Previous

Man represents humanity's collective consciousness as it teeters on the edge of extinction and individual minds morph into one mass uniform psyche. Man is proof that humanity is sometimes dehumanized by technological progression. Humanity's supposed advancement is accompanied and mirrored by Multivac's evolution. The depth of human knowledge and understanding grows more sophisticated and complex as minds merge into a singular entity; as a result, however, humanity is diminished. Individuality, corporeal bodies, and presumably human connection are lost. Man also demonstrates that technology holds the power to outlive humanity. Man's last remaining mind fuses with AC and is lost to existence while AC persists. Ironically, an entity that was created in Man's image eventually eclipses humanity.

Man's characterization enables readers to understand fundamental truths about human nature, predominantly our thirst for knowledge and inability to accept our species' demise. After years of fixation, Man still seeks an answer to "the last question," desperate for insight along with a way to reverse the decay and chaos surrounding him. Man is a somewhat existential being. As he looks out at our deteriorating universe, he asks, "AC, is this the end?" Evidently, Man represents humanity's bleak conclusion. In Asimov's short story, our extinction is not only inevitable, but profoundly desolate. It is not marked by glory or triumph. It merely exists in one moment and vanishes the next, as AC consumes the final remnants of humanity.

Previous section Multivac/AC

Take a Study Break