Isaac Asimov - Nightfall (1964)
Isaac Asimov was a biochemistry professor and author/editor of 500+ books during his lifetime from 1920-1992. He was an extremely decorated author (particularly for science fiction), and a heavily lauded research scientist.*
One of his most famous science fiction pieces is âNightfallâ:
https://sites.uni.edu/morgans/astro/course/nightfall.pdf
âNightfallâ is perhaps one of the most immersive sci-fi pieces Iâve read, and depicts an incredibly strong commentary on human reactions to fear, death, and the unknown. In âNightfall,â readers are thrown into a classic tale of the end of the world. Living on a planet that knows no darkness, scientists are shown calculating and predicting a rare eclipse of their suns that very day. What follows is a clash between journalists, scientists, and religious leaders who all debate what this period without light means, and if it fortells the end of humanity. The commentary is especially strong once the eclipse begins â people become mad, violent, and terrified, and all experience a crushing sense of insignificance upon seeing the stars. These people become desperate for the light, and the world that they know, to return by any means possible.
My favorite passage is below, which to me best depicts a scientistâs reaction their darkness and the appearance of stars:
âAton, somewhere, was crying, 78 whimpering horribly like a terribly 79 frightened child. 'Stars -- all the Stars -- we                           80 didn't know at all. We didn't know anything.                           81 We thought six stars in a universe is                                82 something the Stars didn't notice is
83 Darkness forever and ever and ever and
84 the walls are breaking in and we didn't 85 know we couldn't know and anything -- ' 86 Someone clawed at the torch, and it 87 fell and snuffed out. In the instant, the 88 awful splendor of the indifferent Stars 89 leaped nearer to them.â
*He also is known for fondling women without their consent, and a reason many women did not feel comfortable in the sci-fi community.












