the songs of distant earth by arthur c clarke

He is past Chairman of the British Interplanetary Society, a member of the Academy of Astronautics, the Royal Astronomical Society, and many other scientific organizations.Īuthor of over fifty books, his numerous awards include the 1961 Kalinga Prize, the AAAS-Westinghouse science writing prize, the Bradford Washburn Award, and the John W. He is best known for the novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-created with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.Ĭlarke was a graduate of King's College, London where he obtained First Class Honours in Physics and Mathematics. He spent the first half of his life in England, where he served in World War Two as a radar operator, before emigrating to Ceylon in 1956. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke was one of the most important and influential figures in 20th century science fiction. Behind this shield of ice, we hope to travel safely to the world that is waiting for us, seventy-five light-years away, three hundred years hence. 'People of Thalassa,' Ambassador Kaldor said, 'we thank you for your gift. The huge, greenish-white disk gleamed coldly beneath the floodlights soon, it would be far colder, as it moved out into the few-degrees-above-absolute-zero of the galactic night. Then the view had switched to a live camera, hovering in space a kilometer ahead of Magellan as it orbited in the shadow of the planet. Then there had been a fascinating speeded-up space ballet, showing the great blocks of ice being maneuvered into place and keyed into the steadily growing shield.

The day had begun with a video retrospective, showing the lifting of the first snowflake. The Quantum Drive was activated, and Magellan broke away from its orbit, accelerating to test the balance and the integrity of the artificial iceberg it was to carry out to the stars. Thirty thousand kilometers above Thalassa, the final hexagon of ice was jockeyed into position, and the shield was complete. The lifting of the last snowflake should have been a joyful occasion now it was merely one of somber satisfaction.

The songs of distant earth by arthur c clarke