REUNION

By, Sir Arthur C. Clarke

People of Earth, do not be afraid we come in peace--and why not? For we are your cousins;
we have been here before.
You will recognize us when we meet, a few hours from now. We are approaching the solar
system almost as swiftly as this radio message. Already, your sun dominates the sky ahead of
us. It is the sun our ancestors and yours shared ten million years ago. We are men, as you
are; but you have forgotten your history, while we have remembered ours.
We colonized Earth, in the reign of the great reptiles, who were dying when we came and whom
we could not save. Your world was a tropical planet then, and we felt that it would make a fair
home for our people. We were wrong. Though we were masters of space, we knew so little
about climate, about evolution, about genetics...
For millions of summers--there were no winters in those ancient days--the colony flourished.
Isolated though it had to be, in a universe where the journey from one star to the next takes
years, it kept in touch with its parent civilization. Three or four times in every century, starships
would call and bring news of the galaxy.
But two million years ago, Earth began to change. For ages it had been a tropical paradise;
then the temperature fell, and the ice began to creep down from the poles. As the climate
altered, so did the colonists. We realize now that it was a natural adaptation to the end of the
long summer, but those who had made Earth their home for so many generations believed that
they had been attacked by a strange and repulsive disease. A disease that did not kill, that did
no physical harm--but merely disfigured.
Yet some were immune; the change spared them and their children. And so, within a few
thousand years, the colony had split into two separate groups--almost two separate species-suspicious and jealous of each other.
The division brought envy, discord, and, ultimately, conflict. As the colony disintegrated and
the climate steadily worsened, those who could do so withdrew from Earth. The rest sank into
barbarism.
We could have kept in touch, but there is so much to do in a universe of a hundred trillion stars.
Until a few years ago, we did not know that any of you had survived. Then we picked up your
first radio signals, learned your simple languages, and discovered that you had made the long
climb back from savagery. We come to greet you, our long-lost relatives--and to help you.
We have discovered much in the eons since we abandoned Earth.
the eternal summer that ruled before the Ice Ages, we can do so.

If you wish us to bring back

Above all, we have a simple remedy for the offensive yet harmless genetic plague that afflicted
so many of the colonists. Perhaps it has run its course--but if not, we have good news for you.
People of Earth, you can rejoin the society of the universe without shame, without
embarrassment.
If any of you are still white, we can cure you.

OUTLINE
REUNION
People of Earth, do not be afraid we come in peace--and why not? For we are your cousins; we have
been here before.
You will recognize us when we meet, a few hours from now.
We colonized Earth, in the reign of the great reptiles, who were dying when we came and whom we could
not save.
For millions of summers--there were no winters in those ancient days--the colony flourished.
But two million years ago, Earth began to change.
Those who had made Earth their home for so many
generations believed that they had been attacked by a strange and repulsive disease. A disease that did
not kill, that did no physical harm--but merely disfigured.
Yet some were immune; the change spared them and their children.
The division brought envy, discord, and, ultimately, conflict.
We could have kept in touch, but there is so much to do in a universe of a hundred trillion stars.
We have discovered much in the eons since we abandoned Earth.
Above all, we have a simple remedy for the offensive yet harmless genetic plague that afflicted so many of
the colonists.
People of Earth, you can rejoin the society of the universe without shame, without
embarrassment. If any of you are still white, we can cure you.
By, Sir Arthur C. Clarke

MAIN POINT SUMMARY

A MESSAGE FROM SPACE
In his short story Reunion, Sir Arthur C. Clarke tells us that a message from space has been
sent to People form Earth.
The story begins when they say they are our cousins coming in peace and that our common
ancestors colonized Earth ten million years ago, when it was a tropical planet. But two million
years ago Earth began to change, the temperature fell, the ice began to creep down from the
poles and the colonists started to change and believed that they had been attacked by a strange
disease that didnt kill but disfigured. Some were immune and within a few thousand years the
colony had split into two separate groups suspicious and jealous of each other, and the division
brought envy, discord and conflict. Those who could do so withdrew from Earth. The rest sank
into barbarism.
Sir Arthur explains that they didnt know that any of People from Earth had survived. Then they
picked up the first radio signals from Earth and learned the simple languages.
Now they come
to greet their long-lost relatives and help them. They can bring back the eternal summer that
ruled before the Ice Ages; but above all, they have a simple remedy for the plague and if any
People from Earth is still white, they can cure them, so earth men can rejoin the society of the
universe without shame or embarrassment.
KEY POINT SUMMARY
A MESSAGE FROM LONGLOST RELATIVES
In his short story Reunion, Sir Arthur C. Clarke writes that longlost relatives from out space
have sent a message to People from Earth.
2

He explains that our common ancestors colonized Earth ten million years ago, but the Earths
tropical temperature started to change, and because of that the colonists were attacked by a
strange disfiguring disease that brought conflicts between the victims who became savages and
the immune ones who left Earth two million years ago.
As part of his argument the writer suggests that our cousins in space didnt keep in touch
because were really busy and didnt know about any survivors until they detected radio signals
and found out that men had rediscovered civilization.
He also says that they are coming back to help mankind, because they can bring back the
eternal summer that ruled before the Ice Ages, but mainly because if any People from Earth is
still white, they can cure the disease, so men can rejoin the society of the universe without
shame or embarrassment.