johnc@ihuxl.UUCP (10/12/83)
I have heard some possible explanations of the film, one of which might be
worth relating ...
The idea is that the film is basically showing us a picture of man's
evolution - from when he first learned to reason to his final ascent into
some form of higher consciousness. Along the way are a series of "tests",
placed along man's evolutionary path by whoever sent the monolith in the
first place. The ability to reach the moon and discover the buried monolith
is one such test; the ability to reach Jupiter is another. On the way to
Jupiter is a kind of final test - the confrontation with HAL. The characters
of Frank and Dave are kind of interesting. When we first see Frank he is
jogging around a 3D track. When we first see Dave he is sketching the other
men on the mission. We later see Frank in an inane, unemotional conversation
with his parents. We see Dave playing chess with HAL. Basically, Dave is
portrayed as a more well rounded, more intellectual human being than Frank.
Thus we are not surprised when it is Dave that survives the HAL test and
not Frank.
In the film the point is made that HAL is an exact duplicate of the HAL 9000
twin back on Earth. Likewise, both computers have benn fed exactly the same
data. How then can they disagree? How can they act at all differently? A
possible explanation is some kind of outside intervention - perhaps for
the purposes of the test. When Dave survives, the "testers" deem him ready
to go beyond his current evolutionary tract. From there we simply see
that carried out.
John Cray
ihuxl!johncrjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (10/13/83)
I'm not positive that the HAL 9000 on Earth was an EXACT duplicate of the one on board Discovery (1). Specifically, I think that perhaps the earthbound one was never told about the monolith on the moon or the true nature of the mission. Mind you, I'm only going by what I remember from the book and the movie itself--nothing from "2010". -- Roger Noe ...ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe