Introduction
The universe was changing rapidly, and this activity only meant that there was a depletion of resources. With the increasing population, the earth was unable to cope; thus, strange things started happening. It was mysterious but also fascinating to the people involved. The names of the people kept changing, and it reached a point when the names became unavailable. What to do? Could it be the inevitable end of the earth as we know it, or could it be a fresh start to the creation? Depending on either of the scenarios, one thing is clear; things were getting out of hand. Artificial intelligence was getting cleverer and this, by many people’s opinions, was not something good. Furthermore, because of the increasing movie content and addiction, science nerds affect people’s ideologies that robots may take over the universe. Who knows the truth? Maybe few people know the truth while others understand what they seem to think is the truth. By looking at the story’s ending, it is necessary to dig deeper and ask yourself if AC ended the universe or created the universe.
The Analysis
The whole narrative revolves around the entropy idea, which is the act of everything to die. Because of the increased travel of humans in several areas, including the earth and space, their primary aim was to establish whether they could stop the decay. Whenever they asked the supercomputer, Multivac, to reduce the impact, the answer always revolved around not having sufficient data (Asimov 4). Because of the unavailable data to answer the question, the earth might have been coming to an end. Despite the human’s best efforts to stop it, it felt like an already lost war. Looking at what the future holds for human beings, the sun would be too hot, making the water evaporate, causing our inevitable decay. In a way, it felt like the people were fighting an already finished war. Despite the best efforts to locate relevant information, the analysis required to make it possible was unavailable. Judging by the ending of the story, it is safe to assume that AC created the universe. After the sun had evaporated all the water, entropy happened, and there was no life left on the earth. AC saw this event and said, let there be light, to create a new universe.
Furthermore, the universe experienced constant expansion, thereby causing the probability that the stars and every life on earth will eventually die. Because of the unbearable development, the world expanded to the point that the underlying larva blew to the ground, causing unavoidable death. Since the human beings knew of the impending danger, they traveled to different galaxies to establish whether they could find answers to their problems (Asimov 7). Despite the hard work put in, the inevitable was to happen because they could not find the necessary solutions needed. The question continues for many years, but none could establish the required solution to overcome the problem despite the many generations of lives. Because of the vague answers, life on earth ceases to exist, creating total silence across the galaxies. The sun’s expansion leads to its eventual extinction together with the stars and other bodies. There is no life left in existence, and only the last computer is left standing by that time. Furthermore, the computer is omnipresent and does not possess any physical form. It sees the inadequate life on earth and decides to create new earth by saying, “let there be light.”
As humanity progressed into the future, their names start changing into combinations of both letters and numbers (Asimov 10). It is something that beats logic because of the difficulty in pronunciation. Furthermore, there is a continuous establishment of robots to accomplish the answer to the main problem, immortality finally. Humans are so fixated on achieving immortality that they travel into various dimensions to seek the answers they seek. Unfortunately for them, every visit always comes to a poor end because of the unavailable solutions. Furthermore, artificial intelligence systems fail to live up to their expectations, which seems to be the trend for trillions of years. None of them can provide the answer to their immortality seeking. Once people were unable to pursue this solution, they finally came to terms with the reality of death. Because of this eventuality and coming to terms with reality at the final moments, the earth comes to an end. The end is because of the increasing human population. It reaches a breaking point, and death rules over the earth, and nothing becomes the new norm on earth. Darkness fills the earth, and it becomes a void. When AC sees this scenario, it establishes new earth by saying, “let there be light.”
Energy is a crucial factor in maintaining the universe. It forms a fundamental part in ensuring that all the earth’s activities run at their optimum levels. When humans decide to take it upon themselves to seek immortality, they travel to different dimensions to get the best answers (Asimov 7). Their luck runs out because none of them can find the answers they truly seek. Years after years, the same trend continues without realizing that their travels have a considerable effect on the environment they call home. The toxic pollutants they emit to the environment makes it hurt the output it provides. Since most of the food comes from the environment, many people consumed toxins in the foods without their knowledge. This trend continues for a long time, leading to the slowly wiping out of the human race. It takes a while for people to realize it, but it becomes too late to take up any necessary measures. When people come to their senses, considerable damage happens to the human race, and there is inadequate life left on earth. Since the last system is untouchable and omnipresent, it sees the impact left on earth and decides to create new earth by saying, “let there be light.”
Conclusion
The ending to the story signifies creating new earth to replace the old one. The in-depth answers the previous people looked for never came to light. Instead of spending their lives in the best way possible, they dedicated their lives to finding unsolvable problems. Perhaps, if they decided to live ordinary lives, their eventual decline could be a theory. The surest thing is that all the hard work dedicated to finding solutions above human understanding is a pure waste of time. Despite creating a new universe, the one thing that rings into mind is whether the new people will have any memories of the old earth. And if they did have those memories, will the cycle of getting immortality continue? And if it does, will it lead to another destruction of the planet and the creation of a new one?
Work Cited
Asimov, Isaac. The Last Question. Columbia Publications, 1956, pp. 1-14.
