Brainchild

"Brainchild" by Henry Slesar is a science fiction novella likely written in the mid-20th century. The story explores themes of identity and transformation, focusing on the experience of a thirty-year-old man named Ron Carver who mysteriously finds himself inhabiting the body of a twelve-year-old boy. This body-switching scenario serves as the central premise, raising questions about personal identity and the consequences of extraordinary intelligence and power. In the narrative, Ron Carver awakens to find that his adult consciousness has been transferred into the body of a child, specifically a boy at Roverwood Home for Boys. As he navigates the challenges of his new life, including interactions with other boys and trying to comprehend his situation, Ron discovers that the transformation is linked to a boy genius known as the Scholar. The story follows Ron's desperate attempts to return to his original body and confront the Scholar, leading to a tense revelation about the nature of their exchange and the broader implications of genius and mortality. Ultimately, what unfolds is a poignant exploration of purpose, survival, and the complex dynamics of intelligence and humanity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Henry Slesar was an American author and playwright. He is famous for his use of irony and twist endings. After reading Slesar's "M Is for the Many" in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock bought it for adaptation and they began many successful collaborations. Slesar wrote hundreds of scripts for television series and soap operas, leading TV Guide to call him "the writer with the largest audience in America."