Altruizin und andere kybernetische Beglückungen

These three stories are primarily concerned with various forms of happiness, indeed with nothing less than the construction of happiness. King Genius, often plagued by melancholy and self-loathing, can only find comfort in unusual stories. That is why he orders three story machines from the great constructor Trurl to pass the time. In "Altruizin" and "Experimenta Felicitologica" the world is to be redeemed by cybernetic means. In principle, there are two directions for the improvement of the world, the sudden, revolutionary one and the gradual, evolutionary one. Lem describes everything that can go wrong in the laudable undertaking of world improvement in a firework of brilliant ideas, and the nobler the intention, the more miserable the result.