The Answer (1954) (sfshortstories.com)

Direct link: https://archive.org/details/angelsspaceships0000fred/page/36...

I think if a story gives you a sense of wonder when you're young, it's a good story, even if it seems cheesy later. Probably the reason it doesn't later is that you saw so many things like that when you were young and they don't surprise you anymore.

Reminds me quite a bit of Asimov’s “The Last Question”, which mines the same “computer-as-God” vein, is also very short, and has a suspiciously related title. Asimov’s story appeared in 1956, just two years later.

It's the same story as "Company Man", posted here yesterday. But it was a new idea when Asimov wrote it.

You might call it weak and gimmicky all you want, but it entrenched itself deeply into our collective imagination.

I saw many people come up independently with a direct quote from this story when they saw the IBM promotional image of a man standing in front of an IBM Quantum System One machine.

The image: https://www.techmonitor.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2023/...

See Arthur C. Clark, Nine Billion Names of God, from 1953

Fred Brown is also responsible for a famous Star Trek episode

Was there a similar Asimov story that ended with the words, "let there be light!" ?

I remember trying this on Wolfram Alpha when it launched back around 2010. https://smallthingsmostly.me/istheregod