ecial as to surpass the Overlords? Then it hit me. The one thing that made us special, the one thing that separated us from them...our ability to comprehend what was not logical, possible or even sensible. The Overlords, with all of their massive intelligence, vastly advanced technology and their ability to learn at a much faster and more efficient rate, still didn't attain something we did. I'm not sure if it was just one thing as it is many parts of one thing. Imagination I suppose best describes it. The Overlords were practical, efficient beings. One could relate them to the Vulcan civilization. However this was not your average star trek. Oddly enough, Clarke to me seems to be the best at giving both sides of the story. As one sees the story unfold in his books, they get the feeling that they are receiving a very detailed, scientifically accurate account of everything described. Good, but sometimes hard to relate. He then redeems his genuine fiction writing by putting in the creative and wondrous ideas and descriptions of what the reader sees and the characters experience. He still remembers to make his stories interesting, in other words. At first glancing at the words, "The end of strife and conflict of all kinds had also meant the virtual end of creative art. The world was still living on the glories of a past that could never return," I began to think that Clarke was wrong and beginning to get a little too idealistic. Then, I realized that just as humanity in the book is coming out of its childhood ways, I too must realize what can or can't be. One must take the good with the bad. I found myself relating to the novel on a whole new level. I had to learn to understand why this was happening, and that ultimately, it was for the greater good. Clarke mastered the outline and sequences of the story so well that virtually any reader would find themselves in the exact same position as any person on Earth would, in the event that someth...
