Light

Log Entry Date: May 16, 2022

Darkness. That's all we have now. Unending night, stretching into the blackness of space. No one knows why. Scientists have a million theories about why the sun suddenly went out, none of them good. Philosophers and theologians have a million more. But no one really knows why, or more importantly, how to turn it back on. One minute the sun was shining down, baking billions of souls in warmth and energy, the next, it was gone, like a lightbulb switched off. Utter darkness. Chaos and cold followed, consuming countless lives in the aftermath. It's been three months, and the sun still sits black and lifeless above us. I guess we should feel lucky that the mass of the sun seems to have remained unchanged, or else our orbit would have destabilized and we'd be flung into space. Or perhaps that would have been a good thing. Maybe we could have found a different star, one still burning. They're out there. In the unending night, it's easy to see them, shining lightyears away. Only our own sun seems to have died, the stars of other worlds glinting mockingly down at our poor, lightless Earth.


Log Entry Date: June 2, 2022

Light! Sweet, glorious light! And warmth! The sun burns brightly once again, and humanity rejoices. Scientists are still baffled, though many religious leaders have an explanation readily available. But what matters is that life is possible again. Though millions died in the dark times, we can rebuild. This time better than before. We won't waste our precious time squabbling or squandering resources. Humanity has been given a second chance, and God as our witness, we'll make it count.


Log Entry Date: July 4, 2022

The sun is dead once again, and with it any chance of survival. Despair clutches at my heart, threatening to pull me down into the inky abyss which surrounds us all. But hope still lingers, like an ember, waiting to flare into joy should the Sun similarly alight. Perhaps the sun will catch fire once more? Not dead, but merely sleeping? The hope keeps me warm, guiding me toward life. I must fight to keep that hope alive, and myself, for the day that light and warmth once again visit these shores. I must believe it can happen again.


Log Entry Date: July 27, 2022

Truly there is mercy and joy in this world! For there is light! Sweet glorious radiation! Within hours of the sun once again burning brightly in the sky, I was sunburnt, and all the happier for it. But this time the Sun's reappearance is tinged with doubt and worry. Will it once more fade, leaving us in darkness? Perhaps next time will be eternal? Or perhaps the Sun will continue to shine for a billion years uninterrupted, as we'd originally thought? No one knows, but we plan for the worst...


Log Entry Date: September 8, 2022

As we feared, darkness is once again upon us. This time I do not think I can keep hope alive. Despair claws at me like a wild beast, shredding what little sanity I have left. Will this cycle never end?

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Jake flipped the lightswitch again. Nothing. He'd just moved into this house and was still figuring out where everything was, and this light switch was apparently hooked to nothing. He flipped it a few more times before writing a stickynote to himself and slapping it on the lightswitch, promising to track down what it controlled when he had more time.