Part One, The Garden of Forking Paths, The Library of Babel Summary

The universe is a large library that contains countless books of all languages and all knowledge. The library is cared for by librarians, though there are not as many as there were at one time. Each book has the same number of pages, the same number of words on each page, and the same titles on each spine. When it became known that the library contained all books, there was a great deal of joy in the universe. People realized that this also meant that the library held the book of Vindications, a book of apology and prophecy. Many people began searching for this book, causing many to be killed or to go crazy in the madness of the search.

At the same...