The Appointed Day... Or Not Part One

The Appointed Day arrived without any accompanying signs. Some said simply, "It arrived today, because today is neither yesterday nor tomorrow. It arrived in its slot, because the calendar told it to do so." They expressed neither faith nor wonder, they bored themselves with common sense, earth-bound and terminal. But one eager believer responded with the alacrity of his fictional heroes, "Just because it has not revealed its secrets does not mean it has no secrets. It has arrived - that is the first event, only the first one." Another eager believer lunged over him, and added, "These rocks are beautiful, the carriers are beautiful. What is there not to admire? Are we not one race of human beings throughout the galaxy? " The crowd had thinned, mostly the Eager Ones milled about. A few pockets of the Nay-Sayers persisted. But they had turned their backs to the Eager Believers, who had formed their own tight circles. Thus, at the edge of the city, where civilization and wilderness meet along a thin line of separation, the Nay-Sayers and the Eager Ones stood on common ground while strengthening their divisions.