The Brain Character Analysis

The central robot in “Escape!” The Brain does not have a body in the same way that many of the other robots in the story do; it is more like a supercomputer. However, this does not prevent Calvin and others from anthropomorphizing The Brain. Calvin explains that The Brain is very advanced, but has the personality of a child. Thus, when they try to get The Brain to build a hyperspace ship for them, she tries to convince The Brain not to worry about death or destruction to humans (because the hyperspace jump means that Donovan and Powell will die temporarily). Still, the information unbalances The Brain, and it turns into a “practical joker”—another example of how the robots are anthropomorphized. The robot sends Donovan and Powell on the ship without their control or permission, and only provides them with milk and beans for sustenance. Thus, Calvin’s interactions with The Brain represent another example of how humans are often unable to predict how their creations work or will react to instructions from humans. Though The Brain does not hurt or kill Donovan and Powell, it causes them a deep amount of stress and suffering since they lose all control and don’t know when they might return to Earth. A predecessor of the Machines that control the world’s economy in the final story, The Brain represents another step in how humans are losing control of their creations.