Arthur C. Clarke-The Sentinel

Now, I understand why people like to call Mr. Clarke the master of Science Fiction. The Sentinel is a truly spectacular work. It is very short, only a few pages long but it's impact reaches as far and wide as the universe. The crux of the story concerns a bunch of rag tag moon explorers on a seemingly routine lunar expedition in the year 1996. The story's protagonist whom I don't believe we the reader is even given a name for has long dreamed of finding life or evidence of it on the moon. He dreams that he would find it over a big mountainside and one day he decides to climb that mountain and reach his dreams and aspirations of alien life. He ends up finding evidence of alien life in a giant monolithic pyramid but nothing living in his general vicinity. He explores this mysterious pyramid and then by accident or by design activates the structure's main purpose. The pyramid was left over by an alien civilization, but it was not by accident. It was built on the moon waiting for the time when man was brave and intelligent enough to find it and activate it's innate reason for existence. To send a message to whatever lifeforms that had created it that mankind was now ready and willing to communicate and learn from these alien beings. A decision that has immense weight on the earth and the universe as a whole. The story doesn't delve into what happens after this fateful discovery, instead it leaves it up in the air and leaves the reader with a sense of anticipation and dread of what may come. I related to this story very well since I believe in my heart that if we had activated such a beacon today, we would not welcome the alien lifeforms with open arms. Instead we would perceive them as a threat and blow them out of the sky. I think Clarke felt the same way since the lead protagonist was also leery of the fact that aliens would be communicating and visiting earth very soon and he was fearful for their safety just as much as our own.

The Sentinel would go on to become the building blocks for Clarke's magnum opus, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and in many ways despite it's short length it has just as much impact as 2001 ever did. This was thought provoking and in a way somber and very tragic. The weight of the impact of this story was immense. It was a story about not just one form of alien encounter but two forms. The first was the discovery of The Sentinel, and the second is the upcoming visitations from beyond our universe from aliens who had heard the response they had been waiting decades if not thousands of years to come and share their knowledge and existence with the planet Earth believing that it is ready for such a monumental moment in mankind, but in reality due to an over eager explorer the message was sent too soon, and man is not yet ready. It takes an event so wonderful and makes it so sad and infuriating. Excellent story. I highly recommend it to anyone. Even people who aren't fans of Science Fiction. It's message is one that can touch anyone who picks it up and reads it's contents and chooses to hear it's call.