Entropic tales from the end of time

It is a bit of a truism to say that people are entranced by imagining the end of the world. But what about the end of time? In this immensely distant scenario, entropy has had its way with the universe, life has withered away, and all change and incident has ceased. A true entropic scenario leaves little room for story-telling, and so SF writers tend to cheat, finding ways to keep some eccentric humans alive at the end of time.

Cinnabar is a 1976 collection of linked stories by the US author Edward Bryant. Set in the last city on a ruined Earth, it is a showcase for Bryant's speculations about the deep future of humankind, and for his New Wave writing style. What does Cinnabar have to say about a world seemingly without a future, and a city run by a suicidal AI?

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The Culture is run by Minds - AI constructs of immense computing power, some of the greatest intelligences in the galaxy. But no amount of intelligence can prevent you from making mistakes.

The sixth novel in the Culture series by Iain M. Banks, Look to Windward was first published in 2000. It deals with effects of mistakes made by the Minds. As part of Banks' extended examination of the topic of intervention, it particularly focuses on an attempt to mould the future of a race of cat-like aliens, with resulted in disaster. The Chelgrians were plunged into a brief but appalling civil war. Now, the Culture may be about to feel the consequences.

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Answering listener questions about all things classic SF.

Can you believe it, it's episode 150! To mark this milestone, this episode is a special Q&A. Questions and answers take a tour of Ursula K. Le Guin, J. G. Ballard, Dune (1965), book collecting, getting started with Philip K. Dick, the "cosy catastrophes" of John Wyndham, and more.

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For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.