Just in from AP in Sri Lanka: An aide says science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke has died at age 90.

Arthur C. Clarke, the science fiction visionary best known for the groundbreaking 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, a psychedelic epic of mankind’s encounter with never-seen aliens, died Wednesday at age 90.

The English writer died in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he had lived since 1956. He had been in poor health in recent years, confined to a wheelchair due to the effects of post-polio syndrome.

He was a scientist, a philosopher and a prolific author who penned more than 80 books and 500 essays during his lifetime, including fiction and non-fiction. His 1951 short story The Sentinel became the foundation for 2001.

Clarke was a futurist who seemed to live ahead of his time. Many of his ideas and theories became reality. His work was embraced by both the scientific and science fiction communities. He viewed the future as something to behold, not fear.

“I’m an optimist,” he told the press, half-jokingly, in 1997. “I’ve always said we have a 51% chance of survival.”

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