Dolphin Island

The hovership described in the opening chapters does not yet exist, of course, but the first commercial “Hovercraft” (the VA-3 and the SRN-2) are now operating in Great Britain. In fifty years, such air-supported vehicles may well have grown to the size of the Santa Anna. “Hydrofoils”—boats with large skis which allow them to skim on the surface of the water at fifty miles per hour or more—are now in common use in Russia and Europe. Versions carrying several hundred passengers are operating on rivers in the U.S.S.R.

All the descriptions of the Great Barrier Reef, both above. and below water, are, entirety factual and are, based on my own explorations as described in The Coast of Coral. The story of Mary Watson in Chapter 13 is perfectly true, and I have changed neither names nor dates. However, her tragic adventure occurred not on my imaginary Dolphin Island, but on Lizard Island, much nearer to the mainland. The full story, with a reproduction of Mrs. Watson’s diary—which I have handled myself—will be found in The Coast of Coral.

Whether dolphins are quite as intelligent as I have assumed is one of the most fascinating problems of present-day research. There is no doubt, however, that they are very intelligent and have some sort of language, as well as a marvelous “sonar” system, which allows them to detect underwater obstacles and to catch fish in the dark. If you want to know more about these delightful animals, try to get hold of Antony Alpers’ A Book of Dolphins and Dr. John Lilly’s Man and Dolphin, from both of which I obtained much useful material. I would also like to express my thanks to Mr. F. G. Wood, Curator of Marineland, St. Augustine, Florida, for providing me with valuable information on dolphin behavior.

The controlling of animals by electrical impulses fed into their brains, as described in Chapter 16, is already an accomplished fact; indeed, it was achieved as early as the 1930’s. If you want to learn more about this fascinating (and rather terrifying) subject, see the article, “Electrically Controlled Behaviour,” in Scientific American for March, 1962.

The description of underwater ultraviolet fluorescence in Chapter 18 is based on my own observations in the Indian Ocean with an ultraviolet source generously provided by Dr. Richard G. Woodbridge of Transspace Laboratories, who has pioneered in this field of submarine illumination. And perhaps I should mention here that I do not recommend night-diving for beginners!

About the Author

Arthur C. Clarke, who now lives in Ceylon, was born in Somerset, England. He studied at King’s College and took a B.S. degree with First Class Honors in physics and pure and applied mathematics from the University of London. A Flight Lieutenant in World War II, Mr. Clarke was a radar specialist with the RAF. After the war he became a science editor and TV and radio writer, but since 1951 he has devoted his time to writing more than twenty-five books, and over three hundred short stories and articles. In an article Mr. Clarke wrote for The Wireless World in 1945 he proposed the idea behind Telestar—the use of satellites for the transmittal of communication symbols.

Mr. Clarke is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and has twice been chairman of the British Interplanetary Society. His interest in astronautics is the basis for several well-known science-fiction books, including ISLANDS IN THE SKY. He has done much exploration and photography along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the setting of DOLPHIN ISLAND.

Mr. Clarke was singularly honored in 1962 by an international jury, appointed by UNESCO, which awarded him the Kalinga Prize, the most important award in the science writing field.***