Rudy Rucker
Luce Bianca

"The actual infinite in its highest form has created us and sustains us, while in its secondary transfinite forms it manifests all around us and even occupies our minds" Georg Cantor.

Despite the endless quantity of novels published, personally, I always find it difficult to 'uncover' original works. Sometimes, however, exceptions occur, like the present "White Light," the first novel published by Rucker in 1980.

Part one: the author's biography. Rudolf von Bitter Rucker, a distant descendant of Hegel, a mathematics graduate with a Ph.D. in logic, is an extraordinary figure with a complex and elusive personality. He himself will state that he never feels completely integrated into society. He designs software in Silicon Valley and boasts experiences in the field of artificial intelligence, moreover, he has taught courses on the philosophy of science. His historic opportunity to discuss with the mathematical genius Kurt Gödel in his later years of life is notable. The fascinating and surprising meeting with Gödel is included in chapter 4.2 of Rucker’s remarkable scientific outreach volume "Mind and Infinity." He wrote poems where his personal experiences with LSD are mentioned. He was deeply affected by the myth of consciousness amplification induced by psychotropic drugs and the paradox of virtual realities. He would later reveal that he achieved greater levels of perception through meditation and prayer. He was part of the Punk Rock group Dead Pigs and in '95 recorded the CD "Like a Passing River" with the neo-baroque composer Roy Wheldon. In the more purely narrative sphere, his writing falls within the Cyberpunk science fiction genre of which he was one of the founding fathers. The "Software" series is very important as it saw him engaged in a thorough revision of Asimov's laws of robotics. Perhaps he is the only or among the few who can expand on science fiction themes while preserving tradition and renewing perspectives. His ability to navigate through paradoxes leads him to circumvent his scientific references, confronting the limits of thought and life, until reaching a nonexistent absolute. Rucker prefers to declare himself the founder of a personal style called 'transrealism,' where real life is narrated in fantastic terms, but with greater use of mathematical terminology. The novels are often autobiographical with protagonists full of contradictions, fears, and uncertainties: in reality, these are modified, dismantled, and reassembled versions of Rucker himself. His website is particularly interesting, where among many topics it is also possible to download various kinds of software for free.

Part two: White Light - What is Cantor's continuum problem? "In the grass around me, little yellow flowers were growing. I bent down to examine one. At first, it seemed like a simple five-pointed star. Then I noticed that on each point of the star there was a smaller star. I looked closer. On each point of the secondary stars appeared even tinier stars, topped by others even smaller, which in turn... By sudden inspiration, I glimpsed in one fell swoop the entire scheme of regression to infinity". (White Light, part II, chap.9). Not many writers would have been able to blend literature and mathematics into a single and exciting novel using the example of a simple little yellow flower. With this story, Rucker succeeded in creating an extremely unique, captivating, witty, profound, and entertaining work. The protagonist is the young mathematician Felix Rayman who enjoys taking well-deserved and long naps on the floor of the study, hoping to better visualize some complex construct on set theory. So far, nothing strange if it weren't for the fact that occasionally his astral body decides to separate from the physical one. At a certain point, he is 'hunted' by a diabolical creature and at the same time discovers a mysterious treatise of initiatory physics with fragile and slippery pages titled: "Cimön and How to Get There." Cimön is an arcane two-faced world, Front and Back. At the opening of the story, a graphic scheme drawn from Cimön of F.R. (unknown publisher) is depicted. Felix will definitively abandon his physical body to embark on a journey through various levels of infinity, accompanied by the ghost Kathy. He will meet Cantor, Hilbert, and Einstein at table number 6,270,891 in Hilbert's hotel. During the story, he will even see Jesus and the Devil and even reach the speed of light. This is just a brief mention of the plot’s contents, but I can assure you, the surprises are numerous.

In essence, it is a unique and eccentric work, full of mathematical and scientific references and brilliant humor capable of recalling the wonderful "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll.

Book rating: 4 out of 5. Reading difficulty: 4 out of 5. Absolute regards.