Jupiter Five (Arthur C Clarke Short Story)

"Jupiter Five" is a science fiction short story by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in the magazine ''If'' in May 1953.Arthur C. Clarke: Reach for Tomorrow. ''Ballantine Books'', New York 1956, p. IV It reappeared in Clarke's collection of short stories in 1956, and concerns the detection and exploration of an ancient spaceship from outside the Solar System.

Plot summary

Professor Forster, a scientist on an expedition with the spacecraft '' Arnold Toynbee'', discovers that Jupiter V, the innermost satellite of Jupiter, is actually a spacecraft from "Culture X", an ancient race of reptiles from outside the Solar System. Culture X coexisted with insectoid Martians and settled the smaller rocky planets and moons throughout the Solar System, except for Earth's Moon. Jupiter V is a spherical metal vehicle with a diameter of 30 kilometers, containing an art gallery with millions of exhibits. One exhibit depicts a member of Culture X, whom Forster dubs "The Ambassador."

It becomes clear that "The Ambassador" was explicitly intended for Mankind. Culture X predicted that intelligent life would develop on Earth and eventually achieve space flight; the statue is a message of greeting and goodwill spanning the time between its creators' extinction and the arrival of space travelers from Earth.

Randolph Mays, a science writer, arrives with his pilot and secretary. Forster exploits a loophole in space law and claims salvage rights to Jupiter V in the name of the World Science Organization. Mays attempts to steal "The Ambassador" and other art objects, but Forster turns Mays' companions against him, forcing him to return the stolen items.

Reception

According to David N. Samuelson, "Jupiter Five" is one of Clarke's "few attempts at melodrama", along with " Breaking Strain" (1949) and "Guardian Angel" (1950).David N. Samuelson: ''Arthur C. Clarke (1917–)''. In: Richard Bleiler (ed.): ''Science Fiction Writers. Critical Studies of the Major Authors from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Present Day.'' Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York 1982, p. 315 Samuelson states that it represents one of the few instances in which Clarke overcame his "reluctance to tell traditional action-adventure story in the pulp tradition" due to "his literary allegiances and a desire to downplay the thoughtless romanticism evident in such tales of derring-do". Samuelson also suggests the work lacks significant literary importance.

Influence

The idea of an artifact left by a spacefaring alien race for humans to discover after achieving space flight also appeared in " The Sentinel", a 1948 short story by Clarke (published 1951) about the discovery of an ancient artifact on the Moon. It served as the basis for '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', the 1968 novel and film Clarke developed with director Stanley Kubrick. However, the artifacts in "Sentinel" and "Odyssey" are speculated on (in "Sentinel") or explicitly stated (in the novel version of "Odyssey") as warnings that humans were in space.

Early drafts of the ''2001'' novel placed the Star Gate on Jupiter's moon Jupiter V instead of Iapetus as in the final version, revealing that Jupiter V had been artificially sculpted and placed into its orbit by the builders of the Star Gate.Arthur C. Clarke, ''The Lost Worlds of 2001'', pp. 165-73.

"Jupiter Five" inspired ''The Diamond Moon'', the fifth novel in the '' Venus Prime'' series by Paul Preuss.

References

{{Arthur C. Clarke
1953 short stories
Amalthea (moon)
Fiction set on Jupiter's moons
Short stories by Arthur C. Clarke
Works originally published in If (magazine)