the nine billion names of god read online

They are shocked to realize that all of humanity boarded highly sophisticated spaceships before Earth was destroyed. They assume that the human race burrowed into the center of the Earth and is destroyed. When they arrive, they discover radio towers that seem designed for interplanetary communication but can find no signs of life. A team of aliens from different planets join together to rescue any signs of life from a futuristic Earth which has been destroyed by the sun. “Rescue Party” is one of the only stories in which Clarke describes the human race as potentially superior to aliens. The narrator is concerned that scientific progress will be used against Americans to influence them in dangerous ways. In “I Remember Babylon,” a Russian operative plans to pipe pornography into every American home from a satellite orbiting Earth, in order to slip propaganda in between sex scenes. The scientists think the monks are crazy, but as soon as the computer prints its last page, the stars in the sky go out, signaling the end of the world. The computer prints out the letter combinations at an incredible speed. To speed up their work, they enlist the help of two scientists and their computer. Once they have successfully listed them all, the universe as they know it will come to an end. “The Nine Billion Names of God” follows a group of Tibetan monks who are trying to list out all the possible combinations of letters in a special alphabet they created.

Below is a summary of the most influential or significant stories in the collection. They range from serious warnings about the future of Earth to humorous farces. The collection begins with an introduction from the author in which he states that for various reasons, the following stories are the favorites of all that he has written. This guide refers to the 1987 Signet edition.

The nine billion names of god read online