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until the expansion gets down to the centimeter scale, and the Rip cracks the sphere open". They embrace as an earthquake reigns. Caitlin asks about the interstellar messages
Maureen said had no need to be decoded. As a violent wind blows and the Earth cracks open, Maureen yells that it is obvious to her that the messages must have been variations of "goodbye".
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in the kids' lemonades, and they fell asleep. Bill then took his own pill and allowed
Caitlin to leave, as she wanted to see it through to the end. She has also declined the Oxford invitation. Caitlin shows Maureen a silicon sphere with instruments inside. The sphere is designed to "keep recording
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A mother and daughter, Maureen and 35-year-old
Caitlin, live through the last few months of Earth's existence. Maureen and her late husband Harry are described as having substantial astrophysical knowledge. Caitlin, an astrophysicist herself, has been involved with the recent discovery of the
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Maureen has built. Caitlin reveals that earlier, she, Bill, and the kids celebrated
Christmas early; after the lunch, Bill put blue pills that had been distributed to everyone by the
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images, scientists have determined that the effect will culminate in a matter of months, unbeknownst to the general public. On March 15, Caitlin participated in a
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as part of the Rip, distinctly shaped signals were detected. Caitlin reveals that she was invited to a shelter to be built by the
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that is essentially tearing the universe apart. With distant galaxies disappearing from view in
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October 14, the Sun rushes away within minutes. Caitlin joins Maureen in the
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which will allow people to outlive Earth by about thirty minutes.
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discussion about the discovery, revealing it to the public.
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16:2007 short story by Stephen Baxter
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100:. It was nominated for the 2008
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