{{Short description|Fictional objects in Stanisław Lem works}} '''Sepulkas''' ({{langx|pl|sepulki}}, singular ''sepulka'') (also '''sepulcas''' or '''scrupts''' in English translation)<ref name="scrupts">[http://english.lem.pl/faq#scrupts "Scrupts"] at the FAQ page of Lem's official website</ref> are fictional objects mentioned in Stanisław Lem's books ''The Star Diaries'' and ''Observation on the Spot''. The nature of these objects, their physical properties, and their use are mysterious.
==In-universe sepulkas== Sepulkas are first mentioned by Lem's interstellar traveller Ijon Tichy during his fourteenth voyage. Lem never explains what they are nor how they are used.
The ''Encyclopaedia Cosmica'' gives the following definitions:<ref>''The Star Diaries'', ''The Fourteenth Voyage''</ref>
*'''Sepulka''' – pl.: '''sepulki''', a prominent element of the civilization of ''Ardrites'' from the planet of ''Enteropia''; see "''Sepulkaria''" *'''Sepulkaria''' – sing: '''sepulkarium''', establishments used for ''sepuling''; see "''Sepuling''" *'''Sepuling''' ({{langx|pl|sepulenie}}) – an activity of ''Ardrites'' from the planet of ''Enteropia''; see "''Sepulka''"
Puzzled by these circular definitions, Tichy decides to visit Enteropia and learn about sepulkas firsthand. There, he notices that hints to sepulkas are omnipresent in art, media, and commercials; however, any discussion about sepulkas is taboo and Tichy's attempts to learn about them are seen by the locals as faux pas. Eventually Tichy decides to purchase a sepulka. The salesman asks him where his wife is and Tichy admits that he is a bachelor, which leaves the salesman speechless. Another of Tichy's attempts ends even worse: he asks his friend about sepulkas in a pub. The friend's wife faints, other customers are shocked, and Tichy is thrown out of the pub.<ref name="orl">Wojciech Orliński, ''Co to są sepulki? Wszystko o Lemie'' [''What are Sepulki? Everything about Lem''], 2007, {{ISBN|8324007989}}, pp. 191-193.</ref>
In ''Observation on the Spot'' it is revealed that the planet Enteropia does not exist, being no more than camouflage for the planet Entia. It is further revealed that the entire ''Encyclopaedia Cosmica'' was a hoax — and therefore any speculations about the "pornosphericity" of sepulkas must be discounted. Tichy's friend, professor Tarantoga, knew this, but forgot to warn Tichy.<ref name="orl"/>
Lem's last work, the 2005 essay "Głosy z sieci" ("Voices from the Net"), contained answers to questions from Russian internet users to Lem. Two users wrote that since their childhood they had wondered what sepulkas were and what their "pornosphericity" was. Lem's answer was: "Well, I have no idea myself."<ref>Orliński, p. 245</ref>
A comparison of two recent Russian biographies of Lem (written in 2014 and 2015) notes that neither biographer was able to clarify the nature of sepulkas.<ref>Sergey Shikarev [http://www.nm1925.ru/Archive/Journal6_2016_9/Content/Publication6_6442/Default.aspx "Лемологи и сепульки" ], ''Novy Mir'', no. 9, 2016</ref>
In 1985, ''The Fourteenth Voyage'' of Tichy was rendered as a Russian-language animated film in the Soviet Union. Produced by Azerbaijanfilm, this 10-minute film was titled ''From the Diaries of Ijon Tichy. A Voyage to Enteropia'' ({{langx|ru|link=no|Из дневников Ийона Тихого. Путешествие на Интеропию}}).<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q4198247|id=tt2401236|title=From the Diaries of Ijon Tichy. A Voyage to Enteropia}}</ref> In the film, Tichy acquires a sepulka (an egg-shaped object), but when he tries to board his spaceship (piloted by professor Tarantoga), he is hit by a meteorite, the plague of Enteropia, and at that moment it is revealed that the purchased egg-shaped object stored Tichys's double, which was the standard remedy against the meteorite kills on Enteropia.<ref>''From the Diaries of Ijon Tichy. A Voyage to Enteropia'' ({{langx|ru|link=no|Из дневников Ийона Тихого. Путешествие на Интеропию}}), animated film</ref>
In a 2009 interview with ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' Lem's son Tomasz said that Lem carefully watched that in the translations of his works the word "sepulka" had no associations with any word in the target language. Tomasz Lem also said that he at least knew one thing that a sepulka does ''not'' look like: a fan had once sent his father a painting of a sepulka, somewhat resembling a sailboat. Lem, disappointed, replied that the painting did not resemble a sepulka at all.<ref>[https://solaris.lem.pl/o-lemie/ksiazki-o-lemie/tomasz-lem/467-naczelny-aprowizator?showall=1 Awantury na tle powszechnego ciążenia / Naczelny aprowizator], an interview, ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' 20.09.2009</ref>
The FAQ at lem.pl claims that sepulkas resemble ''murkwie'' and ''pćmy łagodne'', although their uses are completely different.<ref>[https://solaris.lem.pl/faq#sepulki FAQ] at lem.pl</ref>
==Legacy== In 1983–1986, the Polish Union of Fans of Science Fiction (Polskie Stowarzyszenie Miłośników Fantastyki) issued the {{ill|Golden Sepulka Award|pl|Złota Sepulka}} for works of science fiction.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927032414/http://nagrody.fandom.art.pl/Sepulka.html "Nagroda Złotej Sepulki"]</ref> It was superseded by the Janusz A. Zajdel Award.
''Sepulcidae'' is a family of extinct hymenopteran insects found in 1968 in Transbaikalia. It was identified by Alexandr Pavlovich Rasnitsyn and named by his colleague and science-fiction author Kirill Eskov.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} Каракоз Роман. Где живут сепульки: [О двух видах палеонтологических перепончатокрылых — Sepulka mirabilis и Sepulenia syricta] // Новая интересная газета (Киев). — 2004. — № 1. — С. 5. — (Блок Z: Просто фантастика). [http://stangwlem.ru/bibl/lb2004.shtml Annotation]{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (also [https://bvi.rusf.ru/fanta/bvi20042.htm here]) :''Quote: Оказывается, сепулек, которые оказались вовсе не моллюсками, а перепончатокрылыми насекомыми, открыл Александр Павлович Расницын (кстати, работающий в одной лаборатории с известным писателем Кириллом Еськовым). Он-то и посылал в свое время Лему свою книжку, где, кроме прочего, были описаны Сепулька удивительная (Sepulca mirabilis) и Сепуление со свистом (дословно – свистящее: Sepulenia syricta).''</ref>
In 1972 Russian paleontologist Nina Shevyryova (Нина Семёновна Шевырёва, 1931–1996) named an extinct rodent ''Sepulkomys eboretus''.<ref>Шевырева H.С. Палеонтологическая "Тихиана", in the preface to the Russian anniversary edition of Lem's ''Star Diaries'', "Звездные дневники: Рекламно-информационный выпуск: Специальное издание к семидесятилетию Станислава Лема", 1991, p. 10. :''Quote'': В память о светлой и безмятежной радости, почти восторге, которые с тех пор уже почти не приходили ко мне, в знак моей глубокой благодарности к писателю за испытанные чувства я описала и назвала в 1972 году некоторых из самых древних грызунов, которые жили почти 40 миллионов лет назад в Монголии и в Зайсанской впадине, – Сепулькомис эборетус (Sepulkomys eboretus) и Ардиномис гламбус (Ardynomys glambus)</ref> "Eboretus" is another bow to Lem: "eboret" is a type of public transport on the planet Enteropia visited by Tichy in his "Fourteenth Voyage".
In 2007 Wojciech Orliński published a book ''Co to są sepulki? Wszystko o Lemie'' ("What are Sepulkas? Everything about Lem").<ref name="orl"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Stanisław Lem}}
Category:Stanisław Lem Category:Fictional objects Category:Words originating in fiction Category:1950s neologisms Category:Fictional story elements introduced in 1956