What if Martians were around when humanity looked at the skies? And what if they had a much better technology? According to Clarke, they would try to suppress us from leaving the planet by suppressing the research that can get us there. Of course, they would need to be human to figure out how humanity would react to it.

Charming story of first contact and considering it was Clarke's first, it is even more impressive. It is a little thin - as short as it is, there is no much space for anything and the epistolary form is keeping it restricted but it is still a good story. ( )