 First edition | |
| Author | Arthur C. Clarke |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Chris Moore |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Voyager Books (UK) Del Rey Books (US) |
Publication date | 1997 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 272 (first edition) |
| ISBN | 0-345-31522-7 (US hardback edition) |
| OCLC | 35919386 |
| 823/.914 21 | |
| LC Class | PR6005.L36 A618 1997 |
| Preceded by | 2061: Odyssey Three |
3001: The Final Odyssey is a 1997 science fiction novel by British writerArthur C. Clarke. It is the fourth and final book in Clarke'sSpace Odyssey series.
The novel begins with a brief prologue describing the bioforms—dubbed the First-Born—who created theblack monoliths. They evolved from "primordial soup", and over the course of millions of years, became a space-faring species. Perceiving that nothing was more precious than "mind", they catalysed the evolution of intelligent species wherever they went, by increasing the intelligent species' chance of survival. After visiting Earth, the First-Born found a way to impress themselves into the fabric of space and time, becoming effectively immortal. Meanwhile, the monoliths—implied to have been forgotten by their creators when they ascended to a higher state of being—continued to watch over their subjects.
3001 follows the adventures ofFrank Poole, the astronaut killed by theHAL 9000 computer in2001: A Space Odyssey. One millennium later, Poole'sfreeze-dried body is discovered in theKuiper belt by acomet-collecting space tug named theGoliath, and revived. Poole is taken home to learn about the Earth in the year 3001. Some of its notable features include the BrainCap, abrain–computer interface technology; genetically engineereddinosaur servants; and four giganticspace elevators located evenly around theEquator. Humans have also colonised theJovian moonsGanymede andCallisto.TMA-1, the black monolith found on the Moon in 1999, had been brought to Earth in 2006 and installed in front of theUnited Nations Building in New York City.
Poole integrates into the society of 3001, but is prompted by a friend to revisitEuropa, a cradle of nascent life from which the monolith had banned humanity almost a thousand years earlier. It is believed he might be the first person allowed to visit there. On Europa he is greeted by the voice ofDavid Bowman and computer HAL 9000, who have now become a single entity—Halman—residing as digitized lifeforms in the monolith's computational matrix. In subsequent conversations he learns that the monoliths themselves are mechanisms, answerable to an unknown superior monolith, or perhaps lifeforms, almost 450light-years away.
Thirty years later, Poole is married, and a member of a small team responsible for monitoring Europa. Halman contacts him to warn that following the events of2010: Odyssey Two and2061: Odyssey Three, the Jovian monolith had sent a report to its superior monolith, containing details about the human species afterfirst contact. Since this report took place shortly after the wars of the 20th century, Halman believes the response just received after the 900-year round trip contains instructions to destroy humanity, due to its failure as a species.
Unsure whether they can physically harm the Monolith, the Europa team decide instead to infect it—as a computational mechanism—with a computer virus. Poole requests Halman to act as aTrojan Horse and place the virus inside the monolith, where it will be executed. Suitable computer and biological viruses already exist in the Pico Vault, an ultrasecure storage on the Moon, used for the most dangerous agents of these kinds. The Europa team also agree to leave apetabyte-capacity holographic 3D storage medium on Europa to allow Halman and other lifeforms in the monolith toupload themselves and escape the monolith's failure.
The monolith does receive orders to exterminate humanity, and starts a duplication, whereupon millions of monoliths form two cascade screens to prevent Solar light and heat from reaching Earth and its colonies, but the monoliths all quickly disintegrate as a result of the virus. The monoliths' makers' response to its destruction will occur in another 900 years as the earliest possibility.
The petabyte storage device, containing Halman and other lifeforms, but also infected with the virus, is subsequently sealed by scientists in the Pico Vault. At the close of the story, Poole and other humans land on Europa to start peaceful relations with the primitive native Europans. A statement is made that the monolith's makers will not determine humanity's fate until "the Last Days".
In 2000,Yahoo! reported that MGM and actor/directorTom Hanks were in discussions regarding adapting both2061: Odyssey Three and3001: The Final Odyssey into movies, with Hanks reportedly to play Frank Poole in the3001 film. An update in 2001 stated that there was no further development on the project.[1]
On 3 November 2014, it was reported that the US TV channelSyfy had ordered a miniseries adaptation of3001: The Final Odyssey into production, planned for broadcast in 2015. The miniseries would be executive-produced byRidley Scott,David W. Zucker andStuart Beattie; the latter would also be the primary script-writer. The estates of both Clarke and2001: A Space Odyssey directorStanley Kubrick were reported as having "offered their full support", but the extent of their involvement was not known at the time.[2] In February 2016, within Syfy's press release for itstelevision pilotPrototype, other series including theFinal Odyssey series were mentioned as being in development.[3]