Nox

My costly suite was filled with all the amenities: a bar, a living room, a scenic view of the Washington Monument, currently lit up against the night sky. Though I couldn't see it from my room high in the sky, I knew that just west of the bright white-illuminated monument, beyond the reflecting pool, sat our sixteenth president. Abraham Lincoln presided over the district in the throne-like chair, day after day, overlooking the ramifications of his decisions.

Over a ...