On December 16, 2000, Sir Arthur C. Clarke will be 83 years young. Acknowledged by nearly everyone as one of the true visionaries of the 20th century, Sir Arthur has left an indelible mark on history. He is probably best known for his pivotal role in the creation of the 1968 science fiction motion picture, 2001: A Space Odyssey, an Oscar-nominated, landmark movie that had a powerful, lasting impact on both filmmakers and audiences all over the world. For 2001, Arthur wrote the original short story and was co-author (along with director Stanley Kubrick) of the screenplay. The film simultaneously enraptured, amazed and confounded its huge number of viewers.

From a purely historical point of view, however, Sir Arthur’s most lasting contribution to humankind would not be that seminal motion picture. For Arthur C. Clarke is rightfully recognized as the "father of the communications satellite." In the late 1940s, in a brilliant technical paper whose vision even today seems breathtaking, Sir Arthur proposed that satellites could be launched into specific orbits (we now call them geostationary orbits) around Earth in which the satellites would remain virtually fixed over a single spot on the surface. At that time, almost a decade before the launch of Sputnik and the true beginning of the Space Age, Arthur accurately predicted that such geostationary orbits would be used to establish far-reaching communications networks that would ultimately connect the entire Earth. His predictions were correct. Now, slightly more than 50 years later, the global village that has emerged due to satellite communications has irrevocably transformed our world.

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To science fiction fans, of course, Sir Arthur C. Clarke is one of the founding fathers of the genre. From Childhood’s End to Rendezvous with Rama and Fountains of Paradise, his award-winning novels, which have been translated into over 40 languages, have entertained and fascinated millions of readers. Arthur’s novels, written in spare, accessible prose using the English language with great felicity, are rich in ideas. His facile, eclectic mind is apparent in almost every chapter of his best novels. Sir Arthur deftly creates situations and characters to move the stories forward, but the scenes and individuals in his novels are generally subservient to the big, important ideas he is trying to convey. His fiction is focused on the human species and its destiny. His characters are thus more metaphorical representations than specific individuals. He uses plot and character development to show how possible major events in space or the future will impact all of us.

In his several books of essays and other non-fiction pieces Sir Arthur C. Clarke has shown an uncanny ability to predict future developments in science, technology and even human affairs. Some of his more epigrammatic observations have been widely quoted for decades. Since I have always been fascinated by the possible existence of intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, one of his remarks, often referred to as "Clarke’s Third Law," ranks among my favorite quotations of all time. "Any sufficiently advanced technology," Arthur once wrote, discussing the level of technological development that might have been reached by some other extraterrestrial species, "would be indistinguishable from magic."

Arthur’s prolific writing career spans more than five decades and 60 books, including novels, collections of essays and short stories, and fictional collaborations. His place among the great writers of our epoch is firmly established. Yet in spite of all his outstanding achievements, the man Arthur C. Clarke has remained one of the warmest, kindest and most generous human beings that I have ever had the privilege to know.

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Within a week after the Challenger tragedy, we knew that the Galileo launch would be delayed by at least a year. I phoned Peter and we arranged, through Arthur’s literary agent Scott Meredith, to meet with Arthur for a few days in his Sri Lankan home in the middle of February. As a result of those meetings, Arthur and I agreed to work together to add substance to the science fiction idea that Peter and I had proposed to him. I returned to Sri Lanka by myself a month later, and Arthur and I retreated to a hotel on an old tea and clove plantation in the highlands above Kandy to work for a week on what ultimately became our first collaborative novel, Cradle. We originally conceived our novel as a companion to a motion picture of the same name, but the accompanying film perished in the Hollywood development process.

Almost a year later, when I was again in Sri Lanka putting the finishing touches on the manuscript for Cradle, I had a conversation with Arthur during which I expressed my admiration for his exceptional novel Rendezvous with Rama. It would be an understatement to say that I was stunned and delighted when Arthur suggested that perhaps he would be willing to collaborate with me on a Rama sequel. We brainstormed for several days on the ideas, characters and concepts that would be included in such a sequel and quickly concluded that it would take at least two, and possibly three, novels to cover all the material we had discussed. Within days after my return to the United States, a three-book contract that resulted in Rama II, The Garden of Rama and Rama Revealed was sold to Bantam by our agent Russell Galen, following a spirited auction among several different publishers.

During the next five years I traveled to Sri Lanka approximately once a year to visit with Arthur and discuss various aspects of the Rama novels. Of course we also corresponded regularly throughout the entire period, by letter and fax and an occasional long and expensive phone call. By mutual agreement, I wrote all the text for the three novels, just as I had done for Cradle. But the plot and the characters and the ideas were all developed through recursive interaction between us. Arthur was a wonderful editor. He would gently explain to me how scenes could be improved or strengthened without ever making me feel inept. Looking back at the time period, I cannot recall one single time when his criticisms were strident or insensitive.

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It has now been over six years since Arthur and I finished the last of the Rama novels. I have managed to visit him three times during this period and we still regularly exchange phone calls and e-mail. Arthur has continued to live with his extended family, Hector and Valerie Ekanayake and their three daughters Cherene, Tamara and Melinda, all of whom call him "Uncle Arthur," in the compound in Colombo where he has been for over 20 years. He now spends most of his days in a wheelchair, for his strength has been sapped by post-polio syndrome, but his mind and his wit are still as active as ever. Sir Arthur is still engaged in dozens of projects, and is sought after more than ever for his opinions about space, the future and a myriad of other subjects. He also continues to play a mean game of table tennis at the Otter Athletic Club in Colombo. Arthur props himself up at the table with his left hand and demolishes most opponents who abide by his rules and hit the ball within reach of his wicked right-hand slam.

I have been extremely blessed to know this man so well. No human being I have ever met has carried his fame with such grace. Yes, Arthur has his eccentricities, like most brilliant people, but at heart he is a gentle soul without meanness or rancor. In his Alexandrian quartet of novels, the British writer and poet Laurence Durrell, who is also famous for his epigrams, has one character say about another, "It is not enough just to respect the man’s genius — we must love him a little also." I believe that Sir Arthur C. Clarke has justly earned both the respect and the love of the people of the world.

So, Arthur, happy birthday to you from all your friends and fans. You have enriched the lives of millions of people with your imagination and your vision. And for those of us who have been fortunate enough to know you well, you have admirably demonstrated that it is possible to be, simultaneously, both a creative genius of the highest magnitude and a warm and compassionate human being.