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
Technologies in 2001: A Space Odyssey yet no one in the movie had a small personal communication device. Some technologies portrayed as common in the film which had not materialized in the 2000s include commonplace civilian space travel, space stations with hotels, Moon colonization, suspended animation of humans, practical nuclear propulsion in spacecraft and strong artificial intelligence of the kind displayed by Hal. There are corporate logos and entities in the film that either didn't exist, no longer exist, or were broken up by anti-trust lawsuits. Still others changed their business model or represent countries that no longer exist. The British Broadcasting Corporation never expanded to