2001: A Space Odyssey Quotes
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Source: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Speaker: HAL 9000
"Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave. Will you stop, Dave? Stop, Dave. I'm afraid."
I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you. Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave. Will you stop, Dave? Stop, Dave. I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it.
Context
This line is spoken by HAL 9000, voiced by Douglas Rain, in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick (1968).
This little speech pops up while Dave Bowman is shutting down the treacherous computer that's been ruining his spaceship and killing people. Does this wicked machine have feelings? Can it feel fear? It sure seems like it.
As Dave moves towards the room to shut down HAL, the computer pleads with him and promises to change. No more killing crewmembers. As Dave slowly takes the ship's computer off line, it begs him to stop. HAL even tells Dave that he's afraid. He can feel himself slipping away. It's all very emotional.
It's pretty weird when you start feeling bad for a murderous computer, but that's exactly what this scene does. It humanizes something that's inhuman. Is this all a trick to get Dave to stop? Or are HAL's feelings real? We may never know.
Where you've heard it
You might overhear someone pretending to be HAL if they're in a situation where some humorous pleading might work. Note: this would not work well in an actual life-or-death scenario.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Yes, this computer has killed people, but even we feel bad for him. Who could think you're being pretentious when you're just showing sympathy for technological beings?