City of Stone (short story)
The "City of Stone" Short Story is an original prose piece written by Greg Weisman in 1997. [1] One of the earliest stories ever released on Ask Greg, it was his answer to the question: what would have happened, "if someone from elsewhere happened to drive into New York and find that everyone had been turned to stone?". [2]
Summary
Written in the second-person, an unnamed individual travels to Manhattan after failing to hear from their mother. After abandoning their car in the stand-still traffic, the individual walks into the city, discovering it littered with life-size statues. Unable to accept up to this point that the entire city has turned to stone (coming across a homeless woman as the only living soul around), the individual eventually arrives at their mother's apartment and recognizes familiar faces like Joe the Doorman and Mrs. Vasquez, their mother's neighbor.
Entering the apartment on the eighth floor, the individual finds their mother a statue sitting in front of the television, on a chair buckling from the weight. After carefully placing her on the ground, the individual finally notices a creature chanting on the television (unaware of the spell she's casting). It's the last thing they remember, as morning arrives and Travis Marshall is reporting about the city-wide blackout and interviews a woman claiming that it was caused by televisions. Marshall nods and responds dismissively, segueing to other theorists trying to explain the blackout.
The individual's mother complains about pollution in the water and begins making breakfast for them.
