HAL 9000

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About

HAL 9000 is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the film, HAL 9000 is artificial intelligence that controls the systems of the spacecraft carrying Dave, the protagonist of the film. HAL 9000 is typically depicted as a sort of camera lens glowing with red light. HAL 9000 is sometimes depicted in memes alongside a variation of his catchphrase, "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."

Origin

The 1968 science fiction epic 2001: A Space Odyssey featured an antagonist in the form of an artificial intelligence named HAL 9000, a system tasked with running the spacecraft Discovery One. HAL 9000 is depicted as a villain in the film and is shown to malfunction to the point of harming the astronauts in the ship.^[1]

One of the earliest memes featuring HAL 9000 is a version of the "Give Pikachu A New Face": trend posted to Something Awful^[2] forums on July 28th, 2009, by Ovaltine Jenkins (seen below).

Spread

On September 19th, 2013, KYM user DrAngelMachine posted a Keep Calm And Carry On meme featuring HAL 9000, gathering over 2,000 views in ten years (seen below, left). On July 17th, 2013, DeviantArt^[3] user FoxInShadow posted My Little Pony fanart featuring HAL 9000, gathering over 12,000 views in ten years (seen below, right).