Daniel barker daniel is the founder of you can science, and also the producer of a science podcast called uncertainty principle, which this website hosts. Since this is supposed to be mans ultimate destiny, the world would end at that point. Science fiction friday the nine billion names of god by. Help with the theme of the short story the nine billion. The nine billion names of god follows three employees of a computer company as they sell, deliver and maintain a relatively large and fast computer to a group of tibetan monks. The 99, a comic book based on the 99 names of god in islam. Astronomy, totally rad science fiction friday the nine billion names of god by arthur c. Wagner, with what he hoped was commendable restraint.
Praise god, the almighty is not as silly and simplistic as described here. The nine billion names of god summary supersummary. And assuming 500 pages per enormous book, that equates to 37,500 books of names. Arthur c clarke the nine billion names of god and other. When the atheist monks finished the book of names, they had achieved the goal, not actually of naming some deity which they do not even believe in, but of realizing that. 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 published before the creation of the nebula awards. But these are his twentyfive favorites and they combine to make fine reading. This book seemed to be a message directly from murakami to the reader about himself and about his writing. Clarke, follows two computer technicians who are consulted to program a customized printing machine. Sep 21, 2011 clarke has written over a hundred short stories, most of which have been anthologized before. Answers of questions of chapter nine billion names of god from book my english folder class 7 english. They believed that the universe was solely created in order for us to name all of gods names and they believed that once they had completed discovering all of gods names that.
Sir arthur predicted the use of communications satellites in 1945 and submitted a proposal for such a system that was nearly laughed out of court. Suppose you format the printout as a 80character wide by 60line tall sheet, and have 8 columns of 9character names on each sheet. The nine billion names of god by arthur c clarke fantastic fiction. Click on a title, author name or category to see similar books. This volume is of special interest included are a wide range of classic stories, including the title story, jupiter five, the deep range, second dawn, and. On the book you are holding the words are plain to read. Three centuries ago, the monks created an alphabet in which they calculated they could encode all the possible names of god, numbering about 9,000,000,000 nine billion and each having no more than nine characters. If anyone has read the short story the nine billion names of god by arthur c. The nine billion names of god is a collection of short stories from acclaimed sciencefiction author arthur c. Contents introduction the nine billion names of god 1953 i remember babylon 1960 trouble with time 1960 rescue party 1946 the curse 1946 summertime on icarus 1960. What is meaning behind the nine billion names of god story.
If you create a free account and sign in, you will be able to customize what is displayed. I have read childhoods end and it might be my favorite of all time. The nine billion names of god arthur c clark avbook. Mindwebs test, by theodore thomas the nine billion names of god, by arthur c.
Mar 18, 2014 for such a short story, the nine billion names of god has a lot to say about faith, fate, and hubris while leaving a lot to the imagination. They know the written real names of god will be exactly 9 letters long letters drawn from their special alphabet. As far as i know, its the first time anyones been asked to supply a tibetan monastery with an automatic sequence computer. The nine billion names of god by arthur c clarke reddit. Clarke has written over a hundred short stories, most of which have been anthologized before. Clarke in 1953 and is included in his science fiction anthology of the same name. Jan 26, 20 three centuries ago, the monks created an alphabet in which they calculated they could encode all the possible names of god, numbering about 9,000,000,000 nine billion and each having no more than nine characters.
The nine billion names of god is a 1953 science fiction short story by british writer arthur c. The nine billion names of god the intelligence people. The purpose of the ending is to surprise and unsettle the reader, rather than to indicate some underlying truth or convey some significant message. Set at a tibetan lamasery, a type of monastery, the nine billion names of god 1953, a short story by science fiction author arthur c. The two guys mentioned above set up a computer for tibetan monks, which is able to pronounce the tibetan sounds in the permutations that make up the nine billion names of god. They worked out there were nine billion different ways of writing his name. One thing that stood out was the humor of the stories something i dont necessarily associate with clarke. A sect of tibetan monks were researching every possible name of god. Im looking for more by him but he seems to have a huge collection and i need some suggestions. A most unusual short story by carter scholz is called the nine billion names of god and takes the form of letters between scholz and an editor at a science fiction magazine discussing the fact that scholz submitted a copy of clarkes story with his name on the byline. Read online the nine billion names of god arthur c clarke the nine billion names of god arthur c clarke. Nepalese monks hire an ibm computer to print all possible nine letter words in a special language which could be the name of their god. The nine billion names of god is another religiously rooted story about monks getting a supercomputer to find all names of god to be ready when he comes. Can anyone help me find a book that i read a long time ago.
The nine billion names of god by borja ruiz porras on prezi. For such a short story, the nine billion names of god has a lot to say about faith, fate, and hubris while leaving a lot to the imagination. The nine billion names of god is basically a horror story. The nine billion names of god challenges the popular rationalist resonances of the mid1950s, which emerged partly out of the first groundbreaking advances in computation. Clarke this is a slightly unusual request, said dr. To include a little background from clarkes forward in his 1974 reprise anthology the nine billion names of god signet, the new american library inc. This collection of science fiction short stories inc. Names of god in judaism the nine billion names of god, a short story by arthur c. They ask for a super computer named the mark v to be installed at their monastery to speed up the process and request that instead of using number sequences it should use their special alphabet and that no letter must be used more than three time consecutively and should. Mar 18, 2008 the nine billion names of god follows three employees of a computer company as they sell, deliver and maintain a relatively large and fast computer to a group of tibetan monks.
It hit all the thematic marks that he prioritizes in his other texts desire, duality, power, gender etc, while also providing reminders to the. Writing the names out by hand, as they had been doing, even after eliminating various nonsense combinations, would take another. Apr 25, 2016 the nine billion names of god was written by the venerable sir arthur c. All the time in the worldthe nine billion names of godthe possessedthe parasitejupiter fiveencounter in the dawnthe other tigerpublicity campaignarmaments racethe deep rangeno morning afterbig game huntparent pendingrefugeethe starwhat. They ask for a super computer named the mark v to be installed at their monastery to speed up the process and request that instead of using number sequences it should use their special alphabet and that no letter must be used more. Under a clear night sky they estimate that it must be just about the time that the monks are pasting the final printed names into their holy books. There are some stories about antigravity, new worlds, horse like creatures who meet tiny creatures who may outsmart them before too long. Clarke finally won a retrospective hugo award for best short story. Dear reader, subsequent to you are hunting the the nine billion names of god arthur c clarke gathering to gain access to this day, this can be your referred book. The monks want the computer to help them print out all the possible names of god, of which they believe there are about nine billion. Aug 15, 20 theres a science fiction story i first read in the early 1970s. The nine billion names of god, published in 1953 was about a tibetan monastery whose monks sought to list every imaginable name of god.
The nine billion names of god was the first arthur c clarke story i ever read, and within a week of reading it i was devouring his work. The nine billion names of god i remember babylon trouble with time rescue party the curse summertime on icarus dog star hide and seek out of the sun the wall of darkness no morning after the possessed death and the senator whos there. Nov 01, 2016 the star and the nine billion names of god by arthur c. In this way its a lot like a ghost story or urban legend. Sep 26, 2018 mindwebs test, by theodore thomas the nine billion names of god, by arthur c.
See all 10 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. In nine billion names of god a group of monks have been writing down possible names for god for three centuries. This book has some great short stories, my favorite being the wall of darkness. Science fiction friday the nine billion names of god by arthur c. Apr 09, 2014 help with the theme of the short story the nine billion names of god. Etext library the nine billion names of god the nine billion names of god arthur c. Clarke was one of the giants and the fact that we are still talking about this book now, in the year 2015 is ironic as clarke was always more of a. As far as i know, its the vrst time anyones been asked to supply a tibetan monastery with an automatic sequence computer. Nine billion names of god summaryopinion yourshiningknight. If you liked nine billion names of god by arthur c clarke, here are some books like this. It poses, instead, a future where spirituality remains most closely in touch with the universes fundamental laws, depicting the shock a modern rationalist would. It would take 18,750,000 pages to handle the 9 billion names. Clarkes the nine billion names of god is an anthology of his favorite short stories that was first published in 1974 during the golden age of mass market science fiction and fantasy.
The reason is because it is the ultimate purpose of god and when they finished, everything disappears in the second part, one of the engineers george thought that this work was the. Nonfictional story from clarke about his conversation with a telecommunications traitor to the ussr and their plans for the unrestricted american airwaves. This story appeals to me on so many levels, but the thing that sticks with me the most is the very last line of the story. Clarke arthur clarkes short story the star is more in line with the sparrow. It is about a strange and very small universe and what that could look like for. What does the end of nine billion names of god signify.
The nine billion names of god by arthur c clarke book cover, description, publication history. The nine billion names of god was written by the venerable sir arthur c. The others range from the tall fantasy tales from the. The title story is quietly remarkable as tibetan monks complete their lifes work with the aid of a computer and the star also makes an unsettling comment on religion. And no more than 3 consecutive occurrences of the same letter are permitted.
This book seemed to be a message directly from murakami to the reader about himself and about his writing, serving as a guide. While doing some research the other day, i came across a fictional story by an author named arthur c. But this is notreally the full truth of the in the commentary entitled tafsir of the writers the authors add to their mention of theexpression the beautiful names the remark, are ninety nine in number. This very short tale was first printed in the 1953 anthology star science fiction stories from ballantine books edited by frederik pohl. Yeah, even many books are offered, this book can steal the reader heart. But this is notreally the full truth of the in the commentary entitled tafsir of the writers the authors add to their mention of theexpression the beautiful names the remark, are ninetynine in number. Theres a science fiction story i first read in the early 1970s.
It was reprinted in the science fiction hall of fame, volume one, 19291964. Now i have seen that handiwork, and my faith is sorely troubled. Answers of questions of chapter nine billion names of god. Experten stellen ausgewahlte science fictionstories vor. The nine billion names of god collection wikipedia. What is meaning behind the nine billion names of god.
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