8,999,999,999

The death of Sir Arthur C. Clarke today marks the loss of another great in the annals of science fiction and, indeed, of science.

Arthur, whom I suspect would be surprised to hear me address him that way — I inherited the personal approach from Mum who knew him well, was a writer with amazing ideas. I will never forget “Childhood’s End” — it is a classic and if you haven’t read it yet, do yourself the favor and get acquainted with one of the most intriguing novels in science fiction. “The Star” is a story so haunting that it’s never far from my mind or wonder — again, read it if you haven’t already, you’ll be well-rewarded for the effort.

He is probably more noted by most for the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” with its terribly confusing ending (except to those of us who read “The Sentinel” which was the basis for the film).

For me, his most humorous story was “The Nine Billion Names of God” which ended with the marvelous: “overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out.”

Which is why the title — with the passing of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, I think we might be safely mark one of the nine billion names as found.

Fortunately for us all, his books and stories are still in print. If you haven’t yet, go find one and enjoy!