Stanislaw Lem encountered a contradiction in his work very early on, which became a hindrance for other authors—especially science fiction writers—in their work: the ever-narrowing gap between technological development and scientifically utopian imagination. Very quickly, even the most brilliant designs of science fiction authors, particularly those based on the likelihood of their inventions, were caught up by reality. Their novels and stories lost vibrancy in comparison to the real world. It was here that Stanislaw Lem employed the grotesque parodic element, which the science fiction milieu only illuminated in increasingly absurd ways. Alongside Pirx, the space pilot, characters like Ion Tichy, Professor Tarantoga, Trurl, and Klapaucius from the "Star Diaries" and the "Robot Tales" emerged. Texts from "Moonlit Night" also belong to their circle.