The true meaning of a fictional text can be determined quantitatively by performing a sum over meanings calculation using the following postulates:

1. Meanings in fiction are probabilistic with predictable probabilities P.

2. The probability P for a meaning to occur is given by the square of the complex magnitude of an amplitude for the meaning, Q. The amplitude Q associated with a meaning is the sum of the amplitudes associated with every interpretation leading to the meaning.
 
3. The amplitude associated with a given reading is the product of the amplitudes associated with each fundamental reading of the text.