You can find an English translation of "The Mask" in the Lem anthology Mortal Engines, along with other minor masterpieces such as "The Hunt". The anthology is a wild mix of satire and fable, but culminates in these two stories, which together show just how far SF can be pushed in the direction of serious art.

"The Mask" is the story of a young woman who wakes to find herself standing in breathless anticipation at a formal reception; she is to meet the prince, and she's delighted and excited to do so. The problem is, when she meets him, she immediately tries to kill him, and as he escapes she sheds her human skin and, in the form of a metal robotic spider, begins a relentless pursuit that can only end in her quarry's death.

This sort of story has probably been done before, but what Lem does with it makes all other versions of the "killer robot" story irrelevent. You see, the story is told from the robot's point of view, and it continues to believe itself to be a fragile young maiden throughout. In her own mind, the maiden's ruthless pursuit is motivated by love; to kill, for her, is to embrace. She believes she is fantasizing about a romantic reunion by plotting out the prince's escape routes and strategies. There is no malice in her thoughts at all, only adoration for the object of her desire--yet this adoration is a mask that overlays an ugly purpose utterly alien to her own mind. Her girlish consciousness is just one tool used by ambitious assassins to achieve their goal.

What is extraordinary about "The Mask" is the idea that even the very most romantic feelings and desires could be used as tools, fit together like pieces in a machine for a purpose quite outside love. Consciousness itself is here disassembled and rebuilt to suit the assassins' intent--and the disturbing implication is that our innermost, sacred Self may itself be such a mask, overlaying the mechanism of our biological imperatives. In this regard, "The Mask" ranks with the very best works of Philip K. Dick, and anticipates recent stories by Greg Egan and others in the "neuropsych SF" movement.

"The Mask" raises questions you won't find addressed elsewhere in SF. And that is typical of Stanlislaw Lem, who has so many groundbreaking stories to his credit.

A very incomplete introductory Lemography:

• The Futurological Congress
• The Invincible
• Solaris
• The Cyberiad
• The Investigation
• The Star Diaries
• Eden
• A Perfect Vacuum
• His Master's Voice

I've read all these and can recommend them all highly. Lem is one of my primary influences, and he should be required reading for any up and coming SF writer.

Post Reply