Travel by Wire by Arthur C. Clarke Episode #251
Arthur C. Clarke | August 6, 2024-
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Travel by Wire by Arthur C. Clarke Episode #251
Arthur C. Clarke
TRAVEL BY WIRE
Episode #251 · Written by Arthur C. Clarke · Narrated by Scott Miller
A brilliant inventor recounts the chaotic, hilarious, and occasionally disastrous early days of instant matter transmission. But when the man who helped create the technology refuses to use it himself, you begin to wonder what he knows that everyone else doesn’t.
Travel by Wire by Arthur C. Clarke is a playful, sharply observed look at how one bold invention can upend society in all the best—and worst—ways. Told as a casual reminiscence by one of the scientists who helped bring matter transmission into everyday life, the story opens the door to a laboratory filled with brilliant minds, petty rivalries, and endless trial-and-error. Clarke uses humor and insider detail to reveal just how messy technological progress can be, especially when the people involved are as flawed and competitive as the devices they’re trying to perfect.
The narrator walks us through the earliest experiments, where transmitting small objects leads to puzzling distortions, unexpected rearrangements, and one very unfortunate guinea pig. Once the team finally gets the system working, society embraces “travel by wire” with astonishing speed—resulting in long lines of passengers, new government regulations, lawsuits from celebrities, and the occasional traveler emerging with a body that doesn’t quite match the one they started with. It’s a future that feels both ingenious and precarious, filled with promise yet tinged with the unavoidable risks of meddling with forces we don’t entirely understand.
Clarke’s comedic timing gives the story an energy rarely seen in science fiction, as he blends scientific speculation with dry wit and a keen sense of human nature. Even as the system becomes wildly successful, the narrator’s cheerful delivery leaves room for doubt—especially when he admits he will gladly board a rocket before trusting the invention he helped create. That final note of unease adds a smart layer of irony, reminding readers that progress always comes with shadows, even when wrapped in humor.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arthur C. Clarke stands as one of the towering figures of 20th-century science fiction, a writer whose predictions and ideas helped inspire real-world advancements. His works, from Childhood’s End to Rendezvous with Rama, reveal a mind fascinated by both the marvels and mysteries of the universe. Long before he achieved global fame, Clarke’s early short fiction showcased the curiosity, imagination, and technical intuition that would become his trademarks.
With Travel by Wire, we glimpse a young Clarke already in full command of his voice—wry, inventive, and unafraid to poke fun at the wonders he imagines. It’s a delightful reminder that even visionary breakthroughs can be wonderfully strange.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to Travel by Wire by Arthur C. Clarke — a vintage sci-fi tale of early teleportation experiments, scientific mishaps, and the unexpected risks behind a bold new technology.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE SHORT STORIES
Arthur C. Clarke was one of the most influential figures in science fiction and a key architect of the genre’s modern identity. Born in 1917 in Somerset, England, Clarke combined rigorous scientific thinking with a sense of cosmic wonder that reshaped how readers imagined space, technology, and humanity’s future. His work helped define what is now known as “hard science fiction,” grounded in plausible science and forward-looking ideas.
During World War II, Clarke served in the Royal Air Force, working with radar technology, an experience that deeply influenced his later writing. In 1945, he published a paper describing the concept of geostationary communication satellites, a proposal that would later become a foundational element of global telecommunications. Alongside his fiction, Clarke remained an active science writer and futurist throughout his life.
Clarke’s fiction spans intimate short stories and sweeping cosmic visions, often exploring humanity’s place in a vast and indifferent universe. His collaboration with Stanley Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey cemented his legacy in both literature and film, while stories like “The Star” and “The Nine Billion Names of God” remain enduring classics of vintage science fiction.
- The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke
- A Walk in the Dark by Arthur C. Clarke
- Encounter in the Dawn by Arthur C. Clarke
- Exile of the Eons by Arthur C. Clarke
- Summertime on Icarus by Arthur C. Clarke
- The Wall of Darkness by Arthur C. Clarke
- Superiority by Arthur C. Clarke
- No Morning After by Arthur C. Clarke
- At The End of the Orbit by Arthur C. Clarke
- Hide and Seek by Arthur C. Clarke
- Inside the Comet by Arthur C. Clarke
- The Parasite by Arthur C. Clarke
- Before Eden by Arthur C. Clarke
- The Star by Arthur C. Clarke
- Castaway by Arthur C. Clarke
- Travel by Wire by Arthur C. Clarke
- Transience by Arthur C. Clarke
ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST
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Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.
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