Science-fiction author, inventor and futurist Arthur C. Clarke died today at age 90. He shared an Academy Award nomination with Stanley Kubrick for best adapted screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey based on one of his short stories and was widely credited for the idea of the telecommunications satellite which he never patented, prompting a 1965 essay that he subtitled, "How I Lost a Billion Dollars in My Spare Time."
In a videotaped message to fans on his last birthday, he said that he still hoped to see some sign of intelligent life beyond Earth, wanted to see more progress on alternative fuels and wished for an end to the 25-year civil war between ethnic Tamil separatists and the government of Sri Lanka, where he had lived since the 1950's.
He was convinced that with the emergence of commercial space flight a "Golden Age" of space travel was just beginning:
"Over the next 50 years, thousands of people will travel to Earth orbit -- and then, to the moon and beyond. Space travel and space tourism will one day become almost as commonplace as flying to exotic destinations on our own planet."I, for one, can not wait.
2 comments:
"Rotate the pod please HAL..... I don't think he can hear us."
I still hope for any sign of intelligent life here on earth, much less anywhere else. "Beam me up Scotty"
Herbert, Asimov, and now Clarke. Are there any left to write good SF? For a while, it looked like we had Lucas, but he has definitely fallen....
Like every other genre, there's just too much money to be made in TV and movies. So all SF is dumbed down and focused grouped to appeal to the widest demographic. It's happening with the conversion of comics to the screen as well.
Post a Comment