The Last Question

NEB Grade XI Optional English Note | Chapter 1 | Lesson 5 | The Last Question | Isaac Asimov

Summary

The Last Question is a sci-fi story in which Asimov gives his prophetic vision of scientific and technological development. Man’s uncontrolled longing for advancement will ultimately lead to the end of the universe, to the primordial period when the cosmos itself is in chaos.


The story begins in 2061 when the new global supercomputer, Multivac is activated. Multivac helps itself. It changes itself and makes itself better. So, Alexander and Bertram, two technicians only looked to take care of it. They give it data and ask it questions. They translate the answers so that normal humans can understand them.


For many years, Multivac has helped humans design spaceships and create the maps for them to fly to the Moon, to Mars, to Venus. They can’t fly beyond Venus, as the Earth doesn’t have enough energy. Humans have used all coal, gas, and uranium found on earth and have faced the problem of energy. Multivac has discovered the way to use energy from the sun, which humans have dreamed of for hundreds of years. The energy from the sun can be kept and used on earth. Humans are more powerful than ever before.


Alexander and Bertram drunk from celebrating, discuss the ultimate heat-death of the universe due to entropy. On a five -dollar bet, Alexander decides to ask the question to Multivac. His question is "How can the net amount of entropy of the universe be massively decreased?" The supercomputer replies with "INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER".


The story skips forward into later time periods of scientific development. In each era, humans make great advancement under the guidance of a super computer. Each super computer descends from the original Multvac. In each period, the question is asked to the supercomputer if there is a way to reverse entropy. But each computer’s response is ‘THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER’.


Man finally joins with AC. The universe comes to an end. AC continues to exist in hyperspace and ponders the question that had first been asked ten trillion years earlier. It spends all data till it finds the answer to the last question. AC learns how to stop entropy. But there is no human to whom it can tell the answer. The answer would solve that problem. AC thinks about how to use the answer. Slowly, it organizes the program. It creates a plan. AC looks over the empty Universe, and says: LET THERE BE LIGHT! And there is light.