| 2061: Odyssey Three | |
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| Author | Arthur C. Clarke |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Michael Whelan |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Space Odyssey series |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey |
| Publication date | 1987 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 256 pages |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-345-35173-8 |
| Preceded by | 2010: Odyssey Two |
| Followed by | 3001: The Final Odyssey |
2061: Odyssey Three is a science fiction novel written by Arthur C. Clarke in 1987. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917–19 March 2008 was a British Science fiction Author, Inventor, and Michael Whelan (born June 29, 1950) is a multiple-award-winning American artist specializing in Science fiction and Fantasy illustration The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The Space Odyssey series is a Science fiction series of four novels and two films created from 1948 to 1997 primarily by the writer Arthur C Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House. A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. 2010 Odyssey Two is a best-selling Science fiction novel by Arthur C 3001 The Final Odyssey ( 1997) is a Science fiction Novel by Arthur C A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917–19 March 2008 was a British Science fiction Author, Inventor, and Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) It is the third book in the Space Odyssey series. The Space Odyssey series is a Science fiction series of four novels and two films created from 1948 to 1997 primarily by the writer Arthur C
Contents |
Origins
Because the Odyssey series is closely concerned with Jupiter and its moons, Clarke had originally intended to delay writing a third book until the Galileo mission to the planet had returned its findings. Galileo was an Unmanned spacecraft sent by NASA to study the Planet Jupiter and its moons Named after the Astronomer However, the probe's launch was delayed in the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster so that it would not arrive at Jupiter until 1995. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on January 28 1986 when ''Challenger'', a Space Shuttle operated by NASA, broke apart Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Deciding not to wait, Clarke instead took his inspiration from the approach of Comet Halley in 1986 and focused his sequel on the comet's future return, in 2061. Halley's Comet, officially designated 1P/Halley and also referred to as Comet Halley after Edmond Halley, is a Comet that can be seen every Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Notable predictions and known events 2061 Expected expiration of the Singapore-Malaysia Water Agreement.
Plot
In the previous novel, 2010: Odyssey Two, Jupiter was converted into a mini-sun which was dubbed "Lucifer" following the Soviet ship Leonov’s mission to Jupiter to find out what happened to the Discovery. 2010 Odyssey Two is a best-selling Science fiction novel by Arthur C The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. Lucifer is a name frequently given to Satan in Christian belief A message was sent to Earth by Dave Bowman, through HAL: "ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS, EXCEPT EUROPA. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Europa (jʊˈroʊpə; or as ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS THERE". (The movie version adds the words "USE THEM TOGETHER. USE THEM IN PEACE," as part of its heightened Cold War emphasis. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the ) This is due to the discovery of alien life in Europa's ocean, which was frozen over at the surface until Lucifer melted the ice and caused an atmosphere to form.
2010-2061
When the Leonov returned to Earth, Heywood Floyd (whose marriage had broken up while he was on the Leonov) suffered an accident and had to be shipped up to the orbital space hospital Pasteur for care. His recovery took longer than expected and he became a permanent resident of the space station after finding that his body could no longer handle Earth-level gravity. At the time the novel takes place, Floyd is one of only two remaining survivors of the Leonov mission. His son Chris, who also worked in astronautics, had died a number of years previously in the Copernicus disaster, leaving behind his own son, also named Chris. Now an adult, Chris Floyd II works aboard the spacecraft Galaxy, and he has not seen his grandfather in years.
Between 2010 and 2061, there have been several advancements, both technological and political. The USA, USSR, and China are now at peace with each other, all nuclear weapons are now under international control, and there is now a Planetary President (a former monarch, Edward VIII — his country of origin is not specified). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The black population of South Africa had rebelled in the 2030s and formed the United States of Southern Africa (USSA). The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The white population of South Africa had seen this coming and mostly fled to Europe, taking most of the country's wealth with them and leaving the black population to rebuild the economy, which they did in a matter of weeks by use of diamonds (it is worth noting that this book was published in 1987, at which time South Africa was still federated and apartheid was still in force). In the wake of the breakthrough discovery of a new form of muon-catalyzed fusion, space travel has undergone many startling advancements; with the advent of fusion-powered spacecraft, large-scale interplanetary travel is now commercially viable. Muon-catalyzed fusion ( μCF) is a process allowing Nuclear fusion to take place at Temperatures significantly lower than the temperatures required for Spaceflight is the use of Space technology to fly a Spacecraft into and through Outer space. The largest such corporation is Tsung Spacelines, run by Hong Kong billionaire Sir Lawrence Tsung (the manufacturers of the crafts Cosmos, Galaxy and—most recently—Universe).
Strangest of all, there has been a startling development on Europa: an enormous mountain has sprung up out of nowhere. No one is sure of the origin of "Mount Zeus"; being asymmetrical, it cannot be a volcano.
2061
In 2061, at the age of 103, Floyd is chosen as one of several "celebrity guests" to come aboard the Universe for the first-ever human landing on the surface of Halley's Comet, which will shortly be making its periodic pass through the solar system. Halley's Comet, officially designated 1P/Halley and also referred to as Comet Halley after Edmond Halley, is a Comet that can be seen every Other celebrities on the voyage include septuagenarian actress Yva Merlin (most famous for her roles as Josephine Bonaparte in Napoleon and as Scarlett O'Hara in a remake of Gone With the Wind), writer Margaret M'Bala (known for her book on Greek mythology The Passions of the Gods - sometimes derisively called "Olympic Lusts"), astronaut Clifford Greenburg (the first man to land on Mercury), symphony conductor and composer Dimitri Mihailovich, and celebrity "pop-scientist" Victor Willis. Ageing or aging (American English is the accumulation of changes in an organism The captain of the Universe is Captain Smith (as was the captain of RMS Titanic). Construction The Titanic was a White Star Line ocean liner built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland
Meanwhile, there is a team of scientists on Ganymede who are working on terraforming the former moon. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Ganymede (ˈgænɨmiːd, or as Greek The terraforming (literally "Earth-shaping" of a Planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its Scientist Rolf van der Berg, a second-generation Afrikaner refugee, studies pictures of Mount Zeus and determines that it is in fact one enormous diamond. The term Afrikaner people refers to white Afrikaans -speaking people who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century and are mainly of northwestern He communicates his discovery to his uncle Paul Kreuger, speaking in Afrikaans as a security measure because it is now an endangered language, and decide that van der Berg will get aboard the Galaxy on their flyby of Europa in order to try and see if he is correct. Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in An endangered language is a Language that it is at risk of falling out of use generally because it has few surviving speakers However, their exchange is discovered both by SHAKA (a secret militant organisation in the USSA, named for Shaka) and ASTROPOL (similar to Interpol). Shaka (sometimes spelled Tshaka, Tchaka or Chaka; ca 1787 – ca The International Criminal Police Organization, better known by its telegraphic address Interpol is an organization facilitating international police cooperation SHAKA sends an operative called Rose McCullen onto Galaxy undercover as a steward, and an unknown organization—presumably ASTROPOL—approaches Chris Floyd II on Ganymede and tells him to "keep his eyes open".
As Galaxy nears Europa, Rose McCullen delivers coffee to the bridge and then hijacks the ship, sealing the cockpit and ordering Second Officer Chang at gunpoint to pilot Galaxy down to the moon's surface, where, after Chang does not exactly follow Rosie's directions, it splashes down into Europa's ocean, the Sea of Galilee. Having essentially accomplished her mission, Rosie then shoots herself. Other crew members throw her body overboard: a large creature rises to the surface of the ocean, swallows the body, vomits, and dies. The crew conclude that Europan biology and Earth biology are incompatible: they won't be able to forage there after exhausting the ship's stores.
Universe receives the news that Galaxy is marooned on Europa, and that they need to undertake a rescue mission. After fueling itself from a geyser on Halley's Comet, Universe heads for Europa.
Meanwhile, Galaxy’s Captain Laplace steps down for the acting captain Lee, who is a professional sailor. Lee pilots Galaxy through the water to come to the shore of a small—and rather dismal—island named Haven. Captain Laplace takes command again, and accepts the suggestion that Rolf van der Berg and Chris Floyd II take the shuttle William Tsung or Bill Tee (named after Sir Lawence Tsung's son William) to study Mount Zeus, the wreck of the Chinese spacecraft Tsien and the enormous monolith lying on its side at the border between the dayside and nightside, dubbed the Great Wall. Van der Berg and Chris take the Bill Tee to Mount Zeus. Up close, van der Berg relays a message to his uncle Paul through Ganymede stating "LUCY IS HERE", verifying that Mount Zeus is indeed one large diamond. The code word "Lucy" was chosen both in reference to the mini-sun Lucifer and to an article in the journal Nature in 1981 hypothesising that the cores of Uranus and Neptune were in fact diamonds the size of Earth (caused by the compression of carbon), with the hypothesis making a logical extension to Jupiter. Nature is a prominent Scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869 The article was subtitled "Diamonds in the Sky?" in reference to the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Disambiguation Lucy in the Sky redirects here For the heroine of this name see Karolina Dean. Mount Zeus is a fragment of Jupiter's core which survived the creation of Lucifer and later impacted on Europa.
On the Universe, the celebrity guests discuss the mystery surrounding Dave Bowman and the monoliths, and whether they would be allowed to land on Europa to rescue Galaxy’s crew. Floyd follows Yva Merlin's suggestion that he simply try to call Bowman on the radio, and that night has a strange dream in which he sees the monolith floating at the foot of his bed.
The Bill Tee flies by Tsien, which has been completely stripped of its metals, and on to the Great Wall. In the shadow of the Great Wall they find a deserted Europan village made up of igloo-like structures. An igloo ( Inuit language: iglu, Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗ "house" plural iglooit or igluit, but in English An image of Heywood Floyd appears to Chris in the same way that Dave Bowman appeared to Floyd in 2010, telling him that the Universe was coming and that the Europans had left until "the wind blows the poison away". Van der Berg thinks that Chris is crazy until he realizes that the heat of the engine cracked the steam exhaust of the Bill Tee into hydrogen and oxygen, oxygen being poisonous to Europans. The shuttle's fuel is expended so they wait there until the Universe arrives.
Chris contacts Universe and finds that his grandfather is not dead at all, but alive and well. The crew are rescued and brought to Ganymede, where they watch via satellite as Mount Zeus, which has been steadily sinking, finally disappears beneath the Europan surface. Soon thereafter, Paul Kreuger writes a follow-up article for Nature (80 years after the original article's publication), stating that Mount Zeus was a mere fragment of Jupiter's core and it is almost certain that much more such large pieces of diamond are currently in orbit around Lucifer, and proposing that a program be initiated immediately to collect these enormous quantities of diamond and put them to use.
Floyd and Chris II become close again, and both become friends with van der Berg. They talk about how Floyd called Bowman on the radio, and Chris asks "Did you ever get a reply?" Floyd almost tells his grandson about the monolith in his cabin, but does not after rationalizing that it was probably a dream.
The conversation inside the Great Wall
As it turns out, it was not a dream. The monolith duplicated Floyd's consciousness: there are now two Heywood Floyds—one is a normal human who has just found a new lease on life, and the other is an immortal being who resides with Dave Bowman and HAL inside the Great Wall. HAL 9000 ( Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic Computer is a fictional Computer in Arthur C The three immortal beings converse, and Floyd finds out that the impact of Mount Zeus set Europa's life back by years and caused the extinction of many promising species. HAL and Dave are also worried that the collision might have damaged the monolith; the impact knocked the monolith over. Dave tells him of how the Jovians had to be exterminated in the creation of Lucifer so that the Europans might survive, and tells Floyd that they have less than a millennium to work in.
In the epilogue, the star Lucifer stops shining in 3,001, and "the monolith awakes". It is also indicated that humans have found more quantities of diamond from the former Jupiter and used it to create space elevators and an orbital ring connecting them, as suggested by Paul Kreuger in his article. A space elevator is a proposed structure designed to transport Material from a celestial body 's Surface into space. (This idea will later be a central concept in 3001: The Final Odyssey. 3001 The Final Odyssey ( 1997) is a Science fiction Novel by Arthur C )
Reception
According to Amazon, this is generally regarded as the weakest book of the series, due to focusing so little on Dave Bowman and the monolith as well as adding little to the overall story. Roger A. Mccoy writes: ". . . in fact, it would probably be LESS confusing to skip this book and read 3001 instead. 3001 The Final Odyssey ( 1997) is a Science fiction Novel by Arthur C "
Aborted plans for film version
Shortly after the novel was released, Tom Hanks expressed great interest in producing a film adaptation, with himself cast in the role of Floyd, and Keir Dullea and Douglas Rain reprising their roles as David Bowman and HAL 9000. Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9 1956 is an two-time Academy award and Emmy winning American Film actor, director Keir Dullea (kɪr duˈleɪ born May 30, 1936) is an American actor perhaps best known for the character of astronaut David Bowman he portrayed Douglas Rain is a Canadian Actor and narrator who was born in 1928 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. David Bowman is a character in the Space Odyssey series He first appears in a story jointly written by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C HAL 9000 ( Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic Computer is a fictional Computer in Arthur C These plans never went beyond the initial announcement.
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