89. «El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan»: el thriller metáfisico de Borges

La Biblioteca de Babel describes a universe consisting of an infinite library composed of hexagonal galleries. Each gallery contains shelves filled with books of seemingly random characters, representing all possible combinations of letters. The story delves into the implications of such a library, suggesting that it contains every book that has been written, could be written, and all possible variations thereof. It explores themes of meaning, knowledge, and the human search for understanding in a universe of infinite possibilities and chaos. The librarians, the story's inhabitants, grapple with the overwhelming nature of the library, leading to diverse philosophical and existential crises.

El Aleph centers on the narrator's discovery of the Aleph, a point in space that contains all other points, allowing one to see everything in the universe from every angle simultaneously. Located in the basement of a house in Buenos Aires, the Aleph overwhelms the protagonist with a flood of images and sensations. The story explores themes of infinity, memory, and the limits of human perception. Borges uses the Aleph as a metaphor for the impossibility of capturing the totality of existence in a single moment or narrative. The experience transforms the narrator, leaving him to grapple with the boundless and incomprehensible nature of the universe.

El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan explores the idea of branching paths and multiple possibilities within time. The story follows Yu Tsun, a Chinese professor and spy, as he navigates a mission while contemplating the nature of time and destiny. It is set against the backdrop of World War I, blending espionage with philosophical musings on infinite timelines. The narrative structure mirrors the themes it explores, presenting a labyrinthine plot where every decision creates new diverging paths. Borges masterfully intertwines the spy thriller genre with profound reflections on choice, consequence, and the perception of reality, inviting readers to ponder the boundless potential of existence.

This story concerns a boy named Ireneo Funes, whose life is wrecked when he loses the ability to forget. In both scholarly and popular works, Funes is presented as a case study or example whose predicament has more to do with the biological and agential reality of human memory than it does with Borges' vast oeuvre of fables and poems obsessed with remembrance. The story is often the only evidence offered in support of the claim that a life without forgetting would be intolerable, as if it were indeed authoritative on the matter.