Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość

A friend who knows my love for Sci-Fi recommended Jacek Dukaj to me, starting with “Extensa” . It was a slow burn; for the first half, I was completely lost. But just as everything clicked into place, the book ended, leaving me desperate for more. I immediately picked up another of his books, “Inne pieśni” (“Other Songs”  ), and fell into the same pattern: a challenging start followed by total immersion. I recall how that book played with time in a way that stretched my imagination and tickled my inner physicist.

Some time later, while browsing in a library, I stumbled upon “Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość” (“Perfect Imperfection”  ), and it turned out to be the best Dukaj book I’ve read so far.

The story revolves around a protagonist named Adam Zamoyski, who is resurrected centuries after his death. While his personal adventures are compelling, what truly captivated me was the world he woke up in. It was like the Matrix on a whole new level. Society was a spectrum of existence: “standard” humans, augmented individuals, and beings who had completely uploaded themselves into the network, becoming purely artificial intelligences. It had echoes of “Neuromancer” , but with a unique flavor that I absolutely love.

One of the most fascinating concepts in the book is a creative twist on string theory  and its multiple dimensions. In this universe, super-advanced beings could create pocket universes by “slicing off” a single, insignificant dimension. These pocket universes, which they could use for their own purposes, appeared in our universe as singularities-black holes-which also served to protect them from the outside.

The final plot twist reveals that our own “beloved” universe is nothing more than one of these micro-universes, a cosmic storage bin created by a “higher” civilization. It’s a humbling realization that our existence is neither unique nor particularly important in the grand scheme of things.

While the book doesn’t claim to be scientifically accurate, it’s a brilliant exploration of known and unknown concepts. It stretches the mind in a way I find exhilarating. This book easily ranks in my top three of all time.