ethics

The End of Eternity

I finally read a book that has been lying in my collection for months because of blasted school and my annoying penchant for laziness: Asimov’s “The End of Eternity”.

My God, the story’s payoff has completely overwhelmed me. It’s in the league of the alien story in “The Gods Themselves” and more. I love it as much as the brilliant quote in his “Robots and Empire” where he philosphises through the eyes of Elijah Baley about humankind as a complex tapestry.

Eternity” begins as a science fiction story that appears to neatly tighten the loose ends of time-travel paradoxes that has often been questioned and criticised whenever the notion of time travel is discussed. But it evolves into something more: the consequences of controlling time and evolution to suit our ethical standards that are subjective to the era in which we are brought up in; the aesthetics and risk of seeking the unknown.

The book links also, very nicely with the Robots and Foundation stories. I would say it is sort of a prequel to the Robots series. However, this link is more a speculative one to the Robots and Foundation mythos than a direct connection.

Subjects: Books 書物

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: Arthur C. Clarke, ethics, Foundation, god, Issac Asimov, Olaf Stapledon, robot, science fiction

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