Has anyone read this? I thought I'd bring it up as lately I've noticed a few topics posted here that this short story deals with in some regards. It's a Science Fiction story written in the 50's so some things are a bit weird, but it's an awesome concept, and short enough of a story that it could be read in a single sitting.
It's basically about man creating a super-computer, and generations pass and the computer evolves into a more and more complicated machine, and as the human race overpopulates and moves beyond earth, they discover a recipe for immortality, and begin to colonize the entire universe, galaxy by galaxy. Each generation that the story visits asks the computer the same basic question, basically if there is a way to reverse the entropy of the universe to keep all of the stars from burning out, so that universe could last forever. Each time the computer says it doesnt have enough data for a meaningful answer, until the very end of the story, which has almost a religious overtone, but still makes you think all the same. One of the best "what if" stories I've ever read. I highly recommend it.
I found it online here:
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~mlindsey/asimov/question.htm
An edit to the religious overtone comment above: Atheists may find the ending a bit too much of a nod toward religion, while religious people may find the ending blasphemous. You decide.
It's basically about man creating a super-computer, and generations pass and the computer evolves into a more and more complicated machine, and as the human race overpopulates and moves beyond earth, they discover a recipe for immortality, and begin to colonize the entire universe, galaxy by galaxy. Each generation that the story visits asks the computer the same basic question, basically if there is a way to reverse the entropy of the universe to keep all of the stars from burning out, so that universe could last forever. Each time the computer says it doesnt have enough data for a meaningful answer, until the very end of the story, which has almost a religious overtone, but still makes you think all the same. One of the best "what if" stories I've ever read. I highly recommend it.
I found it online here:
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~mlindsey/asimov/question.htm
An edit to the religious overtone comment above: Atheists may find the ending a bit too much of a nod toward religion, while religious people may find the ending blasphemous. You decide.
