life in the subjunctive mode

Title: Training for Darkness
Fandom: Isaac Asimov "Nightfall", Original work
Character: Original female character
Prompt: Her Own Personal Code
Rating: G
Length: 824 words
Summary: Loosely inspired by Isaac Asimov's novelette "Nightfall". The planet Lagash is constantly illuminated by six suns, and darkness does not exist here, because at least one sun is present in the sky at any given time. All Lagashians possess an intense, instinctive fear of the dark that causes them to go insane after just a few minutes of exposure to the dark. Once in several thousand years the suns and the moons align into a total eclipse that plunges the planet into darkness that all but guarantees extinction of civilization. The planetary authorities and clergy decide to train the people to tolerate darkness in advance of the event. They need volunteers to prove to everyone that it's possible.

The protagonist has a deeply personal reason to be the first volunteer.


Link: Read it on AO3