Ars longa, vita brevis

摘要

9 November 2270: In a move described as "long overdue", the Astronomy department of the University of California, Berkeley, has been dissolved. Faculty and students from the defunct department will be shifted into other areas of the university, particularly sociology and fine arts. Berkeley's astronomy programme was the last of its kind at any major educational institution. "We tried to keep the place going," said former department chair Dr Jeremy Wash-burn, "but with Astronomy departments folding in so many other universities, we knew it was just a matter of time. The enthusiasm just isn't there anymore.