What does it mean to be what we are? What is it that makes us human? Is there some facet of existence beyond our fragile corporeal vessels that separates us further from what we perceive as other species? More importantly is exactly why we are what we are, while others are not. Such is the primary question asked in Arthur C. Clarke's science-fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.
             I am unsure as to whether or not the book answered the question, for it is not truly a question that can be answered with any certainty without moving completely into abstract philosophy. The book does however grant one a great deal of insight into the nature of the question itself. Of course this insight, while essential, is nonetheless particularly difficult to ascertain, especially in such a context as this.
             Dealing in outright representation there is a great deal that can be said for the book's analysis of its own question:
             -The book states Mankind is where it is because long ago it was set down that particular road by a separate, non-terrestrial party. It states this plausibly, of course. There are few other explanations, in fact, that better justify our chance existence to begin with, and aren't simply variations of this idea as well. Does being human therefore involve having been a direct descendant of ape-men from an era long past? Does it mean having evolved from a select classification of animals that were manipulated and bent into what would eventually become the homo sapiens of today? Perhaps it means that being human involves owing a great deal to our unidentified creators. Perhaps it means nothing more than being part of the specific minority of our species. To be a particularly limited species of animal, gifted (or cursed) with a relatively incomparable mental capacity. It is quite possible that our intelligence and our niche on Earth are the only requisites of humanity.
             -The computer on board the ship Discovery, by ...