Twilight (John W. Campbell)

A man tells his friend about a strange hitch-hiker he picked up, who claimed to be from millions of years in the future, called Ares Sen Kenlin. He speaks of an abandoned city that he found, still populated by robots going about their duties, despite humans having left over 150,000 years earlier. He makes contact with a human in the distant city of San Frisco and takes a transport ship there, where he meets the current evolution of mankind which is in its twilight.

I can understand why this short story from John W. Campbell (most famous for 'Who Goes There?') is highly regarded, as it deals with high-brow stuff that intellectuals must have drooled over. The description of the cities, still run by machines, is certainly awe-inspiring but the story itself is quite cold and the writing style (probably deliberately) wooden - which makes Twilight easy to admire but not a whole lot of fun to read.

Overall:- 6.5/10

Planet:- Earth  Year:- 1932 & 3059

Included in:-
Science Fiction Hall of Fame - Vol One edited by Robert Silverberg (23 pages)