2001: A Space Odyssey

It is Poole’s birthday, and his family are singing to him through a screen on the Control Deck—the transmission was made an hour previously. Poole reflects on the psychological and emotional impact of delayed communication for someone used to instant communication. Hal interrupts with news that they “have a problem” (113). His AE 35 unit is faulty and affecting communication with Earth. The unit needs to be replaced, which will require someone to leave the ship because the AE 35 is on the mounting of the antenna that must point toward Earth. Poole is the designated crewmember for this type of work and is keen to do it. Bowman decides to check with Mission Control first—he composes a message in jargon that is called “Technish” (115). They record a press statement outlining the problem in detail, intended to be “reassuring” for those on Earth.

Poole prepares to undertake the repair, getting into a pod called Betty. All the pods have female names. Hal assists Poole; Bowman watches but does not intend to intervene unless something goes wrong. Poole examines an impact crater on the ship and notes that while it looks like it was made by an explosion inside the ship, “common-sense mechanics seldom appl[y]” in space (120).