Editing 304: Nighttime Stories

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{{comic
 
{{comic
 
| number    = 304
 
| number    = 304
| date      = August 17, 2007
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| date      = 2007-08-17
 
| title    = Nighttime Stories
 
| title    = Nighttime Stories
 
| image    = nighttime_stories.jpg
 
| image    = nighttime_stories.jpg
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] observes [[Megan]] walking around at midnight, reading a book that he can't see. Curious, he leaves his apartment to ask her what she is reading. It is revealed as {{w|Orson Scott Card}}'s ''{{w|Xenocide}}'', the third book in the {{w|Ender's Game series}} following ''{{w|Ender's Game}}'' and ''{{w|Speaker for the Dead}}'' (and since followed by several other books). Ender's Game has been covered in other xkcd comics like [[241: Battle Room]] and [[635: Locke and Demosthenes]], which cover events in the first book.
 
  
''Xenocide'' is regarded by fans as one of the weakest books in the series, while ''Ender's Game'' and ''Speaker for the Dead'' received extreme positive praise. When he discovers that she likes ''Xenocide'' more than the other two books, he instantly withdraws to his apartment, his opinion of her shattered. So far as Cueball is concerned, ''Xenocide'' is so clearly inferior that he could not be with anyone who 'wrongly' considers it to be the best of the series. This pokes fun at people like Cueball who have such strong opinions on books like Ender's Game that they could never get along with anyone who disagreed.
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This comic introduces a man who observes a woman walking around at midnight reading a book that he can't see. After wondering what book she's reading, he leaves his apartment to ask her. It is revealed that she is reading Orson Scott Card's book Xenocide, the third book in the Ender series behind Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. Xenocide is widely regarded by fans as one of the weakest books in the series, while Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead received extreme positive praise. When he discovers that she likes Xenocide more than the other two books, he instantly withdraws to his apartment, his opinion of her shattered. The joke is that Xenocide is so bad that he can't be with anyone who considers it a good book.
  
The title text pokes further fun at ''Xenocide'' by saying that there are only seven people in the world who would defend it, a laughably small number.
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The title text pokes further fun at Xenocide by saying that there are only seven people in the world who like Xenocide, a pathetically small number.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
:[Cueball sitting in an armchair in a darkened room, with a bookshelf and an open window. Megan is seen outside reading a book by a glow.]
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:[ Man sitting in an armchair in a darkened room, behind him a bookshelf and an open window. A girl is seen outside reading a book by an eerie glow]
 
:For a few weeks now, sometime past midnight, a girl has wandered past my apartment reading by flashlight.
 
:For a few weeks now, sometime past midnight, a girl has wandered past my apartment reading by flashlight.
 
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:[Outside, the girl, walking down the street passing under a street lamp]
:[Outside, Megan walking down the street passing under a street lamp.]
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:I wonder why she's up so late.
:I wonder why she's up so late.
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:Maybe she's restless
:Maybe she's restless
 
 
:Like me.
 
:Like me.
:I wonder what story she's wrapped up in.
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:I wonder what story she's wrapped up in.
 
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:I wonder if she let's anyone into that island of light.
:I wonder if she lets anyone into that island of light.
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:[ Man sitting in dark room ]
 
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:[ Dark room minus man ]
:[Cueball sitting in a dark room.]
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:[ Man standing on his doorstep at the top of a small flight of stairs, near the bottom of which the girl has stopped, no longer reading. ]
 
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:Man: Hi! What are you reading?
:[Cueball has left the room.]
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:Girl: Orson Scott Card's 'Xenocide.'  It's my favorite in the series!
 
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:[ The same, only man looks more dejected ]
:[Cueball standing on his doorstep at the top of a small flight of stairs, near the bottom of which Megan has stopped, no longer reading.]
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:Man: Wait, you like it more than Speaker for the Dead OR Ender's Game?
:Cueball: Hi! What are you reading?
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:Girl: Yeah!
:Megan: Orson Scott Card's 'Xenocide.' It's my favorite in the series!
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:[ The same, only man has withdrawn ]
 
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:[ Man back sitting in the chair within dark apartment ]
:Cueball: Wait, you like it more than Speaker for the Dead <u>or</u> Ender's Game?
 
:Megan: Yeah!
 
 
 
:[Cueball has gone back in the house, leaving Megan standing alone.]
 
 
 
:[Cueball is sitting in the chair again.]
 
 
:And to think I loved her.
 
:And to think I loved her.
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
[[Category:Romance]]
 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
 
[[Category:Fiction]]
 
[[Category: Ender's Game]]
 

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