Post-Polio Syndrome Affects Author

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) â€” The year 2001 got off to a painful start for science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who spent New Year's Day resting. <br><br>Clark, author of ''2001: A Space

Tuesday, January 2nd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) â€” The year 2001 got off to a painful start for science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who spent New Year's Day resting.

Clark, author of ''2001: A Space Odyssey,'' suffers from post-polio syndrome, a condition characterized by fatigue and muscle and joint pain. It can strike polio survivors anywhere from 10 to 40 years after their recovery from polio. Clarke had the disease in 1959.

``It is really painful; I can't stand up,'' Sir Arthur told The Associated Press from his home Monday. ``This is the first time that I have had this severe pain.''

Clarke, 83, predicted space travel before rockets were tested and foretold computers wreaking havoc with modern life.

His ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' appeared as a novel and a movie in 1968. It is one of scores of fiction and nonfiction works he has produced in a career that began in 1959.