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technological-ambition
The human drive to overcome natural and societal limits through grand engineering projects.
1 chapter across 1 book
The Fountains of Paradise (1979)Arthur C. Clarke
Chapter 24
This chapter introduces Vannemar Morgan's ambitious vision to construct a 24,000-mile-high space elevator, an engineering marvel intended to link Earth to the stars. The narrative highlights the immense technical, political, and economic challenges Morgan faces, compounded by the spiritual and cultural opposition from monks guarding the Sacred Mountain of Sri Kanda, the only feasible site for the tower. The chapter sets up the central conflict between human technological aspiration and ancient religious tradition.