something in his gaze beyond the grasp of any ape. in those dark, deep-set eyes is a dawning awareness-the first intima- tions of an intelligence which would not fulfill itself for another two million years.
occasional growl of the lion to know what is happening. down there in the darkness, old one-eye and his family are dying, and the thought that he might help in some way never crosses moonwatcher's mind. the harsh logic of survival rules out such fancies. every cave is silent, lest it attract disaster.
down, and advancing with obvious reluctance. the further they move from their own side, the more uncertain and unhappy they become. only big-tooth still retains any of his original drive, and he is rapidly being seperated from his followers.
he chooses this moment to grab the hair on big-tooth's scalp, and bang his head on the ground. the resulting crack is so satisfactory, and produces such an immediate weakening in big - tooth's resistance, that he quickly repeats it.
but greater and later philosophers than moonwatcher would be prepared to overlook equally striking exceptions to their laws.
rotating on their axes as they do; and the hominids watch, wide- eyed, mesmerized captives of the crystal cube.
a small wart-hog ambles past the group of browsing humanoids without giving them more than a glance, for they had never been the slightest danger to its species.
awakening from a dream, realise where they are, and scuttle back to their caves.
somehow the others had survived, and had stubbornly refused to die of starvation.
onrushing boulder. he has combined the errors of over- confidence and bad luck.
led by one-ear, the others half-heartly resume the battle- chant. but they are suddenly confrunted with a vision that cuts the sound from their throats, and strikes terror into their hearts.
unsurely in front of his band.
floyd mr. halvorsen has made known to me some of the conflicting views held by many of you regarding the need for complete security in this matter, and more specifically your strong opposition to the cover story created to give the impression there is an epidemic at the base. i understand that beyond it being a matter of principle, many of you are troubled by the concern and anxiety this story of an epidemic might cause your relatives and friends on earth.
mission control but it could also be any number of reasons.
bowman we think the additional risk caused by the ship-to-earth time lag is preferable to having an unreliable on-board computer.
wall, but manages
simonson you may have forgotten it, but we've been running through all the monitor tapes. do you remember this?
simonson from earth he was forced to lie.
simonson at this point, he, presumably, took whatever actions he thought appropriate to protect himself from what must have seemed to him to be his human tormentors.
mission control had been revived. the briefing is by doctor heywood floyd. here it is.
floyd radiation in the radio spectrum which seems to have triggered by the lunar sunrise.
floyd ments, and it was decided that the only wise and precautionary course to follow was to assume that the intentions of this alien world are potentially dangerous to us, until we have evidence to the contrary.
narrator those who had begun the expri- ment so long ago had not been men.
narrator they swept past the frozen outer planets, paused briefly above the deserts of dying mars and presently looked down on earth.
narrator on earth, the glaciers came and went, while above them, the changeless moon still carried its secret.
narrator but despite their god-like powers, they still watched over the experiments their ancestors had started so many generations ago.
narrator even if the ship had passed it by, it would not have known the slightest trace of disappointment.
narrator then, it dropped into darkness.