[Williams]

Oddly enough it seems all the fantasies of science fiction are dreams of the future scientific reality. As they say in Forbidden Planet: Imagine, a life form with no instrumentality! Surely that is where we are headed, and maybe that is where we came from. This is really the story of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Arthur C. Clarke is in the evolutionary Sci Fi genre and always believed we have to evolve to take the next step into the cosmos. (e.g. Childhood's End).

And how many of us that are thinking about living forever have a damn thing to do with the technologies that might make it possible? I know I don't.

[RightWhale]

we have to evolve to take the next step into the cosmos

A lot of ifs between us and that destiny.

[DarkSavant]

Childhood's End was probably Clarke's best IMHO, but also his darkest. My problem was the "enlightened" kids seemed almost satanic in the end, caring nothing for those lesser humans and instead just doing pontless tinkering of the stars. Didn't enjoy his rips on religion either. I have more respect for a human fool than those "higher consciousness" children.