Because Arthur C. Clarke recently died I decided to reread his classic novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Some people say that the major knock against science fiction is that it's necessarily dated soon after written because of the progress of society and technology. While this may be true of many stories, 2001 is timeless. It's hopeful, it's beautiful and it's filled with themes that speak to what we are as humanity.
Evolution is probably the most important element of the story. From the beginning when primitive man finds a black obelisk and it teaches the concept of tool use and subtly changes these creature's minds the idea that our improbable evolution was guided by alien intervention. Then, just as humanity gained the power to destroy its own planet those same aliens had planned to help the descendants of those early creatures jump to the next step, as equal in advancement as using stones for tools were to starving primitives. The message I took from the story was that we are limited in how forward we can think and until we break through another evolutionary barrier we'll be butting our heads against an invisible barrier on creativity. It's profound and humbling to consider the possibility that there are beings who look at our restrictions as simplistic as we view the idea of making a fire for survival.
Invariably this novel gets compared with the Stanley Kubrick film and rightly so. Unlike any pair I've encountered, both the novel and screenplay were developed simultaneously and in conjunction. With slight differences the stories are complementary and equally brilliant. What makes me favor the book more than the movie is the ending, which is explained better revealing the true scope of the evolutionary step man is about to make.
- CV Rick, April 2008
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