"The Sentinel" 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 uni ...

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 British author Arthur C. Clarke, written in 1948 and first published in 1951 as "Sentinel of Eternity", which was used as a starting point for the 1968 novel and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

''2001: A Space Odyssey''.

Publication history

"The Sentinel" was written in 1948 for a BBC competition (in which it failed to place) and was first published in the magazine ''

10 Story Fantasy ''10 Story Fantasy'' (occasionally referred to as ''Ten Story Fantasy'') was a science fiction and fantasy pulp magazine which was launched in 1951. The market for pulp magazines was already declining by that time, and the magazine only lasted ...

'' in its Spring 1951 issue, under the title "Sentinel of Eternity". It was subsequently published as part of the short story collections '' Expedition to Earth'' (1953), ''

The Nine Billion Names of God "The Nine Billion Names of God" is a 1953 science fiction short story by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. The story was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories ...

'' (1967), and '' The Lost Worlds of 2001'' (1972). Despite the story's initial failure, it changed the course of Clarke's career.

Anthology

'' The Sentinel'' (published 1982) is also the title of a collection of Arthur C. Clarke short stories, which includes the eponymous "The Sentinel", "Guardian Angel" (the inspiration for his 1953 novel ''

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 ...

''), "

The Songs of Distant Earth ''The Songs of Distant Earth'' is a 1986 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, based upon his 1958 short story of the same title. He stated that it was his favourite of all his novels. Clarke also wrote a short step ...

", and "

Breaking Strain "Breaking Strain", also known as "Thirty Seconds - Thirty Days", is a science fiction short story by English writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1949. It was adapted into a movie in 1994 under the title ''Trapped in Space''. Plot ...

Story

The story deals with the discovery of an artefact on Earth's

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

left behind eons ago by ancient aliens. The object is made of a polished mineral, is tetrahedral in shape, and is surrounded by a spherical force-field. The narrator speculates at one point that the mysterious aliens who left this structure on the Moon may have used mechanisms belonging "to a technology that lies beyond our horizons, perhaps to the technology of para-physical forces." The narrator speculates that for millions of years (evidenced by dust buildup around its force-field) the artefact has been transmitting signals into deep space, but it ceases to transmit when, sometime later, it is destroyed "with the savage might of atomic power". The narrator hypothesizes that this "sentinel" was left on the Moon as a "warning beacon" for possible intelligent and spacefaring species that might develop on Earth.

Reception

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), John ...

found "The Sentinel" to be infuriating, saying that "one can raise a formidable reputation for profundity by repeating, over and over again, that the universe is wide and man is very small ... while our instruments show that the universe is wide, they are our instruments and we managed somehow to build them. There is no evidence whatsoever that Man is that goddamned small".

Film

The story was adapted and expanded upon in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', made by filmmaker

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

. Kubrick and Clarke modified and fused the story with other ideas. Clarke expressed impatience with its common description as the story on which the novel and movie are based. He explained

References

External links

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Sentinel of Eternity
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentinel, The Short stories by Arthur C. Clarke Space Odyssey 1951 short stories Fiction set in 1996 Short stories set on the Moon Works originally published in American magazines Works originally published in science fiction magazines Works originally published in fantasy fiction magazines Short stories adapted into films Avon Periodicals titles