One summer night, out on a flat headland, all but surrounded by the waters of the bay, the horizons were remote and distant rims on the edge of space.

No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world. The people had done it themselves.

One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, 'What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?'

My companion and I were alone with the stars: the misty river of the Milky Way flowing across the sky, the patterns of the constellations standing out bright a…