Sci-fi guru wishes for peace
British-born science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, who turned 90
yesterday, says all he wishes for is peace in his adopted home Sri Lanka
where he has lived for the past five decades.
“I dearly wish to see lasting peace established in Sri Lanka as soon
as possible,” he said.
“But I’m aware that peace cannot just be wished — it requires a great
deal of hard work, courage and persistence,” the writer said in a taped
message released to reporters here late last week.
Clarke, who predicted the establishment of communication satellites
and shot to fame after writing “2001: A Space Odyssey”, said he did not
feel “a day older than 89” as he completed “90 orbits around the sun.”
“I have no regrets and no more personal ambitions,” said the writer,
confined for the past three decades to a wheelchair because of the
effects of childhood polio.
But Clarke added that he wanted to be allowed three wishes.
As well as peace in Sri Lanka, he would also like evidence of
extra-terrestrial life and for the world to adopt cleaner fuels.
After a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer, space
promoter and science populariser, Clarke said he would like to be
remembered primarily as a writer as he pens another novel, “The Last
Theorem.”
“The Last Theorem has taken a lot longer than I expected. That could
well be my last novel, but then I’ve said that before,” Clarke said in
an interview with the BBC earlier this month.
“I want to be remembered most as a writer — one who entertained
readers, and, hopefully, stretched their imagination as well,” he said.
Clarke has published more than 100 books and over 1,000 shorter
works.
He grew up on a farm near Minehead, Somerset, and was knighted in
1998.
The science visionary said he now spends a good part of his day
dreaming of times past, present and future as he tries to “survive on 15
hours of sleep a day.”
Among his most treasured possessions, Clarke listed moondust smuggled
out of NASA and a copy of his book “Fountains of Paradise” flown aboard
a space shuttle.
Sri Lanka has honoured Clarke with the nation’s highest national
honour — “Sri Lankabhimanya” and has also named a local scientific
academy after him. AFP |