The Last Question by Isaac Asimov, 1956
The magic trick:
A story based on intriguing mystery that actually sticks the landing
Happy New Year!
I usually strive to find a good story full of beginnings to feature on the first of the year. If the characters in the story are not explicitly celebrating New Year’s Day, at least there is some kind of thematic fresh start involved.
But I struggled this year. I haven’t been reading such stories, apparently. What to feature on Jan. 1? What to do?
When in doubt, how about some irony; some humor.
How about we start the new year with a story about the end of the world? Perfect!
You can’t say it’s not fitting for 2025. And it is an excellent, excellent story – considered by Asimov to be his best.
Like many short stories – especially those published in popular channels that are actually designed to entertain – “The Last Question” intrigues the reader from the start and builds suspense around its premise. But unlike many such short stories, there is more here than just an intriguing premise. So many times you’ve probably read a story, dazzled by the suspenseful mystery, only to be let down by a crummy ending.
Not so, here. “The Last Question” builds to its ending and then absolutely sticks the landing.
And that’s quite a trick on Asimov’s part.
The selection:
VJ-23X of Lameth stared into the black depths of the three-dimensional, small-scale map of the Galaxy and said, “Are we ridiculous, I wonder in being so concerned about the matter?”
MQ-17J of Nicron shook his head. “I think not. You know the Galaxy will be filled in five years at the present rate of expansion.”
Both seemed in their early twenties, both were tall and perfectly formed.
“Still,” said VJ-23X, “I hesitate to submit a pessimistic report to the Galactic Council.”
“I wouldn’t consider any other kind of report. Stir them up a bit. We’ve got to stir them up.”
VJ-23X sighed. “Space is infinite. A hundred billion Galaxies are there for the taking. More.”
“A hundred billion is not infinite and it’s getting less infinite all the time. Consider! Twenty thousand years ago, mankind first solved the problem of utilizing stellar energy, and a few centuries later, interstellar travel became possible. It took mankind a million years to fill one small world and then only fifteen thousand years to fill the rest of the Galaxy. Now the population doubles every ten years —
VJ-23X interrupted. “We can thank immortality for that.”
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