The robot body, like the flesh-and-blood one, would be no more than a stepping-stone to something which, long ago, men had called “spirit.” And if there was anything beyond that, its name could only be God.

2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke

The time had not yet come when Man could leave his mark upon the Solar System.

2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke

If Hal went all out, he could win anyone of [the mathematical games]; but that would be bad for morale. So he had been programmed to win only fifty percent of the time, and his human partners pretended not to know this.

2001: A Space Odyssey (Arthur C. Clarke)

this just tickles me. it’s so true, though, we feign a lot of ignorance about the capabilities of our electronic friends. the credit we give them and the credit we don’t is, I’m sure, a fascinating study.