Dawn or Dusk

'History repeats itself' is an overused banality that warrants exploration. The cyclic nature of our societal traipsings, though ostensibly obvious, bear examination should we wish to moderate its catastrophic excursions. Ascendant and descendant paradigms are too often disguised by perturbations which, if not controlled, promote chaos and despair; that is, if they do not reverse the extant paradigmatic cycle. That we are on an ascending path seems evident; however, the too frequent downward excursions suggest the likelihood of a trend reversing change; hence the title 'Dawn or Dusk' for absent a frame of reference they too are indistinguishable. Which way will we head and how can we impact our future is a dominating issue. To address this and other questions I turn to history and affirm that not only does it repeat itself, but we make the same mistakes ? time after time. The focal point of the story is the Greco-Roman world. The 5th century dominates because the western part of the Roman Empire was unable to reverse a downward trend while the Eastern Empire reversed a very negative series of excursions and prospered for another 1000 years as the Byzantine Empire. The adopted format is that of an historical novel. The protagonist is a 21st century student who is not only in search of the 'true' past, but herself as well, as she questions the immutable essence of man and explores the commonality of elements of discord. That we are looking at a rising sun is proposed ? though realizing the Dawn may depend on our ability to make reasoned decisions. The ball is now in our court!