The Phantom Scientist

by Robin Cousin, Edward Gauvin (Translator)

Overview

A mind-bending graphic novel that teases devious thrills from the mysteries of systems theory.

An isolated institute laid out in a Fibonacci sequence, hidden deep in the forest. Twenty-four labs. Twenty-four researchers. Until one of them disappears . . .

When physicist Stéphane Douasy arrives to occupy the vacant twenty-fourth lab at the Institute for the Study of Complex and Dynamic Systems, an ominous problem rises in his wake: what has happened to his missing neighbor in Building F?

When Stéphane’s neighbors, a discouraged linguist and a computer scientist bent on predicting the future, discover that the missing researcher may have solved the P versus NP problem—a coup in computer science with revolutionary implications for everything from mathematics to philosophy—before vanishing, things turn stranger still, and even more menacing. Solving the mystery of the Institute and its devolution into mayhem and violence every seventh year quickly shifts from being an intellectual exercise to a matter of life and death.

The Phantom Scientist is part thriller, part mystery, part systems theory—and all enthralling. The tale slyly draws together linguistics, biology, astrophysics, and robotics in a mind-bending puzzle that will thrill and inform readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262047869
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	02/21/2023
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	1,055,037
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Robin Cousin is cofounder of Éditions Les Machines and co-organizer of FOFF, an annual festival of independent micropresses at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. His art and storytelling in The Phantom Scientist are informed by the work done at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Is human behavior predictable? And what would happen if you could predict it? The Phantom Scientist is not only a mystery that’s difficult to put down, it’s a deep dive into questions raised by the science of self-organized complex systems that hover on the edge of chaos. You will not regret reading this book.”
—Sabine Hossenfelder, physicist; author of Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions

Editorial Reviews

01/30/2023

An elusive scientist claims to solve a landmark mathematical problem and then vanishes in Cousin’s intrigue-laden academic thriller. Scientists from assorted disciplines pursue independent research at the Institute for the Study of Complex and Dynamic Systems. The Institute is itself an ongoing experiment, a dynamic system gradually cycling “toward entropy and chaos,” which new residents are selected to rebalance. The Institute’s director, Mr. Sorokin, hopes the program’s latest arrival, Stéphane Douasy, proves a calming ballast, otherwise, Sorokin may be forced to terminate the program. Upon his arrival, Stéphane, along with lab neighbors, investigates the enigmatic figure of the title, Vinaiy Paniandy, a secretive computer scientist claiming to have solved the momentous “P vs. NP” problem, which presupposes the existence of an algorithm capable of “solving any problem that has a valid solution.” Cousin doesn’t shy from technical exposition, but tackles theory with a gamer’s sense of play. Indeed, the Fibonacci sequence of hexagons that maps the Institute’s woodland campus evokes the board game Settlers of Catan, while the squat, stylized character drawings vaguely resemble video game avatars. Cousin adroitly balances an accessible introduction to systems theory with a smart, well-paced mystery, animated by the very concepts he endeavors to explain. To combine mystery and a math comic, it’s an elegant solution. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"A puzzle, a panopticon, and an invitation to seek answers even as obstructions abound, this is an engaging, dryly funny read for armchair philosophers, disillusioned academics, and the unceasingly curious."
– Library Journal

"Cousin adroitly balances an accessible introduction to systems theory with a smart, well-paced mystery, animated by the very concepts he endeavors to explain. To combine mystery and a math comic, it’s an elegant solution."
– Publishers Weekly

"Cousin’s thick and stylized drawings propel this thriller, involving a scientist who has vanished after claiming to have solved a momentous mathematical problem. As his colleagues search for his whereabouts, the isolated institute where they toil devolves into chaos.”
– The New York Times

“Cousin’s novel is an engaging mix of mystery, science fiction and complexity theory, told through artwork that is simple, uncluttered and easy to follow…The languid, almost cinematic pace of the story pulls the reader in, creating a sense of space and time that contrasts with the change in tempo as events accelerate towards the end.”
– Physics World

“This is a beautiful and sublime piece of work. The graphics are simple and the colours bold, standing in contrast with the complexity of the ideas touched on in the story which, ultimately, have to do with how science works and the nature of creativity itself.”
– BSFA Review

From the Publisher

12/02/2022

Cousin makes his English-language debut with a tragicomic tale of academia and entrenchment, of philosophy and computer logic, with an idiosyncratic cast of unusual suspects. The Institute is a sort of panopticon, wherein academic researchers from various disciplines are isolated and scrutinized as they pursue their research, in a higher-order experiment to understand how and why institutional systems break down. When the story begins, the fourth such institute is lingering on the precipice of devolution, due to a seemingly simple discovery that would skyrocket the development of artificial intelligence. A few curious researchers decide to delve into the disappearance of one of their housemates, and in turn, the Institute's dramatic end is accelerated. This phantom, or perhaps simply absent, scientist's foundation-shaking research is compelling, but the biting critique of the fascinating, fruitful, and all too often futile work of academic life is the true core of this book. Cousin's illustrations are rounded and colorful, bringing an enjoyable dissonance to the dark tale. VERDICT A puzzle, a panopticon, and an invitation to seek answers even as obstructions abound, this is an engaging, dryly funny read for armchair philosophers, disillusioned academics, and the unceasingly curious.

Library Journal