History Literature / Nightfall1941

* BreakThroughHit: As Creator/IsaacAsimov described it; "The writing of 'Nightfall' was a watershed in my professional career ... I was suddenly taken seriously and the world of science fiction became aware that I existed. As the years passed, in fact, it became evident that I had written a 'classic'."

* ATaleToldByAnIdiot: The SacredScripture of the local ApocalypseCult is probably one of these. As discussed, once the civilization had been destroyed through everyone going mad, the only people coherent enough to recount what happened will be either children too young to [[InnocentInaccurate consider the Night as something truly terrible]], or someone who didn't have a lot of intelligence and sanity to begin with. Few take the Cult's warning seriously.

* ATaleToldByAnIdiot: The SacredScripture of the local ApocalypseCult is probably one of these. As discussed, once the civilization had been destroyed through everyone going mad, the only people coherent enough to recount what happened will be either children too young to [[InnocentInaccurate consider the Night as something truly terrible]], or someone who didn't have a lot of intelligence and sanity to begin with. Few take the Cult's warning seriously.

* [[EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse Lagash Is The Center Of The Universe]]: {{Subverted}}. The people of Lagash believed the universe to consist entirely of their world and its six suns. More even than the Darkness, it is seeing the stars beyond their own and the consequent revelation of how utterly ''insignificant'' they truly are that drives the people of Lagash irreversibly insane during the Nightfall.

* AlienSky: Lagash is a planet with six suns and one moon. Every 2,049 local years, the moon [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipses the sole remaining sun]] on one side of the planet, causing the people of Lagash to go insane and destroy their civilization. The scientists theorize that prolonged darkness is the culprit. [[spoiler: It isn't just the darkness, something the Lagashites have normally no experience with, that drives the people insane; it's all the stars in it. Their astronomers had theorized that there might be other star systems, as many as twenty or even a hundred — a number which another character whistles at, commenting that it would reduce their world to insignificance. Earth's sky would be enough of a shock, but Lagash is close to the center of the galaxy, and the splendor of a star-packed sky — the sudden revelation of how vast the universe really is, and how indescribably tiny they are by comparison -- is enough to crush even the most "prepared" mind.]]

The [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipse begins]], and the astronomers try to record every part of the event. While totality approaches, someone notices a smudge of darkness in the distance; it's the people from the nearest city, who likely have already started going insane. They barricade themselves against the invasion, but totality has arrived, making Beta completely eclipsed. [[spoiler: The Stars come out; thirty thousand stars shine down on the people of Lagash, nearly ten times what we see on Earth. The characters GoMadFromTheRevelation that ''they are insignificant''.]]

* CosmicHorrorStory: On the planet Lagash, the sky is [[EndlessDaytime always lit by at least one of the six suns]] for over two thousand years, [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot until an eclipse]]. The concept of "darkness" is so foreign to them that one of the characters needs the concept explained, and torches are an experimental new technology. These eclipses have seemed to coincide with the collapse of past civilizations. A new scientific theory postulates that [[AlienSky the night sky]], and its resultant darkness has driven every previous civilization mad. On the eve of the next eclipse, the citizens of Lagash are about to find out whether this theory is correct. [[spoiler: Though there's no EldritchAbominations, supernatural / otherworldly intelligences, unfathomable godlike beings or any such things typically found in such stories; just a brilliant starry night of the sort which we on Earth might find beautiful but commonplace, but which forces the Lagashians to realise that, far from being the center of the universe, they're actually just a very small part of an unimaginably bigger universe.]]

* CosmicHorrorStory: On the planet Lagash, the sky is [[EndlessDaytime always lit by at least one of the six suns]] for over two thousand years, [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot until an eclipse]]. The concept of "darkness" is so foreign to them that one of the characters needs the concept explained, and torches are an experimental new technology. These eclipses have seemed to coincide with the collapse of past civilizations. A new scientific theory postulates that [[AlienSky the night sky]], and its resultant darkness has driven every previous civilization mad. On the eve of the next eclipse, the citizens of Lagash are about to find out whether this theory is correct. [[spoiler: Though there's no EldritchAbominations, supernatural / otherworldly intelligences, unfathomable godlike beings or any such things typically found in such stories; just a brilliant starry night which forces the Lagashians to realise that, far from being the center of the universe, they're actually just a very small part of an unimaginably bigger universe.]]

* CosmicHorrorStory: On the planet Lagash, the sky is [[EndlessDaytime always lit by at least one of the six suns]] for over two thousand years, [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot until an eclipse]]. The concept of "darkness" is so foreign to them that one of the characters needs the concept explained, and torches are an experimental new technology. These eclipses have seemed to coincide with the collapse of past civilizations. A new scientific theory postulates that [[AlienSky the night sky]], and its resultant darkness has driven every previous civilization mad. On the eve of the next eclipse, the citizens of Lagash are about to find out whether this theory is correct.

* ATaleToldByAnIdiot: The SacredScripture of the local ApocalypseCult is probably one of these. As discussed, once the civilization had been destroyed through everyone going mad, the only people coherent enough to recount what happened will be either children too young to [[InnocentInaccurate consider the Night as something truly terrible]], or someone who didn't have a lot of intelligence and sanity to begin with. Few take the Cult's warning seriously.

%%* OneWordTitle

* AlienSky: Lagash is a planet with six suns and one moon. Every 2,049 local years, the moon [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipses the sole remaining sun]] on one side of the planet, causing the people of Lagash to go insane and destroy their civilization. The scientists theorize that prolonged darkness is the culprit. [[spoiler: It isn't just the darkness, something the Lagashites have normally no experience with, that drives the people insane; it's all the stars in it. Their astronomers had theorized that there might be other star systems, as many as twenty or even a hundred — a number which another character whistles at, commenting that it would reduce their world to insignificance. Earth's sky would be enough of a shock, but Lagash is close to the center of the galaxy, and the splendor of a star-packed sky — the sudden revelation of how vast the universe really is, and how indescribably tiny they are by comparison — is enough to crush even the most "prepared" mind.]]

* CapitalLettersAreMagic: When Sheerin 501 explains the new scientific law that the astronomers have figured out, he pronounces the capital letters in "Theory of Universal Gravitation". (It took Lagash scientists four hundred years to figure out UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton's theory, because they only had the six suns to work with - no visible planets or moons.)

* EternalRecurrence: On Lagash, the sky is [[EndlessDaytime always sunlit]] due to the [[AlienSky six suns]] that Lagash orbits inside of. Once every 2,049 years, when only one of the suns are in the sky, [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot an eclipse covers the remaining star]], plunging the world into darkness. This natural phenomenon [[CosmicHorrorStory causes everyone to go mad and start burning everything to generate whatever light they can]], inadvertently returning civilization to the stone age. [[spoiler: the twist is that the darkness is bad enough, but it's the appearance of the stars in numbers that no one on the planet can comprehend and the revelation of how insignificant they are that drives everyone crazy.]]

* OneWordTitle

* StealthPun: The advanced society regresses to barbarism once the light from all six of their planet's suns are blocked. In other words, they enter a literal [[DarkAges Dark Age]].

Theremon 762 is a [[MostWritersAreWriters newspaper reporter]] who, for two months before the events of this story, has been [[PropagandaPiece discrediting the astronomers]] and their reports of an upcoming [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipse]] that will end their EndlessDaytime. He's there to convince the head of the observatory, Aton 77, to let him write an article about the eclipse from the point of view of the scientists, [[TheWatson which provides a character for them to give exposition to]].

The [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipse begins]], and the astronomers try to record every part of the event. While totality approaches, someone notices a smudge of darkness in the distance; it's the people from the nearest city, who likely have already started going insane. They barricade themselves against the invasion, but totality has arrived, making Beta completely eclipsed. The Stars come out; thirty thousand stars shine down on the people of Lagash, nearly ten times what we see on Earth. The characters GoMadFromTheRevelation that ''they are insignificant''.

* AlienSky: Lagash is a planet with six suns and one moon. Every 2,049 local years, the moon [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipses the sole remaining sun]] on one side of the planet, causing the people of Lagash to go insane and destroy their civilization. It isn't just the darkness, something the Lagashites have normally no experience with, that drives the people insane; it's all the stars in it. Their astronomers had theorized that there might be other star systems, as many as twenty or even a hundred — a number which another character whistles at, commenting that it would reduce their world to insignificance. Earth's sky would be enough of a shock, but Lagash is close to the center of the galaxy, and the splendor of a star-packed sky — the sudden revelation of how vast the universe really is, and how indescribably tiny they are by comparison — is enough to crush even the most "prepared" mind.

* ApocalypseCult: Lagash has a single holy book; the Book of Revelations. This book explains the [[EternalRecurrence cycle of destruction and rebirth]] that occurs over every two millennia. The cycle reaches its peak when [[EndlessDaytime the daylight ends]] and the Stars come out. Seeing the Stars will [[CosmicHorrorStory drive people insane]] and civilization will end in fire, causing the cycle to begin again.
* ApocalypseHow: Society breaks down every two thousand years because [[spoiler:the sight of the nighttime sky drives everyone crazy]]. Entire cities are burned down and every scrap of accessible technology is destroyed.

* CapitalLettersAreMagic: When Sheerin 501 explains the new scientific law that the astronomers have figured out, he pronounces the capital letters in "Theory of Universal Gravitation". (It took Lagash scientists four hundred years to figure out UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton's theory.)

* {{Claustrophobia}}: Due to their EndlessDaytime, the people of Lagash are so afraid of the dark that 15 minutes without light are enough for a 10% chance of becoming extremely claustrophobic. They discovered this pattern with a [[ThemeParks theme park ride]] called "The Tunnel of Mystery".
* CosmicHorrorStory: On the planet Lagash, the sky is [[EndlessDaytime time lit by at least one of the six suns]] for over two thousand years, [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot until an eclipse]]. The concept of "darkness" is so foreign to them that one of the characters needs the concept explained, and torches are an experimental new technology. These eclipses have seemed to coincide with the collapse of past civilizations. A new scientific theory postulates that [[AlienSky the night sky]], in all its awesome, terrible wonder, has driven every previous civilization mad. On the eve of the next eclipse, the citizens of Lagash are about to find out whether this theory is correct.
* EternalRecurrence: On Lagash, the sky is [[EndlessDaytime always sunlight]] due to the [[AlienSky six suns]] that Lagash orbits inside of. Once every 2,049 years, when only one of the suns are in the sky, [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot an eclipse covers the remaining star]], plunging the world into darkness. This natural phenomenon [[CosmicHorrorStory causes everyone to go mad and start burning everything to generate whatever light they can]], inadvertently returning civilization to the stone age.
* EndlessDaytime: Lagash is a planet whose star system [[AlienSky has six suns]]. As a result, the planet is illuminated all the time. Well, almost. The climax occurs when [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot the only sun left in the sky is eclipsed by the moon]].

* FantasticNamingConvention: The inhabitants of planet Lagash have a name followed by a number, e.g. Sheerin 501, Beenay 25, etc.

* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Lagash's [[AlienSky six suns]] means an EndlessDaytime, except for once every 2,049 years, when [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot five suns set and the only sun left in the hemisphere is eclipsed by the moon]]. The scientists are trying to prepare civilization and themselves for the upcoming [[TheNamesake nightfall]], but when it does occur, no-one is prepared for the thirty thousand Stars that suddenly appear in the night sky. This leads to the far more [[CosmicHorrorStory devastating revelation]] how tiny and insignificant they are by comparison.
--> "Aton, somewhere, was crying, whimpering horribly like a terribly frightened child. 'Stars -- all the Stars -- we didn't know at all. We didn't know anything. We thought six stars in a universe is something the Stars didn't notice is Darkness forever and ever and ever and the walls are breaking in and we didn't know we couldn't know and anything --'"

* {{Irony}}: The characters are frantically trying to prepare society for the terrible effects that a sudden plunge into total darkness might have on a civilisation that knows only ever-present light. However, it turns out that that catalyst for driving everyone mad isn't so much the darkness, but the millions of smaller lights that suddenly appear when the stars can be seen, leading everyone to realise that far from being the centre of the universe, their world is actually very small and insignificant indeed.

* MadnessMantra: At the end of the short story, when five of the suns set and the last one is eclipsed by Lagash's moon, Aton begins to turn into a [[GoMadFromTheRevelation panicked madman]], repeating his words freneticly.
--> "Stars -- all the Stars -- we didn't know at all. We didn't know anything. We thought six stars in a universe is something the Stars didn't notice is Darkness forever and ever and ever and the walls are breaking in and we didn't know we couldn't know and anything -- "

* SetTheWorldOnFire: People set their cities aflame when darkness comes (about every 2,000 years), since they panic ([[GoMadFromTheRevelation because seeing the stars makes them go insane]]).
* TheStarsAreGoingOut: (InvertedTrope) When the six suns of Lagash all set (or are eclipsed), which happens every 2,049 years, the population goes utterly insane and destroys civilization. The protagonists speculate that the blackness of night drives the people mad; in fact, they go mad when they look up at the night sky and see the thirty thousand stars around their little solar system (they are near the center of a globular cluster) and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation realize how much larger the universe is than they ever imagined, and how insignificant they are within it]].

* UnderCity: Archaeologists discover that a hill near their city is actually the ruins of several older cities, piled on top of each other. They all burned down in intervals of roughly 2,000 years. This coincides with nightfall on a planet of [[EndlessDaytime (near-total) daytime]]. People panic and start burning things to bring back the light and wind up destroying everything. Over and over [[EternalRecurrence and over...]]

Theremon 762 is a [[MostWritersAreWriters newspaper reporter]] who, before the events of this story, has been [[PropagandaPiece discrediting the astronomers]] and their reports of an upcoming [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipse]] that will end their EndlessDaytime for two months. He's there to convince the head of the observatory, Aton 77, to let him write an article about the eclipse from the point of view of the scientists, [[TheWatson which provides a character for them to give exposition to]].

This story has been adapted into episodes of ''Radio/DimensionX'', ''Radio/XMinusOne'', and ''Podcast/EscapePod''; adapted into films in [[Film/Nightfall1988 1988]] and [[Film/Nightfall2000 2000]]; and adapted into [[Literature/Nightfall1990 a novel]] co-written by Creator/RobertSilverberg. The original story has been [[{{Anthology}} anthologized]] over forty times, and Creator/IsaacAsimov would include it in six of his collections; ''Literature/NightfallAndOtherStories'' (1969), ''Literature/TheBestOfIsaacAsimov'' (1973), ''Literature/TheEdgeOfTomorrow'' (1985), ''Literature/OtherWorldsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1987), ''Literature/TheAsimovChroniclesFiftyYearsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1989), and ''Literature/TheCompleteStoriesVolume1'' (1990).

This story has been adapted into episodes of ''Radio/DimensionX'', ''Radio/XMinusOne'', and ''Podcast/EscapePod''; adapted into films in [[Film/Nightfall1988 1988]] and [[Film/Nightfall2000 2000]]; and adapted into [[Literature/Nightfall1992 a novel]] co-written by Creator/RobertSilverberg. The original story has been [[{{Anthology}} anthologized]] over forty times, and Creator/IsaacAsimov would include it in six of his collections; ''Literature/NightfallAndOtherStories'' (1969), ''Literature/TheBestOfIsaacAsimov'' (1973), ''Literature/TheEdgeOfTomorrow'' (1985), ''Literature/OtherWorldsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1987), ''Literature/TheAsimovChroniclesFiftyYearsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1989), and ''Literature/TheCompleteStoriesVolume1'' (1990).

Theremon learns from Sheerin 501 about the cycle of civilization and destruction, where cities are burned every two thousand and fifty years. They discuss [[UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton the Theory of Universal Gravitation]], Darkness, and Stars. They're interrupted by the late arrival of two more astronomers, who explain their recent experiment with recreating what they know of the night sky. Then they're interrupted again by a member of [[ApocalypseCult the Cult]] trying to sabotage their equipment.

* ApocalypseCult: Lagash has a single holy book; the Book of Revelations. This book explains the cycle of destruction and rebirth that occurs over every two millennia. The cycle reaches its peak when [[EndlessDaytime the daylight ends]] and the Stars come out. Seeing the Stars will [[CosmicHorrorStory drive people insane]] and civilization will end in fire, causing the cycle to begin again.

* EndlessCycle: On Lagash, the sky is [[EndlessDaytime always sunlight]] due to the [[AlienSky six suns]] that Lagash orbits inside of. Once every 2,049 years, when only one of the suns are in the sky, [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot an eclipse covers the remaining star]], plunging the world into darkness. This natural phenomenon [[CosmicHorrorStory causes everyone to go mad and start burning everything to generate whatever light they can]], inadvertently returning civilization to the stone age.

* UnderCity: Archaeologists discover that a hill near their city is actually the ruins of several older cities, piled on top of each other. They all burned down in intervals of roughly 2,000 years. This coincides with nightfall on a planet of [[EndlessDaytime (near-total) daytime]]. People panic and start burning things to bring back the light and wind up destroying everything. Over and over [[EndlessCycle and over...]]

Theremon 762 is a [[MostWritersAreWriters newspaper reporter]] who, before the events of this story, has been [[PropagandaPiece discrediting the astronomers]] and their reports of an upcoming [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipse]] that will end their EternalDaylight for two months. He's there to convince the head of the observatory, Aton 77, to let him write an article about the eclipse from the point of view of the scientists, [[TheWatson which provides a character for them to give exposition to]].

* ApocalypseCult: Lagash has a single holy book; the Book of Revelations. This book explains the cycle of destruction and rebirth that occurs over every two millennia. The cycle reaches its peak when [[EndlessDaylight the daylight ends]] and the Stars come out. Seeing the Stars will [[CosmicHorrorStory drive people insane]] and civilization will end in fire, causing the cycle to begin again.

* CosmicHorrorStory: On the planet Lagash, the sky is [[EndlessDaytime lit by at least one of the six suns]] for over two thousand years, [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot until an eclipse]]. The concept of "darkness" is so foreign to them that one of the characters needs the concept explained, and torches are an experimental new technology. These eclipses have seemed to coincide with the collapse of past civilizations. A new scientific theory postulates that [[AlienSky the night sky]], in all its awesome, terrible wonder, has driven every previous civilization mad. On the eve of the next eclipse, the citizens of Lagash are about to find out whether this theory is correct.

Theremon 762 is a [[MostWritersAreWriters newspaper reporter]] who, before the events of this story, has been [[PropagandaPiece discrediting the astronomers]] and their reports of an upcoming [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot eclipse]] that will end their EternalDaytime for two months. He's there to convince the head of the observatory, Aton 77, to let him write an article about the eclipse from the point of view of the scientists, [[TheWatson which provides a character for them to give exposition to]].

* ApocalypseCult: Lagash has a single holy book; the Book of Revelations. This book explains the cycle of destruction and rebirth that occurs over every two millennia. The cycle reaches its peak when [[EndlessDaytime the daylight ends]] and the Stars come out. Seeing the Stars will [[CosmicHorrorStory drive people insane]] and civilization will end in fire, causing the cycle to begin again.

This story has been adapted into episodes of ''Radio/DimensionX'', ''Radio/XMinusOne'', and ''Podcast/EscapePod'';adapted into films in [[Film/Nightfall1988 1988]] and [[Film/Nightfall2000 2000]]; and adapted into [[Literature/Nightfall1992 a novel]] co-written by Creator/RobertSilverberg. The original story ; and adapted into [[Literature/Nightfall1992 a novel]] co-authored with Creator/RobertSilverberg. The original story has been [[{{Anthology}} anthologized]] over forty times, and Creator/IsaacAsimov would include it in six of his collections; ''Literature/NightfallAndOtherStories'' (1969), ''Literature/TheBestOfIsaacAsimov'' (1973), ''Literature/TheEdgeOfTomorrow'' (1985), ''Literature/OtherWorldsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1987), ''Literature/TheAsimovChroniclesFiftyYearsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1989), and ''Literature/TheCompleteStoriesVolume1'' (1990).

!!''Nightfall'' provides examples of: