Improving the Neighbourhood

"Improving the Neighbourhood" is a science fiction short story by English writer Arthur C. Clarke. It was first published in Nature on 4 November 1999 and was the first piece of science fiction Nature ever published. It is also the last story included in The [Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke], where it is dedicated to Dr. Pons and Dr. Fleischmann.

Plot summary

The story is written as a monologue and tells of the development of a civilization and a disaster which destroys them when they are on the verge of abandoning their "clumsy chemically fuelled bodies and thus achieve multiple connectivity."