What Arthur C. Clarke Knew

The very first video I rented when I (smugly) bought a Betamax in the mid-80s was 2010. I had read the book by Arthur C. Clarke and was mesmerized by the second installment of the Space Odyssey, although 2001 was wonderful for all it hinted at. It was 2010 that packed a real wallop for me.  

The end of the book had brought us to Jupiter. The spacecrafts were failing and the monolith was replicating and gradually changing the structure of Jupiter. Before the planet was obliterated, creating Lucifer—a second sun in our system, there was a final message delivered to the astronauts. Hal had just said "something wonderful is going to happen," then this:

"All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there. Use them together. Use them in peace."

Jupiter is engulfed by monoliths, which increase its density to the point that nuclear fusion occurs, transforming the planet into a small star. Discovery is consumed in the blast, but Leonov breaks away and begins its long journey home.

The new star's miraculous appearance later inspires American and Soviet leaders to seek peace. Over the centuries that follow, Europa gradually transforms from an icy wasteland to a humid jungle covered with plant life, while a Monolith stands in the primeval European swamp, waiting for intelligent life forms to find it."  

Remember this was the mid-80s—about 25 years ago, and we were in the early stages of space exploration, but this ending blew me away, because it had a ring of authority to it and the tantalizing thought that Arthur C. Clarke knew something no one else did. And apparently he did, because the discovery today of the water beneath the ice of Europa offers us the possibility that some viable life - in some distant time, could flourish and create its own unique world in our solar system.

And this is exciting for our little planet - perhaps an anomaly in the universe or just one of many we have not seen yet. I wish Clarke (who died at 99 in 2008) had lived to see this discovery, but deep down - somehow - I think he knew all along.