The End III. Planet X

It’s not every day that the emissary of an extraterrestrial race invites you to her home to discuss government torture, the innate sensuality of the Octopus Man, and the desirability of Pittsburgh as a place to rebuild society after the Planet X cataclysm kills ninety percent of the human race. One of the first thing people notice about her is that she seems to have a particularly cavalier attitude towards death, especially for someone who’s almost supernaturally upbeat. “Drowning, I can tell you, is not painful,” she explains. “By the way, starvation isn’t painful either.”