For there was no vessel—at least of Man’s making—anywhere between her and the infinitely distant stars.
Western man had relearned-what the rest of the world had never forgotten-that there was nothing sinful in leisure as long as it did not degenerate into mere sloth.
And so Discovery drove on toward Saturn, as often as not pulsating with the cool music of the harpsichord, the frozen thoughts of a brain that had been dust for twice a hundred years.
Few artists thrive in solitude and nothing is more stimulating than the conflict of minds with similar interests.
And even if it never makes it to the big screen, millions of people have watched a very impressive version of the opening in the box office hit Independence Day. So when/if Childhood’s End is finally...
If man can live in Manhattan, he can live anywhere.
1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.2. The only way of...
The image of Jupiter, with its ribbons of white cloud, its mottled bands of salmon pink, and the Great Red Spot staring out like a baleful eye, hung steady on the flight-deck projection screen.
Problems seldom go away if they’re ignored.
Once, I believed that space couldhave no power over faith, just as I believed the heavens declared the glory of God’shandwork. Now I have seen that handwork, and my faith is sorely troubled.
My favourite definition of an intellectual: 'Someone who has been educated beyond his/her intelligence.[: Chapter 19]
I will not be afraid because I understand ... And understanding is happiness.
I said nothing about men adapting themselves to Mars. Have you ever considered the possibility of Mars meeting us half-way?
Bowman was aware of some changes in his behavior patterns; it would have been absurd to expect anything else in the circumstances. He could no longer tolerate silence; except when he was sleeping, or...
Science fiction is something that happen - but usually you wouldn't want it to. Fantasy is something that happen - though often you only wish that it could.
No on of intelligence resents the inevitable.
Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.
Minkowski spacetime.
It was the end of civilization, the end of all that men had striven for since the beginning of time. In the space of a few days, humanity had lost its future, for the heart of any race is destroyed, a...