Nightfall and Other Stories

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Nightfall and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov.

Nightfall is one of the most famous short story by Isaac Asimov, though his favorite was The Last Question. It is set on planet Lagash, a celestial body in a system of six stars. Those six stars always light the planet; thus, they can never see the stars beyond them. Astronomers find records of the fall of the civilization and can explain it through an astronomical event. Every 2049 years or so another planet causes a special night. On that night, the stars are visible by some sort of eclipse. This usually leads to panic everywhere in the planet... causing the fall of civilization. This time, astronomers are prepared for the unusual darkness, but people are not. They riot and try to attack the observatory. The people believe it is the end of their world due to some prophecies by some apostles in a past organization called The Cult.