Terry sez: > I never did understand what inspired Sir Clarke to write this novel. > > Terry
Like Jed, I'll take a stab at answering this conundrum. I'll also be the first to admit that my comments are highly eccentric, personally opinionated, and filled with a kind of new age mystic drivel that would have likely irked Sir Arthur, being the atheist that he was, to no end, so my apologies up front. I'd like to think that Clarke being the playful and inquisitive old soul that I suspect he was, was likely beginning to sense his own personal connections with the vast collective unconsciousness, or super-consciousness. I gather such recognitions, particularly in the beginning "old soul" stages of the recognition process, is not necessarily perceived as a welcomed experience since there is the initial fear that one's personal identity, all that one thinks one "is", will be completely absorbed or obliterated by something incomprehensibly larger than themselves. Perhaps one of the major lessons old souls like Sir Arthur must negotiate through is the fear of holding onto our isolated identities when perhaps it's time to let go of it. Perhaps when one finally recognizes the fact that one's identity is just another illusion that consciousness has been playing with for eons, perhaps it makes it a little easier to move on - to become curious as to what might be just around the corner. Metaphorically speaking, that's what "Childhood's End" was all about for me, personally. I gather there are not very many old souls on the planet these days. Carl Jung obviously comes to mind as another likely "old soul" candidate, considering his writings on the "collective unconsciousness". Incidentally, I was about 14 years old when I read Clarke's novel. The ending depressed me to no end. How horrible, I thought to have Earth just after it entered into its "golden age" abruptly evaporate, to transform into something else that I could no longer comprehend. What a painful loss, I lamented! Guess I ain't no old soul. ;-) PS: Good comments, Jed. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
