The rest of the day was an unmitigated disaster. I was in a foul mood when I got back to my two-bedroom apartment, and there wasn't a damn thing I could find to snap myself out of it. Even the sight of the Flatirons, sunset-coloured in purple and rose-gold, did nothing to raise my spirits __ and that worried me. Though I'd lived in sight of that angular sandstone trinity for several years, they'd never lost their ability to move me to awe and wonder, or to give a boost to my sagging morale. That they didn't work their usual magic on me tonight, I hoped, was nothing more than a temporary setback.
I was temperamentally unable to concentrate on anything except Alex for longer than about half an hour, which boded ill for the research project I'd brought home with me. I did manage to wrest a few interesting tidbits from the database before giving it up as a lost cause, but the job was far from being finished. I diddled online for a while, but found nothing to pique my interest at any of my usual haunts and felt disinclined to go looking for new ones. Too agitated even to read, I tried without success to find a movie or something on television to tempt my fancy. Nothing I had on hand or that was scheduled for broadcast that evening interested me in the slightest. Half an hour's contemplation of the titles in my library produced the same result. Finally, I went back to the computer in hopes that something a little more interactive might be able to divert me where more passive forms of entertainment had failed. Opening the games folder I tried and quickly rejected both my flight simulator and SimCity when I noticed a growing fascination with crashes and other disasters.
At last I opened up Civilization II and started a new world. For once luck was with me and I was quickly on a roll. Looking up from the game to give my heavy eyes a rest, I was surprised to discover it was half past ten. Taking into account both the lateness of the hour and the feeling of lassitude behind my eyes, I saved the game, shut off the computer, and headed off to bed in the hope that things would look a little brighter in the morning.
In retrospect, I probably should've known better and stuck to the game. Heavy though my eyes were, they adamantly refused to stay closed. The images of settlers, game terrain, and various military units that danced in the darkness before them didn't help matters any, either ... The whole story is here


