shit. If people think they can get away with something without repercussions, then chances are they’ll try it. Especially if they’ve lost hope or are desperate.”
“But that kind of stuff can’t happen here. Not in Walden. I mean, sure, we’ve got drugs and crime andshit, but mass-scale looting and riots? It would never happen here.”
“It can happen anywhere. The only reason we didn’t loot today is that we were too worn out after going to the edge of town. If you and I had the idea to start looting, then you can bet a bunch of other people did, too.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
“You ever read ‘Nightfall’ by Isaac Asimov?”
“I don’t think so.”
“It’s a pretty good story. You should read it. I’ll lend it to you.”
“What’s it about?”
“There’s this astronomer on a planet where it’s always daylight—”
“How does that happen?”
“Because they have multiple suns. This astronomer figures out that all the suns are about to set for the first time in thousands of years. Last time that happened, their civilization collapsed because there was mass panic, chaos, and insanity when night fell. Think about that for a minute, and then apply it to our situation.”
As if to punctuate the topic of our conversation, somewhere in the blackness, a woman shrieked and sobbed. The sound erupted suddenly, without warning, and stopped just as abruptly. From our location, it was impossible to tell where the noise had come from—not our building, certainly, but not that far away either. Within a few blocks, at least.
“It can happen anywhere,” Russ repeated. He turned the flashlight off and handed it to me. Then he walked toward his telescope.
“I guess you’re right,” I said. “It’s just sort ofdepressing. You’d think that after landing a man on the moon and a robot on Mars and inventing the goddamn internet, we’d be a bit more evolved by now.”
“Nah. We’re animals, Robbie. Always have been. Always will be. If dolphins had opposable thumbs, they’d replace us as the dominant species in a heartbeat.”
I was getting depressed again, so I decided to change the subject. I took another swig of tea. It was already going cold, and the whiskey in it tasted stronger now.
“So even though it’s dark outside, it’s not technically nighttime. Shouldn’t you wait to go stargazing?”
“Nope. The only reason we don’t do it during the day is because of the sunlight. We don’t have to worry about that now. And with the power still out, now’s the perfect time. There won’t be any light pollution at all. I should be able to see stars that I’ve never seen before from this rooftop.”
I glanced up at the sky. “I don’t see anything.”
“Don’t worry. There are about three thousand stars visible from earth’s surface without a telescope or binoculars on dark, moonless nights. Tonight is the exception.”
“That’s an understatement.”
He chuckled. “But those stars are still there, even though you can’t see them. They aren’t going anywhere. Now, it could be this darkness is some kind of dense, uniform cloud cover or smog. If so, this telescope is powerful enough to see through that.”
“You really think it’s just smog? Even after today?”
He paused before answering. “Not really, although it would explain why we can’t see the stars with the naked eye. But we will with the telescope. You wouldn’t believe how much this thing cost. It was the only item I kept after Olivia and I got divorced, other than mybooks and music collection and a few photographs. It’s my pride and joy. Like I said, this baby can see right through cloud cover and stuff.”
“I hope so.”
“It’s not like the stars move or suddenly all wink out of existence. No matter what’s happened, you can count on this, Robbie—the stars are still there.”
But they weren’t.
At first, Russ didn’t say anything. He fiddled with the telescope, staring through
“But that kind of stuff can’t happen here. Not in Walden. I mean, sure, we’ve got drugs and crime andshit, but mass-scale looting and riots? It would never happen here.”
“It can happen anywhere. The only reason we didn’t loot today is that we were too worn out after going to the edge of town. If you and I had the idea to start looting, then you can bet a bunch of other people did, too.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
“You ever read ‘Nightfall’ by Isaac Asimov?”
“I don’t think so.”
“It’s a pretty good story. You should read it. I’ll lend it to you.”
“What’s it about?”
“There’s this astronomer on a planet where it’s always daylight—”
“How does that happen?”
“Because they have multiple suns. This astronomer figures out that all the suns are about to set for the first time in thousands of years. Last time that happened, their civilization collapsed because there was mass panic, chaos, and insanity when night fell. Think about that for a minute, and then apply it to our situation.”
As if to punctuate the topic of our conversation, somewhere in the blackness, a woman shrieked and sobbed. The sound erupted suddenly, without warning, and stopped just as abruptly. From our location, it was impossible to tell where the noise had come from—not our building, certainly, but not that far away either. Within a few blocks, at least.
“It can happen anywhere,” Russ repeated. He turned the flashlight off and handed it to me. Then he walked toward his telescope.
“I guess you’re right,” I said. “It’s just sort ofdepressing. You’d think that after landing a man on the moon and a robot on Mars and inventing the goddamn internet, we’d be a bit more evolved by now.”
“Nah. We’re animals, Robbie. Always have been. Always will be. If dolphins had opposable thumbs, they’d replace us as the dominant species in a heartbeat.”
I was getting depressed again, so I decided to change the subject. I took another swig of tea. It was already going cold, and the whiskey in it tasted stronger now.
“So even though it’s dark outside, it’s not technically nighttime. Shouldn’t you wait to go stargazing?”
“Nope. The only reason we don’t do it during the day is because of the sunlight. We don’t have to worry about that now. And with the power still out, now’s the perfect time. There won’t be any light pollution at all. I should be able to see stars that I’ve never seen before from this rooftop.”
I glanced up at the sky. “I don’t see anything.”
“Don’t worry. There are about three thousand stars visible from earth’s surface without a telescope or binoculars on dark, moonless nights. Tonight is the exception.”
“That’s an understatement.”
He chuckled. “But those stars are still there, even though you can’t see them. They aren’t going anywhere. Now, it could be this darkness is some kind of dense, uniform cloud cover or smog. If so, this telescope is powerful enough to see through that.”
“You really think it’s just smog? Even after today?”
He paused before answering. “Not really, although it would explain why we can’t see the stars with the naked eye. But we will with the telescope. You wouldn’t believe how much this thing cost. It was the only item I kept after Olivia and I got divorced, other than mybooks and music collection and a few photographs. It’s my pride and joy. Like I said, this baby can see right through cloud cover and stuff.”
“I hope so.”
“It’s not like the stars move or suddenly all wink out of existence. No matter what’s happened, you can count on this, Robbie—the stars are still there.”
But they weren’t.
At first, Russ didn’t say anything. He fiddled with the telescope, staring through
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