The End

After Doomsday.

"One senseless kick of some cosmic boot, and the whole long story came to an end and it had all, all been for nothing." (4, p. 33)

The story of Sigrid Holmen's "folk" had begun when:

"...they entered the land to hunt elk as the glaciers melted..." (ibid.)

It had not all been for nothing. Has a life been for nothing when it has ended? Certainly we expect to have descendants, if not individually then collectively, but that too will end at some future date. If nothing lasts forever, it nevertheless has value while it lasts. Or would it make sense to commit mass suicide here and now? Obviously not. And who knows what the future will bring? Mankind is not dead if some crews have got into space before Earth is sterilized.

Poul Anderson casually raises such issues even in the midst of action scenes, as here. The European spaceship, the Europa, must respond to an incoming missile. Human action continues. And posting on this blog should continue tomorrow. Good night.