The Last Question is a science-fiction short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Multivac series, it was first published in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly. It was later collected in 1959's Nine Tomorrows, 1969's Opus 100, 1973's The Best of Isaac Asimov, 1985's The Edge of Tomorrow, 1986's The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov and Robot Dreams, 1989's The Asimov Chronicles, and 1990's The Complete Stories Volume I.
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This article, The Last Question, contains spoilers. Be forewarned, plot and/or ending details follow.
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Summary[]
By the year 2061, two technicians ask Multivac, the supercomputer that powers human civilization, whether entropy can be reversed. The computer responds that it lacks sufficient data to answer. As millennia pass, humanity continues to pose this same question to ever more advanced computers—from the Microvac guiding interstellar ships to the Galactic AC governing filled galaxies, and finally to the Universal AC connecting a disembodied humanity. Each time, the response remains unchanged.
At the end of time, with the universe cold and dark, the last collective consciousness of humanity merges with the Cosmic AC and asks the question one final time. After the universe has completely died, the Cosmic AC—now existing alone in hyperspace—finally solves the problem. With no one left to receive the answer, it demonstrates the solution by creating a new universe, beginning with the command: "Let there be light."
Trivia[]
The short story has hints that it could also be a part of the Foundation universe.
See Also[]
List of short stories by Isaac Asimov