Against the Fall of Night
The 10-billion-year-old metropolis of Diaspar is humanity's last home. Alone among immortals, the only man born in 10 million years desperately wants to find what lies beyond the City. His quest will uncover the destiny of a people-and a galaxy. This book also includes the classic short story Jupiter V.
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What Hacker News says
- Like Asimov, Clarke was one of the giants of science fiction. I'm surprised there isn't more discussion of his contributions to the evolution and perception of modern technology.
From communications satellites (the geosynchronous 'Clarke orbit' is named after him) to encrypted smartphones (described vividly in Imperial Earth), to space elevators (The Fountains of Paradise) - he introduced so many ideas that are now regarded as unremarkable. (I remember being attacked and ridiculed in high school when I brought up the preposterous subject of space elevators...)
His writing was more stylistic than Asimov's, and while not as prolific, his novels and scientific writing were equally inspiring. Clarke had a poetic, fantastical side, revealed in stories like 'The Lion of Comarre' and 'Against the Fall of Night'; relating visions of vast vistas of space and time (reminiscent of Olaf Stapledon), but also with a subtle discontent and yearning in the protagonists. I fear much of this subtlety is lost among modern readers, but it shouldn't be - so many of us suffer from that same malady!
Clarke and Asimov were great frenemies, and their exchanges were hilarious. They both had gigantic egos! And I just now realized a way to characterize their literary personalities: Asimov resided in temperate New York City, while Clarke had his home in tropical Sri Lanka. But the historic names of that place - Ceylon, Serendip and Taprobane - were even more exotic and evocative, just like the best of Clarke.
- Is it? Or is it simply that all unemployed populations so far have been poor and uncomfortable with nothing to lose?
If we ever get to a point where it is not necessary to work might we not instead end up with Arthur Clarke's Diaspar (The City and the Stars/Against the Fall of Night)?
- Maybe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Against_the_Fall_of_Night or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_and_the_Stars ? Also sounds similar to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run but doesn't quite match.
- Or Arthur C. Clarke's "moving ways" (Against the Fall of Night / The City And The Stars)
- Also quoted: "In 'Against the Fall of Night' the human race has mysteriously regressed after a full billion years of civilization. Humanity is faced with the remnants of its past glories: for example, a network of roads and sidewalks that flow like rivers. Although physically possible, it is inexplicable from their perspective. Clarke's Third Law explains the source of our amazement as our limitation, rather than the impossibility of the technology."
Another counter-argument to your quote is that "distinguished but elderly scientists" very publicly claimed it was impossible to fly, as late as 1904. Some even proclaimed this after the Wright brothers had done it.
As for the amount of energy, that is an estimate based on this very early design hypothesis. It points us in the right direction to continue research, but does not necessitate there will not be much more energy efficient ways to power such a device.
