The Tale of Januarie and it is time for Pluto and Proserpina to return to the underworld. But they are taking Januarie with them. He has died. But, in the afterlife, he can see that May is now carrying a child, which he imagines is his. He tries to communicate with her, but she can no longer see him. He pleads with Pluto to allow him a little more time on earth, so he can be with the woman he loves and see their child born, but Pluto refuses. Though Januarie is now on his way to the underworld, the gods do not disillusion
Hell Is the Absence of God experiences. Commenting on "Hell Is the Absence of God" in the "Story Notes" section of "Stories of Your Life and Others", Chiang said that after seeing the film "The Prophecy", he wanted to write a story about angels, but could not think of a scenario that would work. It was only when he started imagining angels as being "phenomena of terrifying power, whose visitations resembled natural disasters" that he was able to proceed. Chiang wrote that the Book of Job also contributed to ideas for his story, as it raised the question: why did God restore Job to prosperity when