Isaac Asimov, a biochemist by training and a prolific writer of science fact and fiction—who with his long, wavy hair, broad features, and large glasses looks more like a scholar than a popular scientists—has published a new short story that commanded considerable attention from the fans. The sixteen-page long story presents a short dialogue between two men and a super-computer that repeats itself in the course of seven historic settings, beginning in 2061. Humanity, we learn, has solved the energy problem by harnessing the solar energy with fantastic efficiency; hence, the stars are used as batteries. Accordingly, in each of the first six conversations, we are presented with two central questions. What will happen to humanity when it uses
