I have just finished another book and this one is quite the contrast to my recently completed Wodehouse classic. 2001 A Space Odyssey has been called one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time and one of the greatest movies of all time. Just as well because both the book and the movie were written almost simultaneously.

Both Poole and Bowman fall in to a routine that, if all goes well, will not be disturbed for a few years until they hit Saturn orbit. Then the remaining astronauts are woken up and research commences. But, of course, something goes wrong. HAL starts malfunctioning and reporting errors when there are none. When the two, after much deliberation, decide to disconnect HAL, the computer takes matters into its own hands and kills Poole when he ventures outside the ship for some repair work. Bowman who is inside tries waking up another astronaut for help, at which time HAL opens the airlocks and vents the ship's atmosphere trying to kill Bowman and hence protect himself. Bowman manages to survive and disconnects HAL.

Here, you have your Frankenstein complex come into play. Man builds something more advanced than he is but it eventually turns on him and it is his own undoing. Now, with HAL no longer a threat and the remaining astronauts are all dead, Mission Control tells him that the purpose wasn't just a study of Saturn but that it was a mission of paramount significance. The monolith, before it fell silent, had sent one strong burst of energy in the direction of Saturn and to Japetus (a moon of Saturn) in particular. It was kept hush-hush but the hibernating astronauts were trained to study whatever it was the monolith was trying to communicate with. With the usual human paranoia, they wonder if it's an alarm sent out setting into motion an advancing army of aliens or just a simple signal. Since he's the sole survivor of the mission crew, he must find out what is out there, in the name of humanity.

Bowman, amazed at first, accepts this and again falls into a routine till Saturn orbit is achieved. He's overwhelmed by the fact that he is to be the representative for all humankind, for better or for worse. As they approach Japetus, Bowman keeps wondering what awaits him and he finds out soon enough. As he hits orbit, he finds something that is nothing short of astounding.

On the surface of Japetus is another monolith far larger than its little cousin on the moon. This one is 2000 feet high and proportional in every other way to the moon monolith. And as Bowman flies towards it to investigate, it awakens after 3 million years of waiting. It accesses its instructions as to what to do when this eventuality happens and opens up to let him in. It is a Star Gate.

Bowman falls through sending one last signal to Earth before he vanishes. He says, "The thing's hollow - it goes on for ever - and - oh my God - it's full of stars!"

He is then transported through sights and sounds that defy human comprehension. He passes stars, galaxies, nebulae and astronomical phenomena that are beyond our wildest dreams. He sees ancient abandoned space ports and ship yards until finally, he falls into a star. A red sun where he sees brilliant lights and lands in a hotel lobby. It's a perfect recreation of what a hotel would look like in any city in America. At closer inspection, he sees that it's all fake. A phone book with nothing inside, cereal boxes that outwardly look like Earth brands but filled with an alien substance. He believes that if the aliens would wanted to have killed him, all they needed to do was to let space take him. He lies down after a while and as he sleeps, his entire life flashes before him in reverse order. He dreams with clear vividness, all the important events in his life and realizes that all his memories are being drained and stored and he feels himself changing. The same creatures that created the monolith are probing him the way the monolith did to the ape-men and Moon Watcher but this time with a different objective. To push man to the next stage of evolution. He opens his eyes as a being of pure energy. He is the Star Child.


















He exists in space and time as a being that is both immortal and omnipotent. He then encounters other energy beings that show him how to jump through space and all its dimensions (not just three) with ease and he realizes that the Universe is his playground.

He returns to Earth and as he approaches, the nations of the world panic and launch their nuclear warheads at this new entity that is coming at them. With a thought. he destroys all the warheads on the planet. And just like Moon Watcher before him, he's the master of the world and wonder what he will do next. "I'll think of something.", he says to himself.


I find the entire story and premise fascinating. I have always thought (like other sci-fi fans, I'm sure) that when the human potential is completely realized (we utilize 100% of our brain), we will achieve something akin to Godhood. We will be capable of acts and feats that, right now, we attribute to the supernatural and impossible. I would love to be David Bowman and achieve control over mind & matter and have all the knowledge of the stars at my fingertips.

For anybody who loves science fiction, don't miss it.