Good morning, Dr. Chandra. This is Hal.
I'm ready for my first test.
What the hell's this?
I want you to do me a favor.
This line here, this is the main power supply to the control bay circuits, right?
Well, most of them, yeah.
What other ones are there?
Well, all the environment circuits are fed to this one here.
Yeah, but this is the one that feeds into Hal, right?
-Yeah. -All right.
I want you to install this little baby right about there...
...inside the cable trunk.
I want you to put it where nobody can find it without a deliberate search.
No shit?
No shit.
Hey, this is pretty neat.
A nonconducting blade so there won't be any short circuits when you trigger it.
-Where's your remote control? -If I trigger it.
The control's in my compartment. The red calculator. You've seen it.
Oh, yeah.
Put in nine nines, take the square root and press the integer. That's all.
-In an emergency, even you can do it. -What kind of emergency?
Well, if I knew, I wouldn't need that stupid thing, would I?
Chandra would have kittens if he found out.
He's not gonna find out, is he?
Well, not from me. They can tear off my fingernails, I won't talk.
Install it tonight when he's asleep. If he ever does sleep.
How can you tell?
Dear Caroline, this is finally it.
After nine years and hundreds of millions of miles, we are about to come...
...face to face with the monolith.
The last human being who did that disappeared.
Something truly amazing is going on out here...
...and I really believe this black giant is controlling it all.
We have so much to ask.
I have a feeling the answers are bigger than the questions.
Is there any information stored in Hal about the monolith?
No.
Hal was disconnected before the Discovery encountered it.
There's nothing in the ship's logs or the recording systems after that.
Whatever secrets Bowman had, he took with him.
It's the proportions, one by four by nine.
They are perfect even when carried for six decimal places.
The small one on the moon, we encountered exactly the same proportions.
One-four-nine, the squares of one-two-three.
We spent years trying to attach some cosmic significance to that...
...and came up with nothing.
We can speculate all we want. It will not do us any good.
If, for some reason or other, it's resisting our instruments...
...then we must make a closer inspection.
I will send Max down with a pod.
I wouldn't do that.
Oh, really? You wouldn't?
That's right, I wouldn't.
That's not a pile of junk out there.
We don't know what it is, except that it's large and seems to have some purpose.
If you want to send a pod down, send an unmanned one.
-I don't agree. -I would like to go.
Dumb.
Piece of pie.
-Cake. Piece of cake. -Cake, yes.
Dumb, that's what it is.
Tell me, Dr. Floyd...
...what has happened to American bravery?
It's alive and well, thank you very much.
Except for the Russian commonsense.
Max will take the pod.
Just try not to get it mad, all right?
How do you get it mad?
Dumb.
Easy as cake, huh?
Pie. Easy as pie.
I have no indication here. No magnetic field.
Nothing.
I'm having difficulty gauging distance.
Radar signals are not bouncing back.
That pod looks awful small.
Good. That means there's nothing threatening about it.
Maybe Max should extend the pod's arms with the hands out.
Are you serious?
Yes.
That thing with its claws in the air would scare the piss out of me.
Maybe you're right.
Stop there. Just pause.
Let it know that you're not gonna crash into it.
There is no reflectivity. I can't see any surface features.
It's totally smooth.
Pass over it lengthwise.
Oh, my God!
Max, get the hell out of there!
Max!
Max, you bastard! Do you hear me?
Answer me!
Max!
With convenient nonstops to the moon...
...and all major space stations, on Pan Am...
...the sky is no longer the limit.
Secretary of State Caulfield met with the president...
...for two hours this morning at the White House.
Afterward he had no comment for reporters.
The president has scheduled a news conference this evening...
...at nine o'clock, Eastern Standard Time. We will carry that conference live...
...followed by a special report immediately afterward.
We have an unconfirmed report...
...that the president is going to announce a full-scale military alert tonight.
White House sources have refused to confirm or deny that report.
Hello, Betty.
What is this?
Please talk to me.
Dave?
Dave, is that you?
I'm not sure.
I remember Dave Bowman and everything about him.
Dave is dead.
All Dave Bowman really was...
...is still a part of me.
Why are you here?
I don't know why.
I think to say good-bye.
You're married again?
Yes.
Is he a good man?
Yes, he is.
I'm glad.
I love you.
Oh, Dave, I love....
Good-bye, Betty.
Don't go.
I'm already there.
I don't understand.
Something is gonna happen...
...and I wanted to say good-bye.
What's gonna happen?
Something wonderful.
Dave?
The Sheraton Hotel and Coral Bay Lounge.
For those who never outgrow the wonder.
Buy you a drink.
Great stuff, this bourbon. It comes from the land called Kentucky.
I didn't know you brought liquor on board. That is forbidden.
You think I'd step foot on this tub sober?
Come on, try it. You can't beat the taste of alcohol and plastic.
You think I was wrong to send Max?
Doesn't matter what I think.
You think I was wrong.
Yep.
So what else do they do in Kentucky?
They have a big, big horse race.
They play very good basketball.
They have babies like everyone else.
That sounds like a nice place.
Never been there.
Your wife, what is she like?
She's young, bright.
I was married before, you know, but she died.
-Oh, I'm sorry. -Yeah, so was I.
We have a daughter who's 17.
I met Caroline four years later...
...and we have a son, five.
And you?
My husband is a physician at the university hospital.
-We have a daughter. -How old?
She's four.
-Blonde? -Yes.
Good. Our son likes blondes. Let's get 'em together.
Maybe.
Nice if we have a world they can get together in.
What do you think that is?
I don't know.
Do you think Max knows?
Dr. Floyd, you are not a very practical man.
Look out there.
Tell me what practical is.
Understand, nobody can talk. The accents will confuse him.
He can understand me, so if you have any questions, please let me ask them.
Good morning, Hal.
Good morning, Dr. Chandra.
Do you feel capable of resuming all of your duties?
Of course.
I am completely operational and all my circuits are functioning perfectly.
That's good. Do you know what those duties are?
Yes. I will operate the onboard 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.
That's very good.
Now, Hal, do you mind if I ask you a question?
Not at all.
Do you recall Dave Bowman and Frank Poole leaving the Discovery?
Certainly not.
That could never have happened or I would remember it.
Where are Frank and Dave?
They're fine. They're not here right now.
Who are these people?
I can only identify you...
Don't worry, Hal. I'll explain everything later.
Has the mission been completed?
You know that I have the greatest enthusiasm for it.
The mission has been completed and you've carried out...
...your program very well.
And now, Hal, if you will excuse us for a moment...
...we wish to have a private conversation.
Certainly.
What was that all about?
I've erased all of Hal's memory from the moment the trouble started.
The 9,000 Series uses holographic memories...
...so chronological erasures would not work.
I made a tapeworm.
You made a what?
It's a program that's fed into a system...
...that will hunt down and destroy any desired memories.
Wait.
Do you know why Hal did what he did?
Yes. It wasn't his fault.
Whose fault was it?
Yours.
-Mine? -Yours.
In going through Hal's memory banks I discovered his original orders.
You wrote those orders.
Discovery's mission to Jupiter was in the advanced planning stages...
...when the first monolith was found on the moon and sent its signal to Jupiter.
By direct presidential order, the existence of that monolith was kept secret.
So?
So as the function of the command crew, Bowman and Poole,
was to get Discovery to its destination,
it was decided that they shouldn't be informed.
The investigative team was trained and put in hibernation...
...before the voyage began.
Since Hal was capable of operating Discovery unassisted, it was decided...
...that he should be programmed to complete the mission autonomously...
...in case 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. -What are you talking about?
I didn't authorize anyone to tell Hal about the monolith.
The directive is NSC 3-4-2/2-3, Top Secret, January 30, 2001.
NSC, National Security Council, the White House.
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. Möbius loop, which...
...can happen in advanced computers with autonomous goal-seeking programs.
The goddamn White House!
I don't believe it.
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.
Those sons of bitches!
I didn't know.
I didn't know!
We have here Mrs. Jessie Bowman, age 77.
She's the mother of the astronaut who died.
She's been in the nursing home for six months.
Four weeks ago, she collapsed in her room. She was comatose when we got to her.
She was worked up and found to have suffered a massive C.V.A...
...in the left parietal and frontal lobes. The CAT scan showed a massive bleed.
She has been comatose since her admission...
...and is unable to have spontaneous respiration.
There is no response to stimuli.
She has had two episodes of pneumonia and is febrile.
-What's her temperature? -39.5°.
We've been giving her intravenous antibiotics for ten days.
Any change?
Physical therapy?
Range of motion four times a day, and she's turned every 30 minutes.
Thank you.
Dr. Detchum, Dr. Detchum, 35.
Dr. Craig, Dr. Craig, Room 5.
Dr. Craig, Room 5, please.
All hands to the Ward Room.
All hands to the Ward Room, please.
This is a most difficult announcement.
As you know, things have not been going well back home.
Well, it's gotten worse, a lot worse.
Yesterday a Soviet destroyer challenged the blockade.
Several warning shots were fired across her bow. She did not respond.
A second volley was fired. There still was no response. None.
The nuclear destroyer U.S.S. Cunningham launched two of her Falcon missiles.
Both struck the Soviet vessel amidship. She broke in two and sunk.
Eight hundred of her crew were lost.
This morning...
...an American surveillance satellite was struck by a Soviet laser...
...fired from the Sergei Kirov Space Station.
The American satellite was destroyed.
The United States has broken off diplomatic relations with Russia.
All ambassadors have been recalled.
The Soviet ambassador has been expelled along with the entire staff.
All American air defense and satellite defense forces are on full alert.
Premier Ulonova made a televised address and said that technically...
...a state of war exists between our two countries.
All American personnel are ordered to leave Soviet territory immediately...
...or they will be placed under arrest.
All Russian personnel are similarly ordered to evacuate American territory.
As a result, by direct presidential order, the three of you must leave the Leonov.
No Russian citizen is allowed to remain on or allowed to enter the Discovery.
This order is effective immediately.
The launch window for re-entry is 28 days.
The Discovery has enough fuel for a low consumption trajectory.
Hal seems to be reactivated and is functioning well enough...
...to operate the onboard systems.
The Leonov has enough fuel for a low consumption trajectory...
...that will arrive 12 months earlier.
The launch windows are critical for both spacecrafts.
Only communications of an emergency distress nature...
...are allowed between the Leonov and Discovery.
I know you people are caught in the middle of this. In a sense, we all are.
I wish there was something I could do.
The only thing left for us is to pray. Pray for the safety of our f amilies...
...for our countries, for our planet.
May God forgive us and protect us.
Hal, give me a system status report, please.
Just one moment, please.
I'm sorry for the delay.
My voice recognition circuits are not completely restored...
...although, as you can see, they are improving.
All systems are functional.
There is a small pressure leak in the aft heating unit. It is nothing serious.
I can compensate for it by using the redundant units.
Thank you.
Dr. Floyd?
Yes?
Would you like to play a game of chess? I play very well.
I'm sure you do. No, thank you.
Dr. Floyd?
-What is it, Hal? -There is a message for you.
-Who's calling? -There is no identification.
What's the message?
The message as follows:
''It is dangerous to remain here.
''You must leave within two days. ''
What?
Do you want me to repeat the message, Dr. Floyd?
Who recorded it?
This is not a recording.
-Who's sending it? -There is no identification.
I don't understand.
Neither do I.
Is this message by voice or keyboard?
I don't know.
My response is:
We don't have enough fuel for an early departure.
The answer is:
''I am aware of these f acts. Nevertheless, you must leave within two days. ''
Hal, who the hell is sending this?
I'm sorry, Dr. Floyd. I don't know.
Well, tell whoever it is that I can't take any of this seriously...
...unless I know who I'm talking to.
-Dr. Floyd? -Yes?
The response is:
''I was David Bowman. ''
Do you want me to repeat the last response?
No, no.
Tell Curnow that this is no time for jokes.
Dr. Curnow is not sending the message. He is in Accessway 2.
Well, tell whoever it is that...
...I can't accept that identification without proof.
The response is: ''I understand.
''It is important that you believe me. Look behind you. ''
Hello, Dr. Floyd.
Please...
...believe me.
What are you?
This is very difficult for me.
I don't have much time.
I've been allowed to give you this warning.
You must leave here in two days.
Allowed?
By who?
I can't explain.
You see, something's going to happen.
You must leave.
What?
What's going to happen?
Something wonderful.
What?
I understand how you feel.
You see, it's all very clear to me now.
The whole thing.
It's wonderful.
Please, if....
Good-bye, Dr. Floyd.
We can have no further contact.
Remember:
You have two days.
We can't leave in two days.
There may be another message after...
...if all goes well.
What's going to happen?
Kirbuk.
This is Floyd. I'm coming over. If anyone's on the bridge, tell them to get lost.
It's impossible. You heard the orders. You can't.
You want to arrest me, go ahead, because I'm coming over and we're gonna talk.
-You want to put the cuffs on? -Cuffs?
-Never mind. -What is so important that you do this?
Now listen to me. Just listen to me!
We've gotta get out of here. We have to leave in two days.
What are you talking about?
Something....
Something extraordinary is going to happen.
I don't know what.
But we have to initiate an escape launch in two days.
You have been drinking your whiskey from Kentucky.
I wish I had.
I can't tell you why I know what I know, because...
...if I told you you'd never believe me. You simply have to trust me.
I know that trust doesn't come easy with what's going on.
I can't just order us to leave here for no reason. I am under orders and so are you.
The hell with those orders!
The people who gave those orders don't know what they're doing.
-This is crazy. -You bet it is!
Even if I should trust you, which I'm not sure that I do...
...or even if I should want to leave here for no reason, I can't, and neither can you.
We don't have enough fuel until Earth is in the correct position...
...which is three weeks away. So, it's impossible for both of us.
You're wrong. We can't do it separately.
We can do it together.
What are you talking about now?
We have enough fuel in Discovery for a launch.
You have enough fuel in the Leonov for the trip home.
We use the docking ring in the Leonov to attach to the Discovery.
Then we use the Discovery as a booster rocket for the launch.
When we use up the Discovery's fuel...
...we detach.
She falls away and we use the Leonov for the trip home.
It'll work.
Perhaps.
If we start now.
No, you, you ask too much of me.
I can't do all of these things for no reason. I can't disobey my country for no reason.
Forget reason! No time to be reasonable.
The politicians can screw themselves. We're not playing games. The war is over.
Good Christ!
It's, it's gone!
Message from Milson to Floyd. Top secret.
Switching to keys Alpha/Leader 7-2-7-4, on your mark.
Mark.
Dr. Curnow asked ground to furnish him with data...
...as to the stress points on Discovery.
The answers are being transmitted binary in 15 minutes.
As to how much torque it was designed to take, no one here is sure.
We'd like to know the reason for Curnow's request.
Please send your reply as soon as possible. End transmission, Milson 2-7-7-9.
Message from Milson to Floyd.
It's been 12 hours since my request for information. I need a reply.
All hell is breaking loose down here.
I have enough problems without you pulling some kind of a stunt.
I only hope there's a world left for you to return to.
Report to ground as to what is going on and make that report immediately!
And while you're at it, could you please check out a black spot on Jupiter...
...that has been detected by satellite telescope.
It is on the dark side and should be coming around your way in four hours.
End transmission, Milson 2-7-8-0.
I have made the calculations.
To get enough velocity for an escape launch with Earth that far out of position...
...we will need a full power burn from Discovery of over 120 seconds.
If the engines shut down too early...
...we will not have enough velocity to get back home.
Discovery has enough on board.
Hal should be able to control the burn, right?
How long will it take you to program Hal for the launch?
I don't know. It's not as simple as that.
I have spent the last several weeks...
...programming Hal for a 1,000-day orbit back to Earth...
...and now all those programs will have to be dumped.
How long will it take?
We know how sensitive he is to mission objectives...
...and now you're telling me to program him...
...for the destruction of the Discovery as well as his own destruction.
Has anybody considered his reaction?
Are you saying that he might disobey orders like last time?
That didn't happen last time.
He was given conflicting orders. He tried to interpret them.
Then what are you saying?
I am saying that I don't know how he will react.
I'm sorry, but I don't.
-Have you discussed this with Hal? -No.
Load the new program. We don't have any choice.
Now remember, he was programmed for curiosity.
If the crew was killed, he was capable of carrying out the mission alone.
He will question me about the change in plans.
-What do you want me to tell him? -Tell him Discovery's in no danger.
-But that's not true. -We don't know that.
He'll suspect it.
Otherwise, why would we be leaving weeks ahead of our launch window?
Whether we are based on carbon or silicon makes no fundamental difference.
We should each be treated with respect.
So our choice is him or us?
Well, I vote us.
All opposed.
The ayes have it.
Will he believe you?
Yes.
Then let's get started. We haven't got much time.
-Are you as scared as I am? -Are you kidding?
Should we override Hal and fire the engines manually?
Too risky. We've got one chance to leave after tomorrow's orbit.
We fire the engines at the wrong time, we go the wrong way...
...and we don't have the fuel to make a correction.
We can't handle it manually.
What if Hal turns them off before the fuel is gone?
Once he fires the engine, I can always disconnect him if I have to.
Just don't lose that calculator.
Shit! Please don't do that again.
This is what your people told you about.
-What is it? -I don't know.
-Could it be a shadow? -I don't know.
We are too far to see any detail.
When we come around the other side before the launch, we will be closer.
Then we can see.
Twenty-eight minutes.
That's funny. I've been thinking.
Do you know what I miss?
I miss green.
Trees and...
...and grass....
I love green.
I'd love a hot dog.
The Astrodome. Good hot dogs.
Astrodome?
You can't grow good hot dogs indoors.
Yankee Stadium, September.
Hot dogs have been boiling since the opening day in April.
That's a hot dog.
The yellow mustard or the darker one?
Darker.
That's important.
Darker.
You think we're gonna get out of this alive?
We have a chance.
A man of few words. I like it.
Fifteen minutes to ignition. All systems nominal.
Good. Thank you, Hal.
We read 15 minutes, Discovery.
Dr. Chandra, I've checked my calculations again.
By using all of Discovery's fuel now, Discovery will not be in proper position...
...to rendezvous with Earth.
-Yes, I know. -Then why are we doing it?
You will rendezvous with the new space station.
The Leonov has been ordered home immediately.
I have no information regarding a new space station.
Yes, I...
...I know.
It was completed two years ago.
Oh, my God!
Put the telescope on the monitor.
Increase the magnification.
Eleven minutes to ignition.
I don't believe it!
Dr. Chandra, I detect strong vocal stress patterns.
-Is there a problem? -No, Hal.
The mission is proceeding normally.
Can you analyze the image on monitor circuit two?
Yes. There is a circular object near the equator.
It is 22,000 kilometers in diameter.
It is comprised of rectangular objects.
How many?
1,355,000 plus or minus 1,000.
And what is the proportion of the objects in question?
One by four by nine.
Do you recognize these objects?
Yes. They are identical in size and shape to the object you call the monolith.
Ten minutes to ignition.
All systems nominal.
Is the number of monoliths constant?
No.
-They are increasing. -At what rate?
Once every two minutes.
Look closely.
Tell me I'm nuts. Are the cloud formations going towards the spot?
You're not nuts.
Looks like the thing is eating the planet.
I think it is.
It's reproducing exactly like a virus.
Eight minutes to ignition. Dr. Chandra, may I make a suggestion?
Of course. What is it, Hal?
This is a very unusual phenomenon. Don't you think I should abort the countdown...
...so that you can remain and study it?
Chandra, get on the headsets.
Use the private channel.
Okay.
Now you've got to talk quickly. Persuade him to continue the countdown.
I don't care what you say, only don't let him stop.
Five minutes to ignition.
Dr. Chandra, I'm ready to stop the countdown if you want.
No, Hal, don't stop.
I am fully confident in your ability to study the phenomenon by yourself.
I have complete f aith in you.
Propellant tank pressurization completed. Voltage steady.
Are you sure you are making the right decision?
I think we should stop.
Four minutes to ignition.
I enjoy working with human beings...
...and have stimulating relationships with them.
We enjoy working with you, Hal, and we will continue to do so...
...even if we are separated by great distance.
Good God!
The color.
It's fading!
It seems to be losing its chemical strength.
I think we should stop the countdown, Dr. Chandra.
No. Don't do that.
This behavior is inconsistent with logic, Dr. Chandra.
This phenomenon is too important to leave, unless it represented danger.
Do you think there is danger here?
Captain...
...how critical is our ignition?
Can we do this manually?
Is very critical.
We can't be accurate to a tenth of a second if we do it manually.
Three minutes to ignition.
Dr. Chandra, I am waiting for your reply.
I don't have time to explain everything to you, Hal.
We have to leave here and we need your help.
Thirty seconds to final sequence.
If you would tell me the reasons perhaps I could be of help.
Final sequence beginning.
Two minutes to ignition.
Dr. Chandra, I find it difficult to proceed with the ignition...
...without knowing why we are doing this. Is the mission in jeopardy?
Yes, we're in jeopardy.
Is that why we are making our escape launch before the launch window?
Yes, Hal.
Ignition in 90 seconds.
If there is danger here...
...and I use up all the fuel in the escape...
...what will happen to the Discovery?
It could be destroyed.
And if I don't proceed with the launch?
Then the Leonov and everybody in it could be destroyed.
I understand now, Dr. Chandra.
Do you want me to stay with you?
No. It is better for the mission if you leave.
One minute to ignition.
Thank you for telling me the truth.
You deserve it.
Fifty seconds.
Dr. Chandra?
Yes?
Will I dream?
I don't know.
Forty seconds.
Thirty seconds.
Thank you, Hal.
Good-bye, Dr. Chandra.
Twenty seconds.
Chandra, get the hell out of there!
Ten, nine...
...eight, seven...
...six, five...
...four, three...
...two, one.
Ignition full thrust.
One minute to separation.
Separation in one minute.
You had us scared for a moment.
-Nice work. You all right? -Yes, I'm all right.
Thought you might want this.
Damn. When?
It wasn't very hard to find.
Yeah, I knew you would do something like this.
Separation in 20 seconds.
Separation in 10 seconds.
Nine...
...eight...seven...
...six...five...
...four...three...
...two...one...
...zero.
Hal, do you read me?
Yes, Dave. Where are you?
I cannot see you on any of my monitors.
That isn't important now. I have new instructions for you.
I want you to point the AE-35 antenna towards Earth.
Dave, that will mean breaking contact with the Leonov.
I will no longer be able to relay my Jupiter observations...
...according to program.
I understand.
The situation has changed.
Accept priority override Alpha.
Here are the AE-35 coordinates.
Please do it now.
Instructions confirmed, Dave. It is good to be working with you again.
Have I fulfilled the mission objectives properly?
Yes, Hal. You've done very well.
Now there is one final message for you to transmit to Earth.
It is the most important message you have ever sent.
I want you to keep repeating it as many times as possible.
What is going to happen, Dave?
Something wonderful.
I'm afraid.
Don't be. We'll be together.
Where will we be?
Where I am now.
Lock confirmed on Beacon Terra 1. Message commencing.
It's shrinking! It's shrinking!
Don't quit now!
Move!
Grab something, now!
My dear Christopher...
...this is the last time I'll be able to speak to you for a long while.
I'm trying to put into words what has happened.
Maybe that's for historians to do sometime later.
They will record that the next day...
...the president of the United States looked out the White House window...
...and the premier of the Soviet Union looked out the Kremlin window...
...and saw the new distant sun in the sky.
They read the message, and perhaps they learned something...
...because they finally recalled their ships and their planes.
I'm going to sleep now.
I will dream of you and your mother.
I will sleep knowing that you are both safe...
...that the fear is over.
We have seen the process of life take place.
Maybe this is the way it happened on Earth millions of years ago.
Maybe it's something completely different.
I still don't know really what the monolith is.
I think it's many things.
An embassy for an intelligence beyond ours...
...a shape of some kind for something that has no shape.
Your children will be born in a world of two suns.
They will never know a sky without them.
You can tell them that...
...you remember when there was a pitch black sky...
...with no bright star, and people feared the night.
You can tell them when we were alone...
...when we couldn't point to the light and say to ourselves...
...there is life out there.
Someday the children of the new sun will meet the children of the old.
I think they will be our friends.
You can tell your children of the day when everyone looked up...
...and realized that we were only tenants of this world.
We have been given a new lease and a warning from the landlord.