As 2012 approaches, it's hard to avoid hearing news about how doomsday is upon us. I ignore it most of the time, but today I happened to think of Isaac Asimov's Nightfall.
Nightfall is a science fiction short story about a planet that orbits six stars, and therefore never experiences pure darkness. Because of this, the concept of darkness is truly terrifying; adventurous, daredevil folk will risk exposure to darkness by going through a thrill ride tunnel encased in darkness, but if I recall correctly this only lasts a few seconds or minutes.
As the story progresses, several scientists make discoveries about the nature of their planet and civilization. First, a psychologist studies the effects of darkness exposure; second, an archaeologist discovers evidence of multiple civilization collapses; and third, an astronomer discovers irregularities in their orbit pattern. Also referenced throughout the story is a cult that expects doomsday to occur soon.1 Warning: Spoiler Alert! Ultimately these discoveries lead to the final epiphany: the irregular orbit is caused by a satellite, that will block out the only sun appearing in the sky, and the world will be enveloped in darkness. However brief, the psychologist believes it will be enough to drive society mad, and, as the archaeologist's discoveries suggest, bring about the collapse of modern civilization. Turns out, the crazy cultists were right!
Because of that cult, when I hear doomsday predictions, I think of Asimov's short story. I don't put much stock in doomsday sayers, but it's still there, tugging at the corner of my brain. What if?
Disclaimer: I may be misremembering things, so I definitely recommend you check out Nightfall. It was one of my favorites of the short stories we read in my Science Fiction class in college. Apparently it is also a novel, so I will have to check that out soon too.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightfall_(Asimov_short_story)
No comments:
Post a Comment