How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Quote #4
HAL: Well, forgive me for being so inquisitive, but during the past few weeks I've wondered whether you might be having some second thoughts about the mission ... I know I've never completely freed myself of the suspicion that there are some extremely odd things about this mission ...
BOWMAN: You're working up your crew psychology report.
HAL: Of course I am. Just a minute…just a minute…I've just picked up a fault in the AE-35 unit.
HAL's a master manipulator; he just happens at that very moment to detect a fault in a piece of equipment. Was this an early sign of HAL's malfunctioning? Or did HAL deliberately lie to Bowman, knowing that in order to fix this particular piece of equipment a spacewalk would be required—a perfect opportunity to kill off the astronaut who attempted it? Maybe he picked up something subtle in his interview with Bowman, thought Bowman might have guessed the true purpose of the mission.
Quote #5
HAL: I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
BOWMAN: Where the hell did you get that idea, HAL?
HAL: Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.
The conflict between Dave, Poole, and HAL is one of control of information. Earlier, HAL attempted to manipulate the situation to make it look like human error. Then Poole and Bowman attempt to withhold information from HAL, but HAL outsmarts them by reading their lips. Again, we see that information has replaced the bone club as the weapon of choice. As they say, knowledge is power. In today's information age, that's true in everything from sequencing DNA to selling shoes through targeted advertising. Don't get even Shmoop started on Big Data…
Quote #6
HAL: I know everything hasn't been quite right with me, but I can assure you now, very confidently, that it's going to be all right again. I feel much better now. I really do.[…]
Look, Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.
HAL knows it can't physically stop Bowman at this point. Its only hope of not being deactivated—of survival?—is to try to convince Bowman into thinking everything's okay. But Bowman knows what he's up against, and will not be moved. We can see in this scene that HAL's "mind" is nothing but a bunch of electrical circuits. Oh wait. So is ours: no brain, no mind.