Station Eleven

During the first week, as TV stations blink out and calls to 911 go unanswered, the airport’s inhabitants become increasingly comfortable breaking into restaurants and shops for supplies. They also hunt deer to cook and eat. The girl who could not find Effexor wanders out and is never seen again.

A week later, a pilot announces that he intends to fly to Los Angeles; several people go with him. Two days later, another pilot leaves on a reconnaissance mission but never returns. As the days pass, Tyler spends his time reading comic books and Elizabeth’s New Testament. Elizabeth remains stubbornly optimistic that things will get back to normal. She insists on keeping a runway clear of snow in case an aircraft tries to land at the airport.

Clark cuts off half of his hair on the left side of his head, the same haircut he had as a teenager in Toronto, which makes him “feel like himself again” (249). He and his newfound friend Dolores notice that the stars appear to shine more brightly in the absence of electronic light.

The airport community develops a culture of its own, with gatherings around a bonfire at night and shared responsibilities during the day. Several learn new languages from their peers. When a man rapes a woman on day 85, he is sent away at gunpoint. On day 100, at Clark’s suggestion, a small group retrieves supplies from a restaurant in the city. The day after that, a stranger, who followed their footsteps, enters the airport. He cries as he tells them that he thought he was the only person left.

Thinking of Robert, who was a curator, Clark is inspired to start a museum dedicated to preserving artifacts from before the collapse. He calls it the Museum of Civilization.

Fifteen years after the collapse, there are 300 people living at the airport. Clark devotes most of his time to the museum; it now houses a wide variety of items, from laptops and cell phones to car engines and magazines. Clark observes that those who frequent the museum experience “something like prayer” (262).

The museum also features Elizabeth and Tyler’s passports, which they gave to Clark before leaving during year two. Clark remembers encountering Tyler near the quarantined jet a few months before their departure. Tyler read Biblical passages prophesying of plagues, wanting the people who died in the jet to know “that it happened for a reason” (259). He told Clark that those who survived did so because they were “good” rather than “weak” (260). Disturbed, Clark approached Elizabeth, who agreed with Tyler. Later that summer, when a religious group who considered themselves “guided by visions” passed through the airport, Elizabeth and Tyler went with them (261).

Near the end of year 15, a trader visits the airport and gives Clark a copy of a newspaper published a few months earlier, which includes a transcript of Diallo’s interview with Kirsten.

At the end of her interview with Diallo, Kirsten agrees to answer the questions she refused to answer earlier, as long as he does not publish her responses. She explains that when she thinks of changes in the world, she thinks of the two people she killed. Diallo admits that he killed someone once when he was caught off guard. Diallo asks how Kirsten’s brother died; she explains that he died of infection after stepping on a nail. The interview over, Kirsten and Diallo attend the Symphony’s performance of a Beethoven symphony.

Three years after the collapse, Jeevan settles in a community in the area formerly known as Virginia, where he works as an assistant to a doctor for five years. When the doctor leaves, Jeevan continues providing medical support. In year ten, he marries Daria, one of the settlement’s founders.

In year fifteen, Jeevan and Daria sit on the bank of a river with a friend. Hearing a cry, they hurry back to the motel where they live and find a man, Edward, carrying his wife, who was shot by the prophet. As Jeevan treats her wound, Edward explains that the prophet’s band took his wife and son captive in order to barter for ammunition. After Edward gave them what they wanted, the prophet left with Edward’s wife, promising to set her free if no one followed them. Instead, the prophet asked her to marry one of his followers. When she refused, he shot her. Jeevan tells Edward that he expects his wife to recover.

Nineteen years after the collapse, Clark is 70 years old. He looks over the airport, including its gardens and cemetery. A friend reads Clark’s 360º assessment reports, which are now filed at the museum. Together, they make fun of the business lingo they once used. Lost in memory, Clark drifts off to sleep until he is awakened by the security guard, who introduces him to new arrivals: Charlie, Jeremy, and Annabel, their daughter. They tell him about the prophet’s reign in St. Deborah by the Water, and Clark realizes that the prophet is Tyler. He wonders what happened to Elizabeth.