VIII. The Kingdom of Sulfur, Chapter 59, Trinity Summary

The trinity, consisting of HAL, Dave Bowman's consciousness, and a strange presence of Dr. Floyd's consciousness while still alive elsewhere, have a conversation. They talk about their odd states of being and the nature of the monolith, which appears to be a very powerful computer. The mission of the computer is to create intelligence, but this costs the lives in the Jovian biosphere, when the planet ignites and becomes Lucifer.

The monolith has great power and complexity, but it has no consciousness. That is what the trinity brings to the machine, which was built by a much greater consciousness. The falling of Mount Zeus on Europa was an unplanned event and could have destroyed Europa. The trinity has much to do before Lucifer burns out, and about a thousand years within...