Of aliens and odysseys

2001:A Space Odyssey is a beautiful book. It is the best science-fiction novel I have read. The name may divert your attention and will probably fill you with wonder about the antiquity of the book and its relevance in present context. But that is where the delusive charm of the book lies.

Written before the man had landed on Moon, the book breathtakingly answers some of the most poignant questions that have mystified mankind. The author makes several assumptions regarding the future and most of them seem to be correct to a large extent. For instance, Moon has been conquered by humans but with an exception. A self-sustaining colony is yet to be built. Moreover, there hasn't been any manned mission beyond Moon and won't likely be possible before the end of next decade. Another interesting innovation of that of a computer as capable as HAL900 is still lacking.

Wherever the author focuses on the progress made my mankind he is clever enough to leave a cautionary note. He doesn't want us to live in any fool's paradise and let the sense of complacency overwhelm our thoughts. After the monolith T.M.A.-1 is discovered and its unique scientific proportions noted by humans, it is some sort of a reminder of what to expect and what not to expect. He always pits the human race against the mysterious aliens who created the monolith millions of years ago, when we were still sub-human, lived in caves, were afraid of fire and foraged almost daily.

There is always an attempt to trivialize the efforts of humanity when he explains our actual relevance in the infintely large universe. What makes us think that we are the only living creatures and there is no from of any intelligent existence on any other planet, in any other galaxy? This is the result of our sheer narrow-mindedness which mars our thinking and doesn't allow us to think beyond certain perceptions and beliefs.

The author doesn't leave us over here. The end is as mind-boggling as David Bowman's journey through Star Gate. Bertrond explains Yaan about the impounding perils and urges him to exercise great caution and wisdom , which ultimately may change the course of the humans yet-to-come. This is the author's assessment of the problems concerning humanity. It was in those early deformed stages that some wrong path was chosen and it is here they we have landed today. He doesn't explicitly state that we are in some danger, but he is able to dive the point home that we are constantly in the danger of imperilling ourselves and the more we develop, the lesser the time we have to enjoy those developments.

It is these questions which haven't lost their significance in age of globalization and nuclear power. They still loom large over our heads, and in our constant endeavour of escaping them we are only endangering our positions. Be it 2001 or 3001, the author's vision still holds goods. It is our perception which ultimately matters and as he said "The truth is as always, far stranger than our perception".