I did a review of Isaac Asimov’s short story “The Last Question” some time ago. (If you want, check it out through here!). However, I decided to also finally read his follow-up short story, “The Last Answer.” Let’s get into the review.
This story first appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact in 1980. The story follows a physicist named Murray Templeton, who also happens to be an atheist. After randomly dying of a heart attack, Murray appears in a void-like place and hears a being that he calls the Voice. The Voice explains that he’s not strictly God, but he created the universe and intelligent life. However, the Voice designed intelligent life to think of new ideas and solve problems that the Voice as yet hadn’t thought of or solved. Murray despises the idea of thinking for the Voice for all eternity. At first, he decides to think of a way to truly die, but the Voice points out its ability to bring him back to this state. Murray then decides to look for a way to destroy the Voice.
I started off this review by going back and quickly reading over Asimov’s other short story, “The Last Question.” When I switched to “The Last Answer,” I expected things to be similar. Two sides to the same coin if you will. I think this rings true, just not in the way I initially thought. “The Last Question” deals with the one question that the supercomputer Multivac isn’t able to answer. In the “The Last Answer,” another question is asked: how to destroy the Voice. While the ending remains ambiguous, both stories work together to question the nature of existence itself.
The story also works on a fundamental level, especially as a science fiction story. The beginning section where Murray died of a heart attack was particularly vivid in terms of describing someone being thrust into the afterlife suddenly. It also didn’t fall into the trap of being too deliberately vague as to the Voice’s purpose. Aside from the writing strengths, the story also set up a unique concept and followed through with it in the best way possible. I never lost my place. Instead, I engaged with the story as the story explored the concept it provided to the fullest. In the end, the story set up the possibility for the last answer, and I couldn’t wait for Murray to succeed if I’m being honest.
Reading this made me realize I need to read more sci-fi short stories as well and review those. In the meantime, it’s back to working on another blog post. See you all later this week. Happy reading!
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