Day's End

by JaneQuill28

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.

-T. S. Eliot

1

"Stars. You ever seen 'em, Joss?" Renny McCall asked, as the two men shifted bins of waste into the composting recycler. The massive recycler light blinked yellow as it filled.

"Naaaah. No night on Anula. Ringworlds don't have night. We always face the sun. The architects started built night shields, and ours moved out of geosynchronus orbit and broke up a few years after the colony arrived. And those architects never returned. We only have daylight, 24 hours a day." Joss Anders checked the readout on a recycling tank.

"Why didn't they come back and fix things? It's been 121 years."

Joss shrugged. "History says there was a war between us and the Grolons and the Doxites. Don't know who won or if it's still going on."

The last of the green waste slopped into the recycler bin. The load lights turned red and a warning beeped shrilly. Joss checked the mixture. "Mmmm, OK. Good mix of green waste and brown. Make good compost for the farms in the Ohio Province. The AgroDirector has an emergency order."

Renny stood on tiptoe to peer over his shoulder. "Hunh. Waste is down. I know we had two bins more every day five months ago."

Renny was correct about the reduced waste turnover, but Joss shrugged and pushed the pads to close the recycler. With a hum the machinery started decomposition of organic scrap into rich compost for the farms and gardens of Ringworld.

The five-o'clock alarm sounded. "Workday's over," said Joss. "Let's check out and go home."

Soon the men were waiting for the monorail that would ferry them to the residential apartments west of Hemmler City.

"I've seen stars," said Renny. "In the Skyterrium."

"So have I," said Joss. "Those are only old 3-D pix and virtual reality holograms from the founding."

"I know, I know, but they're lovely. I supposed days are lovely too, but what do we have to compare day to? Without night. Sunset and dawn. Sure, there's rain, every three days, and rainclouds. Rainbows, too." Renny shook his head. "That can't be like night, and, and stars, can it?"

"I don't think so. Rainy skies don't look like night. I'd give anything to see stars. Here on Anula, we orbit the sun, and then orbit it again."

Renny whispered, "there's been talk. The rain isn't falling every three days like it's should. I've heard the crops are smaller in the Third Grass Province. Not as much fruit."

"Rumors," said Joss. "I've heard them, too." He grinned at his shorter friend, blond and stocky. "We're still recycling, and where would the rain go?" The battered gray monorail, labeled 15, Hilltop Rd., identifying its route, whuffed and ground to a stop. The doors squealed open, and the two men got on and found seats by the door. The ancient monorail shivered, gathered power, and rolled away from the recycling factory.

"I'm off tomorrow," said Joss. "Want to go to the Falling Star tonight? Pick up women?"

Renny hesitated. "Yeah, sure. I want to see the new show at the Skyterrium." He stared wide-eyed at Joss. "Beginnings. They'll show the old vids of the stars and the journey here." He sighed. Stars." He rubbed his arm, where a tattoo of the Ormolu star cluster that included their sun was drawn in yellow and red.

"I hadn't heard that. I'll check it out one day."

Groaning and clanking, the monorail creaked to a stop nearest Joss's room. He stood up and moved to the doors. "Meet you at the Falling Star at nine."

"Make it eight," said Renny. "More women than men there at that time. Ladies are easier to deal with and less likely to throw a punch."

"Eight it is." Joss stepped on the platform and headed down the steps as the monorail whuffed on.

2

He took the elevator to his room on the 18th floor of his Residence Unit and settled down on the single easy chair. He opened his computer and checked his email. Mostly junk, but one email was from the Job Bureau. His annual raise was due and this must be the notice. Only three percent, but with the way prices were soaring, every credit counted.

He opened the file. The Job Bureau logo and motto popped up 'JOBS FOR ALL, ANELA WORKS. He scanned the message. Dear Mr. Joss Wellman, blah, blah. We regret to inform you your yearly raise is denied. Production is lowered, blah, blah. The worker's tax is raised two percent. Blah, blah.

Joss reread the email again. He didn't get his raise, for the second year, and taxes were up. He calculated swiftly. Prices were up eighteen and a half percent overall, so he was down twenty and a half percent, not including the loss of a raise. Something was going on.

At 7:30, Joss lowered the blackout curtains that would give his room a semblance of night, turned on a nightlight, and left for the Falling Star. He'd eaten a meager, tasteless meal, and showered, not wanting to drink on an empty stomach, or smell of waste.

Renny had claimed a table when Joss entered the bar. He waved at his best friend and stopped by the bar to buy a lager. "Half glass of lager, Gabi," he said.

"Dark or light, handsome?" Gabi Oregon, the voluptuous bartender, asked.

"Dark, beautiful." The price was up by fifteen percent. Here on out, it would be Anela Lite Beer, which Renny described as 'cheap but at least its drinkable.'

"Another price increase," he said. "Yeah," she said, leaning forward so her tight, low-cut blouse was right before him. "Boss complains they've cut back liquor production by 27%."

"Whoa, that's not going to be popular."

"My percentage of sales is down, even though prices have gone up." Bartending could be lucrative, as bartenders got a percentage of sales. She held a glass under a tap and filled it, with very little foam. Some bartenders poured more foam and less drink to encourage more sales. She put the dark brew on a coaster by him and added a bowl of the delicious, expensive arroz crackers, and smiled, her wise, kind smile.

He suddenly missed her, her quiet voice, easy-going nature, and companionship. Not mention they were good in bed together. "I haven't seen you the last few months. What have you been up to?"

She lowered her eyes and said, "Working at the Palomino."

"Oh," said Joss. The Palomino was named after a first world animal that had not been imported to Anela. The Palomino was an expensive restaurant and bar that featured topless waitresses in the Mustang Lounge, naked mermaids and mermen swimming in the Deep Blue Sea and the rarest foods and liquors available on Anula, and pretty much anything legal you could pay for. He'd never been through the doors. "Good money. Very good money. The most."

"Yeah." She looked at him, and looked away, shyly. "My family needs credits for something important."

"I hope you made what you need." He wondered if her parents or sister were sick. If one of them had a major illness, it should be covered by workmen's insurance. Per the raise-denying Job Bureau.

Gabi nodded. "Have you hooked up yet?"

"No." He waited.

"I'm off at ten. Would you like to go to my room? I have some bourbon from the Palomino, and a real beef steak. Six ounces, but I could cook for us."

Joss stared. He'd had steak twice in his life. Once, when he graduated from Upper School and was admitted to the Engineering School at Uni, and once when he received a second-class engineering degree upon graduation.

"Sure. You know I'd come without steak." But steak was a bonus.

"I know," Gabi said softly, "There's no one else I'd rather share it with."

Joss nodded. "I'll meet you at the employee's door at ten."

Gabi smiled. "Come back for a refill."

He shook his head. "Too expensive."

She laughed. "Who said anything about paying? Employee discount."

Two women called her over, and she went to take their orders.

Joss sat down opposite Renny, and placed the crackers on the table. Renny had been joined by a young woman, perhaps twenty or twenty-one. She was beautiful, petite, slim and shapely, with dark eyes and blonde hair. She smiled at him flirtatiously.

"Hi, I'm Delia." She held out her hand. He shook it carefully, while she looked him with appreciation.

"I'm Joss. You're new here."

"That's right. I moved here last week from Moriko City."

"All the way from the Capitol of the Hill District? For school?"

Delia pouted. "Job. I worked at the Government Library but jobs were cut last month. I was offered a job at the Spaceport so here I came." She shrugged and took a deep swallow of her wine."

"Laid off?"

"Cutbacks. A lot of people weren't offered jobs and went on the dole. My job at the Spaceport doesn't pay as much, but it beats no job."

Joss nodded. Certainly does, he thought, remembering the letter telling him he'd not get a raise.

"I share a room with a guy I knew at the Library who's in the same situation as me. We're at the Youth Residences until we can get individual rooms. Prices are almost as high here as in Moriko and we're forty-nine kilometers from there. You'd think the country would be cheaper."

"We not quite country. Lot of farming and orchards. There's a lot of industry too, plus the Spaceport and the University."

She smiled happily at him, and he realized she was already a little drunk. She finished the last of her wine.

"What are you drinking?" he asked. She obviously preferred him to Renny, something Renny took in stride. His friend was casually checking out possible nightmates and some women were responding. Tonight, he longed for Gabi, whom he'd known since Uni.

"Ochoa White," she said. He got up and motioned Renny to follow him to the bar.

"Ochoa White," he told Gabi. She poured him a chilled glass and went to another customer.

"I'm hooking up with Gabi tonight," he said. "Sorry, but as beautiful as Delia is, I'll stick with Gabi."

"No problem. I'll take her home with me if she wants. Or she can go on her way." Renny examined Gabi. "She's a looker, and makes good coin here. I wonder why you two haven't thought of living together."

"Fees, fees and more fees. Neither of us has a family or child license, and neither of us is forty. Friends with benefits. It works." Joss watched Gabi smile as she handed an older man a rum and coke. He leered back and gave her a good tip. He checked the time: 8:49.

"Yeah, you just missed first class engineer and grad school." Renny shook his head. "Must have been a prime class. You're hardly ever wrong with numbers or engineering. Since you took over managing our recycling center, we've been first every year."

And yet no raise, Joss thought.

Joss handed Delia her drink and sat down. Renny said, "Joss is meeting an old friend later."

"Ok," said Delia. She put a few crackers in her mouth. She crunched and swallowed. "Arroz Crackers are the best," she said. She ate another. "Want to dance?"

They moved to the dance floor as a new song played. The lights changed colors, and blinked on and off. Renny picked up a brunette sitting alone and joined them. Joss wondered if Renny would mind not being Delia's first choice. He thought not. Renny was pragmatic. Delia shimmered to the music, and looked over at Renny and the brunette. "I'm going to have a good time tonight," she said.

After a few dances they returned to their table where Renny sat alone. The brunette had retreated to her table, where a couple of Uni professors joined her. Renny ordered appetizers; frog legs and tater wedges, inexpensive but tasty, and generous proportions, which they ate with their drinks.

"What's to do here in Hemmler City?" Delia asked, rubbing Renny's arm. She smiled at him.

"Oh, the Falling Star or other bars," said Renny. "Uni has soccer games, and events. Lake Largo has swimming, fishing, and boating."

"Is there a public pool?" she asked, brightening.

"One, but you must book a year in advance. There's a pool at Uni, but it's restricted to people who study or work there or are in the Government."

"Blasted town," Delia hissed.

"Delia swims like a fish," Renny said. "She told me one of the perks of the job at the Capitol Library was she got to use the government pools. Sorry, Delia, my room has a bathtub, if you'd like to splash in the tub." She leaned over until her nose was almost touching his. "I'd like that."

About nine-thirty, Joss went to the men's room. Renny followed him. They chose urinals and relieved themselves. "Joss, do you mind if Delia and I leave now? I don't want her so drunk all she does is sleep."

"I don't mind. Don't you have SoberUps?"

"Only one, and I'm taking it. She won't have any. The pharmacy was out."

When they sat down, Delia moved to Renny's lap. She nibbled on the last frog leg, and put the bones down. Joss's mind flicked automatically to recycling bones, then he shook his head. He wanted to forget work and everything but Gabi tonight.

Delia kissed Joss on the lips before they left. "Some other night." He nodded and Renny led her away. Joss got his refill and another bowl of crackers and killed time at the table until almost ten.

3

At three minutes after ten, Gabi appeared from the Worker's Lounge. She smiled at him. "Let's go to my room. I brought some Arroz Crackers and cheese."

They walked to the elevator just as the door opened and three Falling Star workers came out. They muttered hellos as they entered the elevator. Joss pushed the button for the tenth floor. The elevator doors slid open, and they walked to the end of the hall.

One of the perks of Gabi's job was a room over the Falling Star. She'd lucked into a corner room, half again the size of his, with two windows. Her thumbprint on the pad unlocked the door and she led him in.

The curtains were open and bright daylight filled the room. "Can we pull the curtains?" Joss asked. "Not that I don't want to see what we're doing, but the Medical Bureau says we're healthier if we keep it dark at night."

"Sure," she said. "I'll put the stars in place. She walked to the first window and drew the blackout curtains. Several tiny holes had been poked in the fabric, copying star patterns around Earth, the first planet, so the manufacturer claimed. The second window had similar curtains. When she pulled the second curtain shut, the room darkened, but the sun shined through the holes to cast starry spots on the floor.

Joss sighed and relaxed. The dark was cool and relaxing. He wondered how much it was like real night. Gabi pulled him close, and they fell into bed.

Some time later, they sat up in bed, eating crackers and cheese, and drinking wine. Joss offered Gabi the last bites, and she nibbled them.

"Joss, I'm really glad you showed up tonight."

"Yeah? Miss me?"

"You know how much I like you. If the fees weren't so high, I could have asked you to co-habit." She turned to him in the night, and he saw her body outlined in the illusion of starlight, her eyes glowing like stars.

She licked her lips. "My sister and father are doctors. She got the scholarship," Gabi shrugged. "She deserved it, but she's made something of her career." Gabi's fraternal twin, Amelia, was the head pediatrician in Hemmler Medical System. "I went to Food Service, and here I am at the Falling Star."

She fell silent and took another sip of wine. Joss waited, feeling her warmth, her hair tickling his shoulder. "Amelia qualified for a child certificate and marriage exemption."

"That is wonderful news." He wondered why the accomplished Amelia hadn't gotten those certificates years ago.

"It is. Amelia said the birth rate is down twenty-seven percent in the last 20 years. Amelia said she didn't want children. She never did. She loves working with them, but never wanted one."

"How about that? You family could sell those certificates for enough to retire all of you."

Delia shook her head. "We're keeping them. Mom and Dad want a grandchild, and I've always wanted a baby. Amelia is passing the child certificate to me."

Joss was stunned. "That's incredible. He looked at her in the dim light. "Congratulations. A thousand congratulations."

She leaned against him. "We've been planning. We haven't decided about the marriage allowance. We may sell it to provide for the child."

Joss nodded. Babies were expensive.

"I wanted to ask you to consider something."

"Yeah?" He looked at her.

"I'd like you to be the father. You're a good man, smart and educated. My parents like you and approve. It's up to you. We can always pick someone from the donor registry if you don't want to."

"I, I, I don't know what to say. I never thought I'd have a child." He hesitated. "Would I be allowed to see the child. Or are you asking for donor parent only."

"No, we want you to be the father, if you like. Of course, we'll raise him with my family, but you'll be involved."

He closed his eyes and thought. The offer was incredible, and he was beyond fortunate she had asked him.

"I'd like to. I mean, I want to, but it's so hard to believe I can be a father." He hugged her. "I'll do it." He buried his face in her neck.

After a moment he straightened up. "I'll go to the registry as soon as you let me know. We've got to get the shots to reverse sterility, but that won't take long."

"Why would you go to the registry? As soon as we file, you're accepted."

"Everyone goes to the registry to arrange conception."

"Not everyone."

"What?"

"There's no regulation against us making a baby the old way." She slid her arms around his neck.

***

The next morning, he walked home in light as bright as night. Walking would give him time to think and plan for his new future. He left the Falling Star and walked into darkness. Nightfall. During the night one of the broken nightshields crossed over the ring, casting a dim night shadow from Hemmler City to the Northern Rim. This happened every few years.

He looked at the skies, but the sun burned around the shield, and the stars hid their light.

The rim was not prepared for night. There were no streetlights, no brightly lit storefronts. He jumped at a loud crash and looked around to see not two, but three self-driving autos crunched together. A passenger in one was slumped over the window. A police officer went to the cars and spoke to one of the passengers. She called the accident in on her phone.

People emerged from buildings like moles from underground. Rooftops soon were taken over by the curious who wanted to experience the mock night while it lasted. The few children who lived in Hemmler City ran inside or stood still and frightened. Most of them had never experienced this mock night before. Some whimpered and many began to cry.

Grown people cried with them or ran for shelter. Many of Anula's residents couldn't stand night. People flocked into the bars.

Joss looked at the sky. The sky was blue in the direction of the South Rim. This nightshield fragment was CX-2, according to the flowing numbers on its underside. This chunk was 95 kilometers long, and 290 wide, a little wider than ringworld itself. CX-2 was different, but he couldn't determine why. Nightfall from this shard lasted about two and a half hours.

Joss walked on. Some kids stood by bicycles, staring at the shard. His heart warmed. He'd have to teach his son or daughter to ride a bike, to not fear the nights, to dream of stars.

The end portion of CX-2 passed over Hemmler City in the early afternoon of the next day. Nightfall lasted six hours and three minutes. In his room, Joss watched the news. He'd never known nightfall to be more than three hours. The reporter summed up crashes, hospitalizations due to panic, and other disturbances. Joss turned the news off and left to jog around the nearby park. Temperatures were cooler after nightfall.

4

Gabi and Amelia met him at the Donor Registry at one o'clock on Monday. Gabi was shimmering with excitement. Soon they spoke with Aron, their case manager.

"Congratulations," said Aron. "I'm here to help you with the regulations, fertility treatments, and the birthing. Dr. Oregon (He nodded to Cornelia.) can of course help with that. Let's run through the checklist." He pulled up a file on his computer.

"Question 1: Sex of Child. Have you decided?

"Random," said Delia. "We don't have a preference."

"Question 2: Time. "When do you want to begin the gestation?"

"Immediately," Delia said. "I'm 33 and Joss is 30, so we're ready.

The last part of the interview was scheduling the fertility treatments. "Next available is tomorrow afternoon. Would you like that?"

"Oh, yes," said Delia, and Joss nodded. He wondered why the wait list was empty, and decided he was glad not to wait.

Two months later, Delia was pregnant. They celebrated at her parents' family rooms in the Six Mile section of Hemmler. Delia was almost delirious with excitement. She announced they had decided to name their son, Abraham, after Joss's father.

A few weeks later, Joss met Renny at the Falling Star. He spent many nights there with Gabi. Soon she would move in with her parents, until her application for family rooms was filled.

"I envy you, man. A girlfriend with a family license, your own baby on the way." Renny shook his head. "I'll be stuck in the single life till I'm forty. It's too expensive to settle down with someone unless you can get a license. I'll be looking for nightmates for another ten years." Renny drank his beer.

"Some kind of life. Limits on children, marriages, rationing of food and rooms. Competition for University, for a chance to get ahead." He leaned closer to Joss, and said, "I was sure you'd get a first at Uni. Valedictorian at Secondary School. Best in math and science. No one can work celestial navigation like you can. If you had gotten that first, you'd have that kid already, your own family rooms, a better job than Recycling Manager—you'd be navigator on an orbital transport. Sorry, man. I know you did your best at Uni, but the competition must have been fierce."

"It was," Joss said. He crumbed a few Arroz Crackers between his fingers, and his thoughts turned to memories of Uni. He couldn't forget Professor Mel Stratton. Manipulative, unscrupulous, and guiding light of a clique of students and graduates who followed him for the benefits he controlled. Mel was very well-connected. His father was a past president of the Rim Union, and his mother was then president of Himmler University. His sister was permanent Undersecretary of Agriculture, and his daughter was Governor of Hann Province—their province.

In addition, he had continually lowered Joss's scores for negligible errors, denied him the best opportunities, and favored students who were well-connected or yesmen.

As Joss left his last class with Stratton, knowing he'd get a Second by a point and had lost the opportunity for graduate school and work as a navigator, Stratton stopped him. "Congratulations on your Second Class Degree. Perhaps if you'd tried a little harder you've have gotten a first. Good luck."

Joss tensed, wanting to punch Stratton's sneering face, but controlled himself, knowing he had lost. "Thanks," he said. "I'll never forget your leadership." He walked off without looking back.

His fiancé left him when he told her he wouldn't get the scholarship and likely never qualify for a family and child license. She married one of Stratton's favorites. They lived in Moriko City where both worked for the Department of Agriculture.

He'd met Renny and Gabi at Uni. Gabi was two years ahead and Renny was in his program but had no illusions of getting a First. He earned a Second-Class degree and was satisfied with it.

One of Joss's classmates offered him a position in the Rim Maintenance Department but realizing that the classmate wanted his abilities to handle the work and he'd never get credit or advancement, turned her down. He turned down a few similar offers.

Renny told him Recycling needed Maintenance Engineers. He could assemble and dissemble any machine almost without thinking, so he took it. He was soon promoted to Manager and remained there.

Renny's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Joss? Your mind wandering?" Joss shook and returned to the present. "How is Gabi doing?"

"Really good. Baby's due in seven and a half months. We're naming him Abraham."

"Good name."

Delia joined them, for she and Renny had formed a relationship, semi-permanent to avoid the fees. Renny claimed it was because she loved his bathtub, a rare find in any residence unit under first level.

Joss met Gabi at ten and they went to her room. She seemed excited, and he wondered what was up. She pushed into her room and sat on the bed.

"Joss, I've talked to my family. They approve of my plan."

Joss nodded.

"Would you want to get married? I can get a marriage license, and together would be better for our baby."

Joss hadn't expected her to want marriage. The fees and licenses could be forbidding. Her sister had a First-Class rating, so maybe that made it affordable.

"Yes, of course I'll marry you. When? Where would we live?" He took her hands and kissed them.

"Next weekend, if you're off work. There's a family unit available in my family's residential building. If that's OK."

"It's very OK," he said, kissing her.

5

"Your pregnancy is going well, sis," Amelia Oregon said, as Joss and Gabi sat in her exam room three months later. "Abraham should be here right on time, in seven months. I'm so looking forward to meeting my nephew."

"That's great," said Gabi. "We're getting our rooms ready for him. Mom and Dad have contributed most of the furniture.

"I'll cover the costs of delivery."

"Thanks again. You're doing so much."

"My pleasure. Birth licenses are down again this year. I've got an A2 rating, and I had to fight to get a birth license."

"There's lots of babies born every year," said Gabi.

Amelia shook her head. "Lots of babies, sure, but twenty-five, thirty years ago, there were almost twice as many."

"That can't be true," Gabi said. Joss sat up straight, surprised.

"True," said Amelia. "I deliver babies; I know the numbers." She smiled softly at her twin. "Think about it. How many other people do you know with a brother or sister?"

"Why, I know the chief of police has a brother. The Mayor. The grocery inspector."

"They're all at least 40," said Amelia. "You don't know them; you know of them."

"Yeah," said Gabi.

The room darkened and Joss jumped up and looked around.

"It's OK, Joss," said Amelia. A nightshield is passing over."

"One passed over a few months ago. They're usually two or three years apart."

"The Rim Management Office said flyovers are going to happen more often. At least every year, and last longer. Didn't you hear? You're an engineer with a second in Astro engineering."

"Yeah," said Joss, sitting down. "I've been so busy—so happy about the baby and marrying, I've just been dedicated to us and my job."

"OK," said Amelia. "I'll see you next here next month, Gabi. In the meantime, dinner at Mom and Dad's this weekend."

They walked out in the temporary false night of the shield and caught the monorail to their new family rooms. Joss sat silently, events and gossip and news he'd heard rolling through his mind. Pieces were fitting together and heading towards a revelation he didn't want to know.

Amelia was right about the birth rate. He was an only child. His mother was an only child. His father had a brother who could not get a marriage or birth license. They were dead. He had no parents, aunts, uncles, cousins. His closest relative was a distant cousin who shared a great-great grandfather. He didn't know the woman. Renny was like a brother to him, but if not for Gabi, he wouldn't have a family.

As a 2B rating, he could have gone to graduate school and eventually gotten marriage and birth licenses. Twenty-odd years ago, he almost certainly would have, but these days he couldn't afford the fees.

He and Gabi had gotten a generous five-room family unit when he expected a three-room. His old residence had many empty rooms. Delia, Renny's frequent nightmate, had gotten a room in the city center, something her rating wouldn't have permitted five or ten years ago.

The nightshields. A piece passed over every four or five years, but now came a few times a year. Young school graduates who didn't earn a rating that gave licenses had the marriage age of 40. His parents had been 35. Such single people were encouraged to find temporary partners and take new ones frequently. Meeting places such as the Falling Star were popular and big business. Recycling was down, and he knew that meant people were using up more of production. Less waste food, energy, clothes. Less people filled the bars and clubs, and rush hour was less packed. He rubbed his forehead. He needed to figure out what it meant.

"Does your head hurt," Gabi asked?

"No, love," he smiled at her. "Just thinking about the job and what Amelia told us. Here's our stop."

That night when Gabi was asleep, he went in the small living room. He opened computer files and checked the data reports for the things that worried him.

Birth rate was down 41.32% in the last sixteen years. Less rain fell, reducing crops. Food production was down 25%, but with the population reduced by 37% already, famine was not a problem. Yet. Hotter, drier weather had damaged Montana Province, with its forests producing wood.

When the architects and engineers built the ring to circle Anelon, their small G2V sun, they build a half ring to orbit inside Anela to create night. The nightshield. Anela was complete and self-sufficient with green lands, waters, even a small sea, mountains, forests. Cities and their suburbs were built in the most efficient locations.

The war with the Grolon and Doxite Federations had intensified, so the designers and builders were recalled to the Solon Federation. They hadn't returned in 121 years. The official Government reports said both rings were complete and in working order. Only the Anelan System spacers were left to transport across the orbit from one part of Anela to another.

One year after the interspace crews left the Nightshield broke apart. Some pieces disappeared into the sun or out into space, but some chunks bigger than provinces continued orbiting. Night fell every couple of years, and the Anelonians got used to endless day.

Joss pulled out information about the chunks of Nightshield and determined their orbits over the last twenty years and projected the next few years. The orbits had become erratic, and the chunks were closing in on the ringworld. Nineteen months, one week, one day, give or take a few hours, and CX-2 would crash into Anela, breaking the ring, and knocking it out of orbit.

He trembled and fought nausea. He checked and rechecked his figures. CX-2 would crash into the Anela Ring within two years. The crash would shatter and break the ring, destroying the life support system the architects had put in place. It didn't matter, Joss told himself, because the collision would knock the ring out of orbit and destroy life anyway. No escape, no way to avoid it, nowhere to go.

He sat watching the figures on the screen. Finally, he turned the computer off and went to bed. He slipped in beside Gabi, resting against her warmth, but shivering with cold. He wrapped his arm around her and rested his hand against her baby bump. Abraham would be ten months, give or take a few weeks. Toddling, calling them Mama and Dada. Joss let the tears run down his cheeks.

6

In the morning, he woke to the smell of coffee and got out of bed, tired, having slept badly, and went in the living room where Gabi was preparing breakfast. She placed a bowl of oatmeal before him and filled his coffee cup. She sat opposite him, looking at him closely.

"You look pale. Do you feel well?"

"Slept badly." He smiled at her, wanting to spend as much of their remaining time with her as he could, and knowing he couldn't tell her what he had discovered.

"Call Amelia if you're not well."

"I will, darling." He began to eat.

Joss called out of work and went to the University of Hemmler. He prowled the halls, looking for one of the senior physicists or astrophysicists he'd studied with, and finally found Dr. Gord Clemson in his office. He knocked on the door.

Gord looked up. "Hello. Do I know you?"

"Yes, Dr. Clemson. I'm Joss Anders. I was in your astrophysics classes about ten years ago. May I talk with you?"

Clemson nodded at the second seat in his office. Joss sat down and rubbed his sweaty hands on his slacks.

Clemson opened a file on his computer. "I remember you now. You were one of the most brilliant celestial navigators I ever taught. Why didn't you go to grad school? You could be a senior navigator on the orbital shuttles. Top of the ringworld."

Joss nodded. "I did well in my classes on physics and astrophysics but came in second in celestial navigation by a few points. Enough to get a second-class degree. "

Clemson said, "Those classes were with Mel Stratton."

Joss nodded. "My parents couldn't afford the fees without the scholarship, so I took a job."

"What are you doing?" Clemson waited patiently for the answer.

"I'm general manager of the Hemmler Section Recycling Plant."

"Important work, but well within your abilities." Clemson said. He shut off the PC. "I see you were offered a position as Junior Tech Manager with the Space Agency. Why didn't you accept?"

Joss swallowed. That position was working for some of Stratton's favorites, who would have expected him to do most of the navigation and planning.

"I would have worked with some of my old classmates, and I wanted to put Uni behind me. I like my work at Recycling. My best friend, Renny, works with me. A woman I dated got marriage and child licenses, and we married."

"Congratulations," Clemson's face softened. "I am glad for you. Those licenses are harder to get every year. Do you have the child yet?"

"No, no, he's due in about six months."

"Congratulations again. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Joss blinked. He hardly knew where to begin. Clemson was a brilliant physicist and a shrewd observer of people. Hard to fool.

He looked down, out the window and then at Clemson. "I keep up with physics and my old studies. The past few months life on Anela has changed, not for the better, and continues to spiral down. Crops are down, weather is erratic, the birthrate is down, along with reduced population, people are losing jobs." He hesitated. "The Nightshieldfragments are passing closer to the Ring." He hesitated. "I've done the calculations. In nineteen months and one week, give or take a few hours, the CX-2 shield fragment will crash into the Ring."

Both men were silent. Clemson got up, closed his office door, and sat down.

"I've run the numbers repeatedly. No error."

"What do you want from me?"

"I don't know!" Joss said. "I'm newly married with a child and the world will end when he is ten or eleven months old. Maybe." Joss lowered his head. "Maybe you could check my calculations."

Clemson leaned forward and took Joss's had. "I don't need to. The shield will crash into Anela but at least a day sooner than you think." Joss stared at him, silent. "Not what you wanted to hear."

"The Government knows, then?"

Clemson nodded. "It's the main reason for the lowered birthrate. The problems caused by the shields are getting worse."

Joss put his face in his hands. "So that's our future."

"Maybe. The Government has made plans and you may be able to join them?"

"What plans? How can they help?"

"The old starships left behind are in the process of being refitted for space."

Joss stared. He'd never thought of such a thing. "Can they do that?"

Clemson nodded. "It's doable, but time is short. The Government is putting out a call for crew in a few days. Pilots, navigators, all the departments."

"I'm not qualified for any of those."

"You can be. It will be a lot of work, but I am tutoring a few students, capable like you. If you want, you can join us. When testing comes for the ship crew, you will have a fighting chance. No experience on the orbital shuttles, but I remember you as remarkably good at navigation. Will you accept?"

Joss nodded, then said, "Yes. When do we start?"

"Two nights from now. There's more. I've got to report this conversation to the Government handling the project. If you mention anything at all about the shields falling to Earth, you, and anyone you tell, will disappear. You will have no chance to join a starship. Understand?"

"I do, and I accept." Joss felt a thrill of hope for the first time in hours. "What is the plan for the starships?"

"Each starship can carry six to eight thousand crew and passengers. The selected people will board and leave for the Solon Confederation. We received an old communication several years ago. The war is over, and the Confederation wanted to know if the ring survived. If you find them, we hope they will help us evacuate. If that does not happen, the ships will look for a habitable planet."

Joss eyes closed and he waited till he calmed. He opened his eyes. "Would I be allowed to bring my wife and child and our family? And my wife's family?"

"Crew family, within limits, will be given transport. I'm sorry. Cutoff age is 40. Dr. Amelia Oregon has a specialist position."

"I have a friend, Renny, who is one of the best recycling managers. He would be useful on a starship."

"He can apply."

The two men talked for several hours. Government agents arrived and interviewed Joss. They approved his study with Clemson, warned him about talking about the collision, and left.

Clemson said, "That's all for today. I'll see you here in two nights. Seven o'clock."

Joss said, "Thank you. I'll be here."

"One other thing." Joss nodded.

"Stratton moved to a Government position several years ago. He won't affect anyone's chances for crew."

"Thank you, Dr. Clemson, thank you very much."

7

Joss studied with Clemson and four other students three nights a week. Three were pilot candidates: Lin Wu, Sheila Sams, and Wanda Smyt. Edgar Gross was a space shuttle maintenance specialist, and Joss prepared for a navigator's slot.

The first night Clemson had the students introduce themselves. Wu and Gross were mid-twenties, married, with low First Degrees. They were on the wait list for shuttle pilot. Sams was already a trainee shuttle pilot, cheerful and hard-working. He hoped he'd be on her ship. Smyt was twenty-one, a new graduate with a top First-Class degree but no experience. She was the daughter of shuttle pilots, and Joss found her arrogant, accustomed to taking first place, and disdainful of the others.

After a month, Clemson increased the classes to five a week. None of the five students missed a class. They attended in person or online. Wu and Gross quickly improved, and Joss convinced Renny to take grad classes in his specialty.

Wu and Gross quickly mastered their studies, and Sams sailed along easily. Smytmastered her studies, but was behind the other pilots, and determined to best them. Joss studied after work and class, hardly having time for Gabi. She supported him without complaint, preparing for the birth of her child, and knowing how important it was. Renny studied for a maintenance position, and the two friends often studied together. Renny's only complaint was that he had little time for Delia.

Six months later, the Government announced the starships were to be launched in seven months. Competition for space for crew would be held in one month.

Gabi gave birth to a six-pound, fourteen-ounce boy a week later. His parents named him Abraham, after Joss's father. For a few days, Joss took off from studying and work. He was fascinated by his infant son, and loathed leaving him and Gabi to return to work and classes.

The Placement Exams took place over five days, and candidates were eliminated every day. After the fourth day, 8729 candidates remained. Joss was one of them. Each of the three starships would be run by 970 crew, including 50 navigators for a total of 150 navigators needed for the project.

The fifth and last day of exams lasted fourteen hours. When the tests were over, Joss was exhausted, and glad to leave for home, and Gabi and Abe.

Gabi opened the door and kissed him. "How are you doing? How did the Exams go?" She bounced on her toes.

He kissed her and said, "I lasted to the end. Now we must wait for the results." He walked into the rooms. "How is Abe?"

"Sleeping. He eats well, sleeps well, and gains weight. Amelia is pleased."

"Glad to hear it." He sank onto the sofa. "I'm so tired. Ten or more hours of testing every day, and studying all night."

"Take a nap while I fix dinner. I know you like steak, but I haven't seen any in the market for weeks. I got fresh flounder to celebrate. The fishmonger told me she didn't know when we'd get more fish."

Joss smiled but said nothing. Another shortage, he thought. "I think I will take a nap till dinner. Wake me when it's ready."

Ten days later Joss waited in Clemson's office with his other students for the results. At noon, their coms binged with the incoming message. Joss opened his message and read, "We inform you that you have placed 157 in Navigator. Thank you for your efforts. Anela Spaceship Project."

He sat stunned. He knew he'd answered every question correctly, and handled the tests successfully. He looked Clemson, shocked.

Clemson looked at his students. Three of the five had been accepted. He and Wanda failed to make the cut. She was number 277 of the needed 240.

Clemson congratulated the successful candidates. Soon they left. Clemson turned to Joss and Wanda. "We worked very hard to get here. I must tell you the winners also got points for experience, which neither of you have. Joss, I am astounded you received 157th place. Wanda, you also did exceptionally well. Pilot is the most competitive position."

"Some of the successful candidates will be dropped when they fail psychological tests or do not meet other standards for spaceship crew. Joss, you are very, very close to getting such a vacancy. Wanda, you also are close to acceptance. I would like you to continue your studies with me, but," he smiled, "only two nights a week. My wife has gotten tired of my absence." He smiled.

Joss followed Wanda to the elevators. He followed her in when the doors clanged open. She pushed the button for the ground floor and stood there silently. Joss could feel her anger burning like a fever.

"Dr. Clemson thinks—no—believes we have good chances for a slot." He tried to soothe her. "He's close to the selection committee, so he knows what he's talking about."

Wanda jaw tightened, and she turned to him. "That's not good enough for me." The doors opened and she strode out. She glared at him and said through clenched teeth. "I win at everything I do. You study and pray and wait, second class. See if that helps." He watched her stiff back vanish down the corridor.

She's really angry. Not good in a pilot, Joss thought. Wants what she wants and thinks she deserves. Clemson says she's close enough to make the cutoff, but I hope she's not on my ship. If I make it."

8

Four and a half months later, Joss was number 152. The crew slots were almost ready for permanent posting. The successful crew would be permitted to bring spouse and child. Unmarried crew would receive marriage licenses upon request and were expected to marry. No one older than forty would be accepted as crew or passenger. Adults would be crew, specialists, or their spouses.

Joss arrived at his rooms after finishing work at the spaceport, for he had been reassigned to an engineering position restoring the spaceships. SFS Pioneer would be the first ship ready and leave in two months. SFS Odyssey would leave eight days later. The third and last ship, SFS Argo, had not received a departure date due to a shortage of materials and MOX fuel.

Abe saw him enter and babbled excitedly, holding out his arms. Joss picked him up and kissed his cheek. "Have a good day, Abie?" Abe gabbled happily.

Gabi came out of their bedroom. "Hi, darling. Would you like a snack before we meet Renny and Delia?"

"No, just a shower, thanks." He handed her the baby. "Are we leaving the baby with Amelia for the night?"

"Yeah, we'll pick him up in the morning. I laid out a change of clothes for you."

Amelia snuggled her nephew. "I'll see you in the morning. Have a good time," she said, when they arrived at her room. Abe and I will have a good time. He still sleeps ten hours a night, right?"

"Of course," said Gabi. "Thanks, Amelia."

They found a table at the Falling Star and ordered drinks. Soon Renny and Delia joined them. Renny looked calmer and happier than Joss had seen him in years.

"We're engaged," said Renny. Delia nodded.

"Congratulations," said Gabi. "Wonderful you got a license."

"Everyone on the placement lists for the starships got them if they didn't have them." Renny grinned. "Lots of good news. I got a place on the Argo. Delia and I are getting married tomorrow. Will you two be our witnesses?"

Joss and Gabi looked at each other. She nodded. "We'd love to," said Joss. "We'll ask Amelia to watch Abe."

"Bring him," said Delia. "What's more natural than children at a wedding?"

When the announcements were made for placements, Joss was 151. He wanted to smash the com. He put his head in his hands. He couldn't tell Gabi. Anela atmosphere and ecology would break down and every living thing on the Ringworld would die two to three months before the collision. You're first in line, he told himself. There's still time to get a slot on one of the three ships."

He went to Clemson's office to talk things over with his old professor. Clemson was too old to get a berth and had accepted his remaining days calmly. Joss knew he hadn't told his wife.

"What do you think will happen when Ringworld begins to die? After the last starship leaves?"

"Panic, fighting over supplies, anarchy. Whatever happens when a civilization dies," Clemson said. "You're first in line for a position." He looked at his pupil. "I hope you make it."

"Thanks," Joss said. He started to ask about fuel shortages when someone tried the doorknob, which was locked, then pounded on the door. Whoever it was kept pounding.

Clemson said, "I hear you. Stop pounding and I'll unlock the door."

The pounding stopped and the door unlocked. Immediately Wanda pushed it open and walked over to Clemson's desk, ignoring Joss.

"What's going on? I was supposed to make the cutoff. At least 30 people on the pilot lists dropped off. That puts me within the 250 pilots."

"Wanda, more is required than the technical tests. Some people advanced due to better psychological results and some moved down. There's nothing you or I or anyone can do."

There was a long, hard silence. Wanda stared at Clemson, then lifted her nose in the air. "We'll see." She looked at Joss. "I suppose you squeezed in."

"No," he said quietly. "Almost. I'm on the shortlist."

Wanda marched out, slamming the door behind her.

Joss and Clemson looked at each other. "She's very unstable, I think," Joss said. "That do whatever it takes attitude is good, but it only goes so far. If I make a ship, I hope she's not on it."

"She probably won't. She has difficulty dealing with authority who won't see things her way, and she uses people. Like Stratton. You probably won't have to deal with her."

Joss went home, accepting what the future would bring. He slept well, and in the morning. He spent his days working on the Pioneer, and evenings with Gaby and Abe, occasionally out with Renny and Delia, or with Gabi's family.

9

A week later, Joss left for work and took the Spaceport Monorail. He shuttled to the Pioneer and met his crew. The worked for several hours. Just before quitting time, an explosion made the ship shudder.

"What happened?" Sheila Sams asked.

"Don't know," said Neil Tiber, who was captain of the Pioneer. He called ground support.

"The barracks caught on fire and the power units exploded."

"How many dead?" Sheila asked.

"So far, seventy-two."

"Of ours?"

Neil nodded. "Mostly crew for the Odyssey. Some staff.

Everyone was silent.

"I'm calling it a day. Everybody, go home. I'll go to HQ."

Soon the ship was empty but for the night maintenance crew. Joss hurried home and found Gabi watching the news when he arrived.

She turned around and ran to him. "Oh, I was so worried. I got your message you were all right, but so far, seventy-five people dead." They sat holding hands and listened as the reporters spoke about the tragedy.

Joss reported to the Pioneer early the next morning. Neil gathered everyone in the meeting hall. "I have an update. The Odyssey will leave tomorrow. If you're assigned to the Odyssey or moved up to fill the vacancies, go home and check your orders. If you miss her, you'll have no chance of another ship. The Pioneer will require as much overtime as we can work. The Project wants to move departure up as much as possible."

A small portion of the workers left. Joss and those still working spent the day working as quickly as possible.

That night Joss got an email from the Spaceship Project. 'You have received a Navigator's placement on the Pioneer with your wife and child. Please verify acceptance within twenty-four hours or another will be offered the position.'

Joss screamed with joy. "Gaby! Gaby! We made it." He sent the acceptance.

"What," she called from the baby's room. "What did we make?"

"The Pioneer. We're leaving on the second starship."

"Wonderful." She smiled the smile he loved. "My parents will be so happy."

Joss tensed. He couldn't tell her parents would remain on their doomed world.

"Is something the matter?"

"I. I wish your parents could come with us."

"They don't want to. Dad gets space sick and Mom won't leave Ringworld even if he would."

*

Joss went to see Dr. Clemson at his invitation. They sat in his office. Clemson offered him a cup of hard-to-get coffee. "What is the Government telling people about the food shortages?

"That's is necessary to provision the ships. That kind of stuff. "People are so excited about the ships they'll believe anything."

"A panic would cause our efforts to fail."

"Only a few people can go, out of the seventeen million on Ringworld. No choice."

"We'll be back with the Federation."

Clemson looked at him.

"What?"

"Even if you find the Solons, or the Grolons or anybody who could help us, there won't be time."

"What do you mean?"

Clemson sighed. "I'm only telling you this because you know about the shields. Things have gotten worse. CX-2 bounced off TX-1 and both will collide with the Ring in forty-eight days. The Ring is expected to break and crack and be knocked out of orbit. The Argo will not be ready for departure."

Joss was stunned, trying to absorb this catastrophe. "That's, that's." He closed his eyes, picturing the end. "I don't know what to say."

"No one does. Take care of your family. Get them on the Pioneer. Be careful."

"I suppose people will find out and do anything to get on a ship."

"Someone already is."

Joss stared at Clemson.

"The explosion in the barracks was not an accident. Someone set it."

"But why?"

"Ring Security believes it is someone who missed a slot and is determined to get on a ship. People are gossiping about the world coming to an end, and the spaceships are arks to carry a select few away. True in a way. Security is trying to find out who set the explosion. If they advanced to a ship, there won't be any more accidents. We hope. If they didn't, he—or she, will keep trying."

Joss nodded.

"I am glad I got to know you, Joss. Watch yourself, and take care of your family."

"I will, Doctor. Thank you." He shook his mentor's hand. "You saved my family. I can't thank you enough."

"Fly into the stars. If I were a younger man, I'd go."

10

The next morning Joss met Renny for lunch at the spaceport. They found a quiet table in the cafeteria and unpacked their meals. "How's it going," he asked his friend.

Renny shrugged and bit into the sandwich Delia had made him.

"Good, I hope."

Renny swallowed and looked up. "Joss," he whispered, "there's talk going around that the explosion in the barracks was not an accident." Joss listened, hoping he wouldn't give anything away.

"It wasn't. Some of us saw demolition carrying material out with Security watching. One guy found a piece of com. Starship, like a pilot would have. The kind that could send a signal to a bomb, telling it to explode."

"Have you told Security?" Joss put his sandwich down, his appetite lost.

Renny nodded. "They said they'd investigate it. But I know something else." He leaned closer. "That I didn't tell them."

"What's that?"

"I saw a pilot candidate in and out of the barracks the night before the explosion. She was a nightmate with a pilot there, who died in the explosion.

"Do you know who she was?" Joss asked as casually as he could, but his stomach cramped."

"Only her last name. Smyt."

Wanda Smyt. She wanted a pilot berth. This was how she planned to get one.

"Tell Security."

Renny looked away. "I called for an appointment. Got one two days from now." He rolled his eyes. "She came back around so I think she's up to something. Let's change the subject. Is the Pioneer ready to depart?

"A few more days."

"Good. Good. There's also talk the climate is getting worse. Ringworld might have droughts."

Joss shrugged. He could only hope the starships would leave soon.

After lunch, he called Clemson and reported what he learned from Renny. Clemson verified that Wanda was one of the suspects.

Joss worked late and left for the monorail, hoping to get home before Gabi went to bed. He walked past the workshop where Renny worked just as Wanda ran out of the shop with Renny chasing her. She leaped to a fence and pulled out a com. Renny pulled her off the fence and held her down. Joss called Security.

Vans pulled up almost immediately and soon Wanda was locked in a van. Officers spoke with Renny and Joss for what seemed like hours. Renny saw Wanda slipping into the shop after dark with a large box. She put the box by the electrical room, a good place to start a fire, when Renny asked her what she was doing.

She tried to order him away, but he chased her out and tackled her. The box was designed to resemble a grease fire and burn down the shop and the workers there. The com was linked to a detonator.

Finally, Joss and Reddy went home, with orders to say nothing.

The next few days were hectic. No announcements were made about the firebomb. Crews worked around the clock on the Pioneer and the Argo.

On a rare evening off, Joss met Renny at the Falling Star. The Pioneer was due to leave in a week, and his family's belongings had already been moved to their quarters. He'd learned from Clemson that the Argo could not be prepared to departure before the collision.

"Renny, I can ask for a transfer for you to the Pioneer," he said. The man was the closest he had to family since his parents died, until he married Gabi.

"No good. The Project Admins offered me a berth there, but I can't take Delia."

Joss opened his mouth and shut it. "Why not?" he finally asked.

"Too crowded already, too many people want on."

Joss wondered if he should lie.

"I won't leave her. She's pregnant and so happy." Renny smiled at him. "I'll stay on Ringworld with Delia." His old friend waited for his reaction calmly. Renny had somehow intuited the apocalypse.

Joss nodded, but his heart broke. Renny had made his choice.

"Lucky you," Renny said, smiling, his old, happy grin.

"Why?"

"You'll get to see the stars. Always day here, never night. But. You'll see the stars." Renny leaned forward, his eyes shining like stars. "You get to fly between the stars and live there. Lucky you."

Joss nodded. Renny understood.

"You'll leave our endless day and fly into the night. When you see those beautiful stars, remember me. I'll be thinking of you."

Joss shut his eyes, holding back tears. "I will, my friend."

*

The Pioneer departed four days later, lifting slowly out of ring orbit, and moving far away to reach launch position for hyperspace. The ship ran smoothly. Sheila was a junior pilot on the deck, and Joss was second navigator. Amelia was in the medical department, and Gabi and Abe were in the toddlers' lounge.

The ship left the Anelon system, and the sun dwindled behind them. The entire crew and passengers waited at ports to see the galaxy in its multitudes of stars for the first time.

Joss watched, tears in his eyes as the sun shrank into a star and night claimed the skies. The first star appeared, bright and hopeful. Joss gasped for breath. The entire ship watched in silence. Another star appeared, and another, and more came until the night brightened with millions of stars.

"You were right, Renny," he whispered. "The stars are beautiful."