Siegfried wrote: Kubrick left off the lines in the book that tied the whole thing together... "he would think of something." That line was at the end of the ape sequence and at the end of the novel with the baby God. It ties the concept of a new, higher evolved being at the end of the learning process. The newer ape-man would think... of something to do with his new power; the baby God would think... of something to do about the missiles. (I forget whether they were being fired at him or from nation to nation.) These steps were quantum leaps in evolution. If there ever was a movie where you had to read the book to enjoy the movie, this was it. The movie was vague indded. I was 14 when 2001 was released. Sure, I had some questions, but I "got" most of it. I'm not pretending to be smarter than everyone else, but when I read the book, at least 20 years later, it didn't provide much more insight. I think you just had to pay attention and "think outside the box" to have understood and enjoyed the movie. However, even if the more esoteric evolution/god-baby part of the plot didn't make sense, the rest of the story and special effects were so compelling that I could have enjoyed the movie for those reasons, alone. Kim Hyatt Architect 1849 East 1300 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84108 Tel: 801.581.0561 Mobile: 801.631.5228 kimharch@msn.com<mailto:kimharch@msn.com> serius est quam cogitas