text: the last theorem the last theorem is a 2008 science fiction novel by arthur c. clarke and frederik pohl . it was first published in the united kingdom by in july 2008 , and in the united states by del rey books in august 2008 . the book is about a young sri lankan mathematician who finds a short proof of fermat 's last theorem , while an alien invasion of earth is in progress . the novel began as clarke 's , but when ill health and a psychological ( or possibly neurological ) form of writer 's block prevented him from making progress , he handed over his notes and the incomplete manuscript to pohl , who , in close consultation with clarke , completed the novel . clarke reviewed the final manuscript in early march 2008 , just days before he died . in general the last theorem was not well received by critics . entertainment weekly in their review of the novel said that " uneven pacing and tone mar an intriguing cautionary tale . " the los angeles times wondered how stable the manuscript was when it was published , adding that it does nothing to " burnish the legacy of either of its authors . " the san francisco chronicle , however , described the novel as a " fitting valedictory for clarke , [ ... ] and a reminder of pohl 's great relevance to a genre he has championed for more than 70 years . " background science fiction grand masters , sir arthur c. clarke and frederik pohl collaborated for the first time on the last theorem . the novel initially was clarke 's , and he began working on it in early 2004 . but in 2006 , at the age of 88 , ill health brought on by complications from post - polio syndrome , and writer 's block , impeded his progress , and he asked pohl for help . pohl explained : " arthur said to me that he woke up one morning and didn 't know how to write any of the books he had contracted . the stories had just gone out of his head . " clarke gave pohl a 40 – 50 page manuscript plus roughly 50 pages of notes , and over the next two years , pohl wrote the book . pohl said that " everything in the novel is something he either suggested or wrote or i discussed with him . " some of clarke 's notes were so obscure that even clarke himself could not understand them . pohl , only two years younger than clarke , had health problems of his own : he could no longer type and wrote the book out in longhand , leaving it up to his wife to translate his " indecipherable scribbles " . clarke reviewed and approved the final manuscript of the last theorem in early march 2008 , just days before he died . pohl died five years later in september 2013 . some of the concepts that appear in the last theorem originally appeared in clarke 's earlier works . the space elevator that is built in sri lanka originally featured in the fountains of paradise ( 1979 ) where it was also built in sri lanka ( then ceylon ) . because the elevator will work only on or near the equator , clarke " moved " ceylon south to the equator in the fountains of paradise , and the equator north to sri lanka in the last theorem . the solar powered space yacht race was first featured in a short story of clarke 's , " the wind from the sun " ( 1964 ) , and the concept of a " mysterious elder race " deciding our fate , in this case the grand galactics , has appeared in several of clarke 's previous novels , including childhood 's end ( 1953 ) and the space odyssey series ( 1968 – 1997 ) . some of pohl 's earlier themes also appear here , including his human - machine hybrid which featured in man plus ( 1976 ) . clarke wrote over 30 science fiction novels and over 100 works of short fiction , winning both the hugo and nebula awards several times . he moved to sri lanka ( then ceylon ) in 1956 and remained there for the rest of his life . one of his greatest wishes was for peace in sri lanka . the last theorem is set in his adopted country , and pohl said that tensions between the sinhalese sri lankan government and the tamil liberation army ( the tamil tigers ) were " major inspirations for the novel " . pohl 's writing career spans 70 years , and includes over 50 science fiction novels and numerous short stories . he also won both the hugo and nebula awards several times . one of pohl 's fascinations has been mathematics , in particular number theory . he would often spend his spare time " playing " with prime numbers , and even tried to write a formula for generating primes . but he did invent several mathematical parlour tricks , some of which are featured in the last theorem . plot summary the last theorem is set in sri lanka in the early- to mid - 21st century and follows the life of a mathematician , ranjit subramanian . while studying at colombo university , he becomes obsessed with fermat 's last theorem , a conjecture made by pierre de fermat in 1637 , for which he claimed to have conceived a proof that he never wrote down . the proof eluded mathematicians across the world for over 350 years , until in 1995 british mathematician andrew wiles published a 100 - page proof of the theorem . but not everyone was " satisfied " with wiles 's proof because it used twentieth century mathematical techniques not available in fermat 's time . in the novel 's back - story , extraterrestrial , the " grand galactics " , are alarmed when they detect the photon shock waves from nuclear bomb detonations on earth . the grand galactics monitor and control the destinies of a number of high - performance sapient races and order one of these races , the " nine limbeds " , to send " cease and desist " messages to earth . when these messages have no effect , the grand galactics order another race , the " one point fives " , to launch an armada to earth to exterminate the undesirable species . back on earth , regional conflicts escalate and the united nations struggles to contain them . in sri lanka , ranjit unwittingly boards a cruise ship that is hijacked by pirates . when unknown security forces free the ship , ranjit is arrested on suspicion of terrorism . for six months he is interrogated and tortured , but he cannot supply the information his captors want so he is locked up and " forgotten " for a further 18 months . during this period of incarceration , ranjit dwells on fermat 's last theorem and , after several months , solves it with a three - page proof . later ranjit is rescued by a friend from university , gamini bandara , who will not reveal whom he is working for or where ranjit was held captive . ranjit submits his proof for publication and achieves worldwide fame . he marries myra de soyza , an artificial intelligence specialist , and embarks on a speaking tour of the world . in the united states , he is briefly recruited by the cia to work on cryptography . gamini later reveals that he is working for pax per fidem ( peace through transparency ) , an undercover united nations organization established to bring about world peace . to achieve this end , pax per fidem has developed " silent thunder " , a non - lethal emp nuclear superweapon that renders all electrical equipment in its path inoperable . silent thunder is deployed in north korea and later in south america , and regional conflicts subside . gamini invites ranjit to join pax per fidem , but the authoritarian nature of pax per fidem and its " new world order " worry ranjit and myra , and ranjit turns down the offer . he does , however , accept a position on the advisory board of an international consortium building a space elevator in sri lanka , chosen because of its position on the equator . as the one point five fleet enters the solar system , the nine limbeds orbit and observe earth in cigar - shaped craft , sparking numerous ufo sightings . a grand galactic member , who happens to be passing by , stops to observe the effects of silent thunder and returns to the grand galactic collective , who immediately suspend the one point fives 's destruct orders pending further investigation . the space elevator is completed and , for the first time , people and materials can be lifted into earth orbit without the need of rockets . natasha , ranjit and myra 's daughter , competes in the first solar powered space yacht race from to moon - orbit . but soon after the start of the race , natasha 's yacht malfunctions and she is abducted by the nine limbeds , who use a projection of her to interrogate prominent people on earth , including ranjit and gamini , about silent thunder . satisfied that earth has " reformed " , natasha is returned and the nine limbeds broadcast a message to earth in which they announce that the grand galactics have decided not to sterilize earth , and that the one point fives , with their machine stored navigators , cannot return home and will land and occupy unused areas of earth . the one point fives land in the desolate qattara depression in the libyan desert , which they find quite habitable compared to their ruined homeworld . the americans send b52 bombers to attack the one point fives ' base , but the aliens electronically disable the aircraft , causing them to crash short of their target . when the us president demands reparations , the one point fives provide gold distilled from seawater by way of compensation . with the grand galactics absent , the aliens make decisions for themselves : the one point fives provide earth with new forms of power and the machine stored reveal mind uploading technology . when myra dies in a scuba diving accident , her mind is uploaded into cyberspace , with ranjit joining her later . after 13 , 000 years the grand galactics finally return to earth and are astounded to see how fast the planet has developed . they had always interfered with the evolution of sentient species they had discovered , believing they could not be trusted to evolve on their own . impressed with earth 's progress , the grand galactic relieve themselves of the burden of watching over intelligent life and hand the task over to earth . characters sri lankans these characters come from three of sri lanka 's ethnic groups : the sinhalese , the tamils and the portuguese burghers . ranjit subramanian ( tamil ) – a mathematical prodigy and son of a hindu priest ; he achieves worldwide fame after proving fermat 's last theorem without recourse to methods not available to fermat in his day myra subramanian ( née de soyza ) ( burgher ) – an artificial intelligence and prosthetic specialist and wife of ranjit natasha de soyza subramanian – solar wind yacht race contestant and daughter of ranjit and myra gamini bandara ( sinhalese ) – a united nations undercover operative and freshman friend of ranjit 's at colombo university aliens grand galactics – a sentient entity with the ability to subdivide itself into fragments , each capable of appearing " instantaneously " anywhere in the galaxy ; monitors other life and follows the principle of " protect the harmless . quarantine the dangerous . destroy the malevolent – after storing a backup in a secure location " grand galactic client ( subordinate ) races : one point fives – a diminutive cat - sized race who all but destroyed their world 20 light - years from earth and now wear shields and prostheses to protect themselves from their toxic environment , increasing their body size 1 . 5 times ; they are the grand galactics 's " hit men " used to destroy recalcitrant planets nine limbeds – a nine - limbed race with good language skills ; used by the grand galactics to communicate with other races machine stored – a " demonic " looking race whose neglect of their planet left it uninhabitable , forcing them to upload themselves into the memory of machines ; used by the grand galactics as ship navigators and to " backup " other races reception and analysis in spite of the publicity the last theorem received , that it was arthur c. clarke 's " last novel " , and that it was written by two science fiction grand masters , in general it has not been well received by critics . entertainment weekly in their review said that " uneven pacing and tone mar an intriguing cautionary tale . this collaboration , completed before clarke 's death last march , would 've made a better solo project for either author . " the washington post said that " the last theorem reads like a dog - eared album of favorite themes from yesteryear " , referring to clarke and pohl topics from the authors ' earlier works . thomas m. wagner at sf reviews wrote that " the last theorem is a book i really resent not liking , because there 's so much about it that deserves to be liked . " he said that the first two - thirds is " so good [ ... ] it almost , but doesn 't quite , make up for the nonsense that overtakes the whole affair at the climax . " wagner felt that the meeting of " two disparate storytelling sensibilities " was " far less harmonious and compatible " than clarke and pohl may have imagined . wagner summed up by saying that " the last theorem is not simply an uneven novel . it 's a deeply disjointed one , a book that introduces a host of wonderful ideas and sympathetic , believable characters , only to decide it doesn 't trust them to carry off the story in the end , ultimately falling back – disastrously – on dated and dubious formula . " sheila merritt at scifi dimensions said that while it should have been " a fine tribute and a fitting farewell to this master of science fiction " , it turned out to be an " easy book to put down . " she said that the plot " meanders in fits and starts " and that the book is too long for the story it tells . ed park of the los angeles times enjoyed the first third of the book , but said that for the rest , its " winning and winking self - consciousness evaporates . " he wondered how stable the manuscript was when it was published , and added that it does nothing to " burnish the legacy of either of its authors . " a common criticism amongst many reviewers was that in spite of its title , no connection is made between fermat 's last theorem and the alien invasion . alex at mathematical fiction complained about errors in some of the author 's descriptions of the mathematical problems , and in particular their unfair treatment of wiles 's proof of fermat 's last theorem . some reviewers felt that the characters had not been developed sufficiently . michael sims of the washington post said that " these characters are so thin you can see through them . " the aliens are depicted as cartoon - like figures , and ranjit does not appear to be affected by his lengthy incarceration , interrogation and torture . some critics also felt that the book ended " somewhat precipitously " , that after the aliens arrived , the crisis was resolved too quickly , giving the impression " that there was at least a good , long chapter missing . " not all reviews , however , were negative . nader at strange horizons described the book as " an interesting experiment " . he said that pohl deserves the credit for " capturing clarke 's voice " , and that clarke also deserves credit for doing something completely different . while he would not recommend the book to readers new to clarke 's work , said that fans would not regret reading the book . mark yon at sff world said that while this is not one of clarke 's best works , " it is still very good " . he said that even though it is a collaboration , the book is still recognisably clarke , " with the same humour , the same enthusiasm , the great flashes of inspiration , the big ideas and the same curious positivism that underlines most of sir arthur ’ s work . [ ... ] there is a joy throughout here : a joy of learning , of opening up new opportunities and experiences , and a love of mathematics and science . " michael berry at the san francisco chronicle said that the novel does a " stellar job of conveying some of the intellectual fun that can be had by manipulating math . " he said that sri lanka , clarke 's home for most of his life , is brought " vividly to life " , and that despite some minor flaws , the last theorem is a " fitting valedictory for clarke , one of science fiction 's most acclaimed authors , and a reminder of pohl 's great relevance to a genre he has championed for more than 70 years . " work cited clarke , arthur c. ; pohl , frederik c. ( 2009 ) [ 2008 ] . the last theorem . london : harper voyager . isbn 978 - 0 - 00 - - 4 .