They hate chaos and discord, yet they incited much death and suffering directly. The Many display some hypocrisy: they rail against cybernetics and machinery, yet it was them who instructed Marc Miller how to create the Midwives. The Many are not above using violence to ensure the success of their goal - aside from the invasive conversion process that turns humans into shambling Hybrids, they are also responsible for most of the atrocities aboard the Von Braun, including the creation of the Cyborg Midwives.

They also believe that they must bring an end to the human discord by absorbing all life. The Many view individuality as a weakness and a source of conflict. The Brain also possesses great Psionic power, which it uses to both protect itself and communicate directly with the player. It displays a degree of intelligence and is aware of player's actions throughout the game, thanks to the psychic link with the Annelids. The Brain is most likely the cognitive center of the Many, however the specifics of its functions are unknown and unexplained. Soldier first sees the Brain in a hallucinatory sequence on the Engineering Deck, and finally fights it in the Body of the Many. The Brain of the Many is its central mind and the first boss in System Shock 2.

System shock 2 btrain of the many