Imaginary Magnitude

&quote;The computer may ultimately be right. But for the time being, in Imaginary Magnitude, an entertaining and intelligent mortal has the first word.&quote; -Paul Gray, TimeSatirizing 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 &quote;pornograms,&quote; and analyzing computer-generated literature through the science of &quote;bitistics.&quote; 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. &quote;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.&quote; Philip Jose Farmer, The New York Times Book Review&quote;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.&quote; Kirkus Reviews (starred review)