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Big Game Hunt

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"Big Game Hunt"
Short story by Arthur C. Clarke
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Science fiction
Publication
Published in Adventure
Publication typeMagazine
PublisherPopular Publications
Publication dateOctober 1956
Chronology
SeriesTales from the White Hart
 
Silence Please
 
Patent Pending

"Big Game Hunt" is a science fiction short story by the British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1956. It is the only one in the collection not narrated by Harry Purvis. This story describes the efforts of an eccentric professor to study the electrical circuitry of the brain. After using his research to develop robotic creatures, he then tries to use electrical stimulation of the brain to control the behavior of animals. The professor's work is discovered by a wildlife photographer, who tries to exploit it to film a giant squid. While their attempt is initially successful, the equipment blows a fuse, and the squid kills both scientist and photographer. The story was also published as "The Reckless Ones". The piece was later published as the second story in Clarke's collection Tales from the White Hart.[1] Science fiction scholar Gary Westfahl writes that machines malfunctioning with unexpected consequences are a recurring motif in Clarke's writing, and lists "Big Game Hunt" as an example.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Clarke, Arthur C. (1957). Tales from the White Hart. London: Ballantine Books. p. Forward.
  2. ^ Westfahl, Gary (2018). "Marvelous Machines". Arthur C. Clarke. Modern Masters of Science Fiction. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-05063-3.
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