The Infinitive of Go

The Infinitive of Go is the kind of old school hardcore science-fiction that isn't really all that popular anymore. It's pulpish, but in a good way, and slots right into an era of genre-writing that has pretty much disappeared. The author, John Brunner, was a prolific writer who churned out these wild, speculative novellas that raised more questions than they answered and splashed a mighty rainbow out into the void of the undiscovered. The science might be a little dated at times, but it's still a heck of a lot of fun.

Our story here concerns the invention of a teleportation device. The first volunteer for a live 'posting' (transportation from one point to another) arrives safely, but he demands various passwords and classified information before detonating a suicide bomb. It's assumed that something went wrong and he went crazy, but the explanation turns out to be something more bizarre. Our hero, Dr. Justin Williams (the inventor of the teleportation devices) decides to post himself before allowing the project to be shutdown. On arrival he discovers that he has shifted into a reality slightly different to his own. It appears that 'posting' actually transports the subject to a parallel universe.

From here the events spiral out of control... with no way of returning to the original universe the book starts in, the book instead focuses on a much bigger picture. Along with Dr. Williams we explore parallel universe theories and the way the passenger can affect where he ends up when he is posted. The book does a kind of u-turn (or throws a curveball, whatever metaphor you prefer) when an injured astronaut must be posted down to Earth in order to be saved. Of course, he'll end up in another reality, but hey - at least he'll be safe. What comes down to Earth in his place though doesn't appear to be human. And this is where things get really weird.

I can't go into it too much because it would spoil the book. It's only a short book - around 150 pages or something like that, and everytime you think you've figured out where it's heading it decides to switch things up a bit. The ending is a little oblique and mysterious, but I think this is part of the book's charm. 2001 has a weird ending (well, the movie does anyway - can't comment on the book, haven't read it) but I think this is part of what makes it so great. It's just a cool sci-fi thing, to leave things open-ended and up for interpretation.

Anyway, if you're after this book a good place to look for it would probably be Amazon or any 2nd-hand bookstores - they're often filled with stacks of these kinds of books.