Last and First Men features early descriptions of genetic engineering and terraforming. Freeman Dyson credits the novel with giving him the idea, even stating in an interview that “Stapledon sphere” would be a more appropriate name. Star Maker contains the first known description of what are now called Dyson spheres. The “supermind” composed of many individual consciousnesses forms a recurring theme in his work. Lewis, Vernor Vinge, John Maynard Smith and indirectly influenced many others, contributing many ideas to the world of science fiction. Clarke, Brian Aldiss, Stanisław Lem, Bertrand Russell, John Gloag, Naomi Mitchison, C. Stapledon’s writings directly influenced Arthur C. It is filled with protagonists who are tormented by the conflict between their “higher” and “lower” impulses. Stapledon’s fiction often presents the strivings of some intelligence that is beaten down by an indifferent universe and its inhabitants who, through no fault of their own, fail to comprehend its lofty yearnings. He wrote a sequel, Last Men in London, and followed it up with many more books of both fiction and philosophy. The relative success of Last and First Men (1930) prompted him to become a full-time writer. However, he soon turned to fiction in the hope of presenting his ideas to a wider public. Stapledon was awarded a PhD degree in philosophy from the University of Liverpool in 1925 and used his doctoral thesis as the basis for his first published prose book, A Modern Theory of Ethics (1929). In 2014, he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. William Olaf Stapledon (-6 September 1950)-known as Olaf Stapledon-was a British philosopher and author of science fiction.

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