At some point in the infinite future, all matter in the universe will be gone, entropy will put an end to the silly experiment of physical things, at this time, all remaining life will find itself huddled around one, last, beautiful star.

Eventually, all scientific endeavour began requiring extensive psychological teams to soothe researchers, and in a room forged from the refuse of a million civlisations, two looked at a screen with footage of that last, divine star.

She was dying, and with her, her species would pass into the books of history, but even this was not true, her end would be the final full stop on existence as anyone knew.

Nartle, the researcher, silently looked at the screen, and turned to his psychologist companion.

"Why are we so calm?" he asked.

"I don't know, maybe everyone dying at once is easier to come to terms with?"

This was months ago, and the information was let out slowly, and solemnly, in the same cadence as a doctor calmly, reassuringly telling you that your grandmother will not see the new year.

By the end, loneliness still prevaded society, and to this end, "Happy no year" parties were organised with random people coming together to face the apocalypse, together.

At the end, due to low demand and money not mattering anymore, 3 ended up sharing a banquet hall, here they met, Tork, a 24 year old, Jen, a 23 year old, and Telt, a 21 year old, their jobs and species didn't seem to really draw much conversation, because all of them understood that the long arguments people had had about these things, about how to organise labour, and respect race and species, none of it mattered anymore, their civilisation had outlived all the others, it had "won".

Tork, Telt, and Jen had exactly one very key, very important thing in common: They didn't have anyone close enough to spend this time with other than two randos.

For the "happy no year" parties (organised by well meaning strangers who did, in fact, have people to spend the end with,) they'd organised a program, entrants would meet and spend a day in a lavish location, getting to knowing each other, and in their final moments, gain companionship where they had lacked it before. Rules were established. Nobody could leave, and even though enforcing this was impossible, there was a great sense that to break this rule would be an immense betrayal to your fellow entrants, another knife from the front delivered by yet another person who didn't care about this class of outcast weirdos, that it would clarify why they'd all lived lives so lonely to want or need this.

Tork, Telt, and Jen met awkwardly, as expected, all three had experienced most conversation behind a veneer of protection, professional protection, the protection of talking through devices, and the protection that they were all socially inept, so could always fall back on claiming ignorance about causing offence, they had agreed that they enjoyed classical music, and all agreed that it seemed most thematically appropriate to listen to when everything was dying.

Inside the station they met in, a huge table dominated a long room, at it's end stood a window, specifically made to allow the viewer to stare at the star outside without going blind, the room itself looked medevil, red carpets and golden decoration flanked the immaculate table, and on every side of the room, doorways led into small chambers, that looked like the utilitarian style all of them had grown accustomed to, the floor was enveloped by a grand rug, something none of the trio had seen before.

At breakfast, they ate like kings, the food having been prepared by an actual, flesh and blood chef, it didn't taste as nice their usual food, Jen eventually stopped eating hers and retrieved a meal from the Autocook.

Tork quietly scoffed at this "It was nice having something made by people for a change." he said to Telt.

It was 18 hours until the star died.

The three began a conversation about how strange it all seemed, Tork put forward the idea that he felt very "attatched to the moment", that he should say or do something important, even if, inevitably, it wouldn't matter, in this world he said.

"What do you mean, 'in this world?'" asked Jen.

At this, Tork seemed like a light, raving about how souls were real, ghosts were real, and that despite physical death, all of them would live on in the immaterial world, he drew from every religion Jen and Telt had ever heard of.

"And that's the beautiful thing, it's all going to be al-"

"That's completely fucking stupid." answered Jen, after around ten minutes of this rant where Tork contuined ranting about how materialism was a lie conducted, ironically, to make people happy in a way the most ardent materialist claims spirituality does.

Tork and Jen clashed over this for a while, until Telt, presumably the person they were arguing to convince, got up, and said "Do we have a clock?"

Jen and Tork looked at each other, and then to Telt. "No" they said simultenously.

then there was silence.

"So are we getting one or not?"

Tork and Jen both sharply looked other at each other, Tork had his arms folded.

"Fine" they both said.

The group walked out into one of the vast hallways that were the modern streets of the last generation, more of a street than a hallway, but with the death of every other star, and every form of power generation bar dyson sphere, there was no more planetary living, and the idea of it was about as distant to them as the idea of a god-king is to you.

they approached their neighbours door, and milled around awkwardly, shuffling their feet around, hoping one of the others would knock.

...

Telt stepped forward and knocked on the door.

A muffled "Just a second!" came from behind it, and the door swung open, revealing a Quiboan in leather straps, genitals exposed. Behind him, a Gitten wearing a gag laid over a tiny pommel horse was moaning.

The Quiboan turned and scolded the 'little piggy.'

"Anyway, is there anything i can do for you?"

Tork and Jen again looked at each other, sizing up whether giving up immediately would be the right thing to do.

Telt, as with most things in his life people had seen as problems, decided to ignore it. "Do you have a clock we could use?" he asked.

"Sure!" replied the quiboan, in his chipper tone, he dissappeared from view into the home, closing the door.

There are minutes that feel like years. This was one of them.

"Bit uh, bit odd that, innit." said Tork. "Bit late for modesty, innit." said Jen. Telt was about to turn to reprimand the two, until he heard a the sound of a lock being unclasped and a "here you are" from the doorway.

He took the clock, and thanked him, the Quiboan smiled and lowered his gimp mask.

All three noticed he hadn't shut the door, and without a word, quickly made their retreat.

"16 hours before we all die" said Telt, holding the clock in his hands.

"I wonder if they were having more fun than us?" asked Jen. If Tork and Telt had any comfort whatsoever with sexuality, or intimate personal contact of any kind, they probably would have a coy smile and make jokes about heading back. "Well, you'd hope so" and "mmhm, maybe" was what they actually said.

On the corner of the road, a Droid was playing various songs from across time, all of them were about the end of the world.

All three briefly sat by and listened with the robot for a while.

About ten minutes into a 4 hour track which was loosely translated from the original Ak'rq'r'ewr''ra'ma'kri'k as "Shove my face into a meat grinder and grind until my face is no longer blue", all of them decided that what nobody really understood about this, was that it wasn't violent, the ultimate self destructions of people going mental and joyriding cars directly into walls at top speed had happened weeks ago when the news had first dropped, all government had collapsed, but so had money, and so had any idea of having a legacy, or any status or prestiege that would live on past the next 15 hours.

It was unbearably melencholy, and occasionally the group paused the music after hearing a shot, wondering if people were trying to skip the queue.

After the droid played a song titled "But there's still so much left to do." by the longdead galactic hyperstar Ruby De La Diamon', the 4 proceeded back to the gaff.

"14 Hours to go" said Telt, as they all settled down.

Jen yawned, and like moles, the other three shot a look at her.

"want some Upalnight?" said Telt and Tork at the same time.

"Want a shot of leccy?" said Unit #15, who had introduced itself on the walk over.

"Gowan then".

Jen made a point of taking Telt's Upalnight pill, mildly annoying Tork, again.

They all noticed that Unit 15 hadn't put down the small wire, flickering with electricity.

"I think we're good for that, 15, thank you though." said Telt.

Silence came over them.

Jen eventually broke it by asking Unit 15 his age, which became a brief discussion of the automation wars, President James, and a lot more.

"It's a real shame about, yknow, the omnicide." idly mused Tork, looking out to the dying star, she was pulsing now, and the protective barrier in the glass rapidly dimmed to contain the light.

Everyone seemed in agreement about this, though Unit 15 paused before answering.

10 hours.

Everyone stared outside the window for 10 minutes, looking at her pulsing majesty.

9 Hours and fifty minutes.

Unit 15 eventually stated with a hint of irritation "Well, at least it won't hurt."

"I hear your kind gets concerned with that kind of thing."

Nobody paid much mind to this, continually staring out to see their star begin the first signs of flickering, the lights went out for a fraction of a second, then returned.

"We will not grow old" said Tork, trying to evoke something that sounded adequetely important, in a kind of uplifting tone.

"Could think of worse ways" said Telt.

Jen looked over at her two companions with a kind of irritated look, this kind of talk was for dogshit art films.

"Fuck it." said Jen, clearing her throat.

"At least now when i say 'All that's been discovered is all that ever will be discovered.' the world can no longer make me a liar." she declared, she'd put on an air that this little performance was a bother, but she clearly delighted in it.

Tork understood this, but said nothing, Telt didn't, and Unit 15 wondered why organic life was always so repressed, even now.

Unit 15 decided to continue playing appropriate music, "Goodbye, Nora." by Jaison Duleverte.

Telt was starting to lose his nerve, Jen and Tork, were not.

9 and a half.

"We really are going to carry on, you know." said Tork, watching waves shimmer along the "surface" of the star.

Jen looked at him with a kind of pity in her face.

"When it's all gone, and everything's quiet, in that infinite blank period, eventually something will breathe again, and our souls will see them, as we become observers of the infinite future." The room hung silent.

Jen looked back at the star.

Her supernova would be magnificent, the last star to die would die a hero, fighting and scrapping against the cold until it could no longer, and when she died, that horrible void of a black hole would take her magnificent place, and her beauty, her majesty, would be smothered, and her glorious temple would be destroyed, and her worshippers would all be laid low, and the last remnants of their incense and prayers books would be swallowed.

And then there would be nothing, the queen would die, and there would be no new king.

Jen continued to stare out to her.

Unit 15 asked for some details from each of their data-pads, and then stated.

"So, all of you played Shinjiru?" at this, Jen turned a bit too quickly, and the muted look of shock didn't get muted quick enough, her eyes turned towards Tork and Telt, who shared her mometarily mortified expression.

Telt looked down and kinda stammered out "Oh, is that the uhhh, the dating sim, thing, with the uhh, yknow, the...."

"My records show you've completed 88% of the game through 5 seperate playthroughs, split over many years, and tha-"

"Right, got it." said Telt.

Tork and Jen slyly eyed up Telt, as a silent alliance was forged.

"Sooooooo...." began Tork.

"Who'd ya miss?"

"Didn't go through the Yettle route, i tried for a bit but i loathed their personality and having to read more about 'Hoo hooo! WACKY Tribitz!' got me to drop it"

Jen and Tork glanced over to each other, an almost imperceptible nod between them 'Yeah, he's not bullshittin' they seem to say.

"Hey, 15, what's Tork and Jen's completion rate?" asked Telt, vaugely pissed off that his claim to the exclusive club of "being a total loser" had been questioned.

Unit 15, as loudly as he had originally stated Telt's score "My records show Jen at 99%, with a similar playtime-overtime to yours, Tork is at 80%, having played mostly around the release window."

Tork and Telt both seemed curious about Jen's 'score'.

"99?" was an unspoken question.

Telt slapped his knee and pointed to Jen "Kizaki Bad route, that's it, isn't it? 99%, couldn't see Kuruk get his heart ripped out his chest and stamped on."

Jen sighed "....Motherfucker."

Tork and Telt burst out laughing, unit 15 tried tagging along midway through, until only a dry "Ha. Ha. Ha." filled the room.

Jen continued "Real talk though, that entire scene is brutal, Kuruk didn't deserve that, i mean he was a prick but goddamn, it was just malicious."

"Yeah, it's the Kizaki bad route is just brutal, like a big ol' ball of venom 'I'm fucked, you're fucked, we're all crabs in a bucket and like fuck am i gonna be stuck at the bottom'"

Privately, Unit 15 thought this was all pretty stupid and wanted to go back to more firm ground of pretentious sentences, he had precedent for that.

In the psychic landscape, Telt accidently positioned himself to usurp Tork, and the silent Alliance shifted, this secretly delighted Telt, who generally saw conversation as a battlefield, if it were, he had just earned a medal, they grilled Tork on his choices, and opinions about this silly, touching game.

And they kept talking about it, for a good while.

5 hours left.

"You hear about that Shinjiru dev?" said Tork.

"Yeah, it's a real shame, huh." answered Jen.

The developer in question had died about a week before armageddon was announced, and it was, a terrible shame.

the three sat quiet, and looked out towards the star, Unit 15 enjoyed this, as it seemed appropriately solemn and dramatic.

4 hours left, the four saw small ships trickling past the window.

"Reckon it's worth it?" asked Telt.

"Judging by the ammount of usuable material and power left in the galaxy, they will probably survive for 14 hours longer than the general population, if the ship's at capacity and they don't run on emergency provisions" said Unit 15.

Jen pointed and nodded in agreement.

"14?" asked Tork incredulously, him and Telt had never travelled by space ship, those who did were generally the rich and powerful, taking day trips to the grave yard of the universe outside the warm glow of the final star.

"They're going to have to heat the place, that's gonna take power, and without power that ship's just a floating coffin, it's the last call."

Telt looked out into the black void, a small candle flickered in the window.

"What's the candle for?"

"They normally shut off the lights, they give em to kids to keep them from getting scared." she replied.

His mind went blank for a second, and then he felt terrible for that happening.

"We should do something, i don't think that's right".

Jen and Tork looked away, slightly embarrased, Tork mumbled something about freedom.

Telt was never good with people, but the looks on their faces said that his idea to rescue the small child hadn't really set the room on fire.

"I wish we could've lived longer." he said, sitting down. "It would've been nice to give something back, before, yknow.".

"Yeah".

A very uncomfortable silence filled the room, however, they were all very used to it.

3 hours, the world shook violently, knocking over some of the chairs in the grand banquet hall.

All of the group expected they would, at some point, break down, after all, this was it, the banquet of thought was now over, and the cold, cold reign of stone would return, but by the end of this hour, they hadn't, and concluded they must either be quite clever, in control of their emotions, and stoic, or completely insane.

The next 2 hours were held in a silent embrace.

1 hour now, and in the core of the last star, A fight raged intensely, Jen could've explained the exact mechanics of what was happening, Tork could've strung a beautiful narrative of the brave warrior, the final shield falling to the sub-zero arrows.

Telt just really, really did not want to die, but knew there was nothing he could do. Unit 15 wasn't real. Not in this sense, his thoughts were synthetic, he was a creature of cold rocks and electricity, and both would continue.

And the silent embrace continued.

The star died.

Then everyone else did, but before that Jen, Tork, and Telt felt deep connection before it happened, but they never did conclude if they were all insane or not, that didn't really matter.

Matter remained, cold matter, and the grand dance of gravity sweeping it across the inky ballroom, but this era? It was gone, and would be unmourned, love was gone, but for a brief, beautiful moment, it was there.