| A Greek-American math professor living in Istanbul combines his number theory research with religion while trying to find a cave that serves as a mystical gateway though which he can send his dead brother to his heavenly rest. However, a mysterious figure warns him of the danger of unintentionally sending the soul to hell.
The main character is a mathematician, as is his former thesis advisor who shows up to help but may have his own ulterior motives. A reasonably good description of the Riemann Hypothesis appears near the beginning of the story, though of course the idea that it could be used to find this gateway to the afterlife is vague and nonsensical. Besides a bit of mathematics, religion (ancient Greek as well as Christian) and translation of ancient texts also play a role.
This is one of many works of "mathematical horror" in the collection "Arithmophobia" edited by Robert Lewis. Some of the other works in that collection will have their own entries here, but others are excluded either because they did not qualify as "mathematical fiction" according to the standards of this website. Check out the book if you want to see them all. |
