waltt@tekecs.UUCP (Walt Tucker) (10/19/83)
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2010 is written by the same author that wrote 2001 (Clarke).
2001 (the book), I believe was written concurrently with 2001 (the movie),
although it was probably published after the movie was released (bad for
the box office, you know, to release the story first). Have to check the
date on my edition to be sure. The idea for the movie was inspired by a
Clarke short story entitled "The Sentinel".
In one of Clarke's later anthology's ("Tales of Ten Worlds", I think, but
I'm not sure), he talks about his collaboration with Kubrick in the
making of the movie and the writing of the book. Check it out.
SPOILER
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Another rendition of what's in the book. I'll try not to repeat what's
already been said.
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Time: 4 million BC. ET's visit earth and place monolith on Earth (to
aid in the evolutionary process), bury on the moon (marked by a magnetic
field so we can find it when we develop space travel), and in orbit around
Jupiter (to act as a switching station [i.e. "star gate"] for signal sent
by monolith on moon).
Earth monolith help apes discover bone as weapon (tool). Apes now in control
of environment. Unlimited possibilities for development. No more need for
monolith on Earth, and it is removed.
Time: 2001. Man finds monolith on moon. Sun strikes monolith and sends
signal to star gate in orbit around Jupiter. Signal relayed to ET's to
let them know their experiment (begun so long ago) has been sucessful,
and it is time for man to meet his mentor. Man monitor's signal and sees
it is going to Jupiter. Decides to accellerate schedule and alter
destination of planned space mission to go there instead of Mars(?).
Time: 2002. Mission to Jupiter. No one except HAL knows real purpose
of mission. Conflict of intrests causes HAL to become dangerously
nuerotic. You'all know what happens for the next hour of the movie.
Dave Boman finally makes it to Jupiter, encounters star gate, and falls
through on a journey to meet the ET's.
Since the time the ET's placed the monolith on Earth (4 million years
earlier) and the time Boman begins his journey, the ET's have progressed
beyond the need for physical bodies, and are now beings of pure energy.
They construct a world for Boman to inhabit during his time of transistion.
Boman is aided by the ET's into the next stage of evolution (a sort of
rebirth), as a "star-child" with many powers to be tested (I heard this
last sentence put very nicely in another net article, but can't remember
the wording).
The End. Credits roll.
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A Clarke fan, but haven't read 2010 yet,
Walt Tucker
Tektronix, Inc
P.S. -- I'm still waiting for them to make a movie out of "Childhood's
End". It would be a good'en.