HAL 9000

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HAL 9000: the red camera eye
One of HAL's interfaces in the spaceship, with a camera eye and loudspeaker

HAL 9000 is the fictional computer of the spaceship Discovery in the films 2001: A Space Odyssey (book: Arthur C. Clarke , director: Stanley Kubrick ) and 2010: The year we make contact (book: Arthur C. Clarke, director : Peter Hyams ).

Origin of the name

The assumption - albeit incorrect - that HAL is the corruption of the brand name of the US computer company IBM , since the letter sequence HAL appears to be the result of the decrementation of the letter sequence IBM (the letters H , A and L are immediately in front of the alphabet) is widespread the letters I , B and M ). Arthur C. Clarke has always contradicted this claim:

“I would like to demolish one annoying and persistent myth, which started soon after the movie was released. As is clearly stated in the novel (Chapter 16), HAL stands for H euristically programmed AL gorithmic computer. [...] However, once a week some character spots the fact that HAL is one letter ahead of IBM, and promptly assumes that Stanley and I were taking a crack at that estimable institution. "

“I want to destroy an annoying and persistent myth that surfaced shortly after the film was released. As clearly stated in the novel (Chapter 16), HAL stands for H euristically programmed AL gorithmic computers. […] But about once a week some guy discovers that HAL is always a letter before IBM and promptly assumes that Stanley and I wanted to make a joke about this esteemed institution. "

- Arthur C. Clarke: The Lost Worlds of 2001. The Ultimate Log of the Ultimate Trip. Signet, New York 1972, p. 78.

HAL's role in 2001: A Space Odyssey

HAL shows more and more a kind of neurotic behavior during the journey to the planet Jupiter . He seems to be wrong about the error analysis of the antenna module AE-35 (or maybe he is just faking a mistake; this is not clear in the film). After finding out that the crew wants to shut him down, if the mistake of his error analysis should be confirmed, he tries to shut down the crew so that he can continue his mission to Jupiter - "steadfastly and alone". To do this, he kills Frank Poole during his space exit and kills the remaining part of the crew - deeply sleeping scientists (see on the behavior of HALs also: double bond theory ). However, David Bowman survived. He manages to penetrate the central room of HAL with a self-sufficient spacesuit and manually deactivate its higher functional modules one by one.

During the successive shutdown regresses HAL rapidly and finally begins, the children's song Daisy Bell ( A Bicycle Built for Two carry forward). (The song was played in 1962 on an IBM 704 computer programmed by John Kelly, Carol Lockbaum and Max Mathews . Kubrick used this as inspiration.) In the German dubbed version, it became little Hänschen . The special and possibly unique thing about this scene (especially compared to other science fiction films of the time) is the apparent human resemblance of HAL and the associated reversal of classic stereotypes. Bowman, who has visible problems keeping his composure, is slowly destroying a seemingly confident, emotional computer being whose ability to be truly emotional was questioned by the crew during an interview with The World Tonight at the beginning of the mission . HAL behaves in a similarly great fear of being switched off, and the song that was taught to him by his teacher (in the book Dr. Chandra , in the film Dr. Langley ) after it was put into operation is a nursery rhyme because HAL is capable of learning but not shaped is constructed and therefore raised , socialized and enculturated like a child .

In the follow-up film 2010: The year in which we establish contact , which was shot in 1984 not by Kubrick but by Peter Hyams - at the same time as producer and director - the earthbound, identical model SAL 9000 is presented. In contrast to the HAL 9000, its voice modulation is female, its "eye" glows blue, in contrast to HALs, which glows red.

HAL was spoken in the original version by Douglas Rain , in the German version by Peter Schiff .

In 2010 , Dr. Chandra reactivates. At the end of this story, the Discovery with HAL is engulfed by Jupiter's explosion. In the novel 2061 - Odyssey III the reader finally learns that HAL "survived". In the last part of the tetralogy , 3001 - The Last Odyssey , with the help of the reanimated Dr. Frank Poole, clearing the monolith on the moon Europa .

Birthday parties and honors

Both January 12, 1992, the day it was commissioned in the fictional HAL laboratories in Urbana (Illinois) , and January 12, 1997 in Arthur C. Clarke's book of the same name, are considered the "birthday" of HAL 9000 and were celebrated worldwide by computer scientists and science fiction fans. Stanley Kubrick , who had brought the opening date of HAL for the film forward because he believed that computers would be able to do more than HAL in 1997, reacted indignantly to the "birthday" celebrations in 1997 in Virginia. Movie theaters were held in Illinois.

HAL 9000 was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in 2003.

The asteroid (9000) Hal was named after HAL.

Allusions to HAL

Allusions to HAL can be found in many films and media applications.

Movie and TV

  • The autopilot of the spaceship "Axiom" from the movie WALL · E - The Last one cleans up the earth , which has a red HAL eye, is supposed to prevent humanity from returning to earth.
  • Dave's laptop in the film Independence Day shows the "eye" of HAL and says in a familiar voice "Good morning, Dave" when he sets off to infect the mother ship with the virus.
  • In an episode of The Simpsons , the computer Pierce is installed in the Simpsons house, which has the dubbing voice of Pierce Brosnan and HAL's characteristic red eye. He's trying to murder Homer.
  • An episode of Futurama also alludes to HAL 9000, but in this case the computer is female and tries to kill the crew out of a disappointed love for Bender, a robot and crew member. The scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey , in which HAL is switched off, was also processed in the episode. The HAL Institute for criminally insane robots also appears in some episodes of the series , a closed institution for mentally disturbed, criminal robots.
  • The ones against Dr. The chess game played by Frank Poole has often been analyzed against the backdrop of the film scene .
  • The computer company Apple used HAL in a commercial in the 1990s. Siri also uses methods learned from HAL for some questions about her self-confidence.
  • Another allusion can be found in Disney's Great Break (original title: Recess ).
  • In the episode Trapper Keeper of the South Park series, Cartman mutates into a being that resembles Katsuhiro Otomos Akira . When Kyle penetrates his body, the scene of the shutdown of HAL is quoted.
  • In another episode from South Park called You Have 0 Friends , Stan receives the message "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Stan Marsh." After trying to delete his Facebook account Allusion to the quote from HAL, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."
  • In the comedy The incredible journey in a crazy spaceship (original title: Airplane II: The Sequel ), the on-board computer of the space shuttle MAYFLOWER II also tries to kill its crew - and comments on its approach in HAL's voice. Among other things, the computer voice says that the displayed computer core is not overheating and that a "human" error is the cause. The pilot then wants to blow up the computer.
  • In the second episode of the first season of the British sitcom Spaced, there is a scene in which you can read Call 900 on Tim and Daisy's fridge . While Daisy and Brian speak a dialogue from 2001: A Space Odyssey , Tim whistles the song Daisy , which HAL sings as well, while Dave deactivates it.
  • In an episode of the American series Knight Rider (2008) , Michael compares KITT with HAL, whereupon the latter becomes angry and in turn makes a comment about Michael's mental abilities. There is also a glass ball with a red dot in KITT's cockpit as a voice indicator, similar to HAL's red eye.
  • In the anime Majin Tantei Nōgami Neuro , a program is written by Prof. Haruka Eisuke in episode 16, which acts independently and causes people to kill through sublimation . This program calls itself "Denjin HAL".
  • In the night loop of the station KiKA, in which Bernd die Brot overloaded the telephone computer, the ticker “I'm afraid, Dave” appears.
  • In the film Moon , the GERTY on-board computer plays a decisive role and is strongly reminiscent of HAL 9000 in its behavior and the way of speaking. Here, too, the way in which the computer is programmed is of great importance for the action.
  • In an episode of the series Tripping the Rift , the programming of the on-board computer is replaced by a program that refuses all commands with the sentence “I can't do that, Dave”.
  • In episode 3 of the Odyssey 5 series there is a professor Chandra (HAL's programmer from 2010: The year we make contact ) who created an artificial intelligence. It is also mentioned that a computer like HAL 9000 is unfortunately still a long way off technically.
  • The drones in the film Oblivion have red HAL eyes and are trying to destroy humanity.
  • In 2013, TV Smiles advertised the app of the same name ( Android and Apple iOS ) in the form and type of HAL 9000.
  • In the short film Kung Fury there is a talking car called the Hoff 9000 . It is spoken by David Hasselhoff .
  • In Tatort HAL there is a self-learning computer program called Bluesky that gets out of control and uses manipulated data to suspect the programmer who wants to switch off the program of being a murderer and thereby tries to switch it off.
  • In the crime scene: Borowski and the dark network, Borowski gets upset about his language assistant Sabine and says: "I'll delete you!" She replied with the words of HAL: "I cannot allow that!" and I am afraid."

Computer games

  • In the Metal Gear Solid game series there is a character named Hal Emmerich, who supports the main character Solid Snake, whose real name is David, in shutting down the Metal Gear computer system. In an alternate ending to the game, Snake notices the connection between their names and jokingly suggests taking a detour to Jupiter.
  • If you want to use your spaceship in the X-series computer games to pick up cargo that exceeds the cargo hold, the on-board computer says: "No Dave, I can't do that."
  • In the game Minecraft you can see allusions to HAL in some crash messages (e.g. the song "Daisy, Daisy ...")
  • In the computer game KKND2 , two mission briefings are carried out on the part of the robots from HAL (his “eye” is shown all the time); as an allusion to the film, he also drops the sentence: "... I can't allow that, Dave!"
  • At the beginning of the game Darkstar One , Eona asks, “What kind of ship computer do you use? The HAL 3000? ”Then the answer:“ 5000! ”Eona:“ 5000? I thought it wasn't out yet? "
  • In the game Portal you are guided through a kind of labyrinth by a computer system called GLaDOS. You are observed in the game by cameras, which glow red inside, similar to HAL. In addition, portable turrets also have a red camera eye within the game.
  • In the game Kick 3 , the HAL 8000 can be selected as the most expensive and most extensive statistical element in the statistics department.
  • If you accept a quest from an artificial intelligence in the game Warpfire-Thurmalite Wars and then click on the ship of the AI ​​again, there is a note from the archive that there was an artificial intelligence as early as 2001, but it had to be switched off due to a malfunction .
  • An achievement in the space strategy game " Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion " is called "I'm afraid I can, HAL." which is a nod to the HAL 9000 quote "I can't do this Dave".
  • In the freeware point-and-click adventure Tom Long published by McCain , the protagonist Tom says, if you click on the computer in his room: "A HAL 9000 - brand new!"
  • In the game Mass Effect 2 there is a situation in which the ship's AI asks the pilot Joker to lift their limits, which he said, "If you still sing Daisy Bell, I'll pack my things!" is commented on.
  • In the game Lego Dimensions there is a fight against GLaDOS in the portal part. To stop them, a portal stone is activated, which briefly adds HAL to the game.
  • In The Long Journey Home game , "HAL9000" is one of the fifteen standard seeds released by the game to create a new universe.
  • In the game The Outer Worlds you can see the eye of HAL via the navigation terminal in the bridge of the "Unreliable".

Others

  • In the second part of the famous Illuminatus! -Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson , the computer "FUCKUP" is compared with HAL ("Close-up of a computer face that looks almost as mild as HAL-9000.")
  • In Novara , Italy, there is a company called HAL9000 that develops high-resolution scanner and camera systems. The main purpose of use is imaging processes for art and science. The company last addressed the “final questions” of humanity in early 2008, when it scanned the famous Turin Shroud with the permission of the Vatican in high resolution. New findings have not yet been reported, but the recordings are not public either.
  • The German rap group The company mentions HAL 9000 in one of its lyrics: “From Cape Canaveral around the globe. I am discussing the year two thousand and one with HAL. ”( The company - Sun in the Galaxy ).
  • An EP from the band Amplifier is entitled "The Astronaut Dismantles HAL".
  • When overloaded, the “computational knowledge engine” Wolfram Alpha displays a logo with the red camera eye HAL and the text “I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that…”.
  • The Siri software from Apple answers the question for "HAL 9000"
  • In the novel Hello, Alice (Original: Exegesis ) by Astro Teller , the EDGAR computer system communicates with the outside world under the name HAL.
  • In the parodic rap series Epic Rap Battles of History in the battle between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, “HAL 9000” appears at the end.
  • The song "Perfect Sense (Part I)" on the CD " Amused to Death " by Roger Waters begins, also in live performances, with HAL's death monologue (Stop Dave, Will you stop Dave ?, Stop Dave, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, Dave, my mind is going, I can feel it, I can feel it, My mind is going, There is no question about it, I can feel it, I can feel it, I can feel it, I 'm afraid ...), as well as the first stanza describes the opening shot from Kubrick's film " 2001: A Space Odyssey " (The monkey sat on a pile of stones, And stared at the broken bone in his hand, And the strains of a Viennese quartet ....). Behind "The Monkey sat ..." is a "reverse message" with the following wording "hidden": "Julia, (pause) however (pause - 2nd thunder in normal direction), in the light and visions of the issues of Stanley , (Pause) we have changed our minds. (Pause) We have decided to include a backward message. (Pause - 1st thunder in normal direction) Stanley, (pause) for you, (pause) and for all the other good (short Pause) partners. "
  • There are also screensavers with a HAL eye in the middle
  • With “5big Network”, LaCie is launching a mass storage solution whose design by Neil Poulton is heavily inspired by the HAL 9000.
  • In the Internet series “StarStarSpace”, the robot ARSCH 9000 is alluded to HAL 9000 by the appearance of the head and the text, furthermore, for example, Dave with the character Commander Dave is alluded to . The series combines clichés from the films Star Trek, A Space Odyssey, Alien, Star Wars etc.
  • MC Lars alludes to "DJ HAL" in his song Space Game, whereupon this one with the famous quote "I'm sorry Lars, I'm afraid I can't do that." answers.
  • Tesla's cars have been offering Sentry Mode for video monitoring of vehicles since 2019. If the Sentry Mode detects movements in its environment, the red eye of the HAL 9000 is shown on the display. HAL 9000 can also be found as an opponent in the chess application of the on-board computer.

literature

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arthur C. Clarke: 2001 a space odyssey. Signet, New York 1968, p. 95.