In the steampunk genre, if the beating heart is the steam engine, the brain is the Analytical Engine.

A mechanical general-purpose computer designed to automate complex mathematical calculations, the Analytical Engine was designed by British mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage in the 1830s, conceived as the next step in automated calculation following Babbage’s own more simplified Difference Engine. It featured key innovations in the burgeoning art of computer science, such as a stored program and punch cards for input, output, and program control.

Unfortunately, due to issues with funding and repeated conflicts with his chief engineer, Babbage was never able to construct his magnum opus in his lifetime. However, his designs have been studied ever since, with partial constructions undertaken by various scholars and engineers over the years, including by Babbage’s own son.