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The 4th and last of the 2001 series Dr.Heywood Floyd is not in this novel he is long gone my friends...Even the eternal good doctor, can't live 1,000 years. But Frank Poole that's a horse of a different color, Frank's body is floating, floating, being pushed out into the limitless universe gently moving up and down, twisting, tumbling, passing numerous distant planets, asteroids, rocks even an occasional comet unseen in the darkness a calm peaceful sleep leaving the troubled Solar System behind... what dreams he must have had.However this heaven ends when Captain Dimitri Chandler (what a name) of the space tug Goliath finds and resuscitates ancient Frank.The first thing they ask the undead Poole is, who was Batman and why did he wear a mask? I WISHED in truth, Frank is still sleeping , Chandler beyond the orbit of Neptune had been nudging ice found in abundance there, sending them to crash on the surfaces of waterless Venus and Mercury. Someday forming seas and developing breathable atmospheres. For future colonist from Earth no doubt.Too bad Frank didn't reach the dwarf planet Pluto, dwarf ? With him having five kids I mean moons does that sound like a dwarf? More moons rumored to be around the plucky sphere.
The Romeo of the Cosmos little, big, Pluto... But I digress after waking up the astronaut discovers he's living in a space elevator. One of four on Earth and towering above it a dizzy 22,000 miles high, looking from above seeing the planet changed immensely as he is astonished.

Down at Africa an ocean in the middle of the Sahara Desert, that cannot be real. Even Poole gets a little dizzy, imagine. An embarrassing situation for the ex crewman of the Discovery no doubt. Delectable gardens, amazing amusement parks, very tall trees and even pretty small rivers , with an exotic waterfall and lakes. And did I mention real Dinosaurs also, Disneyland in the sky more like Jurassic Park without the terror. Sounds like a great elevator to live in ... He will not be permitted or be able because of gravity to visit his home a shame. Besides after so many years everything he knew is gone, yet strangely except Poole's high school which still survives. The future has many strange things, robot slaves for people to command for any trivial tasks to do. Mind control helmets and braincaps, planted inside everyone's shaved skulls, ugh doesn't sound too appetizing. For instant communications where are the cell phones?.the internet this shows again nobody can predict the future. There is little crime here, Big Brother was a wimp compared to the 31st century but the people have freedom all are equal, right? After a few months Frank gets a little stir crazy who wouldn't be. He gladly accepts Captain Chandler's offer to take a little trip with him, Dave Bowman has been spotted, Poole's old captain. Great Jupiter or what's left of it, here he comes.....