December 2005: The Silent Towns Summary

Walter Gripp believes he is the last human being left on Mars. The stores, all empty but still full of food, supplies, and money, stand open and light in the lonely night. The streets, quiet and barren, show only traces of the abandonment. The humans have left Mars for Earth, in their attempts to help the war effort. Gripp, after a week of shopping, eating grandly, and sleeping in the finest beds, suddenly realizes his loneliness, and decides to return to his home in the Martian mountains. As he is leaving, he hears a phone, and races to answer it, knowing the ringing phone means another human is still on the planet. Missing the call, Gripp wanders the town, waiting for another phone call. He assumes the caller must be a female, since a man wouldn't call...