The Sentinel (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Arthur C. Clarke
- First Published: 1951
- Type of Plot: Science fiction
- Time of Work: 1996-2016
- Setting: The moon
- Principal Characters: Wilson, Louis Garnett
- Genres: Short fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: Extraterrestrial life, Future, Science or scientists, Space flight or travel, Space ships, stations, or vehicles, 1990’s, Moon or moons, Exploration or explorers, Geology or geologists, Space sciences
- Locales: Moon
The Story
Wilson, a geologist, recalls his role twenty years earlier as leader of a lunar expedition to a massive plateau, the Mare Crisium, or Sea of Crisis. Although the name is portentous, initially the journey appears to be mundane. Wilson even laments that there is nothing hazardous or especially exciting about lunar exploration. It is, he claims, an uneventful routine.
Wilson's expedition is well equipped. Traveling from the main lunar base, some five hundred miles away, the crew is laden with heavy equipment, including overland tractors, rockets, and scientific...
[The entire page is 1305 words long]
