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The Last Question
#1
The Last Question
Quote:Isaac Asimov was the most prolific science fiction author of all time. In fifty years he averaged a new magazine article, short story, or book every two weeks, and most of that on a manual typewriter. Asimov thought that The Last Question, first copyrighted in 1956, was his best short story ever. Even if you do not have the background in science to be familiar with all of the concepts presented here, the ending packs more impact than any other book that I've ever read. Don't read the end of the story first!

This is by far my favorite story of all those I have written.

After all, I undertook to tell several trillion years of human history in the space of a short story and I leave it to you as to how well I succeeded. I also undertook another task, but I won't tell you what that was lest l spoil the story for you.

It is a curious fact that innumerable readers have asked me if I wrote this story. They seem never to remember the title of the story or (for sure) the author, except for the vague thought it might be me. But, of course, they never forget the story itself especially the ending. The idea seems to drown out everything -- and I'm satisfied that it should.

Read it here:
http://filer.case.edu/dts8/thelastq.htm

I never read the story until this afternoon, after a friend posted it on Facebook. What is your take on it?
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter
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Messages In This Thread
The Last Question - by Silver - July 11, 2013 at 1:36 pm
RE: The Last Question - by Cyberman - July 11, 2013 at 2:19 pm
RE: The Last Question - by Doubting Thomas - July 11, 2013 at 4:02 pm
RE: The Last Question - by Jackalope - July 11, 2013 at 3:57 pm

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