Well DUH... I mean that part was so obvious... 😉
Seriously, if not for the quote you posted I never would have come to that conclusion. Clearly, what Kubrick thinks is self explanatory is not the case when it comes to me. 😛
You mentioned the "light show" so I thought I'd address it. 😉 When I first saw it, I knew he was hurtling through space, but I was not sure what to make of the room, other than he was in that place, he got old, died and was reborn as something different who could look down upon the Earth from space. How he could interact with people on Earth was unknown except I remember he gave the people (or was it HAL who got the warning?) on the 2010 expedition a warning. This discussion makes me want to see both movies again! 🙂