Home Alone 2: Lost in New York meets a homeless woman tending to pigeons at Central Park, which frightens him. Kevin goes to the Plaza Hotel, where he uses Peter's credit card to check in. Meanwhile, the "Wet Bandits", Harry and Marv, have traveled to New York City after escaping during a prison riot and now call themselves the "Sticky Bandits". On Christmas Eve, Kevin visits a toy store where he meets its philanthropic owner, Mr. E.F. Duncan. Kevin learns that the proceeds from the store's Christmas sales will be donated to a children's hospital, and provides a donation. As a token of appreciation, Mr. Duncan offers
City at the End of Time (1956), and Hodgson's "The House on the Borderland" (1908) and "The Night Land" (1912), all speculate on the evolution of humankind in the deep future. Bear said that these works, and their author's imagination, were a big influence on "City at the End of Time". Science fiction critic John Clute said ""City at the End of Time" is an example of a novel in dialogue with past works of SF." He said that Bear pays homage to William Hope Hodgson's 1912 novel, "The Night Land", with which "City at the End of Time" shares a number of plot elements. Both