“Life is just one big banana. Science fiction allows us all to peel open the reality and discover the yellow truth inside.”

It was a science fiction convention in New York in the ’60s. Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke were in a taxi, vigorously arguing about which of them, or Ray Bradbury, was the better writer. Finally, they came to an agreement — they would refer to themselves always alphabetically — as ABC. Gleefully, Asimov pointed out that even then, his name came first!

In a sense, this story sums up the situation of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who died at the age of 90 in Sri Lanka, having just put the finishing touches to his last novel, a collaboration with Frederik Pohl. For much of his active writing life, Clarke was overshadowed by his great rival. While his contribution to science fiction was always recognised and acknowledged, its true scale became apparent only after Asimov’s death.

Clarke was born in Somerset in 1917, and received a first class degree in physics at King’s College. During World War II, he was a member of the team that developed the radar. Interestingly, Clarke was also the originator of the geo-stationary satellite, without which today’s communications systems are inconceivable. Clarke’s fascination with science fiction was born after reading Astounding Stories. In 1937, he wrote his first science fiction story — ‘Against The Fall Of Night’ — which was accepted after many revisions, only in 1948. With it, Clarke immediately established himself in the realm of science fiction.

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