The universe of The Cyberiad is pseudo-Medieval. If rewards were promised and not delivered, the constructors may even severely punish those who deceived them. Although the characters are firmly established as good and righteous, they take no shame in accepting handsome rewards for their services. When they are not busy constructing revolutionary mechanisms at home, they travel the universe, aiding those in need.

On another, the two constructors re-arrange stars near their home planet in order to advertise. For instance, on one occasion Trurl creates an entity capable of extracting accurate information from the random motion of gas particles, which he calls a 'Demon of the Second Kind.' He describes the 'Demon of the First Kind' as a Maxwell's demon. Trurl and Klapaucius are brilliant (robotic) engineers, called 'constructors' (because they can construct practically anything at will), capable of almost God-like exploits. Two of these stories were included in the book The Mind's I. The stories focus on problems of the individual and society, as well as on the vain search for human happiness through technological means. The main protagonists of the series are Trurl and Klapaucius, the 'constructors.' The vast majority of characters are either robots, or intelligent machines. The Polish version was first published in 1967, with an English translation appearing in 1974. Excerpt: The Cyberiad (Polish: ) is a series of short stories by Stanisaw Lem. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Hailed as 'the most completely successful of books,' The Cyberiad is an outrageously funny and incomparably wise collection of short stories, taking an insightful look at mechanics, technology, invention, and human ambition ( The Boston Globe).Chapters: The Cyberiad, Tales of Pirx the Pilot, the Star Diaries. Friends and rivals, they are constantly outdoing and challenging each other to reveal the next great evolution in cybernetics, and the exploits of these brilliant men are nothing short of incredible.įrom tales of love, in which a robotic prince must woo a robotic princess enchanted by pleasures of true flesh, to epics of battle, in which the heroic constructors must use their considerable wit to outsmart a monarch obsessed with hunting, to examinations of humanity, wherein Trurl and Klapaucius must confront the limits of their skills and the meaning of true perfection, these stories are rich with profound questions, unimaginable marvels, and remarkable feats. These are the stories of Trurl and Klapaucius, master inventors and engineers known as 'constructors,' who have created marvels for kingdoms.

'Lem has an almost Dickensian genius for vividly realizing the tragedy and comedy of future machines.' - The New York Times Book Review

The Cyberiad by Stanisław Lem