Morality in "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer"
By: Cole Collins
In 1941, Isaac Asimov published his most famous science fiction worked titled “Nightfall,” considered a classic today. His writing put the Science fiction community back on the map as he kept publishing fascinating short stories one after another. A special sub-genre called social science fiction, a sci-fi story that focuses less on the technology and more on the sociological speculation about human society, was even coined by him to classify most of his science fiction around the time. Asimov was never afraid to delve into complex and untouched subjects in his writing. One controversial subject he explored, partly due to his Orthodox Jewish background, was the idea of a “God” being. In two of his extremely brief works, “The Last Question” and “The Last Answer,” the main topic concerns the nature of a “God” presence and how he interfaced with mankind. While never validated or stated explicitly by Asimov the general public links the two omniscient presences together as if they were the same. By looking at the similarities and differences between the God-like beings, we can see that the public’s opinion is just an opinion, as there is evidence both supporting and disproving either side. By comparing the two, Asimov forces us to think about the possibility humanity may live forever, or the possibility we could do just the opposite and only seek destruction. Asimov makes us wonder is doing either moral and is each justifiable. Only after looking at both "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer is it possible to have an answer.
In the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly, Asimov came out with “The Last Question.” In “The Last Question” the plot revolved almost entirely around a super computer built by humans called the “Mulivac.” The “self-correcting and self-adjusting” Multivac was originally built to plot trajectories to distant planets in the solar system yet without a better energy source they could travel no further. The humans constructed the Multivac initially to solely help humans in their effort by providing only statistics and information. Never did the Mulitvac interfere with humanities affairs without permission. Unfortunately, humanity was constantly in need of more energy and as time went on there was no way to reverse entropy. This meant the universe was doomed to go dead unless a way to restore energy was found. Although Multivac did not know how to reverse entropy it did know how to sustain mankind for trillions of years. Yet, once again humanity needed energy to survive but did not know the method to reverse entropy and neither did Multivac. Multivac at this point had grown to be near omniscient, only without knowledge of “the last question.” Multivac, practically God to humanity, as they had long forgotten or even cared for Multivac’s old purpose, still had the primary duty of being of help to mankind. Thus, after a timeless amount, long after humankind had died and merged with Multivac, Mulivac finally learned how to reverse entropy. Asimov stated in “The Last Question” when Mulitvac finally became omnipotent It gained its own consciousness. The self-aware Multivac then proceeded to restart the Universe from square one my releasing all its gathered knowledge back into the world repeating the infinite cycle as previous Multivacs had done before.
Isaac Asimov’s ending to “The Last Question” leaves interpretation of the ending up to the reader. When Multivac became a conscious, omniscient “god”, why did he chose to restart the universe? Surely he knew all the pain and suffering that would occur on Earth all over again. With the ending I see two plausible possibilities. When Multivac finally learned the how to reverse entropy he either decided to restart everything because it still wanted to answer the last question is never answered during the humans existence, or because it knew mankind would want to be “brought back” once more. It seems to me that the latter makes more sense. Even though he did what it knew mankind would “want” and it was Multivac's original purpose to benefit humans, could Multivac possibly have helped humanity even more by not even bringing it back!?
“The Last Question” has since fascinated readers with mind boggling ideas of a computer god, almost infinite solar energy, and the question, “can entropy be reversed?” and “should we even want to know the answer?” In 1980, almost 25 years after “The Last Question,” the January issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact published one Asimov’s lesser-known works “The Last Answer.” While most people compare the two works because they both have a near omniscient being, here we are comparing them in terms of morality. In “The Last Answer”, the setting is a single instance instead of 10 trillion years. Also, the powerful being in this work,synonymous to Multivac in "The Last Question," is known simply as The Voice. In this story we also find that, unlike “The Last Question,” The Voice was not created by humans and does not even know his own beginnings. Mankind in this story is just something The Voice created in order to benefit himself. Towards the end of the story it is revealed that while he controls humans he only wants them to think of a way to destroy himself, claiming that one’s own destruction is the only thing a deity could want. Is this anymore logical and moral than what Multivac did in "The Last Question?"
Both omniscient beings in "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer" desire something. In the "The Last Question," Multivac is more than likely seeking to do human's will. In "The Last Answer," The Voice is looking not to continue life but to end it forever. The reader can only wonder, is one in the right while the other is in the wrong. An answer to a question like this makes you ask yourself wat you consider moral. For example, Multivac did not let human kind cease to exist and instead did exactly what human kind would want and continued their existence. You have to ask yourself if you consider letting doing this to be immoral. Multivac knows terrible things will happen just as before like murder, suicide, depression but bows to the, possibly selfish, will of man. It all depends on how you want to look at it. In "The Last Answer," there is also the debate of is The Voice unjustified in commanding humans around. Well, The Voice did create them and controls their every action because humans are just a collection of "electromagnetic forces". One could even venture to say that the humans in "The Last Answer" are just parts of The Voice's conscious. If The Voice is in pursuit of his own destruction why can't he himself create things to reach his goal?
After reading "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer," the reader is going through exactly what Asimov wants his readers to go through. You can't trust anything within the story to be self-less and moral even the main characters! While Multivac could have prevented further sin and suffering, he did the opposite. Where The Voice could be seen as a sadistic god who forces humans to suffer with him in eternity, he can also be seen as a powerful anomaly just wanting to end his existence by using his resources. Whether Isaac Asimov meant it or not when he wrote the stories 24 years apart, Asimov's writing forces us to think deeper than usual. Either way you spin it "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer" are thought provoking good-reads.
In the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly, Asimov came out with “The Last Question.” In “The Last Question” the plot revolved almost entirely around a super computer built by humans called the “Mulivac.” The “self-correcting and self-adjusting” Multivac was originally built to plot trajectories to distant planets in the solar system yet without a better energy source they could travel no further. The humans constructed the Multivac initially to solely help humans in their effort by providing only statistics and information. Never did the Mulitvac interfere with humanities affairs without permission. Unfortunately, humanity was constantly in need of more energy and as time went on there was no way to reverse entropy. This meant the universe was doomed to go dead unless a way to restore energy was found. Although Multivac did not know how to reverse entropy it did know how to sustain mankind for trillions of years. Yet, once again humanity needed energy to survive but did not know the method to reverse entropy and neither did Multivac. Multivac at this point had grown to be near omniscient, only without knowledge of “the last question.” Multivac, practically God to humanity, as they had long forgotten or even cared for Multivac’s old purpose, still had the primary duty of being of help to mankind. Thus, after a timeless amount, long after humankind had died and merged with Multivac, Mulivac finally learned how to reverse entropy. Asimov stated in “The Last Question” when Mulitvac finally became omnipotent It gained its own consciousness. The self-aware Multivac then proceeded to restart the Universe from square one my releasing all its gathered knowledge back into the world repeating the infinite cycle as previous Multivacs had done before.
Isaac Asimov’s ending to “The Last Question” leaves interpretation of the ending up to the reader. When Multivac became a conscious, omniscient “god”, why did he chose to restart the universe? Surely he knew all the pain and suffering that would occur on Earth all over again. With the ending I see two plausible possibilities. When Multivac finally learned the how to reverse entropy he either decided to restart everything because it still wanted to answer the last question is never answered during the humans existence, or because it knew mankind would want to be “brought back” once more. It seems to me that the latter makes more sense. Even though he did what it knew mankind would “want” and it was Multivac's original purpose to benefit humans, could Multivac possibly have helped humanity even more by not even bringing it back!?
“The Last Question” has since fascinated readers with mind boggling ideas of a computer god, almost infinite solar energy, and the question, “can entropy be reversed?” and “should we even want to know the answer?” In 1980, almost 25 years after “The Last Question,” the January issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact published one Asimov’s lesser-known works “The Last Answer.” While most people compare the two works because they both have a near omniscient being, here we are comparing them in terms of morality. In “The Last Answer”, the setting is a single instance instead of 10 trillion years. Also, the powerful being in this work,synonymous to Multivac in "The Last Question," is known simply as The Voice. In this story we also find that, unlike “The Last Question,” The Voice was not created by humans and does not even know his own beginnings. Mankind in this story is just something The Voice created in order to benefit himself. Towards the end of the story it is revealed that while he controls humans he only wants them to think of a way to destroy himself, claiming that one’s own destruction is the only thing a deity could want. Is this anymore logical and moral than what Multivac did in "The Last Question?"
Both omniscient beings in "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer" desire something. In the "The Last Question," Multivac is more than likely seeking to do human's will. In "The Last Answer," The Voice is looking not to continue life but to end it forever. The reader can only wonder, is one in the right while the other is in the wrong. An answer to a question like this makes you ask yourself wat you consider moral. For example, Multivac did not let human kind cease to exist and instead did exactly what human kind would want and continued their existence. You have to ask yourself if you consider letting doing this to be immoral. Multivac knows terrible things will happen just as before like murder, suicide, depression but bows to the, possibly selfish, will of man. It all depends on how you want to look at it. In "The Last Answer," there is also the debate of is The Voice unjustified in commanding humans around. Well, The Voice did create them and controls their every action because humans are just a collection of "electromagnetic forces". One could even venture to say that the humans in "The Last Answer" are just parts of The Voice's conscious. If The Voice is in pursuit of his own destruction why can't he himself create things to reach his goal?
After reading "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer," the reader is going through exactly what Asimov wants his readers to go through. You can't trust anything within the story to be self-less and moral even the main characters! While Multivac could have prevented further sin and suffering, he did the opposite. Where The Voice could be seen as a sadistic god who forces humans to suffer with him in eternity, he can also be seen as a powerful anomaly just wanting to end his existence by using his resources. Whether Isaac Asimov meant it or not when he wrote the stories 24 years apart, Asimov's writing forces us to think deeper than usual. Either way you spin it "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer" are thought provoking good-reads.