conversation with Sheerin.'Listen,' he said, let's go somewhere3
031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152where we won't bother the rest of thefellows. I want to ask some questions.'The aged astronomer frowned sourlyat him, but Sheerin chirped up, 'Certainly.It will do me good to talk. It always does.Aton was telling me about your ideasconcerning world reaction to a failure ofthe prediction -- and I agree with you. Iread your column pretty regularly, by theway, and as a general thing I like yourviews.''Please, Sheerin,' growled Aton.'Eh? Oh, all right. We'll go into thenext room. It has softer chairs, anyway.'There were softer chairs in the nextroom. There were also thick red curtainson the windows and a maroon carpet onthe floor. With the bricky light of Betapouring in, the general effect was one ofdried blood.Theremon shuddered. 'Say, I'd giveten credits for a decent dose of white lightfor just a second. I wish Gamma or Deltawere in the sky.''What are your questions?' askedAton. 'Please remember that our time islimited. In a little over an hour and aquarter we're going upstairs, and afterthat there will be no time for talk.''Well, here it is.' Theremon leanedback and folded his hands on his chest.'You people seem so all-fired seriousabout this that I'm beginning to believeyou. Would you mind explaining what it'sall about?'Aton exploded, 'Do you mean to sitthere and tell me that you've beenbombarding us with ridicule without evenfinding out what we've been trying tosay?'The columnist grinned sheepishly.'It's not that bad, sir. I've got the generalidea. You say there is going to be a worldwide Darkness in a few hours and that allmankind will go violently insane. What Iwant now is the science behind it.''No, you don't. No, you don't,' brokein Sheerin. 'If you ask Aton for that -supposing him to be in the mood toanswer at all -- he'll trot out pages offigures and volumes of graphs. You won'tmake head or tail of it. Now if you were 01102103104ask me, I could give you the layman'sstandpoint.''All right; I ask you.''Then first I'd like a drink.' He rubbedhis hands and looked at Aton.'Water?' grunted Aton.'Don't be silly!''Don't you be silly. No alcohol today. Itwould be too easy to get my men drunk. Ican't afford to tempt them.'The psychologist grumbled wordlessly.He turned to Theremon, impaled him withhis sharp eyes, and began.'You realize, of course, that the historyof civilization on Lagash displays a cycliccharacter -- but I mean cyclic!''I know,' replied Theremon cautiously,'that that is the current archaeologicaltheory. Has it been accepted as a fact?''Just about. In this last century it'sbeen generally agreed upon. This cycliccharacter is -- or rather, was -- one of thegreat mysteries. We've located series ofcivilizations, nine of them definitely, andindications of others as well, all of whichhave reached heights comparable to ourown, and all of which, without exception,were destroyed by fire at the very height oftheir culture.'And no one could tell why. All centersof culture were thoroughly gutted by fire,with nothing left behind to give a hint as tothe cause.'Theremon was following closely.'Wasn't there a Stone Age, too?''Probably, but as yet practically nothingis known of it, except that men of that agewere little more than rather intelligentapes. We can forget about that.''I see. Go on!'There have been explanations of theserecurrent catastrophes, all of a more or lessfantastic nature. Some say that there areperiodic rains of fire; some that Lagashpasses through a sun every so often; someeven wilder things. But there is one theory,quite different from all of these, that hasbeen handed down over a period ofcenturies.''I know. You mean this myth of the"Stars" that the Cultists have in their Bookof Revelations.'4
tly,' rejoined Sheerin withsatisfaction. 'The Cultists said that everytwo thousand and fifty years Lagashentered a huge cave, so that all the sunsdisappeared, and there came totaldarkness all over the world! And then,they say, things called Stars appeared,which robbed men of their souls and leftthem unreasoning brutes, so that theydestroyed the civilization they themselveshad built up. Of course they mix all this upwith a lot of religio-mystic notions, butthat's the central idea.'There was a short pause in whichSheerin drew a long breath. 'And now wecome to the Theory of UniversalGravitation.' He pronounced the phrase sothat the capital letters sounded -- and atthat point Aton turned from the window,snorted loudly, and stalked out of theroom.The two stared after him, andTheremon said, 'What's wrong?''Nothing in particular,' repliedSheerin. 'Two of the men were dueseveral hours ago and haven't shown upyet. He's terrifically short-handed, ofcourse, because all but the really essentialmen have gone to the Hideout.''You don't think the two deserted, doyou?''Who? Faro and Yimot? Of course not.Still, if they're not back within the hour,things would be a little sticky.' He got tohis feet suddenly, and his eyes twinkled.'Anyway, as long as Aton is gone -- 'Tiptoeing to the nearest window, hesquatted, and from the low window boxbeneath withdrew a bottle of red liquidthat gurgled suggestively when he shookit.'I thought Aton didn't know aboutthis,' he remarked as he trotted back tothe table. 'Here! We've only got one glassso, as the guest, you can have it. I'll keepthe bottle.'And he filled the tiny cup withjudicious care. Theremon rose to protest,but Sheerin eyed him sternly.'Respect your elders, young man.'The newsman seated himself with alook of anguish on his face. 'Go 100101102103104then, you old villain.'The psychologist's Adam's applewobbled as the bottle upended, and then,with a satisfied grunt and a smack of thelips, he began again. 'But what do youknow about gravitation?''Nothing, except that it is a very recentdevelopment, not too well established, andthat the math is so hard that only twelvemen in Lagash are supposed to understandit.''Tcha! Nonsense! Baloney! I can giveyou all the essential math in a sentence.The Law of Universal Gravitation states thatthere exists a cohesive force among allbodies of the universe, such that theamount of this force between any two givenbodies is proportional to the product oftheir masses divided by the square of thedistance between them.''Is that all?''That's enough! It took four hundredyears to develop it.''Why that long? It sounded simpleenough, the way you said it.''Because great laws are not divined byflashes of inspiration, whatever you maythink. It usually takes the combined workof a world full of scientists over a period ofcenturies. After Genovi 4I discovered thatLagash rotated about the sun Alpha ratherthan vice versa -- and that was fourhundred years ago -- astronomers havebeen working. The complex motions of thesix suns were recorded and analyzed andunwoven. Theory after theory wasadvanced and checked and countercheckedand modified and abandoned and revivedand converted to something else. It was adevil of a job.'Theremon nodded thoughtfully andheld out his glass for more liquor. Sheeringrudgingly allowed a few ruby drops toleave the bottle.'It was twenty years ago,' he continuedafter remoistening his own throat, 'that itwas finally demonstrated that the Law ofUniversal Gravitation accounted exactly forthe orbital motions of the six suns. It was agreat triumph.'Sheerin stood up and walked to thewindow, still clutching his bottle. 'And now5
031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152we're getting to the point. In the lastdecade, the motions of Lagash aboutAlpha were computed according togravity, and if did not account for the orbitobserved; not even when all perturbationsdue to the other suns were included.Either the law was invalid, or there wasanother, as yet unknown, factor involved.'Theremon joined Sheerin at thewindow and gazed out past the woodedslopes to where the spires of Saro Citygleamed bloodily on the horizon. Thenewsman felt the tension of uncertaintygrow within him as he cast a short glanceat Beta. It glowered redly at zenith,dwarfed and evil.'Go ahead, sir,' he said softly.Sheerin replied, 'Astronomersstumbled about for year, each proposedtheory more untenable than the onebefore -- until Aton had the inspiration ofcalling in the Cult. The head of the Cult,Sor 5, had access to certain data thatsimplified the problem considerably. Atonset to work on a new track.'What if there were anothernonluminous planetary body such asLagash? If there were, you know, it wouldshine only by reflected light, and if it werecomposed of bluish rock, as Lagash itselflargely is, then, in the redness of the sky,the eternal blaze of the suns would makeit invisible -- drown it out completely.'Theremon whistled. 'What a screwyidea!''You think that's screwy? Listen tothis: Suppose this body rotated aboutLagash at such a distance and in such anorbit and had such a mass that itsattention would exactly account for thedeviations of Lagash's orbit from theory -do you know what would happen?'The columnist shook his head.'Well, sometimes this body would getin the way of a sun.' And Sheerin emptiedwhat remained in the bottle at a draft.'And it does, I suppose,' saidTheremon flatly.'Yes! But only one sun lies in its planeof revolution.' He jerked a thumb at theshrunken sun above. 'Beta! And it hasbeen shown that the eclipse will 00101102103104only when the arrangement of the suns issuch that Beta is alone in its hemisphereand at maximum distance, at which timethe moon is invariably at minimumdistance. The eclipse that results, with themoon seven times the apparent diameter ofBeta, covers all of Lagash and lasts wellover half a day, so that no spot on theplanet escapes the effects. That eclipsecomes once every two thousand and fortynine years.'Theremon's face was drawn into anexpressionless mask.'And that's my story?'The psychologist nodded. 'That's all ofit. First the eclipse -- which will start inthree quarters of an hour -- then universalDarkness and, maybe, these mysteriousStars -- then madness, and end of thecycle.'He brooded. 'We had two months'leeway -- we at the Observatory -- and thatwasn't enough time to persuade Lagash ofthe danger. Two centuries might not havebeen enough. But our records are at theHideout, and today we photograph theeclipse. The next cycle will start off with thetruth, and when the next eclipse comes,mankind will at last be ready for it. Cometo think of it, that's part of your story too.'A thin wind ruffled the curtains at thewindow as Theremon opened it and leanedout. It played coldly with his hair as hestared at the crimson sunlight on his hand.Then he turned in sudden rebellion.'What is there in Darkness to drive memad?'Sheerin smiled to himself as he spunthe empty liquor bottle with abstractedmotions of his hand. 'Have you everexperienced Darkness, young man?'The newsman leaned against the walland considered. 'No. Can't say I have. But Iknow what it is. Just -- uh -- ' He madevague motions with his fingers and thenbrightened. 'Just no light. Like in caves.' ,'Have you ever been in a cave?''In a cave! Of course not!''I thought not. I tried last week -- justto see -- but I got out in a hurry. I went inuntil the mouth of the cave was just visibleas a blur of light, with black everywhere6
031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152else. I never thought a person my weightcould run that fast.'Theremon's lip curled. 'Well, if itcomes to that, I guess I wouldn't have runif I had been there.'The psychologist studied the youngman with an annoyed frown.'My, don't you talk big! I dare you todraw the curtain.'Theremon looked his surprise andsaid, 'What for? If we had four or five sunsout there, we might want to cut the lightdown a bit for comfort, but now wehaven't enough light as it is.''That's the point. Just draw thecurtain; then come here and sit down.''All right.' Theremon reached for thetasseled string and jerked. The red curtainslid across the wide window, the brassrings hissing their way along the crossbar,and a dusk-red shadow clamped down onthe room.Theremon's footsteps soundedhollowly in the silence as he made his wayto the table, and then they stoppedhalfway. 'I can't see you, sir,' hewhispered.'Feel your way,' ordered Sheerin in astrained voice.'But I can't see you, sir.' Thenewsman was breathing harshly. 'I can'tsee anything.''What did you expect?' came the grimreply. 'Come here and sit down!'The footsteps sounded again,waveringly, approaching slowly. Therewas the sound of someone fumbling witha chair. Theremon's voice came thinly,'Here I am. I feel . . . ulp . . . all right.''You like it, do you?''N -- no. It's pretty awful. The wallsseem to be -- ' He paused. 'They seem tobe closing in on me. I keep wanting topush them away. But I'm not going mad!In fact, the feeling isn't as bad as it was.''All right. Draw the curtain backagain.'There were cautious footstepsthrough the dark, the rustle ofTheremon's body against the curtain as hefelt for the tassel, and then thetriumphant roo-osh of the 9100101102103104slithering back. Red light flooded the room,and with a cry of joy Theremon looked upat the sun.Sheerin wiped the moistness off hisforehead with the back of a hand and saidshakily, 'And that was just a dark room.''It can be stood,' said Theremonlightly.'Yes, a dark room can. But were you atthe Jonglor Centennial Exposition two yearsago?''No, it so happens I never got aroundto it. Six thousand miles was just a bit toomuch to travel, even for the exposition.''Well, I was there. You rememberhearing about the "Tunnel of Mystery" thatbroke all records in the amusement area -for the first month or so, anyway?''Yes. Wasn't there some fuss about it?''Very little. It was hushed up. You see,that Tunnel of Mystery was just a mile-longtunnel -- with no lights. You got into a littleopen car and jolted along through Darknessfor fifteen minutes. It was very popular -while it lasted.''Popular?''Certainly. There's a fascination inbeing frightened when it's part of a game.A baby is born with three instinctive fears:of loud noises, of falling, and of theabsence of light. That's why it's consideredso funny to jump at someone and shout"Boo!" That's why it's such fun to ride aroller coaster. And that's why that Tunnel ofMystery started cleaning up. People cameout of that Darkness shaking, breathless,half dead with fear, but they kept on payingto get in.''Wait a while, I remember now. Somepeople came out dead, didn't they? Therewere rumors of that after it shut down.'The psychologist snorted. 'Bah! Two orthree died. That was nothing! They paid offthe families of the dead ones and arguedthe Jonglor City Council into forgetting it.After all, they said, if people with weakhearts want to go through the tunnel, itwas at their own risk -- and besides, itwouldn't happen again. So they put adoctor in the front office and had everycustomer go through a physicalexamination before getting into the car.7
031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152That actually boosted ticket sales.''Well, then?''But you see, there was somethingelse. People sometimes came out inperfect order, except that they refused togo into buildings -- any buildings;including palaces, mansions, apartmenthouses, tenements, cottages, huts,shacks, lean-tos, and tents.'Theremon looked shocked. 'You meanthey refused to come in out of the open?Where'd they sleep?''In the open.''They should have forced theminside.''Oh, they did, they did. Whereuponthese people went into violent hystericsand did their best to bat their brains outagainst the nearest wall. Once you gotthem inside, you couldn't keep them therewithout a strait jacket or a heavy dose oftranquilizer.''They must have been crazy.''Which is exactly what they were. Oneperson out of every ten who went intothat tunnel came out that way. Theycalled in the psychologists, and we did theonly thing possible. We closed down theexhibit.' He spread his hands.'What was the matter with thesepeople?' asked Theremon finally.'Essentially the same thing that wasthe matter with you when you thought thewalls of the room were crushing in on youin the dark. There is a psychological termfor mankind's instinctive fear of theabsence of light. We call it"claustrophobia", because the lack of lightis always tied up with enclosed places, sothat fear of one is fear of the other. Yousee?''And those people of the tunnel?''Those people of the tunnel consistedof those unfortunates whose mentalitydid not quite possess the resiliency toovercome the claustrophobia thatovertook them in the Darkness. Fifteenminutes without light is a long time; youonly had two or three minutes, and Ibelieve you were fairly upset.'The people of the tunnel had what iscalled a "claustrophobic fixation". 00101102103104latent fear of Darkness and enclosed placeshad crystalized and become active, and, asfar as we can tell, permanent. That's whatfifteen minutes in the dark will do.'There was a long silence, andTheremon's forehead wrinkled slowly into afrown. 'I don't believe it's that bad.''You mean you don't want to believe,'snapped Sheerin. 'You're afraid to believe.Look out the window!'Theremon did so, and the psychologistcontinued without pausing. 'ImagineDarkness -- everywhere. No light, as far asyou can see. The houses, the trees, thefields, the earth, the sky -- black! AndStars thrown in, for all I know -- whateverthey are. Can you conceive it?''Yes, I can,' declared Theremontruculently.And Sheerin slammed his fist downupon the table in sudden passion. 'You lie!You can't conceive that. Your brain wasn'tbuilt for the conception any more than itwas built fo
1 1 53Isaac Asimov - "Nightfall" 2 (1941) daily columns of these last two 3 4 If the stars should appear one night in 5 a thousand years, how would men believe 6 and adore, and preserve for many 7 generations the remembrance of the city 8 of God?' EMERSON 9 10 Aton 77, director of Saro
