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bipolarber -> RE: Arthur C. Clarke RIP (3/29/2008 1:17:33 PM)
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The Sentinel was the springboard for the project. Then when he and Kubrick started rolling, the story kept changing and changing... The novel was written concurrently with the filming of the movie, but, as you will notice in comparing the two, there are major changes in the storyline. The Discovery actually went on to Saturn, and that's where the monolith/stargate was found, located on Encladeus. The Sentinel portion of the novel ends when the sun comes up on the excavation, and send the signal. In the original short story, it wasn't a black monolith, but a crystal pyramid.
Clarke was insturmental in shaping the latter half of the 20th century. He was the first science fiction writer to imagine not just satilites, but ones in geosynchronous orbit, making telecomunications of today possible. He was an early cheerleader for the space program, and for the exploration of the Earth's oceans. He has written a great deal on SETI, theoretical astronomy, and has been very important in helping the Siri Lankan people in securing international support, after the tsunami several years ago. (During which, he lost a dive shop that he was the owner of, and at least one of his employees was killed, and never found.)
This man changed the course of human destiny. He lived to be 90, so he saw us go from rickety little biplanes, to exploring over 90% of the solar system.
Wow!
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