The Next Tenants Explained

The Next Tenants
Author:Arthur C. Clarke
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Series:Tales from the White Hart
Genre:Science fiction
Published In: Satellite Science Fiction
Publication Type:Magazine
Publisher:Renown Publications
Pub Date:February 1957
Preceded By:The Pacifist
Followed By:Moving Spirit

"The Next Tenants" is a science fiction short story by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1956 and included in several collections of Clarke's writings, including Tales from Planet Earth and Tales from the White Hart.[1]

The story describes the discovery by the protagonist of a "mad scientist" living on a remote Pacific island, preparing for what he feels is humanity's inevitable self-destruction. The scientist decides that termites represent the best chance for a terrestrial species to form a stable civilization, and so is training a colony of termites in the use of technology. While the protagonist believes the scientist to be crazy, he wonders whether he may, after all, be right.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Clarke, Arthur C.. Tales from the White Hart. registration. 1957. Ballantine Books. London. Forward.