So I plaster on a smiling face and sit down to meaningless chatter, but not for long. Dark thoughts rush back to consciousness; I run upstairs to check the CD player for the third time.

As for the idea of dark energy, Alison describes it as a "sticking plaster" that masks the fact that we don't really know what it represents.

It was very dark inside: I could see nothing except a flaring gas-jet that illuminated a patch of plaster wall, throwing everything else into deeper shadow.