The movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," Arthur C. Clarke's epoch-making science fiction masterpiece, was first published in 1968. Its sequel "2010: Odyssey Two" came out in 1982. To put "2010" more precisely in its place, it was actually the first sequel among three. The ultimate resolution, if such it may be called, takes place in "3001: The Final Odyssey."
3001 is still somewhat in the future. Unless human beings develop the kind of life-prolonging technology science fiction authors like to write about, neither you nor I will be around at that point to observe how close Clarke's imagery came to the real thing.
2010, however, has arrived. To honor its advent, I decided to reread "Odyssey Two." While it is a manifestly less mesmerizing piece compared to its awesome pre decessor, one has to give it credit for futuristic perspicacity.