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).