into motion by introducing contingencies, conflicts, human beings with hopes and despairs: in short, the elements of plot. The metaphysics itself explains why it might be worthwhile to make a plot out of an invented metaphysics.

The first ingredient of the world of Entropy is Hegelian dialectic. Contrary to popular belief, Hegel never said-or even implied-that a thesis must meet its antithesis and somehow generate a synthesis. For Hegel, the important triad was consciousness, self-consciousness, and reason. Whether we examine a person, an institution, a nation, or the whole human race, it always begins in consciousness. The subject of the story is, feels, and thinks. Then the subject