''His Master's Voice'' (original Polish title: ''Głos Pana'') is a 1960s

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel written by Polish writer

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer. He was the author of many novels, short stories, and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fi ...

. It was first published in 1968 and translated into English by

Michael Kandel Michael Kandel (born 24 December 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American translator and author of science fiction. Biography Kandel received a doctorate in Slavistics from Indiana University. His most recent position was editor at the ...

in 1983. The book incorporates a "message from space" theme. It is a densely philosophical first contact story about an effort by scientists to decode, translate, and understand an extraterrestrial transmission. The novel critically approaches humanity's intelligence and intentions in deciphering and truly comprehending a message from outer space. It is considered to be one of the three best-known books by Lem, the other two being ''

Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...

'' and ''

The Cyberiad ''The Cyberiad'' (), sometimes subtitled ''Fables for the Cybernetic Age'', is a series of humorous science fiction short story, short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem published during 1964–1979. The first collected set of stories was or ...

''.

Plot

The novel is written as a

first-person narrative A first-person narrative (also known as a first-person perspective, voice, point of view, etc.) is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from that storyteller's own personal point of view, using first-person grammar su ...

, the

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

of a mathematician named Peter Hogarth, who becomes involved in a

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

-directed project (code-named "His Master's Voice", or HMV for short) somewhere in the

Nevada desert Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the List of U.S. stat ...

, where scientists are working to decode what seems to be a message from outer space (specifically, a

neutrino A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small ('' -ino'') that i ...

signal from the

Canis Minor Canis Minor is a small constellation in the Celestial sphere, northern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included as an Asterism (astronomy), asterism, or pattern, of two stars in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and it is counte ...

constellation). Throughout the book Hogarth—or rather, Lem himself—exposes the reader to many debates merging

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

: from discussions of

epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

systems theory Systems theory is the Transdisciplinarity, transdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or artificial. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, de ...

information theory Information theory is the mathematical study of the quantification (science), quantification, Data storage, storage, and telecommunications, communication of information. The field was established and formalized by Claude Shannon in the 1940s, ...

and

probability Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...

, through the idea of

evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biolo ...

and the possible form and motives of extraterrestrial intelligence, with digressions about

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

in military-sponsored research, to the limitations of human science constrained by the human nature subconsciously projecting itself into the analysis of any unknown subject. At some point one of the involved scientists (Rappaport), desperate for new ideas, even begins to read and discuss popular science-fiction stories, and Lem uses this opportunity to criticize the science fiction genre, as Rappaport soon becomes bored and disillusioned by monotonous plots and the unimaginative stories of

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

s. Before Hogarth's arrival, the scientists were able to use part of the data to synthesize a substance with unusual properties. Two variations had been created: a

viscous Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for example, syrup h ...

liquid nicknamed "Frog Eggs", and a more solid version that looks like a slab of red meat called "

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...

" (named for its strange agitating effect on insects brought into proximity with it). There is some speculation that the signal may actually be a

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

and that "Frog Eggs" and "Lord of the Flies" may be a form of

protoplasm Protoplasm (; ) is the part of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a mixture of small molecules such as ions, monosaccharides, amino acids, and macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, etc. In some definitions ...

; possibly that of the alien creatures that presumably sent the signal. This theory, like all the project's theories about the signal, turns out to be unverifiable. For a short time, Hogarth suspects that the message may have a military use, and is faced with an ethical dilemma about whether and how to pursue this angle. "Frog eggs" seems to enable a

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with tim ...

of an atomic blast at the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant exactly equal to ). It is exact because, by international agreement, a metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time i ...

to a remote location, which would make deterrence impossible. Hogarth and the discoverer of the effect decide to conduct further research in secret before notifying the military. Eventually, they conclude that there is no military use after all (which Hogarth sees as a proof of the Senders' far-sightedness), since the uncertainty of the blast location increases with distance. The two scientists face ostracism from their colleagues, some of whom consider their conduct unpatriotic. Some of the scientists pursue a theory that the neutrino signal might have had the effect of increasing the likelihood that life would develop on the planet eons ago. They are forced to consider whether alien beings sent the signal for this very reason. In the end, they find no certain answers. There is much speculation about the nature of whatever alien beings might have sent the signal. They must have been technologically superior, but no one can be sure whether they were virtuous or evil. Indeed, as the signal must have been sent long ago, no one can be sure whether they still exist. The theories the scientists come up with all seem to make some progress toward deciphering the signal; however, as is stated in the few first pages of Hogarth's memoirs, for all their efforts, the scientists are left with few new, real discoveries. By the time the project is ended, they are no more sure than they were in the beginning about whether the signal was a message from intelligent beings that humanity failed to decipher, or a poorly understood natural phenomenon. In the end, the many theories about the signal and the beings who might have sent it say more about the scientists (and humanity) than about the signal (and the beings who might have sent it). The comparison between the signal and a

Rorschach test The Rorschach test is a projective test, projective psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychology, psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists u ...

is made more than once.

Literary criticism

Dave Langford reviewed ''His Master's Voice'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

'' #49, and stated that "Lem offers a sheaf of cosmic answers, some truly mindblowing – but it isn't easy reading." The book can be viewed on many levels: as part of the social science fiction genre criticizing

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

military and political decision-making as corrupting the

ethic Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

al conduct of scientists; as a psychological and philosophical essay on the limitations of the human mind facing the unknown; or as a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

of "men of science" and their thinking. The critique of the idea of 'pure science' is also a critique of the positivist approach: Lem argues that no scientist can be detached from the pressures of the outside world. The book is deeply philosophical, and there is relatively little action; most of the book consists of philosophical essays, monologues and dialogues. Other Lem's novels exploring the issues of first contact are '' Eden'', ''

'', '' The Invincible'' and '' Fiasco''. ''His Master's Voice'', however, is one of Lem's more philosophical books.

Reviews

*Review by Faren Miller (1983) in '' Locus'', #268 May 1983 *Review by Ann Collier (1984) in ''

Vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

'' 118 *Review by Christopher Pike (1984) in '' Foundation'', #31 July 1984 *Review by George Zebrowski (1987) in ''

Fantasy Review ''Fantasy Newsletter'', later renamed ''Fantasy Review'', was a major fantasy fanzine founded by Paul C. Allen and later issued by Robert A. Collins. Frequent contributors included Fritz Leiber and Gene Wolfe. Publication history The first iss ...

'', July-August 1987 *Review by Norman Beswick (1991) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #88 *Review by James Schellenberg (1998) in ''Challenging Destiny'' Number 3, July 1998

Translations and derivative works

''Głos Pana'' was translated from Polish into Chinese, Czech, English, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian and Spanish. English translation: Stanisław Lem, ''His Master's Voice'', translated by

, 1983, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, (1st edition, hardcover) In 2018, Hungarian filmmaker

György Pálfi György Pálfi (born 11 April 1974 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian filmmaker. His film ''Taxidermia'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Pálfi's films have received numerous awards and nominatio ...

released the film (in Hungarian, available with English subtitles) '' Az Úr hangja'' ("The Lord's Voice"/"The Master's Voice") loosely based on Lem's novel. Portuguese translation: «A Voz do Dono», translated by Teresa Fernandes Swiatkiewicz, 2023, Antígona.

References

External links

Entry on Lem's official page
English version
Entry on Lem's official page
Polish version * Irina Rodnianskaia, Two Faces of Stanislaw Lem: On His Master's Voice.

Science Fiction Studies ''Science Fiction Studies'' (''SFS'') is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R. D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year at DePauw University. As Science fiction studies, the name implies, the journal publishes articles and ...

#40 = Volume 13, Part 3 = November 1986, (originally published in Russian in ''

Novy Mir ''Novy Mir'' (, ) is a Russian-language monthly literary magazine. History ''Novy Mir'' has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine ''Mir Bozhy'' ("God's World"), w ...