Here in all its eccentricity is the cutting edge of science: a magnetic train that requires no outside energy source; solar-powered interplanetary travel; an air-purifying helmet; and a device to reduce radioactivity. And just as engrossing is the eccentricity of the invention subculture. Always lurking in the background - and occasionally dominating the foreground - are the fundamental issues that the scientific avant-garde inevitably confronts: the nature of knowledge, the meaning of thought, the essence of senses, the sanctity of life, the existence of God...all of which leads to the fascinating final chapter, in which the author attempts - and fails - to patent himself.