pAgainst a Blackened Sky, the story of one man's falling-out with organized religion, is told by a future observer whose knowledge of history is incomplete. Without sanctioned access to historical accounts, the storyteller has pieced together an explanation of man's predicament that seems plausible to him. His problem is that he cannot accomplish in his own life the virtues that he admires in the subject of his story. In his partial understanding, he looks back longingly to a time he feels to be simpler than the complex world he lives in.ppThe storyteller is a member of the crew who man a lunar-based laser. The subject of his narrative, Colonel Smith, was a member of the pioneering crew who laid the foundation for the establishment of that base.ppIn Colonel Smith's day, a world now past, satellite technology became obsolete. The need for a moon-based laser became desperate in the pursuit of peace and security.ppThrough a series of mishaps, Colonel Smith is marooned alone on the moon an