The Parasite

Clarke, Arthur C. "The Parasite." Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader. New York: Avon, 1953. The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. London: Gollancz, 2001. Discussed briefly in Stephen Baxter's "The Technology of Omniscience: Past Viewers in Science Fiction," our initial source for this entry.

Sufficient surveillance by a visitor from a decadent far-future to drive the protagonist to suicide (Baxter p. 102). Relevant if/insofar as the "'haunting'" of the man from our time is achieved by something paranormal or technological — or raises the issue classically formulated by Clarke of a sufficiently-advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic.

RDE, Initial Compiler, 19Mar19