Like so many fiction writers, Arthur C. Clarke always tries to offer the audience a few suspenseful moments in his novel. The key for such success lies in the human's perpetual appetite for mystery. It doesn't take long for a writer to create an enigma, but it does take a long time to create a suspense that the human race has never experienced in reality. In Chapter 26 "Dialogue with Hal", Clarke has masterly used a simple narrative voice to present a controversial scene where our own product, the robot, tries to overpower its Creator.

In the previous chapter the audiences are shocked to discover that Frank Poole is dead. Now, they are encountering a more sophisticated Hal and a nervous Bowman. The readers notice the first change in Bowman's attitude toward Hal through his slightly angry tone "What do you expect?". Bowman's friendly relation with Hal has certainly changed. Clarke mentions the word "computer-time" to foreshadow the advance of Earth's future technology. It is amazing that Clarke's prediction is very a

Through simple dialogue tone and narrative voice, Clarke has brought a sense of insecurity to the Discovery and created an apprehensive effect on the reader. Most important of all, Clarke has pioneered in creating a totally human-like robot, and he has used the robot as an imitation of the human's evolution, or perhaps the product of our own evolution. Hal will always remain a mystery. What will become of the human race when the robot species take over?

The passage reaches its pinnacle when Hal asserts his power and "overrules" Bowman's authority. The audience is left puzzled. Is Hal really attempting a coup? When Bowman threatens to disconnect Hal, Hal says that he knows that Bowman has had the idea on his "mind for some time now." The dialogue has revealed that Hal is capable of knowing Bowman's thought ¾then surely he is capable of knowing everything. It is beyond our imagination that a robot can have feelings and read the human mind.

ccurate considering the fact that computer was very primitive in the year 1968. Yet, "computer-time" is not used

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hal Bowman, Frank Poole, Arthur Clarke, Hal Clarke, Space Odyssey, capable knowing, , voice clarke, hal displays, hal bowman, human race, hal capable, narrative voice,
Approximate Word count = 716
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)