Don't see anything abrupt? Seems pretty typical ending for a common sci-fi subgenre that is still very popular today (I won't give more details to avoid spoilers). Sure, you can continue and make a whole book out of it, but it makes a good self-sufficient short story too.
Perhaps the page got truncated? For me, it ends with word "funny".
I don't believe I've reread it since its original appearance, and I refuse to do so now — for fear of discovering how little I have improved in almost four decades. Those who claim that it's their favorite story get a cooler and cooler reception over the passing years.
Do you have an interpretation of your own to offer? I merely posted the warning I would have appreciated myself.
There are a lot of better SF stories that neither you nor I will live long enough to get around to, including many written by the same author at a more-mature stage in his career. This one can safely be skipped in favor of one of those.
Not sure what to tell you. It has a satisfying ending and resolution as far as I am concerned. It's pretty plain on its face; I don't think an "interpretation" is needed.
It's obviously not the best Arthur C. Clarke story, but I don't think it's a waste of time to read it.
It's obviously not the best Arthur C. Clarke story
Exactly, and the ending is only one of several weak aspects. So why defend the story with a vague insult to another reader's acumen when they suggest, justifiably, that time spent reading it may be better spent elsewhere?
Someone unfamiliar with Clarke who reads this piece of junk may decide they don't want to waste even more time with The Nine Billion Names of God or The Sentinel or The Star, and I'm sure we agree that'd be a shame.
