calledtowrite.com
Wisdom From Arthur C. Clarke: Breaking the Mold with Purpose and Creativity | Called to Write
One of my all-time favorite science fiction books is The City and The Stars, by Arthur C. Clarke. This magical story details the life of Alvin, a "Unique," who has never been born before. In the fully enclosed city of Diaspar, everyone else has lived many lives -- they are reborn cyclically from the city's Central Computer banks -- and their memories of their past lives return to them on their 20th birthdays. Alvin has no prior memories. Alvin's uniqueness has been deliberately designed. Because the city creators knew that the measures put into place to protect the last of the human race might someday no longer be needed (including behavioral inhibitions to keep everyone safe at home), they knew that a catalyst would be required to test the waters and breakthrough old paradigms when the time was right.