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From: LFeinberg.es@PARC-MAXC.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: Re: 2001: A Space Odyssey. . .
Message-ID: <12556@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Oct-83 11:37:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12556
Posted: Thu Oct 13 11:37:56 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Oct-83 08:55:13 EDT
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Anyone wanting to understand 2001 (especially the ending) should read
Clarke's novel, "Childhood's End".  This is the book which Kubrick read
which gave him the idea for the movie, and Clarke's short "The Senitel",
which contributed another important idea.

SPOILER WARNING: Details of these follow in the next paragraph.

SPOILER TO Childhood's End and The Senitel: In the novel, aliens return
to Earth to guide us to the next giant step in our mental/spiritual
evolution.  This is the meaning of the ending of 2001, with the
psychedelic sequence and the space baby.  For full details of this
complex idea, read the novel.  In the short story, aliens leave a
structure on the moon.  When Earthpersons dig it up and generally mess
with it, it signals the aliens that we have acheived space flight and
are evolved enough for them to contact us.