Around this time, Beenay also finds out about the beliefs of a group of cultists called the “Apostles of Fire”, who believe the world will be destroyed in a darkness, with the appearance of stars that unleash a torrent of fire.īeenay puts all this data together to conclude that every 2000 years, their world is engulfed in a darkness caused by an eclipse due to a previously undiscovered moon, and the darkness is so horrifying to the Laglashians that they sought out any source of light to try and drive away the darkness. The story starts when a group of scientists at the Saro University make a number of interrelated discoveries – an archaeologist, Siferra, finds evidence of at least 9 cyclical collapses of society, occurring regularly at intervals of 2000 years an astronomer, Beenay, discovers irregularities in the orbit of Laglash around its primary sun (alpha) and a psychologist, Sheerin, researches the effects of prolonged exposure to darkness. The Laglashians are sceptical at the idea of darkness, and dismiss it as hearsay. The planet’s history speaks of at least nine past civilizations, which were burnt to crisp at the very height of their culture, at recurring intervals of time, along with the coming of a rare night, or eclipse. As one would expect, the planet almost never sees darkness. “Nightfall”, is a story about a planet (Laglash) which is illuminated by seven suns. A very well written book, it perfectly blends psychology with science fiction, talking about the fall of civilizations at the hand of an unknown phenomenon. In 1990, it was adapted into a novel with Robert Silverberg.

“Nightfall”, by Isaac Asimov started off as a short story in 1941.

Nightfall robert silverberg