Short Fiction · Chapter
Mr. Spaceship explained
In the midst of an interstellar war against the Yucconae, Commander Kramer proposes using a human brain to pilot a spaceship through the living minefields that defend Proxima Centauri.
What happens
In the midst of an interstellar war against the Yucconae, Commander Kramer proposes using a human brain to pilot a spaceship through the living minefields that defend Proxima Centauri. He approaches his former professor, Professor Thomas, who agrees to the procedure. As the project nears completion, Professor Thomas reveals his true plan: to use the ship to establish a colony free from the cultural habit of war, hoping to prove that conflict is not innate to humanity.
Themes in this chapter
War and Destruction
The war against the Yucconae is a central conflict, with living minefields creating a stalemate and driving the need for a radical solution.
Ethics and Morality
Kramer struggles with the moral implications of asking Professor Thomas to sacrifice his body for the war effort, and Thomas questions the ethics of war itself.
Identity and Transformation
Professor Thomas's transformation from a human body to a brain piloting a spaceship represents a radical change in identity and purpose.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Spaceship Kramer
Proposes using a human brain to pilot a ship through living minefields; recruits Professor Thomas for the project.
- Commander Gross
Security commander involved in the project; discusses the problem of living mines and the brain transfer idea.
- Professor Thomas
Aged professor and former teacher of Kramer; agrees to the brain transfer and reveals his plan to start a colony without war.
- Dale Winter
Kramer's second in line; present during discussions about the project.
- Dolores Kramer
Appears at the end of the chapter, entering the control room.
Key passages
“How can a ship guided by automatic relays escape a mine that decides to explode? The whole theory of mine penetration is that you must avoid tripping the trigger. But here the trigger is a state of mind in a complicated, developed life-form.”
Kramer explains that the living mines make decisions to explode, so traditional countermeasures based on mechanical triggers are useless.
Highlights the unique challenge of the living minefield and the need for a living pilot.
“I think the human brain is the most agile of known living forms. Do you know of any better?”
Kramer proposes using a human brain to pilot the ship, as it is the most adaptable life-form available.
Introduces the core concept of the chapter: using a human brain as a spaceship's control system.
“If my theory were right that war is only a habit, not an instinct, a society built up apart from Terra with a minimum of cultural roots might develop differently.”
Professor Thomas believes war is a learned behavior, and a new colony could evolve without it if given the chance.
Reveals Thomas's deeper motive for agreeing to the project: to test his theory about the nature of war.