Millions of sunrises ago, before the invention of the telephone, before the fall of the Roman Empire, long before the first civilization emerged, humans were able to survive because they had the instinct to hunt, like all other animals that could eat meat. Later on, humans would develop tools such as the lever and the wheel that would make their lives easier. The new technology would then be taught to their offspring. This has been the widely accepted view on the ascent of Man. Thousand of centuries later, it can be said that the two-legged creature is the highest form of life in the universe. After all, according to the theory of evolution, humans, a descendent of apes, now have space stations and solar powered cars. What other form of life could have achieved such things? In his book, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke, expresses a different view. He believes that Man is not the epitome of life in the universe – that a higher being helped Man evolve and will continue to help him in times of need.
             Man started out as a starving species that lacked memory and hunting skills. The arrival of a crystal monolith changed everything. Moon-Watcher was the first to have contact with the slab.
             Moon-Watcher came face to face with the New Rock when he led the tribe down to the river in the first light of morning. He had almost forgotten the terrors of the night, because nothing had happened after that initial noise, so he did not even associate this strange thing with danger or with fear. There was, after all, nothing in the least alarming about it.
             It was a rectangular slab, three times his height but narrow enough to span with his arms, and it was made of some completely transparent material; indeed, it was not easy to see except when the rising sun glinted on its edges. (Clarke 10)
             Moon-Watcher reacted the most to the effects of the crystal. While other man-apes wandered off, Moon-Watcher stayed to ob
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