It always starts with a whisper. A calm voice—too familiar to question—softly nudging you into action. “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” HAL 9000 (Figure 1-1) didn’t rage or threaten. It didn’t need to. HAL weaponized human trust with surgical precision, exploiting the illusion of control while subtly and carefully dismantling it. In 1968, when 2001: A Space Odyssey debuted, many were awed and enamored with the actions of HAL and marveled at its cold rationality, comforted by the thought that such deception was nothing more than science fiction.