The Night Watch

As the curtain rises on Elsinore castle, we see Francisco, alone on the ramparts.

“Who’s there?”

A figure appears out of the inky night and replies, “’Tis now struck twelve. Get thee to bed, Francisco.” Bernardo has faithfully arrived to relieve Francisco of his guard duties. Following closely behind are Horatio and Marcellus, who join in taking over the midnight patrol. Together, they encounter the ghost of the recently deceased king, who has returned to warn his son, the young prince, about his uncle Claudius.

This opening scene of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet– a transfer of duty under the cover of night – not only represents the nefarious regicide that has unsettled the realm, but an ominous foretelling of one to come.

The spectral encounter prompts Marcellus to famously observe, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” For most of us, what happens at night is a mystery. Yet, most of us are aware that, while we sleep, a parallel universe takes over and accomplishes many of the necessary tasks that not only keep the midnight hours, but also the daytime ones running safely and smoothly.

Anyone who has walked by the heaps of garbage bags piled on New York City streets at...