Introduction

Jorge Luis Borges' short story "The Garden of Forking Paths" ("El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan"), published in 1941, is a groundbreaking work of speculative fiction that challenges traditional notions of time and reality. In this complex narrative, Borges explores the idea of a "multiverse" long before it became a popular concept in modern science fiction, intertwining themes of fate, parallel timelines, and the infinite possibilities of human choice.

Set during World War I, the story follows Yu Tsun, a Chinese spy working for the Germans in England. As he flees from a British intelligence officer, Yu Tsun must navigate physical dangers and the philosophical labyrinths of time and destiny. Borges' intricate, non-linear storytelling and profound philosophical reflections have made "The Garden of Forking Paths" a classic of literary fiction.

Plot Summary

The story opens with a historical report of a planned offensive by British forces during World War I. The attack was delayed for several days due to "torrential rains." The rest of the story is told in the form of an incomplete deposition given by Dr. Yu Tsun, an English teacher and Chinese spy for the Germans.

In the deposition, Yu Tsun recalls a phone call in which he hears Captain Richard Madden, a British intelligence officer, in the office of another German spy, meaning that Yu Tsun has been discovered. Yu Tsun has recently learned about the location of a British artillery installation in France. He wishes that he could send this information to the Germans before he is arrested and executed.

Yu Tsun decides to flee for his life. He plans to escape and contact another spy who can help him transmit the secret information. Yu Tsun boards a train to Ashgrove, escaping Captain Madden's pursuit by mere moments. Overcome with fear and relief, he believes his initial victory over Madden foreshadows a successful outcome.

Yu Tsun arrives at Ashgrove and walks to the home of Dr. Stephen Albert, a scholar of Chinese culture. Along the way, he thinks about his great-grandfather, Ts'ui Pen, who resigned his position as governor to write a novel and construct a labyrinth. Yu Tsun contemplates the labyrinthine nature of life and the interconnectedness of all things. 

I thought of a maze of mazes, of a sinuous, ever growing maze which would take in both past and future and would somehow involve the stars.

Yu Tsun arrives at the residence and encounters Dr. Albert, who mistakes him for a visiting Chinese consul. The man speaks to him in Chinese and invites him to see "the garden of forking paths." Yu Tsun wonders if the garden is that of his ancestor, Ts'ui Pen. He is led to a library filled with ancient Chinese books and artifacts.

Dr. Albert tells Yu Tsun about the life of Ts'ui Pen. He claims that the labyrinth is not a physical structure but a symbolic one representing the intricate paths of time. The disjointed and mostly incomprehensible novel that Ts'ui Pen wrote is the labyrinth itself, reflecting the complexities and contradictions of life.

The scholar explains how Ts'ui Pen's novel explores this concept, with characters facing multiple choices and creating diverging timelines. Several times, the novel includes two different versions of the same events to show how different realities can become entangled.

Dr. Albert discusses Ts'ui Pen's deliberate avoidance of the word "time" in his novel. Its absence only emphasizes its importance. Ts'ui Pen believed in a multitude of parallel and diverging timelines where different possibilities and outcomes exist—these timelines and the various paths that can lead to different realities.

This web of time — the strands of which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect, or ignore each other through the centuries — embraces every possibility. Yu Tsun sees Captain Madden approaching the house.

Yu Tsun shoots and kills Dr. Albert. He is arrested and sentenced to be executed. However, he knows that his mission for the Germans has succeeded. German intelligence will read of his arrest and connect the name of his victim — Albert — with the French town of Albert, where the British artillery is located.