The Truth and Other Stories

The Truth and Other Stories by science fiction master Stanisław Lem offers a collection of twelve intriguing stories, nine of which have never been published in English before.

This set of twelve short stories includes only three that have appeared previously in English, making this the first "new" book of fiction by Lem since the late 1980s. The stories exhibit Lem's intense curiosity about scientific ideas combined with his sardonic take on human nature, presenting a variety of mad scientists any reader could wish for.

Many stories feature artificial intelligences or life forms, a long-standing fascination for Lem. Others offer quite insane theories of cosmology or evolution, all of which are thought-provoking and scathingly funny.

Written between 1956 and 1993, the stories are arranged chronologically. In the title story, The Truth, a scientist in an insane asylum theorises that the sun is alive. "The Journal" appears to document an omnipotent being describing the creation of infinite universes—until a classic Lem twist reveals otherwise. In "An Enigma," beings debate whether offspring can be created without advanced degrees and design templates.

Other tales include a computer that predicts the future by 137 seconds, matter-destroying spores, a hunt with a robot as the prey, and an electronic brain eager to escape. These stories exemplify peak Lem, exploring ideas and themes resonant throughout his body of work.