Asimov, Clarke and 2001.

Classic science fiction has as its playground the whole universe, and as its armoury, the whole gamut of human imagination. Having said that, it is equally true that the two giants of SF have been a biochemist and an astronomer. Quite decidedly scientists. Why? It appears that true SF can be written only by people who ave a firm grounding in the sciences. So let’s look at the masterworks by these people. My favourite remains Asimov, although, I sometimes feel that I should show the other master some loyalty due to having the same antecedents in terms of science as Clarke.

Rendezvous with Rama was possibly the greatest work by Clarke, followed very shortly (or perhaps exceeded, depends on your own tastes) by 2001, A Space Odyssey. Rama deals with the reaction of humanity a few centuries from now when confronted with what is obviously an alien artifact speeding through space.


2001 talks about an expedition to the Moon uncovering a monolith of unimaginable antiquity. Then, the Odyssey, a journey of almost impossible ambition, to Japetus, one of the moons of Saturn, which might conceivable hold secrets as old as humanity itself. 2001 became the study of humanity as personified by David Bowman and Frank Poole, crewmen of the most advanced vessel ever designed, the Discovery as she sped to her destination. The third member of the crew was HAL, a computer who would have passed the Turing test with ease. HAL never slept, never fatigued. HAL was the ever present, ever vigilant centurion against anything, which might conceivably go wrong. And ironically, it was HAL who went wrong. Even now, it appears impossibly to write ‘HAL which went wrong’, even though the book addresses the dilemma, which will undoubtedly confront scientists of the future: do machines have morality? Clarke has always held as a central point in his writings that there may be intelligences greater and older than humanity. Intelligences, which may have passed through the playgrounds where civilizations struggle through their infancy. And in their infinitely inscrutable way, they may have lent a helping hand to some. Enter Tycho Magnetic Anomaly I, and the perfect ratio of the squares of the first three natural numbers: 1:4:9. And how, how simplistic of us to believe that the ratio ends in just three dimensions!


There may such a thing as destiny. For now, all we can do is see the stars and dream.


I am going to finish, or rather abandon this essay with a quote from Emerson, a quote, by the way which may have been the inspiration for Nightfall, undoubtedly the best of the writings of Asimov!!

If the Stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.
Ralph Waldo Emerson