# The First True Individual — Last and First Men character guide

> The First True Individual in Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** the first true individual of the fourth human species

**First appearance:** 0049-i-the-first-of-the-great-brains

## Snapshot

A Fourth Man who awakens to selfhood among a species of telepathic group-minds, discovering both the glory and the terror of being singular.

## Who they are

In a species where minds fuse and individuality is unknown, this figure becomes the first to experience the world as a separate self — a rupture in the collective consciousness. The tension is immediate and tragic: the group cannot understand him, and he cannot return to the comfort of fusion. His awakening matters because it marks a turning point in human evolution, where the very capacity for individual identity becomes both a gift and a wound, foreshadowing the loneliness that will define later human species.

## In the story

### [Man Remakes Himself](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/xi-man-remakes-himself)

The first true individual of the fourth human species is produced after earlier failed attempts, representing the successful culmination of the Great Brain's project.

### [I: The First of the Great Brains](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/i-the-first-of-the-great-brains)

The first successful super-brain of the Fourth Men, created artificially, becomes autocrat and pursues scientific knowledge.

### [II: The Tragedy of the Fourth Men](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/ii-the-tragedy-of-the-fourth-men)

The unique individual who created the Fourth Men, seeking to overcome his limitations through progeny.

### [III: Epilogue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/iii-epilogue)

Mentioned as the latest born of the Last Men, whose voice brings comfort and exultation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/characters/the_first_true_individual
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/characters