Science fictionwriter, inventor and futurist Arthur C. Clarke has died, leaving fans bereft at the loss of his brilliance and creativity.
Clarke diedearly Wednesday after suffering from breathing problems, the Associated Press reported. He was90 years old. He suffered from post-polio syndrome and was confined to awheelchair toward the end of his life.
Clarke wrote more than 100sci-fi books, including "2001:A Space Odyssey." He is credited with coming up with the idea for the communicationssatellite and predicting space travel before rockets were even test fired.
Hefed an early interest in science fiction with Amazing Stories(the world's first science-fiction magazine; it fell out of publication in 2005).
Inthe 1930s, he joined the British Interplanetary Society, which he chaired fortwo terms, and was active in SF fandom, where his self-promotional effortsearned him the nickname "Ego."
Since1956, Clarke resided in Sri Lanka as the island nation's sole honorarycitizen, engaging in underwater exploration and participating in the managementof a diving tour company, Underwater Safaris. However, he was most familiar toglobal audiences as a futurist and advocate of technology and interplanetaryexploration.
WithWalter Cronkite, who would become a lifelong friend, he co-anchored CBStelevision coverage of the launches of Apollo 11, 12 and 15. Continuing hiscareer in television, Clarke hosted such investigative programs as"Arthur C. Clarke?s Mysterious World", "World of StrangePowers" and "Mysterious Universe".
Withsuch an impressive resume, it would be easy to forget that Clarke?s greatestsignificance was as one of the 20th century's great popularizers of scientificthought, especially through the medium of science fiction.
Combininga genuine optimism for humanity?s future with visionary insight and an almostequally uncanny ability to explain difficult points of science, Clarke's bodyof genre work was likely one of the most significant in the 20th century.
Happily,many of his other significant predictions came true, although the prophecymay have worked at least partially to fulfill itself. In Rendezvouswith Rama (1973), he created "Project Spaceguard," anorganization dedicated to tracking asteroids likely to intersect with theEarth. When the real world caught up with him in 1996, its founders named it"Spaceguard" in homage.
Writerand critic George Zebrowski, a good friend of Clarke and a recognized expert onhis work, once stated that Clarke?s Three Laws are central to appreciating theman's work.
Notonly are these aphorisms fundamental elements of Clarke's literary legacy, butsome would argue that they comprise a valuable contribution to 20th-Centurypopular thought. They are:
Clarke so relentlessly promoted the exploration of space, while celebratingcultural and geographic differences here on Earth, that he was called"our solar system?s first regionalist."
Clarke's outspoken criticism of individual countries? tendency to nationalizethe exploration of space showed that he still felt that the leap to otherworlds was far too important -- if not too vast -- an undertaking to beconstrained by concepts so transient as "nation-states."
"Sometimes I am asked how Iwould like to be remembered," Clarke said at the celebration. "I have hada diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer and space promoter. Of allthese I would like to be remembered as a writer."
"I have always believed thatwe are not alone in this universe," Clarke said.
Humans are waiting untilextraterrestrial beings "call us or give us a sign," he said. "Wehave no way of guessing when this might happen. I hope sooner rather thanlater."
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