1. A protagonist, who is a sympathetic character with a goal. In Eliezer's story the protagonist is not a single character, but all of humanity. Their goal is to understand the universe.
2. An antagonist, who places obstacles in the path of the protagonist to prevent him (or her or them) from achieving the goal. In Eliezer's story, the antagonist is whoever is causing the stars to blink.
3. A structure that includes (more or less) the following elements in order:
a) An introduction that establishes the characters and the basic ground rules of the world they live in
b) An inciting incident that launches the protagonist on a journey. In Eliezer's story this is the stars starting to blink.
c) The journey itself, which ultimately leads to some kind of catastrophe from which no escape seems possible.
d) A resolution, which results in the protagonist being forever changed in some way. It may or may not include the actual achievement of the protagonist's goal. It may, for example, be the protagonist realizing that they chose the wrong goal. Think "Wizard of Oz".
Of course, there's a lot more to say than just that, but those are the fundamentals.
links please