# Obscure sci-fi story: 'Is there a way to reverse entropy?' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2001, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015 "2001-06-08T03:48:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/1 "2001-06-08T03:48:55Z")
I have only the vaguest recollection of this store, and don’t recall the title or author, but here goes: Some scientists developed a computer, and asked it the question “Is there a way to reverse entropy?” The response: “Not enough information.” Many generations later, with a much more powerful computer, the question is repeated, “Is there a way to reverse entropy?” The response: “Not enough information.” And so it goes thru the eons, until the universe is a cold, lonely place, with no sentient beings left alive. At this point, the computer–now more powerful than it had ever been–finally arrives at the answer: “YES! There is a way to reverse entropy!” But there was no one around to give the news. And so the computer said. . . _LET THERE BE LIGHT. . . ._ Any ideas??? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/2 "2001-06-08T03:59:17Z")
“The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov. It was the Good Doctor’s favorite of his own stories. ---
**Author:** ![DynoSaur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DynoSaur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DynoSaur)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/3 "2001-06-08T03:59:22Z")
I think it’s an Arthur C. Clarke story, but I can’t for the life of me remember the name… ---
**Author:** ![Danimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Danimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danimal)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/4 "2001-06-08T04:02:19Z")
Link to Asimov’s [_The Last Question._](http://www.crosswinds.net/~tourette/long/last_question.htm) I heard that story a _long_ time ago in a planetarium, and at the end the whole dome blazed with light. I’ll never forget it. ---
**Author:** ![DynoSaur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DynoSaur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DynoSaur)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/5 "2001-06-08T04:02:24Z")
::standing corrected:: My bad. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/6 "2001-06-08T04:30:41Z")
Just one comment: “obscure”??? This is generally considered to be among the best science stories ever written. In my opinion it _is_ the best. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/7 "2001-06-08T04:30:53Z")
Many thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/8 "2001-06-08T04:57:27Z")
In one of his collections, The Good Doctor commented in the introduction to this story that it was one of his most memorable stories, but with the most forgettable title. He was always getting inquiries just like the OP. He couldn’t see why “The Last Question” was so unmemorable a title, especially since it is so descriptive of the plot of the story. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/9 "2001-06-08T06:26:28Z")
Hell, I thought this was another evolution thread. 😉 Peace. mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/10 "2001-06-08T13:24:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Northern Piper \* > \*\*In one of his collections, The Good Doctor commented in the introduction to this story that it was one of his most memorable stories, but with the most forgettable title. He was always getting inquiries just like the OP. He couldn’t see why “The Last Question” was so unmemorable a title, especially since it is so descriptive of the plot of the story. \*\* I always remember it as “That Universalvac One.” The power of the trademark. And, **BA** , it’s been my experience that for non-sci-fi readers, all SF is “obscure.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/11 "2001-06-08T13:31:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Just one comment: “obscure”??? Hey, you read an anthology, and tell me in thirty years the plot, title, and author of each of the stories.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/12 "2001-06-23T10:45:40Z")
> [@](#): > > And so it goes thru the eons, until the universe is a cold, lonely place, with no sentient beings left alive. It looks like the Good Doctor was prescient in his view of the end of time, according to the cover story in this week’s TIME magazine: [PSSST! We know how the Universe ends… and it’s not with a bang](http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010625/index.html) Interestingly, the authors of the piece leave open the possibility that the Last Question will be answered, as described by the Good Doctor: > [@](#): > > Finally, though, all that will be left in the cosmos will be black holes, the burnt-out cinders of stars and the dead husks of planets. The universe will be cold and black. > > But that’s not the end, according to University of Michigan astrophysicist Fred Adams. An expert on the fate of the cosmos and co-author with Greg Laughlin of The Five Ages of the Universe (Touchstone Books; 2000), Adams predicts that all this dead matter will eventually collapse into black holes. By the time the universe is 1 trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years old, the black holes themselves will disintegrate into stray particles, which will bind loosely to form individual “atoms” larger than the size of today’s universe. Eventually, even these will decay, leaving a featureless, infinitely large void. And that will be that— **unless, of course, whatever inconceivable event that launched the original Big Bang should recur, and the ultimate free lunch is served once more.** ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/13 "2001-06-23T11:02:49Z")
To save starting my own thread, I might take the liberty of temporarily hijacking this one… How 'bout “Manuscript Found in a Police State” by Brian Aldiss. It’s a short one, I was hoping it might be on the web somewhere. I couldn’t find it though. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/14 "2001-06-23T13:47:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*How 'bout “Manuscript Found in a Police State” by Brian Aldiss. It’s a short one, I was hoping it might be on the web somewhere. I couldn’t find it though. \*\* It sounds like you’re trying to recall “Memoirs found in a Bathtub” by Stanislav Lem. One of my favorites… ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/15 "2001-06-23T17:50:46Z")
No, there is a short story called “Memoirs Found in a Police State” by Brian Aldiss. There’s no chance you’ll be able to find it online, since it’s in copyright. If I ever found it online, I’d notify Aldiss myself so he could sue the person who put it there. For that matter, “The Last Question” is in copyright, so I’m not sure if it has been legally put online or not (in the URL given by Danimal). I can’t manage to get to the home page of this Jack Tourette who posted it to discover if he has somehow gotten permission from Asimov’s estate to put the story online or if he’s doing it illegally. Could people please not call something obscure unless you know the field well enough to be able to say whether it’s obscure or not? ---
**Author:** ![JamesCarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@JamesCarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesCarroll)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/16 "2001-06-23T22:27:58Z")
Anyone ever hear of “The Yellow Pill”? It was about two guys on a spacecraft, one of whom was hallucinating from space madness. But the way its written you can’t tell which one. Ring any bells? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/17 "2001-06-23T23:28:02Z")
Grouchy ol’ **Wendell Wagner** asks; > [@](#): > > Could people please not call something obscure unless you know the field well enough to be able to say whether it’s obscure or not? The whole _field_ is pretty much obscure, is it not? 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/18 "2001-06-24T05:43:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > \*\*Grouchy ol’ **Wendell Wagner** asks; > > \*\* LOL. Sounds like something that Spanky would say - “Grouchy ol’ Mister Thompson said we couldn’t play mud-ball in his barn no more.” “Awww, shucks!” –Tim ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/19 "2001-06-24T15:44:47Z")
I’m sure the title of the Aldiss short story is “_Manuscript_ Found in a Police State”, but these things tend to often have different titles in different countries. I had it as a kid in a paperback called _Nine Strange Stories_. I guess you’re right about the copyright \*_Wendell_; I’ll have to go out and buy the thing if I can find it. And I’m no great SF expert, but I know my Dunes from my Foundations, and I’d say the story I’m looking for qualifies as obscure enough. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015/20 "2001-06-24T17:30:52Z")
Excuse me. You’re right. That was a typo on my part. The title was indeed “Manuscript Found in a Police State.” Grouchy? You think what I’ve said so far sounds grouchy? So far I’ve been polite. Do not irritate me, or you will quickly feel the white-hot intensity of my anger. I wasn’t even the first person in this thread to complain about the term “obscure.” It was mentioned first by The Bad Astronomer. In any case, the reason I object to phrasing a question as “Have you ever read this obscure story?” is that it’s equivalent to saying, “Hey, you’re all a bunch of geeks who’ve read everything. I don’t have time to waste re-reading anything or looking anything up, so I’ll ask you to do it, since you have no life.” If you politely ask us for our expertise, you’re more likely to get an answer than if you start by telling us that we’re just nerds who are slavering to do your bidding. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sci-fi-story-is-there-a-way-to-reverse-entropy/68015.md?page=2)