Nightfall

剛剛看完由兩大奇幻文學作家-Isaac Asimov 和Robert Silverberg合作寫的Nightfall（夜幕低垂），簡單來說就是「勁」！！果然是Isaac Asimov 最精采的代表作，被稱為科幻文學上的一個里程碑也是一個必然的事實。

Nightfall沒有其他科幻文學的影子（當然它有Isaac Asimov的特點），一切都是由Isaac Asimov 一手創造出來的：
「The fictional planet, Lagash (Kalgash in the novel adaptation) is located in a stellar system containing six stars (Onos, Dovim, Tano, Sitha, Trey and Petru), which keep the whole planet continuously illuminated; total darkness is unknown, as are more distant stars. A group of scientists from Saro University begin to make a series of discoveries that all are ultimately linked. Sheerin 501 is a psychologist who researches the effects of prolonged exposure to darkness, Siferra 89 was digging at a site of a ruined city, only to find evidence of multiple cyclical collapses, and Beenay 25 is an astronomer who discovered irregularities in the orbit of Kalgash around its primary sun Onos. Beenay takes his findings to his superior at the university, Athor, who formulated the Theory of Universal Gravitation. This forces the astronomers at Saro University to attempt to find an answer to what is causing this anomaly. Eventually it is discovered that the only thing that could be causing the deviation is an astronomical body that orbits Kalgash, simply called Kalgash Two.

Beenay, through his friend Theremon 762 (a reporter), has learned some of the beliefs of the group known as the Apostles of Flame. They believe the world would be destroyed in a darkness with the appearance of Stars that unleash a torrent of fire. Beenay combines what he has learned about the repetitive collapses at the digsite, and the new theory with the potential of eclipses and learns that an eclipse on one-sun days (Dovim) occurs every 2049 years. Therefore, "nightfall" occurs once every 2,049 years, when the sole sun on one side of the planet is eclipsed for half a day.

Since the population of Kalgash has never experienced universal darkness the event of such a thing would be devastating and the population with even short exposure (15 minutes) can be susceptible to major trauma and possibly death from shock. When nightfall occurs and the stars appear for the first time in millenia on Kalgash universal anarchy breaks out and most are mentally damaged in the process at least temporarily. Cities are destroyed in massive fires and civilization - as previously known - collapses. The final section of the book deals with the ashes of the fallen civilization and the competing groups trying to seize control.」

極度出色的作品!!(至少我認為它比魔戎來得好)

如果我跟你說，明天太陽會消失，你會怎樣想？

你可能會說沒有這個可能。不錯，大部份人都會這樣說。Lagash上的人一生都未見過黑幕，對黑暗都有普遍性的恐懼，根本就沒有想過「黑夜」的來臨。當有科學家指出「黑夜」的來臨時，根本就沒有人相信這會發生。有一句說話說得好，人是沒有可能想像想像不到的事，當面對一些自己從來沒有遇到的事，再堅強的人都會有一刻的不知所措。而更糟的是Lagash上的人因「黑夜」的衝擊、恐懼而陷入有限度的瘋狂。

我再舉一例子，想當年哥白尼提出日心說的時候，天主教教會視之為異教徒，加以打壓。對於信奉地心說的大眾，根本就接受不了地球不是中心的說法。再簡單來說，其實人接受「新事物」（其實這些所謂的新事物一直存在，只是我們不發現它們的存在）的能力實在有限。

例子我就不再舉了。而我最終的問題是「人到底信不信任科學」，這我又不再提了，你可以在之前的Foundation中找到答案，看Isaac Asimov的書就會令我想到這一個問題。