The Last Answer
by Isaac Asimov
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“Pardon me if I sound like a jackass. Are you God?”
That Isaac, what a hoot!
In The Last Answer we sympathize with a man, recently deceased, who has a conversation with ...well....God but God who doesn't call itself God, certainly not as religion thinks of it. It has given this man eternity. Why? Basically to entertain itself. (It becomes clear that eternity would be really boring.)
The man doesn't like the idea of eternity, especially given by an entity that doesn't really seem to be enjoying eternity all that much itself except by giving eternity to various entities in the universe, and then watching what they do.
What does our man, the recently deceased, do? He concocts a way to spend eternity, of course.
Because what else could you show more do?
P.S. You might want to read Asimov's The Last Question first, which I also loved. show less
That Isaac, what a hoot!
In The Last Answer we sympathize with a man, recently deceased, who has a conversation with ...well....God but God who doesn't call itself God, certainly not as religion thinks of it. It has given this man eternity. Why? Basically to entertain itself. (It becomes clear that eternity would be really boring.)
The man doesn't like the idea of eternity, especially given by an entity that doesn't really seem to be enjoying eternity all that much itself except by giving eternity to various entities in the universe, and then watching what they do.
What does our man, the recently deceased, do? He concocts a way to spend eternity, of course.
Because what else could you show more do?
P.S. You might want to read Asimov's The Last Question first, which I also loved. show less
I love short stories. This one is a darker than some of Asimov's other stuff, but still endearing, exciting and rouses something in me that few books/authors can reach.
Beautiful! Typical Asimov package with cerebral ideas wrapped up as fiction in lucid prose.
This could be much more interesting story if [b:The Last Question|4808763|The Last Question|Isaac Asimov|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1274107046s/4808763.jpg|4873881] have not existed. So to anybody who have not read this and that, I highly recommend first to read the answer and only then the question.
The ultimate goal
a special version of hell
thinking forever.
a special version of hell
thinking forever.
Another quick must-read.
Read also, [b:The Last Question|4808763|The Last Question|Isaac Asimov|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1274107046s/4808763.jpg|4873881]
#RantToSelf - Why am I not reading more Asimov !?!
Read also, [b:The Last Question|4808763|The Last Question|Isaac Asimov|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1274107046s/4808763.jpg|4873881]
#RantToSelf - Why am I not reading more Asimov !?!
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Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, on January 2, 1920. His family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they owned and operated a candy store. Asimov became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of eight. As a youngster he discovered his talent for writing, producing his first original fiction at show more the age of eleven. He went on to become one of the world's most prolific writers, publishing nearly 500 books in his lifetime. Asimov was not only a writer; he also was a biochemist and an educator. He studied chemistry at Columbia University, earning a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. In 1951, Asimov accepted a position as an instructor of biochemistry at Boston University's School of Medicine even though he had no practical experience in the field. His exceptional intelligence enabled him to master new systems rapidly, and he soon became a successful and distinguished professor at Columbia and even co-authored a biochemistry textbook within a few years. Asimov won numerous awards and honors for his books and stories, and he is considered to be a leading writer of the Golden Age of science fiction. While he did not invent science fiction, he helped to legitimize it by adding the narrative structure that had been missing from the traditional science fiction books of the period. He also introduced several innovative concepts, including the thematic concern for technological progress and its impact on humanity. Asimov is probably best known for his Foundation series, which includes Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. In 1966, this trilogy won the Hugo award for best all-time science fiction series. In 1983, Asimov wrote an additional Foundation novel, Foundation's Edge, which won the Hugo for best novel of that year. Asimov also wrote a series of robot books that included I, Robot, and eventually he tied the two series together. He won three additional Hugos, including one awarded posthumously for the best non-fiction book of 1995, I. Asimov. "Nightfall" was chosen the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1979, Asimov wrote his autobiography, In Memory Yet Green. He continued writing until just a few years before his death from heart and kidney failure on April 6, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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