"I Remember Babylon" is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...

. It was first published in 1959 and reprinted in the 1962 collection Tales of Ten Worlds

Tales of Ten Worlds

Tales of Ten Worlds is a collection of short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. The stories all originally appeared in a number of different publications.-Contents:...

.

Plot summary

The story takes the form of a non-fiction article by Clarke in which he warns the people of the United States of America that the Communists are planning to launch a communications satellite

Communications satellite

A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...

 for the purpose of broadcasting an uncensorable mix of pornography

Pornography

Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...

 and communist

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....

 directly to American citizens.

While the eventuality mentioned in the story never materialised, it was one of the earliest popular depictions of the possibilities inherent in satellite TV, a subject also featuring in other Clarke works of both fiction and non-fiction — to which some credit is due for the idea having eventually become a reality.

One of the "pornographic" films in the story is described as depicting the erotic sculptures of the Konark Sun Temple

Konark Sun Temple

Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century Sun Temple , at Konark, in Orissa. It was constructed from oxidized and weathered ferruginous sandstone by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The temple is an example of Orissan architecture of Ganga dynasty...

 in Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

 (Clarke uses the variant spelling of "Konarak").

Clarke made use of this story to make, in his own name, a remark not vital for the main story line: "I have always had a sneaking sympathy for Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

, as must anyone who knows the full facts of the case".