2010: Odyssey Two
 First UK edition cover – 1982 | |
| Author | Arthur C. Clarke |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Michael Whelan |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Space Odyssey |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Granada Publishing Ltd. |
Publication date | January 1982 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 291 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-345-31282-1 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | 2001: A Space Odyssey |
| Followed by | 2061: Odyssey Three |
2010: Odyssey Two is a 1982 science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It is the sequel to the 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, but continues the story of Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation with the same title rather than Clarke's original novel, which differed from the film in some respects.
Set in the year 2010, the plot centers on a joint Soviet-American mission aboard the Soviet spacecraft Leonov. The mission has several objectives, including salvaging the spaceship Discovery and investigating the mysterious "monolith" discovered by Dave Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1983.[1] The novel was adapted for the screen by Peter Hyams and released as a film in 1984.
Plot summary
The story is set nine years after the failure of the Discovery One mission to Jupiter.[2]
A joint Soviet-American crew,[3] including Heywood Floyd from 2001, on the Soviet spaceship Alexei Leonov (named after the cosmonaut) arrives to discover what went wrong with the earlier mission, to investigate the monolith in orbit around the planet, and to resolve the disappearance of David Bowman. They hypothesize that much of this information is locked away on the now-abandoned Discovery One. The Soviets have an advanced new "Sakharov" drive which will propel them to Jupiter ahead of the American Discovery Two, so Floyd is assigned to the Leonov crew.
However, a Chinese space station rockets out of Earth orbit, revealing itself to be the interplanetary spacecraft Tsien, also aimed at Jupiter. The Leonov crewmembers think the Chinese are on a one-way trip due to its speed, but Floyd surmises that due to the large water content of Europa they intend to land there and use the water content to refuel. The Tsien's daring mission ends in failure, when it is destroyed by an indigenous life-form on Europa. The only survivor, Professor Chang (an acquaintance of Floyd's from a science convention years earlier) radios the story to the Leonov; it is presumed that he dies when his spacesuit air supply runs out.
The Leonov survives a dangerous aerobraking around Jupiter and arrives at Discovery. Mission crewmember and HAL 9000's creator, Dr. Chandra, reactivates the computer to ascertain the cause of his earlier aberrant behaviour. After some time, Floyd is speaking to a Russian on board, who, for an instant, sees the Monolith open again, into a Stargate, as David Bowman escapes from the Monolith's universe back into ours.
A sequence of scenes follows the explorations of David Bowman, who has been transformed into a non-corporeal, energy-based life-form, much like the aliens controlling the monoliths. During his journey, the Avatar of Bowman travels to Earth, making contact with significant individuals from his past: He visits his mother and brushes her hair (shortly before she dies), and he appears to his ex-girlfriend on her television screen. In the novel, the aliens are using Bowman as a probe to learn about humankind. He then returns to the Jupiter system to explore beneath the ice of Europa, where he finds aquatic life-forms, and under the clouds of Jupiter, where he discovers gaseous life-forms. Both are primitive, but the aliens deem the Europan creatures to have evolutionary potential.
An apparition of Bowman appears before Floyd, warning him that they must leave Jupiter within 15 days. Floyd has difficulty convincing the rest of the crew at first, but then the monolith vanishes from orbit.
The Leonov crew devises a plan to use the Discovery as a "booster rocket", enabling them to return to Earth ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, HAL and the Discovery will be trapped in Jupiter's orbit, with insufficient fuel to escape. The crew are worried that HAL will have the same neuroses on discovering that he will be abandoned yet again, so Chandra must convince HAL that the human crew is in danger.
The Leonov crew flees Jupiter as a mysterious dark spot appears on Jupiter and begins to grow. HAL's telescope observations reveal that the "Great Black Spot" is, in fact, a vast population of monoliths, increasing at an exponential rate, which appear to be eating the planet. By acting as self-replicating 'von Neumann' machines, these monoliths increase Jupiter's density until the planet achieves nuclear fusion, becoming a small star. In the novel, this obliterates the primitive life forms inhabiting the Jovian atmosphere, which the Monoliths' controllers had deemed very unlikely to ever achieve intelligence unlike the aquatic life of Europa.
As Jupiter is about to transform, Bowman returns to Discovery to give HAL a last order to carry out. HAL begins repeatedly broadcasting the message
ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS—EXCEPT EUROPA
ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE
The creation of the new star, which Earth eventually names Lucifer, destroys Discovery. However, in appreciation for HAL's help, Bowman has the aliens which control the monoliths remove HAL's artificial intelligence from Discovery's computer core and transform him into the same kind of life form as David Bowman, and becomes his companion.
Epilogue
The book ends with a brief epilogue, which takes place in AD 20,001. By this time, the Europans have evolved into a species that has developed a primitive civilization, most likely with assistance from a monolith. They are not described in detail, though they are said to have "tendril"-like limbs. They regard the star Lucifer (formerly the planet Jupiter) as their primary sun, referring to Sol as "The Cold Sun". Though their settlements are concentrated primarily in the hemisphere of Europa which is constantly bathed in Lucifer's rays, some Europans have begun in recent generations to explore the Farside, the hemisphere facing away from Lucifer, which is still covered in ice. There they may witness the spectacle of night, unknown on the other side of Europa, when the Cold Sun sets.
The Europans who explore the Farside have been carefully observing the night sky and have begun to develop a mythology based on their observations. They correctly believe that Lucifer was not always there. They believe that the Cold Sun was its brother and was condemned to march around the sky for a crime. The Europans also see three other major bodies in the sky. One seems to be constantly engulfed in fire, and the other two have lights on them which are gradually spreading. These three bodies are the moons Io, Callisto, and Ganymede, the latter two of which are presently being colonized by humans.
Humans have been attempting to explore Europa ever since Lucifer was created in 2010. However, none of these attempts has been successful. Every probe that has attempted to land on Europa has been destroyed on approach; as it is later shown in 2061 and 3001 manned spacecraft that attempt to land have been instead diverted by an external force. The debris from every probe falls to the surface of the planet, and the debris from some of the first ships to be destroyed is venerated by the Europans.
Finally, there is a Monolith on the planet, which is worshipped by the Europans more than anything else. The Europans assume, correctly, that the Monolith is what keeps humans at bay. Dave Bowman and HAL lie dormant in this Monolith. The Monolith is the guardian of Europa, and will continue to prevent contact between humans and Europans for as long as it sees fit.
Relations to reality
Clarke peppered the novel with names of various Soviet dissidents, including physicists Andrei Sakharov and Yuri Orlov, human-rights activists Mykola Rudenko and Anatoly Marchenko, Russian Orthodox activist Gleb Yakunin, among others.[4] Clarke himself makes a reference to "getting (editor Vasili Zakharchenko) into deep trouble by borrowing the names of various dissidents" in 2061: Odyssey Three.[5]
Discontinuities between 2010 and the other works
Clarke acknowledged such inconsistencies in the Author's Note to 2061:[6]
Just as 2010: Odyssey Two was not a direct sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, so this book is not a linear sequel to 2010. They must all be considered as variations on the same theme, involving many of the same characters and situations, but not necessarily happening in the same universe. Developments since 1964 make total consistency impossible, as the later stories incorporate discoveries and events that had not even taken place when the earlier books were written.
- In the film 2001, the final spoken words are a recording of mission overviews. However, in the novelisation Dave Bowman is heard saying, "My God! It's full of stars." This quote is used in both the novel and the filmed version of 2010.
- The second half of the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey takes place around Saturn, with the Monolith embedded in the surface of the Saturnian moon Iapetus. The novel 2010 follows the continuity of the film 2001, which places the Monolith and Discovery in orbit between Jupiter and the Jovian moon Io.
- When Bowman recalls the events of 2001, he remembers the incident of chasing after Frank Poole's corpse in a pod without his helmet, and then entering the Discovery through the emergency airlock. This incident only occurred in the film. In the novel, HAL opens all of the pod bay doors and the emergency airlock to kill the crew when Bowman attempts to awaken them from hibernation.
- In all of the Space Odyssey novels and the film version of 2010, HAL's instructor is named Dr. Chandra; in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, it is Mr. Langley.[7][8]
References
- ↑ "1983 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
- ↑ The novel version of 2001 featured the journey to Saturn instead: Clarke acknowledges this retroactive continuity in his author's foreword.
- ↑ The Soviet Union did not dissolve until nine years after this book was written.
- ↑ "Sci-fi novelist leaves Soviet censors lost in space," The Ukrainian Weekly, 3 April 1984, p. 3
- ↑ Clarke, Arthur C. 2061: Odyssey Three. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. Page p. 270
- ↑ Clarke, Arthur C. 2061: Odyssey Three. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. Page ix
- ↑ Alfred, Randy (12 January 2009). "Jan. 12, 1992 or 1997: HAL of a Computer". WIRED. Condé Nast. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ Ager, Rob (2008). "The Technology Trap". Kubrick: and beyond the cinema frame. Collative Learning. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
Release details
- Clarke, Arthur C. (1997) [1982]. 2010: Odyssey Two. US: Del Rey; 1st Ballantine Books trade pbk. ed edition. ISBN 0-345-41397-0.
- Clarke, Arthur C. (1983). 2010: Odyssey Two. UK: Granada Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-246-11912-8.
External links
- 2010: Odyssey Two title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- 2010: Odyssey Two at Worlds Without End
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