Arthur C. Clarke

“The Possessed” is a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, published in March 1953 in Dynamic Science Fiction. It recounts the odyssey of the Swarm, an alien lifeform that travels through stellar radiation storms in search of a planet where it can take refuge. Upon arriving at a young world, it explores the surface and examines its emerging forms of life, hoping to find a suitable host to ensure its survival. As it studies this primitive planet, the Swarm faces a critical decision that will shape its future in a vast and hostile universe.

“Rescue Party” is an early science fiction story by Arthur C. Clarke, published in May 1946 in Astounding Science Fiction. An advanced extraterrestrial civilization receives an urgent alert: the sun of a distant system is about to turn into a nova, threatening the life on its third planet. Surprisingly, against all odds, intelligent life has arisen and evolved at great speed on this world. Faced with this critical situation, a rescue ship is dispatched with the mission of saving as many members of the species as possible. However, they face a race against time, as they have only four hours before the star explodes and catastrophe becomes inevitable.

“A Walk in the Dark” is a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, first published in August 1950 in Thrilling Wonder Stories and later included in the anthology Reach for Tomorrow (1956). The story follows Robert Armstrong, a space technician who, after his vehicle breaks down, must walk several kilometers across a remote and inhospitable planet. The path, shrouded in absolute darkness, turns into a harrowing experience when the memory of a local legend about a creature lurking in the night begins to creep into his thoughts, causing logic to give way to suggestion.