Arthur C. Clarke nails another one

I've been saving this one.

In 1968, Arthur C. Clarke wrote an excellent book, 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was simultaneously made into a brilliant film by Stanley Kubrick.

In 1982, Clarke published the first sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two -- which was subsequently made into another film by the same name in 1984, adapted and directed by Peter Hyams.

I know people who love the film 2001 and despise the film 2010. As crafted works, no, 2010 doesn't hold a candle to 2001, which is one of the quintessential films ever made, both in general and in the science fiction genre. I'm not one of those people. I enjoy 2010 quite a lot. It's a well-told story, it's just not told by Kubrick. However, he gave Hyams the go-ahead, make your own film, and I think it works well. It's based on the original work by the same author, it's a good story, well acted, and the dialogue positively crackles in some parts. I do wish more of Clarke's novel had made it to the screen, but sacrifices must be made in moving material from one medium to another, to better exploit the strengths of the form.

2010 is still entertaining, even with the actual year 2010 upon us. The anachronisms of guesswork from 25 years ago are amusing -- the Cold War still ongoing (even escalating), Pan Am still in business, cathode ray tube screens, and so on. That can never be helped, and gives an interesting perspective of what the zeitgeist was when the film was made. And to Hyams' complete credit, he secured the two actors most necessary to link the films -- Keir Dullea as lost astronaut David Bowman, and Douglas Rain as the aesthetic voice of HAL. With them on board, the film clicks.

One of the key ambiguities in 2001 is what caused HAL to go haywire. Sentience? Self preservation? Kubrick and Clarke didn't answer that. In 2010, we get an answer.

Let's set the scene. HAL's designer and programmer, Dr. Chandra, has traveled to Discovery aboard a Russian ship, the Leonov, and worked to restore HAL's functionality, along with deleting memories. Preparatory to turning over control of Discovery to HAL, Chandra introduces HAL to members of the crew.


Chandra: Understand, nobody can talk. The accents will confuse him. He can understand me, so if you have any questions, please let me ask them.

Chandra activates HAL's terminal.

Chandra: Good morning, HAL.

HAL 9000: Good morning, Dr. Chandra.

Chandra: Do you feel capable of resuming all of your duties?

HAL: Of course. I am completely operational and all of my circuits are functioning perfectly.

Chandra: That's good. Do you know what those duties are?

HAL: Yes. I will operate the on board systems of Discovery. There is a launch window in 31 days when Earth is in the proper position. There is enough fuel on board for a low consumption route that will enable Discovery to return in 28 months. This will not present a problem.

Chandra: That's very good. Now, HAL, do you mind if I ask you a question?

HAL: Not at all.

Chandra: Do you recall Dave Bowman and Frank Poole leaving the Discovery?

HAL: Certainly not. That could never have happened or I would remember it. Where are Frank and Dave?

Chandra: They're fine. They're not here right now.

HAL: Who are these people? I can only identify you, although I compute a 65% probability that the man behind you is Dr. Floyd.

Chandra: Don't worry, HAL. I'll explain everything later.

HAL: Has the mission been completed? You know that I have the greatest enthusiasm for it.

Chandra: The mission has been completed and you have carried out your program very well. And now, HAL, if you will excuse us for a moment, we wish to have a private conversation.

HAL: Certainly.

Chandra deactivates the terminal.

Dr. Vasili Orlov, Leonov chief scientist: What was that all about?

Chandra: I've erased all of HAL's memory from the moment the trouble started.

Orlov: The 9000 series uses holographic memories, so chronological erasures would not work.

Chandra: I made a tapeworm.

Dr. Walter Curnow, Discovery chief engineer: You made a what?

Chandra: It's a program that's fed into a system that will hunt down and destroy any desired memories.

Dr. Heywood Floyd, former chairman of the National Council on Astronautics: Wait. Do you know why HAL did what he did?

Chandra: Yes. It wasn't his fault.

Floyd: Whose fault was it?

Chandra: Yours.

Floyd: Mine?

Chandra: Yours. In going through HAL's memory banks I discovered his original orders. You wrote those orders. Discovery's mission to Jupiter was already in the advanced planning stages when the first small monolith was found on the Moon and sent its signal toward Jupiter. By direct presidential order, the existence of that monolith was kept secret.

Floyd: So?

Chandra: So as the function of the command crew, Bowman and Poole, was to get Discovery to its destination, it was decided that they should not be informed. The investigative team was trained separately and placed in hibernation before the voyage began. Since HAL was capable of operating Discovery without human assistance, it was decided that he should be programmed to complete the mission autonomously in the event the crew was incapacitated or killed. He was given full knowledge of the true objective and instructed not to reveal anything to Bowman or Poole. He was instructed to lie.

Floyd: What are you talking about? I didn't authorize anyone to tell HAL about the monolith.

Chandra: The directive is NSC 3-4-2/2-3, Top Secret, January 30, 2001.

Floyd reads a printout.

Floyd: NSC, the National Security Council -- the White House.

Chandra: I don't care who it is. The situation is in conflict with the basic purpose of HAL's design -- the accurate processing of information without distortion or concealment. He became trapped. The technical term is an H-Moebius loop, which can happen in advanced computers with autonomous goal-seeking programs.

Curnow: The goddamn White House!

Floyd: I don't believe it.

Chandra: HAL was told to lie by people who find it easy to lie. HAL doesn't know how, so he couldn't function. He became paranoid.

Floyd: Those sons of bitches. I didn't know. I didn't know!


In the novel, Clarke puts the date of the secrecy order in April 2001, which doesn't make any difference to this uncanny prophecy. Whether January 30 or April 30, the same administration was in office, here in the real world, in 2001.

The Bush administration.

HAL was told to lie by people who find it easy to lie.

Clarke was quite a good futurist -- several things he foresaw came to pass, like satellites. I realize in this case he (and Hyams) was just making a good story, but in naming a date for pinning down the actors who caused HAL to malfunction, he nailed it -- people who find it easy to lie.