59 pages 1 hour read

Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg

Nightfall

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1990

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Character Analysis

Theremon 762

Though Theremon 762 is one of three protagonists in Nightfall, his allegiance shifts during Part 2 so that he antagonizes the other protagonists at the Saro University Observatory.

Theremon works as a journalist for the Saro City Chronicle, a prominent newspaper that strongly influences public opinion. As a journalist, he prioritizes objectivity, never advocating for any particular side in a debate but instead balancing out one argument with counterpoints delivered from expert perspectives. For instance, when Theremon first appears in the novel, he is seeking a quote from Beenay 25, intending to use his perspective to balance his reportage on the Apostles of Flame. In Part 2, it is revealed he does the same thing when reporting Athor 77’s findings on Kalgash Two, balancing his pronouncements with the contrary opinions of other astronomers. The only time Theremon overturns this approach comes when the figurehead leader of the Apostles, Mondior 71, claims to have earned the ideological support of Athor. Theremon associates science with reason and truth and religion with falsehood and superstition, so this development is enough of an upheaval to force Theremon to publicly denounce the astronomers at Saro University. Consequently, many of the eclipse survivors take this position to a logical extreme, viewing science as a form of magic that allows its practitioners to summon the blurred text
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