Last and First Men · Character

The Great Brains

Sessile, telepathic colossi who rule a planet of serfs yet suspect that knowing everything amounts to knowing nothing at all.

major

Also known as The Great Brains

First appearance: i the first of the great brains

As a major figure in Last and First Men, The Great Brains is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Mentioned as part of the ancient World State's history, their rule is contrasted with the Patagonian's paternalistic governance.

In the storyIV: The CatastropheOpen this moment free

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The Great Brains are the Fourth Men's final experiment: vast disembodied intellects who govern the Third Men as menials while pursuing pure intellection as the sole purpose of existence. When research stalls, their dispassion sours into cold jealousy of their servants' movement, companionship, and lovemaking — cravings they disguise even from themselves. Their escalating demands, including a plan to multiply themselves a thousandfold and slaughter all useless animals, turn a devoted workforce into a divided and mutinous population.

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See The Great Brains in i the first of the great brains

Character Web

9 connections

A slice of how The Great Brains sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Earth's Human Succession
Protagonist
Nations, Concepts, and Later Humans

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

The emotional peak occurs when the Fifth Men, having achieved profound self-awareness and intimacy over millen…

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In the story

The Great Brains appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

IV: The Catastrophe
Mentioned as part of the ancient World State's history, their rule is contrasted with the Patagonian's paternalistic governance.
IV: Conflicting Policies
The secret project aims to breed a being that is 'nothing but man,' with brain as the sole focus, potentially leading to the Great Brains.
Man Remakes Himself
The first Great Brain is created and becomes an autocrat, mastering science and philosophy. It later designs and produces the Fourth Men, a new species of super-intellects.
II: The Tragedy of the Fourth Men
The Fourth Men themselves, who are the central focus of the chapter's tragedy.
III: The Fifth Men
The intellectual elite of the Fourth Men who oversee the creation and later fail to understand the Fifth Men.
Exploration of Time
Referenced in a child's vision of 'little red people living in a squat white tower,' indicating their historical presence.

Chapter companion notes

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See The Great Brains in i the first of the great brains

See The Great Brains in IV: The Catastrophe