The Place of Quarantine

Preface and Acknowledgments

This book is a work of fiction. The research efforts of its main protagonist cannot be considered scientifically legitimate – however, I have aimed to keep them as close as possible to genuine theories developed by serious scientists. I have also tried to avoid anything fundamentally impossible from a modern scientific point of view.

I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who have helped me in my work. I would especially like to mention Giuseppe Vitiello, whose articles, advice and consultations have played a significant role in the formation of the book’s most important concepts. The main one – the application of quantum field theory to the modeling of human memory and intelligence – in many respects echoes the works of Vitiello, including his publications in co-authorship with Walter Freeman and others.

Many thanks are due to Andrei Parnachev for our conversation about superstrings and branes.

And finally, a special thanks to Alexander Bobkov, who agreed to read through most of the manuscript and made a number of valuable comments.