"The Star" is a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
by English writer
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host.
He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...
. It appeared in the science fiction magazine ''
Infinity Science Fiction
''Infinity Science Fiction'' was an American science fiction magazine, edited by Larry T. Shaw, and published by Royal Publications. The first issue, which appeared in November 1955, included Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star", a story about a pla ...
'' in 1955 and won the
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
in 1956. It is collected in Clarke's 1958 book of short stories ''
The Other Side of the Sky ''For the Memoir by Farah Ahmedi, See The Other Side of the Sky: A Memoir''
''The Other Side of the Sky'' is a collection of science fiction short stories by English writer Arthur C. Clarke, originally published in 1958. The stories all ori ...
'', and was reprinted in the January 1965 issue of ''Short Story International'' as the lead-off story.
Plot summary
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A group of space explorers from
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
return from an expedition to a remote
star system
A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speak ...
, where they discovered the remnants of an advanced civilization destroyed when its star went
supernova
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...
. The group's chief
astrophysicist, a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priest, is suffering from a deep crisis of faith, triggered by some undisclosed event during the journey.
The destroyed planet's culture was very similar to Earth's. Recognizing several generations in advance that their star would soon explode, and with no means of interstellar travel to save themselves, the doomed people spent their final years building a vault on the outermost planet in their solar system, whose
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...
-like orbit was distant enough to survive the supernova. In the vault, they placed a complete record of their history, culture, achievements, and philosophy, hoping that it would someday be found so that their existence would not have been in vain. The Earth explorers, particularly the astrophysicist-priest, were deeply moved by these artifacts, and they found themselves identifying closely with the dead race's peaceful, human-like culture and the profound grace they exhibited in the face of their cruel fate.
The final paragraph of "The Star" reveals the deepest root of the priest's pain. Determining the exact year of the long-ago supernova and the star system's distance from Earth, he calculated the date the emitted light from the explosion reached Earth, showing that the cataclysm that destroyed the peaceful planet was
the same star
"The Same Star" () is a single by Ruslana, featured on her 2004 studio album ''Wild Dances''. The arrangement and recording were done by EGO WORKS /HIT FACTORY, Miami, United States.
Ruslana devoted ''The Same Star'' to her husband, the love of h ...
that heralded the
birth of Jesus
The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man na ...
. The scientist's faith is shaken because of the apparent capriciousness of God:
Adaptations
The story was later dramatized as part of
a Christmas episode of ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'' in 1985. Although the original story ends on a negative note, this version has a more upbeat ending: the scientist reads the Father a poem left by the people of the doomed planet which ends with "grieve for those who go alone, unwise, to die in darkness, and never see the sun." Arthur C. Clarke was consulted about the changed ending and did not contact the studio with any objections.
[ The episode's screenwriter, ]Alan Brennert
Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the University of Cali ...
, later commented that "Over the years I've taken a little bit of heat from certain fans in the science fiction community for changing the ending of this story. I actually maintain that the ending as it is in this episode is implicit in the story and is not really at odds with the kind of metaphysical work that Clarke did in ''Childhood's End
''Childhood's End'' is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasionBooker & Thomas 2009, pp. 31–32. of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decade ...
''."
Related works
* ''Rebuttal'' by Betsy Curtis
Elizabeth M. Curtis (September 17, 1917 – April 17, 2002) was an American science fiction/fantasy writer.
She was born in Toledo, Ohio. She earned a BA and MA in English from Oberlin College. In 1966, she earned a MEd from Allegheny Coll ...
published in the June 1956 issue of Infinity is a sequel and response to ''The Star'', with a doctor who is also a priest speaking with the original story's narrator after his return to Earth.
* James Blish
James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his ''Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel ''A Case of Conscienc ...
's ''A Case of Conscience
''A Case of Conscience'' is a science fiction novel by American writer James Blish, first published in 1958. It is the story of a Jesuit who investigates an alien race that has no religion yet has a perfect, innate sense of morality, a situation ...
'' also has a Jesuit priest confronting an alien civilization.
* Mary Doria Russell
Mary Doria Russell (born August 19, 1950) is an American novelist.
Early life and education
Russell was born in Elmhurst, Illinois
She graduated from Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois, which has registered its chapter of the Nati ...
's '' The Sparrow'' and sequel '' Children of God'' feature a Jesuit linguist/priest who has a crisis of faith confronting alien cultures.
* Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
's ''Fiasco
Fiasco may refer to:
* a failure or humiliating situation
* Fiasco (bottle), a traditional Italian straw-covered wine bottle often associated with Chianti wine
Media
* ''Fiasco'' (novel), a 1987 science-fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
* ''F ...
'' is also about a first contact
First contact may refer to:
*First contact (astronomy), the moment in astronomical transit when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch
*First contact (anthropology), the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another
...
/SETI
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...
mission and has a priest (although Dominican) as one of the prominent secondary characters.
* Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are ''Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, ''The Mote in God's Eye'' ...
's ''Draco Tavern
''The Draco Tavern'' is a 2006 collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Larry Niven concerning the activities of Rick Schumann, the bartender of the Draco Tavern.
Fictional background story
The Draco tavern is located in S ...
'' short story "The Subject Is Closed" has a priest confronting an alien about life after death. The alien describes another species that committed mass suicide when it discovered the secret.
*''Calculating God
''Calculating God'' is a 2000 science fiction novel by Canadian writer Robert J. Sawyer. It takes place in the present day and describes the arrival on Earth of sentient aliens. The bulk of the novel covers the many discussions and arguments on ...
'' by Robert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 24 novels published and his short fiction has appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', ''Amazing Stories'', '' On Spec'', ''Nature'', and numerou ...
, another work which deals with the intersection of religion and science and features a supernova. Sawyer cited "The Star" as a major influence on his work.
See also
*GRB 080319B
__NOTOC__
GRB 080319B was a gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected by the Swift satellite at 06:12 UTC on March 19, 2008. The burst set a new record for the farthest object that was observable with the naked eye: it had a peak visual apparent magnitude ...
, one of five gamma ray bursts detected by the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission satellite within the 24-hour period around Clarke's own death.
* Religious ideas in science fiction
References
External links
Original text
*
*The Star was adapted by th
drabblecast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Star, The
1955 short stories
Short stories by Arthur C. Clarke
Hugo Award for Best Short Story winning works
Society of Jesus
Religion in science fiction
Works originally published in Infinity Science Fiction
Christmas short stories
Fiction about supernovae
Star of Bethlehem