EXTENDED SUMMARY - The Last Question by Issac Asimov

Note: This is an extended summary of the media we discuss in the adjoining episode.
In Isaac Asimov's seminal short story "The Last Question", humanity, over several generations, continually asks a supercomputer—evolving in complexity from Multivac to AC—how the encroachment of entropy and the potential heat death of the universe can be averted. As civilizations rise and fall, and technology advances to unimaginable heights, the question persists, echoing the fears and curiosity of a species desperate to understand the ultimate fate of the cosmos.