2001: A Space Odyssey (novel) becomes an immortal 'Star Child' that can live and travel in space. The Star Child then returns to Earth, where he detonates an orbiting nuclear warhead. This is not discussed again until the sequel to the book, "". "2001: A Space Odyssey" explores technological advancement: its promise and its danger. The HAL 9000 computer puts forward the troubles that can crop up when man builds machines, the inner workings of which he does not fully comprehend and therefore cannot fully control. The book explores the perils related to the atomic age. In this novel, the Cold War is apparently still
Interpretations of 2001: A Space Odyssey in the film calls attention to the purpose of the satellites. James John Griffith, in a footnote in his book "Adaptations As Imitations: Films from Novels", wrote "I would wonder, for instance, how several critics, commenting on the match-cut that links humanity's prehistory and future, can identify—without reference to Clarke's novel—the satellite as a nuclear weapon". Arthur C. Clarke, in the TV documentary "2001: The Making of a Myth", described the bone-to-satellite sequence in the film, saying "The bone goes up and turns into what is supposed to be an orbiting space bomb, a weapon in space. Well, that isn't