The Garden of Forking Paths is a short story written by Jorge Luis Borges. Released in 1941, it is the eighth and final story in the anthology of the same name and tells of a spy in World War I.
Characters[]
- Dr. Yu Tsun - a Chinese spy for Germany and a descendant of Ts'ui Pên
- Captain Richard Madden - a spycatcher who hunts Tsun
- Stephen Albert - a Sinologist
Plot[]
In July of 1916, a planned offensive on German forces by the British was delayed. Though this was supposedly due to rain, a deposition given by one Dr. Yu Tsun gives a different story.
The deposition begins in media res (due to its first two pages missing) with Tsun receiving a phone call from the British captain Richard Madden from the office of Viktor Runeburg - a member of a spy ring which also has Tsun as a member (largely out of a desire to prove his people are not racially inferior). Fearing being caught, Tsun catches a train to the village of Ashgrove.
Once in Ashgrove, Tsun begins to look for a man named Stephen Albert. While searching, Tsun thinks of one of his ancestors - a provincial governor named Ts'ui Pên who retired from his job to create a massive labyrinth and a novel. Before Pên could finish his construction, he was murdered and the only remnant of his works was a few fragmented and incoherent drafts. On finding Albert, Tsun learns that he is a Sinologist who knows about Pên's works. Albert believes that the labyrinth and novel of Pên were one and the same, and that the novel is a "garden of forking paths" which shows a myriad of alternate futures spun from various events shown within the novel.
After talking about the titular garden, Tsun and Albert discuss diverging timelines beyond the novel - with Albert suggesting that there is a timeline in which the two are enemies. Shortly after this, Tsun notices Madden charging towards him. Before Madden can stop him, Tsun shoots and kills Albert. It is revealed by Tsun (who is awaiting his execution) that this was part of a signal to the Germans that British artillery were within the town of Albert. Though Tsun sent out his message, he feels that he has failed as his chief (and the rest of the world) will never know of his "innumerable contrition and weariness".
Sources[]
- Wikipedia