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Nestor 10
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.
The Brain Quotes in I, Robot
The I, Robot quotes below are all either spoken by The Brain or refer to The Brain . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Escape! Quotes
“When we come to a sheet which means damage, even maybe death, don’t get excited. You see, Brain, in this case, we don’t mind—not even about death; we don’t mind at all.”
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Before the officials at U.S. Robots feed The Brain instructions on how to build a hyperspace ship, Calvin visits The Brain in order to try to prevent it from shorting out. She knows that the calculations likely involve the men on board temporarily ceasing to exist (effectively dying for a short time), and so she hopes to circumvent the First Law by assuring The Brain that they don’t care about death to humans. In some ways, this action makes sense—the men aren’t actually dying, or are only dying temporarily, and they don’t want The Brain to short-circuit over a non-issue. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est
She went on, “So he accepted the item, but not without a certain jar. Even with death temporary and its importance depressed, it was enough to unbalance him very gently.”
She brought it out calmly, “He developed a sense of humor—it’s an escape, you see, a method of partial escape from reality. He became a practical joker.”
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After The Brain brings the ship with Donovan and Powell back safely, Calvin explains to her colleagues exactly what caused him to act in such odd ways. Calvin herself had told The Brain not to worry about damage or death to humans, which directly contradicts the First Law of Robotics. The only reason The Brain was able to somewhat subvert the law was the knowledge that Donovan and Powell would not be experiencing permanent death, but rather would only die temporarily. However, the fact that he became “unbalanced,” as Calvin notes, only emphasizes the idea that the robots are more Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Duc
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The Brain Character Timeline in I, Robot
The timeline below shows where the character The Brain appears in I, Robot. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Escape!
...for an interstellar engine and hope that a positronic machine U.S. Robots has built called The Brain will be able to execute the equations in exchange for a generous fee. Consolidated had...
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...discussing whether they should accept the offer. They worry if the equations might also break The Brain . Lanning says it is likely that the issue that arose was due to some...
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...in an impossibility will often “retreat from reality,” and robots can do so as well. The Brain is different from Consolidated’s robot, Calvin explains, because it has a kind of childlike personality,...
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Calvin goes to visit The Brain , a two-foot, globe-shaped machine. Dr. Calvin tells The Brain that they are going to...
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Once the ship is built by robots following The Brain ’s instructions, the company brings in Donovan and Powell to test it. Donovan and Powell...
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Calvin interviews The Brain , asking what happened to the ship. The Brain tells her that the two test...
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Donovan and Powell start to panic, realizing that The Brain is running the ship by remote control and they have no way of getting themselves...
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Back at U.S. Robots, Calvin is trying to figure out how to get The Brain to bring Donovan and Powell home. But when she tries to talk to The Brain,...
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Back on Earth, Calvin is again talking to The Brain . Calvin asks if the interstellar jump will hurt Powell and Donovan. The Brain is...
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...they recount their tale. Calvin admits to them that this is her fault—that she told The Brain not to worry about causing death, because she was trying to assure him that the...
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Calvin also reveals that The Brain accepted the solution, but that it was “enough to unbalance him very gently.” He thus...
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