A Theological Analysis of Fredric Brown’s short sci-fi story, “Answer.”
Those who are acquainted with me know that my nerdy self is a sucker for fantasy. I am generally engaged in reading anything written by J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis but oftentimes, I’m looking for the most overlooked in our contemporary culture. Today, I’m writing about a piece from Fredric Brown; a man who hated to write and would often take a bus journey for days as he came up with a story to tell.
In his short story called “Answer, ” Fredric heavily emphasizes the implications of how the idolatry of technology and human arrogance can be our downfall. I’m not entirely sure what his religious beliefs were (if any), but as a Christian with a Biblical worldview, I could not help but think Brown was on to something about the total depravity of our human condition. So, I’m going to, as the Youtubers say, “…jump right into it!”
*Be sure to click on the hyperlink at the heading of the post so that you can follow along! Also, what I’ve written here was an analysis I wrote in college with a few adjustments to make it a bit more smooth and coherent.**
For this reader, the story itself encapsulates the very condition of Man: The fallible
search for the Greatest Answer. The main protagonists are two people named Dwar Ryen and Dwar Ev, who are about to turn on a supercomputer that is powered by all of the other monster computers within the entire universe. Their appointed task is to ask the machine questions, that is, more specifically, the most important question that had (to them) remained unanswered:Is there a God?In few words, Brown articulately paints the picture to the audience Man’s need to know God in that he is always searching for Him. His descriptors mirror Biblical accounts such as the Tower of Babel event, where all nations worked collectively to reach the heavens in order to be like the all-knowing God. Brown draws on the idolatrous actions in the beginning and the horrible ramifications at the very end, leaving the reader with a resounding “Yes!”
The first sentence introduces right away the ceremonious reverence displayed by Dwar Evas he soldered the last connection with gold. He does so under the eyes of trillions who were witnessing this magnanimous event. Dwar Reyn then spoke to the vast audience while Dwar Ev stood by the switch. After the speech came a moment of silence; a moment filled with contemplation, reflection, and even prayer. While the author did not convey exactly what was said, the moment of silence makes a clear distinction that this event was held with some sort of religious devotion. Soon after, Dwar Reyn turned to Dwar Ev and gave him the command to flip the switch. Dwar Ev did so and stepped back, took a deep breath, and gave the honor of asking the first question to Dwar Reyn, as they both had more than one question to ask.To me, this scene painted a sad reflection of the reality that despite having all the knowledge in the universe, the end result was a futile attempt to obtain answers of the supernatural through solely natural means.
Dwar Reyn then thanks Dwar Ev and goes on to say that his question will be one that no single cybernetics machine has been able to answer. He did not then understand the danger of making such an admission in front of the supercomputer. Dwar Reyn turned to face the computer and asked, “Is there a God?” The computer immediately and clearly responded, “Yes, now there is a God.”
In fear, Dwar Ev attempted to grab the switch but a bolt of lightning came down from the sky, struck him, and fused the switch shut. It is important for the reader to understand that the computer became self- aware; not a moral being. Its’ creator made a statement that gave it the most logical conclusion: that it was superior to Man and all of its own predecessors.
Fallen man made the computer and it was made in his image; not God’s. Therefore, if Man is evil, his creation will manifest the end result of his evil, which is death. It will not itself be guilty of being evil because it does not discern morality. The most powerful computer ever created concluded that it was the god of its creator, thus his creator turning to face it was a sin. No living human can look at the face of God and live. It is extremely important to realize the significance of names and story parallels within this piece. The word, “God” being capitalized has a religious connotation. Is this the Creator striking down the creation with lightning for worshipping it instead of Him? After all, God used nature to punish idolaters before, as we’ve read in Scripture.
Going back to what I mentioned above, Brown’s story is also akin to Tower of Babel. The instance of humans going too far with technology has been done often throughout human history. The switch being fused shut is a symbolic wave to God’s solution regarding that incident. The technology itself we use is not evil, but rather a tool used by a moral or immoral person. Computers can discern logic, animals can discern feelings and instincts, but only human beings know right from wrong. The image of God in Man; unique in all creation.The human mind is more powerful than the largest supercomputer and can
solve many things but because of our fallen nature, we are given over to a debased mind. How
would it not anger God when Man takes what he has been given and then stoops down to put the creation above himself and God?
The meaning of the protagonists’ names is substantial when understanding the potent theological connections within Brown’s short sci-fi thriller story. To elaborate, Reyn means “rule, gift of God.” This person, who is the ruler and has the gift of God (dominion over all of creation) turns to ask his own creation, “Is there a God?” Thereby handing over his dominion to what he perceives as his better (the computer). Ev means, “God is gracious”. He was graciously allowed to flip the switch and activate this machine to do with it what he will.It is a common theme in Scripture to see God allowing Man to sin for the purpose of seeing Him. Furthermore, the word, “Dwar” in Hindi means, door or gateway or someone standing at a threshold. How does this connect with the two characters in their religious mission? They were on the threshold of passing through a new doorway and when the lightning struck fusing the switch shut, the door was shut behind them. There was no turning back nor was there any moving forward.
This was/is their judgment.
After reading this story and knowing a bit of Brown’s personality/writing methods, I can’t help but wonder how deep he was thinking on one of his bus rides for this one. What a conversation that would have been! While incredibly short, “Answer” really packs some heavy material for the human mind to consider. It was incredibly fun going down different paths when dissecting this piece with theological lenses.
Even if I am far off base (pun intended), Christians need to remember that even the unbeliever can paint some really impactful pictures of our human condition and the brokenness Mankind suffers without God. I believe that even the honest and self-examining atheist recognizes the futility in searching for what’s “out there” to replace the Someone who has already made Himself known in all of our hearts.