August 25, 1983, The Elephant, Homage to Isaac Babel, One of These Days Summary

In August 25, 1983, Jorge Luis Borges meets himself in twenty-three years in a hotel room. The older Borges is committing suicide, having realized that death is not to be fought while giving a lecture on the Aeneid. The younger Borges initially refuses to believe his older self, but after a time he begins to ask the dying man what will happen in the intervening years. The older Borges tells the younger that he has already seen his best years and done his best work. The older Borges finally passes away, and the younger leaves the hotel room dejected.

In The Elephant by Slawomir Mrozek, an ambitious zoo director wishes to ingratiate himself to party leaders and pocket a little money allocated to the zoo...