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{{work}}
''Childhood's End'' is a novel by [[Arthur C. Clarke
As suggested by the title, the main theme of the book is the end of humanity's "childhood" into a new era.
[[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to it in fiction are not uncommon, ranging from some in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' and ''[[
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=== Tropes Used: ===
* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: The first part of the novel is basically a slightly-altered retelling of Clarke's short story "Guardian Angel". The second and third parts are original, about what happens after.
* [[Ancient Astronauts]]: The myths aren't from memory, but precognitive visions of the aliens.
* [[Ascend to
* [[Assimilation Plot]]
** {{spoiler|Ever wondered where ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' got the whole Instrumentality sequence from?}} Now you know.
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* [[Last of His Kind]]: [[Lampshaded]]. "He had always been a good piano player, and now he was the best in the world."
* [[Older Than They Think]]: Clarke joked in his updated prologue that new readers will think that the opening scene with the fleet of alien ships blocking the sun was ripped off from ''[[Independence Day]]'' (despite this being written in ''1953''!). In fact, Clarke himself knew of an even earlier story with the same scene.
{{quote|"...I am also informed that [[Independence Day|its]] opening is identical to that of ''[[Childhoods End|Childhood's End]]'' (1953) and that it contains [[Cliché Storm|every known science fiction cliché]] since Méliès' ''[[A Trip to
* [[Old Shame]]: He mentions in the Millennial edition that he wrote this when he still had a belief in the paranormal.
* [[Ominous Floating Spaceship]] most likely the [[Trope Maker]], certainly a contender for the [[Ur Example]], were it not for Clarke's own comments that the Trope is older.
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* [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions]]: Every religion besides Buddhism is then discredited.
* [[Psychic Powers]]: The new generation of babies start showing various forms of these. Most notably, Telekinesis.
* [[The End of the World
* [[The Singularity]]
* [[Space Whale Aesop]]: Stop killing animals and ruining earth's environment because {{spoiler|you're evolving into a new form that will eventually ruin the Earth anyway!}}
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