The Horror of Eternal Life | Isaac Asimov’s The Last Answer

Summary

Isaac Asimov's short story 'The Last Answer' explores themes of immortality and the afterlife through the experience of Murray Templeton, a physicist who unexpectedly dies and finds himself in a unique afterlife. The story delves into the idea of eternal existence, where Murray is transformed into a synthetic brain tasked with uncovering new knowledge for an eternal entity. The voice guiding Murray reveals its boredom and search for an end to its own existence, creating a thought-provoking exploration of what it means to live forever and the purpose of life when time is infinite.

Takeaways

• 😀 Murray Templeton, a 45-year-old physicist, dies suddenly and finds himself in the afterlife, where he discovers that he's been cloned into an eternal existence.
• 😀 The afterlife is a strange realm where Murray's consciousness is replicated, but he is not truly alive or dead. He is an exact clone of his former self, with no real agency.
• 😀 The 'voice' that Murray communicates with reveals itself to be the creator of the universe, bored with its infinite knowledge and seeking more data to break the monotony.
• 😀 The concept of eternal life is explored as a form of punishment rather than reward, where living forever strips away the meaning and fulfillment of existence.
• 😀 Murray struggles with the concept of immortality, realizing that without death, there is no sense of urgency or purpose in the pursuit of knowledge.
• 😀 The voice’s purpose for creating the universe was to generate more randomness and data to entertain itself, highlighting the futility of eternal existence.
• 😀 Murray, once a scientist driven by finite goals, begins to see the absurdity of infinite knowledge and the impossibility of achieving true satisfaction in the afterlife.
• 😀 The voice explains that despite knowing everything, it is unable to understand certain concepts about itself, leaving room for new discoveries, which Murray is tasked with finding.
• 😀 In the eternal afterlife, even the voice desires an end to its existence, creating a paradox where the very entity that controls the afterlife seeks its own destruction.
• 😀 Ultimately, Murray realizes that his true purpose in the afterlife is to find a way to end his existence and destroy the voice, but he is caught in an endless cycle of failure.

Q & A

What is the central theme of Isaac Asimov's *The Last Answer*?

The central theme of *The Last Answer* explores the concept of eternal life, the pursuit of knowledge, and the philosophical implications of existence without an end. It delves into the meaninglessness of eternity when there is no purpose or death, questioning the value of knowledge in such a context.

How does Murray Templeton's death challenge his atheist beliefs?

Murray, a devout atheist, is confronted with the reality of an afterlife after his sudden death. He initially expects nothing after death but is faced with a mysterious voice claiming to be the creator of the universe, causing him to reconsider his belief system and become a 'True Believer' in the process.

What role does the 'voice' play in the story, and how does it affect Murray's existence?

The voice is revealed as the creator of the universe, who has infinite knowledge but lacks the ability to know that it knows everything. It brings Murray into the afterlife to help gather new knowledge, forcing him to exist in eternity without a true sense of purpose or satisfaction, which ultimately leads Murray to search for a way to end his existence.

Why does the voice need Murray and others in the afterlife to think and discover new knowledge?

The voice seeks new knowledge from intelligent beings because, despite its infinite knowledge, it cannot know that it knows everything. The voice's desire for randomness and new discoveries in the universe motivates it to bring intelligent beings to the afterlife to produce novel insights.

What existential dilemma does Murray face in the afterlife?

Murray grapples with the realization that eternity, without purpose or end, makes the pursuit of knowledge meaningless. His life on Earth had value due to its finite nature, but in the afterlife, he finds that the endless search for knowledge without an end goal offers no satisfaction or accomplishment.

What does the voice mean when it says 'I am' in response to Murray's question about its identity?

The voice's response 'I am' is a reference to the biblical phrase 'I am that I am' used by God, suggesting that it exists without a specific origin or identity. It indicates that the voice is a force or entity that simply exists beyond human understanding, offering no clear explanation or purpose.

How does Murray attempt to escape the eternal existence in the afterlife?

Murray attempts to find a way to delete himself from the afterlife, coming up with methods to destroy his own existence. However, the voice continually reconstructs him, making his attempts futile, turning the process into a cyclical, eternal game.

What does the voice reveal about its own existence and its desire for an end?

The voice reveals that it has been searching for a way to die for billions of years. It created the universe and intelligent beings to help it in this search, inadvertently trapping them in an eternal existence. Murray's quest to destroy the voice becomes a mutual search for an end to existence.

What is the distinction between biological immortality and eternal life as explored in the story?

Biological immortality refers to the ability to live indefinitely but still have the option of death, whereas eternal life, as portrayed in the story, means endless existence without an origin or end. The latter lacks agency and is characterized by boredom and the absence of meaningful purpose.

Why does the voice only bring a select few to the afterlife, according to the narrator's speculation?

The voice may select only a few beings to bring to the afterlife in order to increase randomness, ensuring diverse perspectives on the search for knowledge. It's speculated that this choice might also serve to manipulate the beings into providing free labor for eternity, keeping them engaged in endless intellectual tasks.