Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Writer, Innovator, Explorer and Inspiration, Dead at 90

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE passed away on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, at his home in Sri Lanka, his adoptive country for the past 50 years, at the age of 90. SIr Arthur was a writer, inventor, undersea explorer and promoter of space.

Having written over 100 books on space, science and his outlook of the future, he came to worldwide fame in 1968 for the screenplay 2001: A Space Odssey he co-wrote with Stanley Kubrick. Which the process itself was innovative and not duplicated to this day. Kubrick contacted Clarke, who was in New York working on a book about Space for Time/Life. He said he wanted to make the definitive science fiction movie and did Arthur have any ideas. Clarke did and the two work in the evenings until the Time/Life book was completed, then devoted full time to the project. Clarke would write some of the novel and show it to Kubrick. Kubrick would work on the script and show it to Arthur. Then they would both go back to their respective work, drawing from the other's work. The result was a wildly popular and incredibly controversial film.

Following this up, he was on the CBS News with Walter Cronkite as a space analyst during the Apollo mission to the moon. During one brain storming session, the department had very little money (the entire budget was about a quarter of a million dollars) but wanted to find a way to show what living on the moon would be like. They all looked to Arthur Clarke. True to his "down to earth" personality, as Richard Hoagland would say, Sir Arthur looked around, asked to see a small replica of the moon. Holding it up, he said, "just poke few holes in this thing and stick a 25-watt lightbulb in it.

SIr Arthur is also credited with coming up with the communications satellite. It stemmed from a memo he wrote back in 1945 while serving with the Royal Air Force. He then sent it to Wireless World, the preeminent British magazine for radio and electronics enthusiasts, (still in publication today, but under the title Electronics World) nearly rejected the article, entitled "Peacetime Uses for V2", as too far fetched. It eventually published the article in February 1945. Today, the geosynchronous orbit that keeps satellites stationary is known as a Clarke orbit.

Aside from being a literary genius and innovative thinker, Arthur Clarke was what most idols only dream of being. To a person, people describe Arthur as a truly nice person. Jerry Pournelle described Arthur (in an email to George Noory) as an "unfailingly kind person."

It was my misfortune to never meet Sir Arthur personally as I did so many of my other literary heroes. His work impacted my life in so many ways. Having grown up in a house where I never saw my parents without a book, I naturally gravitated to reading as well. At first it was the action and westerns of my parents. Then I moved on to ghost stories. But it wasn't until I had read short story by Ray Bradbury (The Sound Of Thunder) in fifth grade did I become fascinated with science fiction. Then I read everything I could get my hands on. I read all of Bradbury, Verne, Wells, Asimov and, of course, Arthur C. Clarke's works.

When 2001: A Space Odyssey came out in theaters, my sisters saw the movie. After I had seen it, they asked me if I understood it. Being around eight or nine, I immediately said 'yes.' When pressed to explain it to them, I had trouble expressing myself. This would lead me to begin reading more about space and science and religion. I don't think I ever got back to them on their question over the years, but I did learn a lot about what Arthur and Stanley were saying in the movie.

Sir Arthur's writing was always fantastic but strongly rooted in what could be. He would take the kernel of real science and use it for his fiction. He would show what we were capable of before we even knew it ourselves. Richard Hoagland referred to Arthur as the "great extrapolator." It was his writing that would inspire my own need to learn everything I can about a topic before I write my own fiction. Though I have never been able to perfect this craft to the extent Sir Arthur did, I still have my hopes. And it is his inspiration that makes me believe I can.

Though he was many things (explorer, pacifist, scientist, innovator) and influenced a great many people, from engineers to philosophers, it was his writing, his standing as an author, he most prized.

In his 90th birthday message to his fans (which can be viewed on YouTube), Sir Arthur said he had three wishes. The first was for some evidence of extraterrestrial life, for man to kick his current addiction to oil and for ever lasting peace in Sri Lanka. He was a true visionary who had so much compassion for his fellow man.

As I drove down the road and heard of Arthur C. Clarke's passing, my eyes teared and a heaviness fell on my chest for this man Whom I never got the chance to meet. He was a man who influenced my life, both professionally as a writer and personally as a human being. I will miss Sir Arthur; his great mind, his deep heart and his gentle nature.

Sources
Wireless World - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_World

Coast To Coast radio program,
with George Noory, March 19, 2008

Forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/03/19/ap4792366.html