“When final contact was made, they would try to secure samples by drilling or laser spectroscopy”
2010: Odyssey Two (1982), Ch. 43: Thought Experiment
1980s
Context: Plans for the final assault on Big Brother had already been worked out and agreed upon with Mission Control. Leonov would move in slowly, probing at all frequencies, and with steadily increasing power — constantly reporting back to Earth at every moment. When final contact was made, they would try to secure samples by drilling or laser spectroscopy; no one really expected these endeavours to succeed, as even after a decade of study TMA-1 resisted all attempts to analyse its material. The best efforts of human scientists in this direction seemed comparable to those of Stone Age men trying to break through the armour of a bank vault with flint axes.
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Arthur C. Clarke 207
British science fiction writer, science writer, inventor, u… 1917–2008Related quotes
“Al-Buraq to Earth. Contact made.”
Earth-Mind Link (25 July 2011).
Captain Jul's Mission Blog (2011 - 2013)
Context: Al-Buraq to Earth. Contact made. Kamal, onboard computer, setting up link between (1) mind of mixed-species hominid on Planet Earth, and (2) cortico helmet of Captain Jul. Scanning planet for mixed-species hominid. One mixed-species hominid identified. Name: Yakoub Islam. Consent obtained. Link established with Yakoub’s mind.
Set up complete.
As quoted in The Dialectical Imagination : A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research (1973) by M Jay, p. 279.
Falsehood in Wartime (1928), Introduction
On Writing Poetry (1995)
Context: After a year or two of keeping my head down and trying to pass myself off as a normal person, I made contact with the five other people at my university who were interested in writing; and through them, and some of my teachers, I discovered that there was a whole subterranean Wonderland of Canadian writing that was going on just out of general earshot and sight
Source: Transforming qualitative information (1998), p. 129.
“Al-Buraq to Earth. Contact made. Link established with planet Earth.”
Al-Buraq to Earth (23 July 2011).
Captain Jul's Mission Blog (2011 - 2013)
Context: Al-Buraq to Earth. Contact made. Link established with planet Earth. Kamal, onboard computer, setting up Mission Log in accordance with first contact communication protocols. Set up complete.
Awaiting further instructions.