Last Contact

A mother and daughter, Maureen and 35-year-old Caitlin, live through the last few months of Earth's existence. Maureen and her late husband Harry are described as having substantial astrophysical intelligence. Caitlin, an astrophysicist herself, has been involved with the recent discovery of the Big Rip, a field of dark energy that is essentially tearing the universe apart.

It was nominated for the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.