Dr. Chandra
Encyclopedia
Doctor Sivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai (often abbreviated to Dr. Chandra) is a fictional character
from Arthur C. Clarke's
Space Odyssey
series of novels.
He is mentioned in the novelization of 2001: A Space Odyssey
as a scientist who instructed the computer HAL 9000
in its basic functions (in the movie, it was a "Mr. Langley"). He is a main character in 2010: Odyssey Two
as a member of the joint Russian-American expedition to Jupiter
on board the Soviet spacecraft Alexei Leonov. He is also briefly mentioned by an elderly Heywood Floyd in the novel 2061: Odyssey Three
.
In the movie version of 2010, Dr. Chandra was played by Bob Balaban
and is referred to as Dr. R. Chandra.
, a state of India
. He was an instructor in computer science
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
before becoming a member of the crew of the Alexei Leonov on its mission to Jupiter. His role was to reactivate the HAL 9000 computer so that the Discovery could return to Earth under his guidance. He is the principal designer of the HAL computer, as well as its mentor (it is suggested in 2010 that he was already working on the next generation HAL computer, HAL 10000). Dr. Chandra probably has no family or children; it is remarked several times during the novel of 2010 that he is "alone". HAL's admonition that any error on his part could only be attributed to one thing, "human error", may imply that Dr. Chandra's oversight was responsible for HAL's mischief.
stereotype. As well as being a genius
, he demonstrates an obsession with his work, to the detriment of other areas of his life. He is socially aloof
and quite cold in his dealings with people, often to the point of being uncooperative and rude. This is in contrast with the empathy and understanding he shows to HAL. When HAL malfunctions in the novel 2001 and essentially causes the mission to fail, Dr. Chandra is obviously very upset, regarding HAL as a "lost child" and dreaming of restoring him to life and returning him to Earth. When he reactivates HAL aboard the Discovery, Dr. Chandra starts crying. He is also greatly upset when Discovery and HAL are destroyed at the end of the novel 2010. In the novel 2061, it was revealed that this trauma may have resulted in his death while in hibernation during the Leonovs return to Earth. No medical cause was determined, but it was suggested that he "lost the will to live" (Walter Curnow
remarked that Dr. Chandra "couldn't live without HAL").
Dr. Chandra regarded his creations as sentient
beings that genuinely feel, as well as display emotions, and scorned the suggestion that they are merely programmed to show emotions (this is the subject of hot debate in the society of the Odyssey universe). He also believes that HAL is alive and is a true life form, once referring to HAL as an example of "silicon-based life".
After reactivating HAL, Dr. Chandra angrily learns that the cause of the malfunction were the instructions to keep the Monolith mission secret from the awake crew members which conflicted with HAL's most basic programming of truthfulness and trust. He generally disliked anyone interfering with his work, or with HAL, even forbidding anyone from speaking to him initially. When it becomes apparent that the Discovery could be returned to Earth, Dr. Chandra volunteers to stay alone on board the Discovery to assist HAL in case anything went wrong with the ship during the several years this would take.
Chandra dislikes alcohol
and never drinks it. He does, however, smoke cheroot
cigar
s, which is considered to be his only vice
. When he joins the crew of the Leonov, cigar smoking becomes impossible, but Dr. Chandra still brought a small supply of them on board. In a humorous episode of the novel, he is caught smoking one in the toilet, which caused the smoke alarm to go off. Heywood Floyd notes that Chandra looked like a "guilty schoolboy". Dr. Chandra is very embarrassed by this incident; he generally seems to be avoidant of letting others know of his human weaknesses and is also very secretive of his Indian heritage. However, during a conversation in which the crew discuss where on Earth each of them would most like to be, Chandra unexpectedly joins in, mentioning that his father once took him on a pilgrimage to Benares.
In contrast with the rest of the crew of the Leonov, Dr. Chandra is very confident in HAL's abilities and trusts HAL to follow all orders, even when HAL is required to follow orders that would result in HAL's destruction. After the escape from Jupiter, with HAL's assistance, Dr. Chandra credits his cooperation with his using the principles of ahimsa
in all his dealing with HAL. Ahimsa would appear to be one of Dr. Chandra's life philosophies, taken from his practice of Hinduism
.
in the film 2010. The film version of the novel drops his Indian heritage and changes his institutional affiliation to the University of Chicago
but retains his emotional ties with HAL. Balaban's performance is mostly cold and unemotional, as in the novel, although Chandra's more abrasive character traits are not explored.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from Arthur C. Clarke's
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
Space Odyssey
The Space Odyssey series
The Space Odyssey series is a science fiction series of four novels and two films created from 1968 to 1997, primarily by the writer Arthur C. Clarke...
series of novels.
He is mentioned in the novelization of 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It was developed concurrently with Stanley Kubrick's film version and published after the release of the film...
as a scientist who instructed the computer HAL 9000
HAL 9000
HAL 9000 is the antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction Space Odyssey saga. HAL is an artificial intelligence that interacts with the astronaut crew of the Discovery One spacecraft, usually represented as a red television-camera eye found throughout the ship...
in its basic functions (in the movie, it was a "Mr. Langley"). He is a main character in 2010: Odyssey Two
2010: Odyssey Two
2010: Odyssey Two is a 1982 best-selling science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It is the sequel to the 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, but continues the story of Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation with the same title and not Clarke's original novel. The book is a part of Clarke's...
as a member of the joint Russian-American expedition to Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
on board the Soviet spacecraft Alexei Leonov. He is also briefly mentioned by an elderly Heywood Floyd in the novel 2061: Odyssey Three
2061: Odyssey Three
2061: Odyssey Three is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke that was published in 1987. It is the third book in Clarke's Space Odyssey series...
.
In the movie version of 2010, Dr. Chandra was played by Bob Balaban
Bob Balaban
Robert Elmer "Bob" Balaban is an American actor, author and director.-Personal life:Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television...
and is referred to as Dr. R. Chandra.
Personal life
Chandra was a native of KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, a state of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He was an instructor in computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
before becoming a member of the crew of the Alexei Leonov on its mission to Jupiter. His role was to reactivate the HAL 9000 computer so that the Discovery could return to Earth under his guidance. He is the principal designer of the HAL computer, as well as its mentor (it is suggested in 2010 that he was already working on the next generation HAL computer, HAL 10000). Dr. Chandra probably has no family or children; it is remarked several times during the novel of 2010 that he is "alone". HAL's admonition that any error on his part could only be attributed to one thing, "human error", may imply that Dr. Chandra's oversight was responsible for HAL's mischief.
Personality
Dr. Chandra conforms widely to the mad scientistMad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
stereotype. As well as being a genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
, he demonstrates an obsession with his work, to the detriment of other areas of his life. He is socially aloof
Aloof
Aloof may refer to:* The Aloof, British music band or slang for hop scotch* Fictional race in the sci-fi novel Incandescence by Greg Egan...
and quite cold in his dealings with people, often to the point of being uncooperative and rude. This is in contrast with the empathy and understanding he shows to HAL. When HAL malfunctions in the novel 2001 and essentially causes the mission to fail, Dr. Chandra is obviously very upset, regarding HAL as a "lost child" and dreaming of restoring him to life and returning him to Earth. When he reactivates HAL aboard the Discovery, Dr. Chandra starts crying. He is also greatly upset when Discovery and HAL are destroyed at the end of the novel 2010. In the novel 2061, it was revealed that this trauma may have resulted in his death while in hibernation during the Leonovs return to Earth. No medical cause was determined, but it was suggested that he "lost the will to live" (Walter Curnow
Walter Curnow
Walter Curnow is a fictional book character.He appears in the book and movie versions of 2010: Odyssey Two which is part of the Space Odyssey series. There, he is the American engineer who designed Discovery and was helping to build Discovery II to go back to Jupiter...
remarked that Dr. Chandra "couldn't live without HAL").
Dr. Chandra regarded his creations as sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
beings that genuinely feel, as well as display emotions, and scorned the suggestion that they are merely programmed to show emotions (this is the subject of hot debate in the society of the Odyssey universe). He also believes that HAL is alive and is a true life form, once referring to HAL as an example of "silicon-based life".
After reactivating HAL, Dr. Chandra angrily learns that the cause of the malfunction were the instructions to keep the Monolith mission secret from the awake crew members which conflicted with HAL's most basic programming of truthfulness and trust. He generally disliked anyone interfering with his work, or with HAL, even forbidding anyone from speaking to him initially. When it becomes apparent that the Discovery could be returned to Earth, Dr. Chandra volunteers to stay alone on board the Discovery to assist HAL in case anything went wrong with the ship during the several years this would take.
Chandra dislikes alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
and never drinks it. He does, however, smoke cheroot
Cheroot
The cheroot or stogie is a cylindrical cigar with both ends clipped during manufacture. Since cheroots do not taper, they are inexpensive to roll mechanically, and their low cost makes them particularly popular. Typically, stogies have a length of 3.5 to 6.5 inches, and a ring gauge of 34 to...
cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s, which is considered to be his only vice
Vice
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption...
. When he joins the crew of the Leonov, cigar smoking becomes impossible, but Dr. Chandra still brought a small supply of them on board. In a humorous episode of the novel, he is caught smoking one in the toilet, which caused the smoke alarm to go off. Heywood Floyd notes that Chandra looked like a "guilty schoolboy". Dr. Chandra is very embarrassed by this incident; he generally seems to be avoidant of letting others know of his human weaknesses and is also very secretive of his Indian heritage. However, during a conversation in which the crew discuss where on Earth each of them would most like to be, Chandra unexpectedly joins in, mentioning that his father once took him on a pilgrimage to Benares.
In contrast with the rest of the crew of the Leonov, Dr. Chandra is very confident in HAL's abilities and trusts HAL to follow all orders, even when HAL is required to follow orders that would result in HAL's destruction. After the escape from Jupiter, with HAL's assistance, Dr. Chandra credits his cooperation with his using the principles of ahimsa
Ahimsa
Ahimsa is a term meaning to do no harm . The word is derived from the Sanskrit root hims – to strike; himsa is injury or harm, a-himsa is the opposite of this, i.e. non harming or nonviolence. It is an important tenet of the Indian religions...
in all his dealing with HAL. Ahimsa would appear to be one of Dr. Chandra's life philosophies, taken from his practice of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
.
Differences between the novel and the film
Dr. Chandra is played by Bob BalabanBob Balaban
Robert Elmer "Bob" Balaban is an American actor, author and director.-Personal life:Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television...
in the film 2010. The film version of the novel drops his Indian heritage and changes his institutional affiliation to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
but retains his emotional ties with HAL. Balaban's performance is mostly cold and unemotional, as in the novel, although Chandra's more abrasive character traits are not explored.