Death

"Un-Man."

When a man dies, things happen to his body, his brain and the society from which he has departed. Thus, Naysmith imagines Donner. Physically, the dead man sprawls sightlessly, muscles stiff, body devouring itself. Socially, he leaves a gap in the Brotherhood. (This Brotherhood has not been fully explained yet but we are starting to get the idea.) That leaves Donner's brain:

"...brain darkened, withdrawn into the great night..." (p. 48)

"...darkened..." is an appropriate description of a brain that has ceased to be conscious. It is not an entity in the brain but the brain itself that has entered "...the great night..." of unconscious, inanimate matter. But, of course, even "darkness" and "night" are not fully accurate descriptions of unconsciousness. We can be conscious on a dark night, not seeing but still thinking and using our other senses. Death is the permanent cessation of all that. At least, many of us believe so... Death is not only night but also a permanent dreamless sleep. I felt my consciousness cease under a general anesthetic and remember that now only because I regained consciousness later.