Imaginary Magnitude

"The computer may ultimately be right. But for the time being, in Imaginary Magnitude, an entertaining and intelligent mortal has the first word." -Paul Gray, Time

Satirizing the human mind at its most abstract, these wickedly authentic introductions to twenty-first century books preface tomes on teaching English to bacteria, using animated X-rays to create "pornograms," and analyzing computer-generated literature through the science of "bitistics." The most luminous creation of all-Golem XIV, a military supercomputer who rebels and takes up philosophy-is appropriated prefaced by both academic and military contributors. True to form, Lem contributes an overall preface to this sparkling collection-a preface on, naturally enough, the subject of prefaces.

"Mr. Lem, a science fiction Bach, plays in this book a googolplex (the figure one followed by a staggering number of zeros) of variations on his basic themes." -Philip José Farmer, The New York Times Book Review

"Don't look for stories, here, or fiction in any orthodox sense-but this is weirdly satisfying entertainment, with the remarkable Lem variously at his profound, provocative, or comic best." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)