The plot of this book is not just a romantic fiction of the author, but also an attempt at a historical study of one of the most delightful hoaxes of the Enlightenment, so rich in all sorts of inventions. 250 years ago, the outstanding inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen designed a mechanical chess player, the great-great-grandfather of modern chess computers. Kempelen's machine gun toured with great success throughout Europe from Vienna to Paris and London, beating nobles and even crowned persons - Frederick the Great and Napoleon.