Today I just finished reading the acknowledgements at the end of Clarke’s 3001: The Final Odyssey . Absolutely a phenomenal life he led, with such power of imagination, elocution and execution. His bio on Wikipedia mentions that he corresponded with C S Lewis, and it’s not much of leap to go to comparing Clarke and Tolkien.
The elves in Tolkien’s world are stagnant, in a way that Clarke could never be. And apathetic too, in a way I hope I never am.
We should always be prepared for future technologies, because otherwise they will come along and clobber us - Arthur C Clarke*
I’ve defended Trestlebridge, found a Nazgul’s horse, saved Legolas’ hiney, stolen a palantir, defeated Mordirith AND Mordrambor, seen the evil beneath Moria, rescued more elves and dwarves than I can count…
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” says the man who imagined it all. Magic that enables a single soldier to defeat monsters considered to be unconquerable. “New tech,” says Orion. It’s difficult to imagine that Middle Earth could evolve to include such magic (technology?)
The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present - J R R Tolkien
The incredibly predictable irony of it all: today in all corners of Middle Earth, so very many people were soloing the old book quests, right next to each other.
*hehe who knew? Clarke was a champ 
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