The Infinitive of Go
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 Mass market paperback cover |
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| Author | John Brunner |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Darrell K. Sweet |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Ballantine/Del Rey imprint |
| Released | 1980 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 154 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-345-28497-6 |
The Infinitive of Go is a 1980 science fiction novel by John Brunner.
[edit] Plot introduction
The novel revolves around a teleportation technology which is being developed. It works by making the space at the destination "congruent" with the space at the departure point. Any object in the departure space automatically appears at the destination. The name "Posting" has been coined for the technique. It has worked well with inanimate objects.
The novel makes frequent reference to the transfinite numbers of mathematician Georg Cantor.
[edit] Plot summary
For the first live-person test a diplomatic agent is Posted from a foreign embassy back to the USA. The test is a failure. The agent demands passwords and other verification codes, and then detonates a suicide bomb. It is assumed that the Posting affected the man's sanity. Faced with termination of the project Dr. Justin Williams, the inventor of the technology, arranges to have himself Posted.
He finds himself in a world which is subtly different from his own. For one thing, Cinnamon Wright, his beautiful but cold African-American collaborator, is suddenly an ardent lover. Eventually she admits to him that she herself was Posted, and once worked for him in a world where he hated her, even though she was attracted to him.
As the story progresses, they realize that when humans are Posted, their inner desires influence the outcome, tipping them into alternate universes. However they are not prepared for the next Posting. A man has to be Posted back from a satellite for emergency surgery. The being who emerges is not a man, but a humanoid descended from dogs, although he claims to be the person expected. He tells them that in his world the Posting technology is well understood. He knew there would be some world-shift, but not to a universe inhabited by apes !
At the end there is a mystical shift in the plot. Messages Posted to no destination receiver are responded to with directions on where to take the Posting technology. One message says that in worlds where the inventors of Posting are themselves Posted to no receiver, the outcome is usually good for those left behind. If this is not done, the outcome is usually very bad.
The protagonists are left preparing themselves for their step into the unknown.
[edit] External links
- The Infinitive of Go publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Review
