Arthur C. Clarke died today...

He was one of my favorite writers, actually my favorite 'hard science' science fiction writer.

There's ordinarily a rule; Scientists aren't good science fiction writers. Oh, many sci-fi writers have some background in science, most notably the late Asimov in Chemistry, but Clarke worked as a Scientist his entire adult life and beyond. He's credited for inventing the communications satellite, for example.

The rule is; Soldiers write puke war stories, virgins write the best porn, historians write horrible historical fiction especially 'romances' and last but not least, scientists are not good science fiction writers.

And Clarke broke that. He has about 100 books in print, and some of the best and enduring science fiction. The one that made him famous was of course the "2001" series. But lots of his other works remained popular in science fiction circles and as technology makes "Special Effects" cheaper, more will see visulization. Most likely his "Rama" series for the next effect.

Towards the latter part of his life, he settled in Sri Lanka and continued to write and think and communicate with a new generation of artists, writers and scientists. One of his best novels, and one I feel will become his most visionary, is "The Fountains of Paradise" set in a fictional Sri Lanka and about the building of a space elevator, a project that will mark the beginning of a true space era should mankind go ahead with it.

Briefly, he had a scandal, when a British Tabloid published a report he was having sex with young boys, but he quickly overcame that, to begin with by pointing out medical proof he hadn't been 'functional' for ten years in that area. The tabloid backed down with him following with a Libel suit, the proceeds to go to children's charities.

But he loved Sri Lanka and its people loved him. Especially after the Tsunami where he used his fame and contacts to get as much charity as he could for his neighbors and he opened the doors of his rather large house to as many refugees as it could hold. If he had been younger, he'd have picked up a hammer to help people re-build, but the charity he raised did much more.

His last message was a call for peace in that country and its neighbors.

I'm really sad that he died, though he lived a long and full life. And for somewhat selfish reasons. One of my "In Development" projects was to use 3DCG to animate one of his short stories, "Exile of the Aeons". My RL schedule, I'm prone to 'vaporware' so for important stuff I talk about them minimally until I finish them. I'd mostly got it storyboarded, just working out the character designs and some 3D models. I was hoping to complete it, or at least show him the first few minutes of it, before he passed away...

I'll do some soul searching and if I'm still in the mood to do it, I'll finish it, though it'll take months. And I'll put it on YouTube and on my website, but the "Tip" jars and such will lead to Clarke's charities.