Synopsis
Survey Ship S9000 is sent to rescue whoever might be left of the civilization of Earth when the sun is about to go nova.
History
First publication: Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1946
Review
One of Clarke’s earliest stories, but still one of his best. The view of the earth and mankind from the perspective of the aliens is simple but great. The image we are given of what is happening to the earth is exciting. The ending is perfect. This is the one of the best examples of the Golden Age and the optimism even under adversity that we had then. It's what got us through WWII and it still could be used to solve our problems, if only we could get over ourselves and put our fatalism behind us. This story has that sens eof wonder that science fiction and Clarke are so famous for. It also has the beginnings of ideas that were to be seen in 2001 and Rendezvous with Rama. This is the sort of story that seperates SF from every other form of literature. Highly recommended, but leave your snarkiness and pessimism behind before reading.
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
The Nine Billion Names of God, paperback, Signet, 1978-00-00
The Sentinel, hardcover, Barnes & Noble Books, 1996-04-00
The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke, hardcover, Tor, 2001-02-00
The Great SF Stories 8 (1946), edited by Issac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg, paperback, DAW Books, 1982-11-00
A Treasury of Science Fiction, edited by Groff Conklin, hardcover, Crown, 1948-03-00
Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1946, edited by John W. Campbell, Jr., magazine, Street & Smith, 1946-05-00
