Nov 23, 2011 - It has always driven us to thoughts which are ... One, indivisible and forever." ... we always understood it before the Teachers had spoken.
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Title: Anthem Author: A n Rand Release Date: August 13, 2008 [EBook #1250] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTHEM ***
Produced b An Anon mous Group of Volunteers, and David Widger
ANTHEM b A n Rand
Contents Chap er www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
Chap er
Chap er 1/47
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One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four
Five Chapter Six
Nine Chapter Ten
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Twelve
Chap er One It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone. We have broken the laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven! But this is not the only sin upon us. We have committed a greater crime, and for this crime there is no name. What punishment awaits us if it be discovered we know not, for no such crime has come in the memory of men and there are no laws to provide for it. It is dark here. The flame of the candle stands still in the air. Nothing moves in this tunnel save our hand on the paper. We are alone here under the earth. It is a fearful word, alone. The laws say that none among men may be alone, ever and at any time, for this is the great transgression and the root of all evil. But we have broken many laws. And now there is nothing here save our one body, and it is strange to see only two legs stretched on the ground, and on the wall before us the shadow of our one head. The walls are cracked and water runs upon them in thin threads without sound, black and glistening as blood. We stole the candle from the larder of the Home of the Street Sweepers. We shall be sentenced to ten years in the Palace of Corrective Detention if it be discovered. But this matters not. It matters only that the light is precious and we should not waste it to write when we need it for that work which is our crime. Nothing matters save the work, our secret, our evil, our precious work. Still, we must also write, for may the Council have mercy upon us! we wish to speak for once to no ears but our own. Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron bracelet which all www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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i . We e e g i a d e c fe i he e: e e e g i f he g ea Ta ge i f P efe e ce. We efe ed e a d e e he he . We did i e e he hi f a he C ci e ec ed i ce he G ea Rebi h. B e ed he Scie ce f Thi g . We i hed . We i hed ab a he hi g hich a e he ea h a d . We a ed a e i ha he Teache f bade i . We hi ha he e a e e ie i he a d de he a e a d i he a hich g . B he C ci f Sch a ha aid ha he e a e e ie , a d he C ci f Sch a a hi g . A d e ea ed ch f Teache . We ea ed ha he ea h i f a a d ha he e e a d i , hich ca e he da a d igh . We ea ed he a e f a he i d hich b e he ea a d h he ai f g ea hi . We ea ed h b eed e c e he f a ai e . We ed he e a hei ha e i i h ,a d ee hea he Sch a
he Scie ce f Thi g . A d i he da e , i he ec e h , e i he igh a d he e e e b he a d ,b he bed a d hei e , e c ed e e , a d e he d e ed b ea h, ha h dde igh e b he g e , a d e h gh ha e i hed be e he H e f he i e d c e.
A f he g ea de i e i c ef he H ch a he e e e, hich a f d a h d ed a e ca d e f a a d i g; a , h a e ga id ec f he ai . T fi d he e hi g d he ea h a d ea f he i e , f he a d , he c . A d if e e he H e f he Sch a , he e a . We c d a e i f he e, f he d A d e i gi e e . We h e ha , e e a d e e . B e ca ei ha he e a e g ea hi g hi ea h f , a d ha We a , h e , b i ha a e gi ha e a .
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and when the Students stepped before them, one after another, the Council said: "Carpenter" or "Doctor" or "Cook" or "Leader." Then each Student raised their right arm and said: "The will of our brothers be done." Now if the Council said "Carpenter" or "Cook," the Students so assigned go to work and do not study any further. But if the Council has said "Leader," then those Students go into the Home of the Leaders, which is the greatest house in the City, for it has three stories. And there they study for many years, so that they may become candidates and be elected to the City Council and the State Council and the World Council by a free and general vote of all men. But we wished not to be a Leader, even though it is a great honor. We wished to be a Scholar. So we awaited our turn in the great hall and then we heard the Council of Vocations call our name: "Equality 7-2521." We walked to the dais, and our legs did not tremble, and we looked up at the Council. There were five members of the Council, three of the male gender and two of the female. Their hair was white and their faces were cracked as the clay of a dry river bed. They were old. They seemed older than the marble of the Temple of the World Council. They sat before us and they did not move. And we saw no breath to stir the folds of their white togas. But we knew that they were alive, for a finger of the hand of the oldest rose, pointed to us, and fell down again. This was the only thing which moved, for the lips of the oldest did not move as they said: "Street Sweeper." We felt the cords of our neck grow tight as our head rose higher to look upon the faces of the Council, and we were happy. We knew we had been guilty, but now we had a way to atone for it. We would accept our Life Mandate, and we would work for our brothers, gladly and willingly, and we would erase our sin against them, which they did not know, but we knew. So we were happy, and proud of ourselves and of our victory over ourselves. We raised our right arm and we spoke, and our voice was the clearest, the steadiest voice in the hall that day, and we said: "The will of our brothers be done." And we looked straight into the eyes of the Council, but their eyes were as cold as blue glass buttons. So we went into the Home of the Street Sweepers. It is a grey house on a narrow street. There is a sundial in its courtyard, by which the Council of the Home can tell the hours of the day and when to ring the bell. When the bell rings, we all arise from our beds. The sky is green and cold in our windows to the east. The shadow on the sundial marks off a half-hour while we dress and eat our breakfast in the dining hall, where there are five long tables with twenty clay plates and twenty clay cups on each table. Then we go to work in the streets of the City, with our brooms and our rakes. In five hours, when the sun is high, we return to the Home and we eat our midday meal, for which one-half www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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hour is allowed. Then we go to work again. In five hours, the shadows are blue on the pavements, and the sk is blue with a deep brightness which is not bright. We come back to have our dinner, which lasts one hour. Then the bell rings and we walk in a straight column to one of the Cit Halls, for the Social Meeting. Other columns of men arrive from the Homes of the different Trades. The candles are lit, and the Councils of the different Homes stand in a pulpit, and the speak to us of our duties and of our brother men. Then visiting Leaders mount the pulpit and the read to us the speeches which were made in the Cit Council that da , for the Cit Council represents all men and all men must know. Then we sing h mns, the H mn of Brotherhood, and the H mn of Equalit , and the H mn of the Collective Spirit. The sk is a sogg purple when we return to the Home. Then the bell rings and we walk in a straight column to the Cit Theatre for three hours of Social Recreation. There a pla is shown upon the stage, with two great choruses from the Home of the Actors, which speak and answer all together, in two great voices. The pla s are about toil and how good it is. Then we walk back to the Home in a straight column. The sk is like a black sieve pierced b silver drops that tremble, read to burst through. The moths beat against the street lanterns. We go to our beds and we sleep, till the bell rings again. The sleeping halls are white and clean and bare of all things save one hundred beds. Thus have we lived each da of four ears, until two springs ago when our crime happened. Thus must all men live until the are fort . At fort , the are worn out. At fort , the are sent to the Home of the Useless, where the Old Ones live. The Old Ones do not work, for the State takes care of them. The sit in the sun in summer and the sit b the fire in winter. The do not speak often, for the are wear . The Old Ones know that the are soon to die. When a miracle happens and some live to be fort -five, the are the Ancient Ones, and children stare at them when passing b the Home of the Useless. Such is to be our life, as that of all our brothers and of the brothers who came before us. Such would have been our life, had we not committed our crime which has changed all things for us. And it was our curse which drove us to our crime. We had been a good Street Sweeper and like all our brother Street Sweepers, save for our cursed wish to know. We looked too long at the stars at night, and at the trees and the earth. And when we cleaned the ard of the Home of the Scholars, we gathered the glass vials, the pieces of metal, the dried bones which the had discarded. We wished to keep these things and to stud them, but we had no place to hide them. So we carried them to the Cit Cesspool. And then we made the discover . It was on a da of the spring before last. We Street Sweepers work in brigades of three, and we were with Union 5-3992, the of the half-brain, and with International 4-8818. Now Union 5-3992 are a sickl lad and sometimes the are stricken with convulsions, when their mouth froths and their e es turn white. But International 4-8818 are different. The are a tall, strong outh and their e es are like fireflies, for there is laughter in their e es. We cannot look www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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upon International 4-8818 and not smile in answer. For this the were not liked in the Home of the Students, as it is not proper to smile without reason. And also the were not liked because the took pieces of coal and the drew pictures upon the walls, and the were pictures which made men laugh. But it is onl our brothers in the Home of the Artists who are permitted to draw pictures, so International 4-8818 were sent to the Home of the Street Sweepers, like ourselves. International 4-8818 and we are friends. This is an evil thing to sa , for it is a great transgression, the great Transgression of Preference, to love an among men better than the others, since we must love all men and all men are our friends. So International 4-8818 and we have never spoken of it. But we know. We know, when we look into each other's e es. And when we look thus without words, we both know other things also, strange things for which there are no words, and these things frighten us. So on that da of the spring before last, Union 5-3992 were stricken with convulsions on the edge of the Cit , near the Cit Theatre. We left them to lie in the shade of the Theatre tent and we went with International 4-8818 to finish our work. We came together to the great ravine behind the Theatre. It is empt save for trees and weeds. Be ond the ravine there is a plain, and be ond the plain there lies the Uncharted Forest, about which men must not think. We were gathering the papers and the rags which the wind had blown from the Theatre, when we saw an iron bar among the weeds. It was old and rusted b man rains. We pulled with all our strength, but we could not move it. So we called International 4-8818, and together we scraped the earth around the bar. Of a sudden the earth fell in before us, and we saw an old iron grill over a black hole. International 4-8818 stepped back. But we pulled at the grill and it gave wa . And then we saw iron rings as steps leading down a shaft into a darkness without bottom. "We shall go down," we said to International 4-8818. "It is forbidden," the answered. We said: "The Council does not know of this hole, so it cannot be forbidden." And the answered: "Since the Council does not know of this hole, there can be no law permitting to enter it. And ever thing which is not permitted b law is forbidden." But we said: "We shall go, none the less." The were frightened, but the stood b and watched us go. We hung on the iron rings with our hands and our feet. We could see www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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nothing below us. And above us the hole open upon the sk grew smaller and smaller, till it came to be the si e of a button. But still we went down. Then our foot touched the ground. We rubbed our e es, for we could not see. Then our e es became used to the darkness, and we could not believe what we saw. No man known to us could have built this place, nor the men known to our brothers who lived before us, and et it was built b men. It was a great tunnel. Its walls were hard and smooth to the touch; it felt like stone, but it was not stone. On the ground there were long thin tracks of iron, but it was not iron; it felt smooth and cold as glass. We knelt, and we crawled forward, our hand groping along the iron line to see where it would lead. But there was an unbroken night ahead. Onl the iron tracks glowed through it, straight and white, calling us to follow. But we could not follow, for we were losing the puddle of light behind us. So we turned and we crawled back, our hand on the iron line. And our heart beat in our fingertips, without reason. And then we knew. We knew suddenl that this place was left from the Unmentionable Times. So it was true, and those Times had been, and all the wonders of those Times. Hundreds upon hundreds of ears ago men knew secrets which we have lost. And we thought: "This is a foul place. The are damned who touch the things of the Unmentionable Times." But our hand which followed the track, as we crawled, clung to the iron as if it would not leave it, as if the skin of our hand were thirst and begging of the metal some secret fluid beating in its coldness. We returned to the earth. International 4-8818 looked upon us and stepped back. "Equalit 7-2521," the said, " our face is white." But we could not speak and we stood looking upon them. The backed awa , as if the dared not touch us. Then the smiled, but it was not a ga smile; it was lost and pleading. But still we could not speak. Then the said: "We shall report our find to the Cit Council and both of us will be rewarded." And then we spoke. Our voice was hard and there was no merc in our voice. We said: "We shall not report our find to the Cit Council. We shall not report it to an men." The raised their hands to their ears, for never had the heard such words as these. "International 4-8818," we asked, "will ou report us to the Council and see us lashed to death before our e es?" www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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The
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"The i f he C ci i ab e a hi g , f i i he i f b he , hich i h . B if i h i , e ha be . Ra he ha e be e i ih ha g d i h a b he . Ma he C ci ha e e c b h hea !" The e a ed a a ge he a d bac S ee e . A d e a ed i ie ce.
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Th did i c e a ha each igh , he he a a e high a d he S ee S ee e i i he Ci Thea e, e, E a i 7-2521, ea a d h gh he da e ace. I i ea ea e he Thea e; he he ca d e a e b a d he Ac c e he age, e e ca ee a eca de ea a d de he c h f he e . La e i i ea ea h gh he had a d fa i i e e I e a i a 4-8818, a he c ea e he Thea e. I i da i he ee a d he e a e e ab , f e a a h gh he Ci he he ha e i i a he e. Each igh , e he a i e, a d e e e he e e ha e ied he i gi hide i f e . Each igh , f h ee h , e a e de he ea h, a e. We ha e e ca d e f he H e f he S ee S ee e , e ha e e f i a d i e a d a e , a d e ha e b gh he hi ace. We ha e e g a ia a d de a d acid f he H e f he Sch a . N e i i he e f h ee h each igh a d e d . We e a ge e a , a d e i acid , a d e c e he b die f he a i a hich e fi d i he Ci Ce . We ha e b i a e f he b ic e ga he ed i he ee . We b he d e fi d i he a i e. The fi e f ic e i he e a d b e had da ce he a , a d he e i d f e di b . We ha e e a c i . Thi i a g ea eci , f b he i he H e f he C e e i g e c i i hei c ea ha d i i g. Ma c e i he H e f he Sch a . S e i de e ci .T ea ha e a ed i ce e f ea e ha e ea ed e ha e had ea H e f he S de . www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
ffe e. Ma c i ae e d e ea c i a e a e a d he a e he ea h a d e ead he d hi ace. A d i he e ed i he e ea f he 10/47
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We have learned things which are not in the scripts. We have solved secrets of which the Scholars have no knowledge. We have come to see how great is the unexplored, and many lifetimes will not bring us to the end of our quest. We wish nothing, save to be alone and to learn, and to feel as if with each day our sight were growing sharper than the hawk's and clearer than rock crystal. Strange are the ways of evil. We are false in the faces of our brothers. We are defying the will of our Councils. We alone, of the thousands who walk this earth, we alone in this hour are doing a work which has no purpose save that we wish to do it. The evil of our crime is not for the human mind to probe. The nature of our punishment, if it be discovered, is not free for the human heart to ponder. Never, not in the memory of the Ancient Ones' Ancients, never have men done what we are doing. And yet there is no shame in us and no regret. We say to ourselves that we are a wretch and a traitor. But we feel no burden upon our spirit and no fear in our heart. And it seems to us that our spirit is clear as a lake troubled by no eyes save those of the sun. And in our heart strange are the ways of evil! in our heart there is the first peace we have known in twenty years.
Chapter Two Libert 5-3000... Libert five-three thousand... Libert 53000.... We wish to write this name. We wish to speak it, but we dare not speak it above a whisper. For men are forbidden to take notice of women, and women are forbidden to take notice of men. But we think of one among women, they whose name is Liberty 5-3000, and we think of no others. The women who have been assigned to work the soil live in the Homes of the Peasants beyond the City. Where the City ends there is a great road winding off to the north, and we Street Sweepers must keep this road clean to the first milepost. There is a hedge along the road, and beyond the hedge lie the fields. The fields are black and ploughed, and they lie like a great fan before us, with their furrows gathered in some hand beyond the sky, spreading forth from that hand, opening wide apart as they come toward us, like black pleats that sparkle with thin, green spangles. Women work in the fields, and their white tunics in the wind are like the wings of sea-gulls beating over the black soil. And there it was that we saw Liberty 5-3000 walking along the furrows. Their body was straight and thin as a blade of iron. Their eyes were dark and hard and glowing, with no fear in them, no kindness and no guilt. Their hair was www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it. The threw seeds from their hand as if the deigned to fling a scornful gift, and the earth was a beggar under their feet. We stood still; for the first time we knew fear, and then pain. And we stood still that we might not spill this pain more precious than pleasure. Then we heard a voice from the others call their name: "Libert 5-3000," and the turned and walked back. Thus we learned their name, and we stood watching them go, till their white tunic was lost in the blue mist. And the following da , as we came to the northern road, we kept our e es upon Libert 5-3000 in the field. And each da thereafter we knew the illness of waiting for our hour on the northern road. And there we looked at Libert 5-3000 each da . We know not whether the looked at us also, but we think the did. Then one da the came close to the hedge, and suddenl the turned to us. The turned in a whirl and the movement of their bod stopped, as if slashed off, as suddenl as it had started. The stood still as a stone, and the looked straight upon us, straight in our e es. There was no smile on their face, and no welcome. But their face was taut, and their e es were dark. Then the turned as swiftl , and the walked awa from us. But the following da , when we came to the road, the smiled. The smiled to us and for us. And we smiled in answer. Their head fell back, and their arms fell, as if their arms and their thin white neck were stricken suddenl with a great lassitude. The were not looking upon us, but upon the sk . Then the glanced at us over their shoulder, and we felt as if a hand had touched our bod , slipping softl from our lips to our feet. Ever morning thereafter, we greeted each other with our e es. We dared not speak. It is a transgression to speak to men of other Trades, save in groups at the Social Meetings. But once, standing at the hedge, we raised our hand to our forehead and then moved it slowl , palm down, toward Libert 5-3000. Had the others seen it, the could have guessed nothing, for it looked onl as if we were shading our e es from the sun. But Libert 5-3000 saw it and understood. The raised their hand to their forehead and moved it as we had. Thus, each da , we greet Libert 5-3000, and the answer, and no men can suspect. We do not wonder at this new sin of ours. It is our second Transgression of Preference, for we do not think of all our brothers, as we must, but onl of one, and their name is Libert 5-3000. We do not know wh we think of them. We do not know wh , when we think of them, we feel of a sudden that the earth is good and that it is not a burden to live. We do not think of them as Libert 5-3000 an longer. We have given them a name in our thoughts. We call them the Golden One. But it is a sin to give www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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men other names which distinguish them from other men. Yet we call them the Golden One, for the are not like the others. The Golden One are not like the others. And we take no heed of the law which sa s that men ma not think of women, save at the Time of Mating. This is the time each spring when all the men older than twent and all the women older than eighteen are sent for one night to the Cit Palace of Mating. And each of the men have one of the women assigned to them b the Council of Eugenics. Children are born each winter, but women never see their children and children never know their parents. Twice have we been sent to the Palace of Mating, but it is an ugl and shameful matter, of which we do not like to think. We had broken so man laws, and toda we have broken one more. Toda we spoke to the Golden One. The other women were far off in the field, when we stopped at the hedge b the side of the road. The Golden One were kneeling alone at the moat which runs through the field. And the drops of water falling from their hands, as the raised the water to their lips, were like sparks of fire in the sun. Then the Golden One saw us, and the did not move, kneeling there, looking at us, and circles of light pla ed upon their white tunic, from the sun on the water of the moat, and one sparkling drop fell from a finger of their hand held as fro en in the air. Then the Golden One rose and walked to the hedge, as if the had heard a command in our e es. The two other Street Sweepers of our brigade were a hundred paces awa down the road. And we thought that International 4-8818 would not betra us, and Union 5-3992 would not understand. So we looked straight upon the Golden One, and we saw the shadows of their lashes on their white cheeks and the sparks of sun on their lips. And we said: "You are beautiful, Libert 5-3000." Their face did not move and the did not avert their e es. Onl their e es grew wider, and there was triumph in their e es, and it was not triumph over us, but over things we could not guess. Then the asked: "What is our name?" "Equalit 7-2521," we answered. "You are not one of our brothers, Equalit 7-2521, for we do not wish ou to be." We cannot sa what the meant, for there are no words for their meaning, but we know it without words and we knew it then. www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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"No," we answered, "nor are ou one of our sisters." "If ou see us among scores of women, will ou look upon us?" "We shall look upon ou, Libert 5-3000, if we see ou among all the women of the earth." Then the asked: "Are Street Sweepers sent to different parts of the Cit or do the alwa s work in the same places?" "The alwa s work in the same places," we answered, "and no one will take this road awa from us." "Your e es," the said, "are not like the e es of an among men." And suddenl , without cause for the thought which came to us, we felt cold, cold to our stomach. "How old are ou?" we asked. The understood our thought, for the lowered their e es for the first time. "Seventeen," the whispered. And we sighed, as if a burden had been taken from us, for we had been thinking without reason of the Palace of Mating. And we thought that we would not let the Golden One be sent to the Palace. How to prevent it, how to bar the will of the Councils, we knew not, but we knew suddenl that we would. Onl we do not know wh such thought came to us, for these ugl matters bear no relation to us and the Golden One. What relation can the bear? Still, without reason, as we stood there b the hedge, we felt our lips drawn tight with hatred, a sudden hatred for all our brother men. And the Golden One saw it and smiled slowl , and there was in their smile the first sadness we had seen in them. We think that in the wisdom of women the Golden One had understood more than we can understand. Then three of the sisters in the field appeared, coming toward the road, so the Golden One walked awa from us. The took the bag of seeds, and the threw the seeds into the furrows of earth as the walked awa . But the seeds flew wildl , for the hand of the Golden One was trembling. Yet as we walked back to the Home of the Street Sweepers, we felt that we wanted to sing, without reason. So we were reprimanded tonight, in the dining hall, for without knowing it we had begun to sing aloud some tune we had never heard. But it is not proper to sing without reason, save at the Social Meetings. "We are singing because we are happ ," we answered the one of the Home www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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We d ih he U cha ed F e . We d ih hi f i. B e e d e e e ha b ac a ch he . Me e e e e he U cha ed F e , f he e i e e ei a d a h ead a g i a cie ee hich a d a g a d f fea f ec e . I i hi e ed ha ce ice i a h d ed ea , e a g he e f he Ci e ca e a e a d he U cha ed F e , i h ca ea . The e e d e . The e i h f h ge a d f he c a f he id bea hich a he F e . B C ci a hi i a ege d. We ha e hea d ha he e a e a U cha ed F e e he a d, a g he Ci ie . A d i i hi e ed ha he ha e g e he i f a ci ie f he U e i ab e Ti e . The ee ha e a ed he i , a d he b e de he i , a d a he hi g hich e i hed. A da e he U cha ed F e fa i he igh , e hi f he ec e f he U e i ab e Ti e . A d e de h i ca e a ha he e ec e ee he d. We ha e hea d he ege d f he g ea figh i g, i hich a e f gh e ide a d a fe he he . The e fe e e he E i O e a d he ee c e ed. The g ea fi e aged e he a d. A d i he e fi e he E i O e e e b ed. A d he fi e hich i ca ed he Da f he G ea Rebi h, a he Sc i Fi e he e a he ci f he E i O e e e b ed, a d i h he a he d f he E i O e . G ea ai f fa e d i he a e f he Ci ie f h ee h . The ca e he G ea Rebi h. The d Wha a e he
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We ha e ee e f ch e b ed a i e i he a e f he Ci . A d i a a igh hich ha a ed i h h gh he ea , a d i ha ,a d f , a d i gi e e . We e e a chid he , e ea d. A d e d i he g ea a e i h a he chid e a d a he e f he Ci , e beh d he b i g. The b gh he T a g e i he aea d he ed hi he e. The had he g e f he T a g e , www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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that they could speak no longer. The Transgressor were young and tall. They had hair of gold and eyes blue as morning. They walked to the pyre, and their step did not falter. And of all the faces on that square, of all the faces which shrieked and screamed and spat curses upon them, theirs was the calmest and happiest face. As the chains were wound over their body at the stake, and a flame set to the pyre, the Transgressor looked upon the City. There was a thin thread of blood running from the corner of their mouth, but their lips were smiling. And a monstrous thought came to us then, which has never left us. We had heard of Saints. There are the Saints of Labor, and the Saints of the Councils, and the Saints of the Great Rebirth. But we had never seen a Saint nor what the likeness of a Saint should be. And we thought then, standing in the square, that the likeness of a Saint was the face we saw before us in the flames, the face of the Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word. As the flames rose, a thing happened which no eyes saw but ours, else we would not be living today. Perhaps it had only seemed to us. But it seemed to us that the eyes of the Transgressor had chosen us from the crowd and were looking straight upon us. There was no pain in their eyes and no knowledge of the agony of their body. There was only joy in them, and pride, a pride holier than it is fit for human pride to be. And it seemed as if these eyes were trying to tell us something through the flames, to send into our eyes some word without sound. And it seemed as if these eyes were begging us to gather that word and not to let it go from us and from the earth. But the flames rose and we could not guess the word.... What even if we have to burn for it like the Saint of the pyre what is the Unspeakable Word?
Chap er Three We, Equality 7-2521, have discovered a new power of nature. And we have discovered it alone, and we are to know it. It is said. Now let us be lashed for it, if we must. The Council of Scholars has said that we all know the things which exist and therefore all the things which are not known by all do not exist. But we think that the Council of Scholars is blind. The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them. We know, for we have found a secret unknown to all our brothers. We know not what this power is nor whence it comes. But we know its www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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na e, e ha e a ched i and o ked i h i . We a i fi o ea ago. One nigh , e e e c ing open he bod of a dead f og hen e a i leg je king. I a dead, e i mo ed. Some po e nkno n o men a making i mo e. We co ld no nde and i . Then, af e man e , e fo nd he an e . The f og had been hanging on a i e of coppe ; and i had been he me al of o knife hich had en a ange po e o he coppe h o gh he b ine of he f og' bod . We p a piece of coppe and a piece of inc in o a ja of b ine, e o ched a i e o hem, and he e, nde o finge , a a mi acle hich had ne e occ ed befo e, a ne mi acle and a ne po e . Thi di co e ha n ed . We follo ed i in p efe ence o all o die . We o ked i h i , e e ed in mo e a han e can de c ibe, and each ep a ano he mi acle n eiling befo e . We came o kno ha e had fo nd he g ea e po e on ea h. Fo i defie all he la kno n o men. I make he needle mo e and n on he compa hich e ole f om he Home of he Schola ; b e had been a gh , hen ill a child, ha he load one poin o he no h and hi i a la hich no hing can change; e o ne po e defie all la . We fo nd ha i ca e ligh ning, and ne e ha e men kno n ha ca e ligh ning. In h nde o m , e ai ed a all od of i on b he ide of o hole, and e a ched i f om belo . We ha e een he ligh ning ike i again and again. And no e kno ha me al d a he po e of he k , and ha me al can be made o gi e i fo h. We ha e b il ange hing i h hi di co e of o . We ed fo i he coppe i e hich e fo nd he e nde he g o nd. We ha e alked he leng h of o nnel, i h a candle ligh ing he a . We co ld go no fa he han half a mile, fo ea h and ock had fallen a bo h end . B e ga he ed all he hing e fo nd and e b o gh hem o o o k place. We fo nd ange bo e i h ba of me al in ide, i h man co d and and and coil of me al. We fo nd i e ha led o ange li le globe of gla on he all ; he con ained h ead of me al hinne han a pide ' eb. The e hing help in o o k. We do no nde and hem, b e hink ha he men of he Unmen ionable Time had kno n o po e of he k , and he e hing had ome ela ion o i . We do no kno , b e hall lea n. We canno op no , e en ho gh i f igh en ha e a e alone in o kno ledge. No ingle one can po e g ea e i dom han he man Schola ho a e elec ed b all men fo hei i dom. Ye e can. We do. We ha e fo gh again a ing i , b no i i aid. We do no ca e. We fo ge all men, all la and all hing a e o me al and o i e . So m ch i ill o be lea ned! So long a oad lie befo e , and ha ca e e if e m a el i alone!
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Chap er Fo r Man da s passed before we could speak to the Golden One again. But then came the da when the sk turned white, as if the sun had burst and spread its flame in the air, and the fields la still without breath, and the dust of the road was white in the glow. So the women of the field were wear , and the tarried over their work, and the were far from the road when we came. But the Golden One stood alone at the hedge, waiting. We stopped and we saw that their e es, so hard and scornful to the world, were looking at us as if the would obe an word we might speak. And we said: "We have given ou a name in our thoughts, Libert 5-3000." "What is our name?" the asked. "The Golden One." "Nor do we call ou Equalit 7-2521 when we think of ou." "What name have ou given us?" The looked straight into our e es and the held their head high and the answered: "The Unconquered." For a long time we could not speak. Then we said: "Such thoughts are forbidden, Golden One." "But ou think such thoughts as these and ou wish us to think them." We looked into their e es and we could not lie. "Yes," we whispered, and the smiled, and then we said: "Our dearest one, do not obe us." The stepped back, and their e es were wide and still. "Speak those words again," the whispered. "Which words?" we asked. But the did not answer, and we knew it. "Our dearest one," we whispered. Never have men said this to women. The head of the Golden One bowed slowl , and the stood still before us, their arms at their sides, the palms of their hands turned to us, as if their bod were delivered in submission to our e es. And we could not speak. www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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Then they raised their head, and they spoke simply and gently, as if they wished us to forget some anxiety of their own. "The day is hot," they said, "and you have worked for many hours and you must be weary." "No," we answered. "It is cooler in the fields," they said, "and there is water to drink. Are you thirsty?" "Yes," we answered, "but we cannot cross the hedge." "We shall bring the water to you," they said. Then they knelt by the moat, they gathered water in their two hands, they rose and they held the water out to our lips. We do not know if we drank that water. We only knew suddenly that their hands were empty, but we were still holding our lips to their hands, and that they knew it but did not move. We raised our head and stepped back. For we did not understand what had made us do this, and we were afraid to understand it. And the Golden One stepped back, and stood looking upon their hands in wonder. Then the Golden One moved away, even though no others were coming, and they moved stepping back, as if they could not turn from us, their arms bent before them, as if they could not lower their hands.
Chapter Fi e We made it. We created it. We brought it forth from the night of the ages. We alone. Our hands. Our mind. Ours alone and only. We know not what we are saying. Our head is reeling. We look upon the light which we had made. We shall be forgiven for anything we say tonight.... Tonight, after more days and trials than we can count, we finished building a strange thing, from the remains of the Unmentionable Times, a box of glass, devised to give forth the power of the sky of greater strength than we had ever achieved before. And when we put our wires to this box, when we closed the current the wire glowed! It came to life, it turned red, and a circle of light lay on the stone before us. We stood, and we held our head in our hands. We could not conceive of www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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ha hich e had c ea ed. We had o ched no flin , made no fi e. Ye he e a ligh , ligh ha came f om no he e, ligh f om he hea of me al. We ble o he candle. Da kne allo ed . The e a no hing lef a o nd , no hing a e nigh and a hin h ead of flame in i , a a c ack in he all of a p i on. We e ched o hand o he i e, and e a o finge in he ed glo . We co ld no ee o bod no feel i , and in ha momen no hing e i ed a e o o hand o e a i e glo ing in a black ab . Then e ho gh of he meaning of ha hich la befo e . We can ligh o nnel, and he Ci , and all he Ci ie of he o ld i h no hing a e me al and i e . We can gi e o b o he a ne ligh , cleane and b igh e han an he ha e e e kno n. The po e of he k can be made o do men' bidding. The e a e no limi o i ec e and i migh , and i can be made o g an an hing if e b choo e o a k. Then e kne ha e m do. O di co e i oo g ea fo o a e o ime in eeping ee . We m no keep o ec e o o el e , no b ied nde he g o nd. We m b ing i in o he igh of all men. We need all o ime, e need he o k oom of he Home of he Schola , e an he help of o b o he Schola and hei i dom joined o o . The e i o m ch o k ahead fo all of , fo all he Schola of he o ld. In a mon h, he Wo ld Co ncil of Schola i o mee in o Ci . I i a g ea Co ncil, o hich he i e of all land a e elec ed, and i mee once a ea in he diffe en Ci ie of he ea h. We hall go o hi Co ncil and e hall la befo e hem, a o gif , he gla bo i h he po e of he k . We hall confe e e hing o hem. The ill ee, nde and and fo gi e. Fo o gif i g ea e han o an g e ion. The ill e plain i o he Co ncil of Voca ion , and e hall be a igned o he Home of he Schola . Thi ha ne e been done befo e, b nei he ha a gif ch a o e e been offe ed o men. We m ai . We m g a d o nnel a e had ne e g a ded i befo e. Fo ho ld an men a e he Schola lea n of o ec e , he o ld no nde and i , no o ld he belie e . The o ld ee no hing, a e o c ime of o king alone, and he o ld de o and o ligh . We ca e no abo o bod , b o ligh i ... Ye , e do ca e. Fo he fi ime e do ca e abo o bod . Fo hi i e i a pa of o bod , a a ein o n f om , glo ing i h o blood. A e e p o d of hi h ead of me al, o of o hand hich made i , o i he e a line o di ide he e o? We e ch o o a m . Fo he fi ime do e kno ho ong o a m a e. And a ange ho gh come o : e onde , fo he fi ime in o life, ha e look like. Men ne e ee hei o n face and ne e a k hei b o he abo i , fo i i e il o ha e conce n fo hei o n face o bodie . www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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The lash whistled like a singing wind. We tried to count the blows, but we lost count. We knew that the blows were falling upon our back. Onl we felt nothing upon our back an longer. A flaming grill kept dancing before our e es, and we thought of nothing save that grill, a grill, a grill of red squares, and then we knew that we were looking at the squares of the iron grill in the door, and there were also the squares of stone on the walls, and the squares which the lash was cutting upon our back, crossing and re-crossing itself in our flesh. Then we saw a fist before us. It knocked our chin up, and we saw the red froth of our mouth on the withered fingers, and the Judge asked: "Where have ou been?" But we jerked our head awa , hid our face upon our tied hands, and bit our lips. The lash whistled again. We wondered who was sprinkling burning coal dust upon the floor, for we saw drops of red twinkling on the stones around us. Then we knew nothing, save two voices snarling steadil , one after the other, even though we knew the were speaking man minutes apart: "Where have ou been where have ou been where have ou been where have ou been?..." And our lips moved, but the sound trickled back into our throat, and the sound was onl : "The light... The light... The light...." Then we knew nothing. We opened our e es, l ing on our stomach on the brick floor of a cell. We looked upon two hands l ing far before us on the bricks, and we moved them, and we knew that the were our hands. But we could not move our bod . Then we smiled, for we thought of the light and that we had not betra ed it. We la in our cell for man da s. The door opened twice each da , once for the men who brought us bread and water, and once for the Judges. Man Judges came to our cell, first the humblest and then the most honored Judges of the Cit . The stood before us in their white togas, and the asked: "Are ou read to speak?" But we shook our head, l ing before them on the floor. And the departed. We counted each da and each night as it passed. Then, tonight, we knew that we must escape. For tomorrow the World Council of Scholars is to meet in our Cit . It was eas to escape from the Palace of Corrective Detention. The locks www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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a e old on he doo and he e a e no g a d abo . The e i no ea on o ha e g a d , fo men ha e ne e defied he Co ncil o fa a o e cape f om ha e e place he e e o de ed o be. O bod i heal h and eng h e n o i peedil . We l nged again he doo and i ga e a . We ole h o gh he da k pa age , and h o gh he da k ee , and do n in o o nnel. We li he candle and e a ha o place had no been fo nd and no hing had been o ched. And o gla bo ood befo e on he cold o en, a e had lef i . Wha ma e he no , he ca pon o back! Tomo o , in he f ll ligh of da , e hall ake o bo , and lea e o nnel open, and alk h o gh he ee o he Home of he Schola . We hall p befo e hem he g ea e gif e e offe ed o men. We hall ell hem he h. We hall hand o hem, a o confe ion, he e page e ha e i en. We hall join o hand o hei , and e hall o k oge he , i h he po e of he k , fo he glo of mankind. O ble ing pon o , o b o he ! Tomo o , o ill ake back in o o fold and e hall be an o ca no longe . Tomo o e hall be one of o again. Tomo o ...
Chapter Se en I i da k he e in he fo e . The lea e le o e o head, black again he la gold of he k . The mo i of and a m. We hall leep on hi mo fo man nigh , ill he bea of he fo e come o ea o bod . We ha e no bed no , a e he mo , and no f e, a e he bea . We a e old no , e e e e o ng hi mo ning, hen e ca ied o gla bo h o gh he ee of he Ci o he Home of he Schola . No men opped , fo he e e e none abo he Palace of Co ec i e De en ion, and he o he kne no hing. No men opped a he ga e. We alked h o gh he emp pa age and in o he g ea hall he e he Wo ld Co ncil of Schola a in olemn mee ing. We a no hing a e en e ed, a e he k in he g ea indo , bl e and glo ing. Then e a he Schola ho a a o nd a long able; he e e a hapele clo d h ddled a he i e of a g ea k . The e e e he men ho e famo name e kne , and o he f om di an land ho e name e had no hea d. We a a g ea pain ing on he all o e hei head , of he en ill io men ho had in en ed he candle. All he head of he Co ncil ned o a e en e ed. The e g ea and i e of he ea h did no kno ha o hink of , and he looked pon www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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ih a
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throw awa our candles and our torches. Let us flood our cities with light. Let us bring a new light to men!" But the looked upon us, and suddenl we were afraid. For their e es were still, and small, and evil. "Our brothers!" we cried. "Have ou nothing to sa to us?" Then Collective 0-0009 moved forward. The moved to the table and the others followed. "Yes," spoke Collective 0-0009, "we have much to sa to ou." The sound of their voice brought silence to the hall and to the beat of our heart. "Yes," said Collective 0-0009, "we have much to sa to a wretch who have broken all the laws and who boast of their infam ! How dared ou think that our mind held greater wisdom than the minds of our brothers? And if the Council had decreed that ou be a Street Sweeper, how dared ou think that ou could be of greater use to men than in sweeping the streets?" "How dared ou, gutter cleaner," spoke Fraternit 9-3452, "to hold ourself as one alone and with the thoughts of one and not of man ?" "You shall be burned at the stake," said Democrac 4-6998. "No, the shall be lashed," said Unanimit 7-3304, "till there is nothing left under the lashes." "No," said Collective 0-0009, "we cannot decide upon this, our brothers. No such crime has ever been committed, and it is not for us to judge. Nor for an small Council. We shall deliver this creature to the World Council itself and let their will be done." We looked upon them and we pleaded: "Our brothers! You are right. Let the will of the Council be done upon our bod . We do not care. But the light? What will ou do with the light?" Collective 0-0009 looked upon us, and the smiled. "So ou think ou have found a new power," said Collective 0-0009. "Do ou think all our brothers think that?" "No," we answered. "What is not thought b all men cannot be true," said Collective 0-0009. "You have worked on this alone?" asked International 1-5537. "Yes," we answered. www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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"Wha i no done collec i el canno be good," aid In e na ional 1-5537. "Man men in he Home of he Schola ha e had ange ne idea in he pa ," aid Solida i 8-1164, "b hen he majo i of hei b o he Schola o ed again hem, he abandoned hei idea , a all men m ." "Thi bo i
ele ," aid Alliance 6-7349.
"Sho ld i be ha he claim of i ," aid Ha mon 9-2642, " hen i o ld b ing in o he Depa men of Candle . The Candle i a g ea boon o mankind, a app o ed b all men. The efo e i canno be de o ed b he him of one." "Thi o ld eck he Plan of he Wo ld Co ncil," aid Unanimi 2-9913, "and i ho he Plan of he Wo ld Co ncil he n canno i e. I ook fif ea o ec e he app o al of all he Co ncil fo he Candle, and o decide pon he n mbe needed, and o e-fi he Plan o a o make candle in ead of o che . Thi o ched pon ho and and ho and of men o king in co e of S a e . We canno al e he Plan again o oon." "And if hi ho ld ligh en he oil of men," aid Simila i 5-0306, " hen i i a g ea e il, fo men ha e no ca e o e i a e in oiling fo o he men." Then Collec i e 0-0009 o e and poin ed a o "Thi hing," he
aid, "m
bo .
be de o ed."
And all he o he c ied a one: "I m
be de o ed!"
Then e leap o he able. We ei ed o bo , e ho ed hem a ide, and e an o he indo . We ned and e looked a hem fo he la ime, and a age, ch a i no fi fo h man o kno , choked o oice in o h oa . "Yo fool !" e c ied. "Yo fool ! Yo h ice-damned fool !" We ng o ain of gla .
fi
h o gh he
indo pane, and
e leap o
in a inging
We fell, b e ne e le he bo fall f om o hand . Then e an. We an blindl , and men and ho e eaked pa in a o en i ho hape. And he oad eemed no o be fla befo e , b a if i e e leaping p o mee , and e ai ed fo he ea h o i e and ike in he face. B e an. We kne no he e e e e going. We kne onl ha e m n, n o he end of he o ld, o he end of o da . Then e kne ddenl ha e e e l ing on a of ea h and ha e had opped. T ee alle han e had e e een befo e ood o e in a g ea www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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ilence. Then e kne . We e e in he Uncha ed Fo e . We had no ho gh of coming he e, b o leg had ca ied o i dom, and o leg had b o gh o he Uncha ed Fo e again o ill. O gla bo la be ide o a m , and e la ill.
. We c a led o i ,
e fell pon i , o
We la h fo a long ime. Then e o e, e ook o in o he fo e .
face in
bo , and alked on
I ma e ed no he e e en . We kne ha men o ld no follo , fo he ne e en e ed he Uncha ed Fo e . We had no hing o fea f om hem. The fo e di po e of i o n ic im . Thi ga e no fea ei he . Onl e i hed o be a a f om he Ci and he ai ha o che pon he ai of he Ci . So e alked on, o bo in o a m , o hea emp . We a e doomed. Wha e e da a e lef o , e hall pend hem alone. And e ha e hea d of he co p ion o be fo nd in oli de. We ha e o n o el e f om he h hich i o b o he men, and he e i no oad back fo , and no edemp ion. We kno he e hing , b We a e i ed.
e do no ca e. We ca e fo no hing on ea h.
Onl he gla bo in o a m i like a li ing hea ha gi e eng h. We ha e lied o o el e . We ha e no b il hi bo fo he good of o b o he . We b il i fo i o n ake. I i abo e all o b o he o , and i h abo e hei h. Wh onde abo hi ? We ha e no man da o li e. We a e alking o he fang a ai ing ome he e among he g ea , ilen ee . The e i no a hing behind o eg e . Then a blo of pain ck , o fi and o onl . We ho gh of he Golden One. We ho gh of he Golden One hom e hall ne e ee again. Then he pain pa ed. I i be . We a e one of he Damned. I i be if he Golden One fo ge o name and he bod hich bo e ha name.
Chapter Eight It has been a da of wonder, this, our first da in the forest. We a oke hen a a of nligh fell ac o o face. We an ed o leap o o fee , a e ha e had o leap o o fee e e mo ning of o life, b e emembe ed ddenl ha no bell had ng and ha he e a no bell o ing www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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an he e. We la on o back, e h e o a m o , and e looked p a he k . The lea e had edge of il e ha embled and ippled like a i e of g een and fi e flo ing high abo e . We did no i h o mo e. We ho gh ddenl ha e co ld lie h a long a e i hed, and e la ghed alo d a he ho gh . We co ld al o i e, o n, o leap, o fall do n again. We e e hinking ha he e e e hing i ho en e, b befo e e kne i , o bod had i en in one leap. O am e ched o of hei o n ill, and o bod hi led and hi led, ill i ai ed a ind o le h o gh he lea e of he b he . Then o hand ei ed a b anch and ng high in o a ee, i h no aim a e he onde of lea ning he eng h of o bod . The b anch napped nde and e fell pon he mo ha a of a a c hion. Then o bod , lo ing all en e, olled o e and o e on he mo , d lea e in o nic, in o hai , in o face. And e hea d ddenl ha e e e la ghing, la ghing alo d, la ghing a if he e e e no po e lef in a e la gh e . Then e ook o gla bo , and e en in o he fo e . We en on, c ing h o gh he b anche , and i a a if e e e imming h o gh a ea of lea e , i h he b he a a e i ing and falling and i ing a o nd , and flinging hei g een p a high o he ee op . The ee pa ed befo e , calling fo a d. The fo e eemed o elcome . We en on, i ho ho gh , i ho ca e, i h no hing o feel a e he ong of o bod . We opped hen e fel h nge . We a bi d in he ee b anche , and fl ing f om nde o foo ep . We picked a one and e en i a an a o a a bi d. I fell befo e . We made a fi e, e cooked he bi d, and e a e i , and no meal had e e a ed be e o . And e ho gh ddenl ha he e a a g ea a i fac ion o be fo nd in he food hich e need and ob ain b o o n hand. And e i hed o be h ng again and oon, ha e migh kno again hi ange ne p ide in ea ing. Then e alked on. And e came gla among he ee . I la o ill ha ea h, in hich he ee g e do n, p knel b he eam and e ben do n pon he bl e of he k belo , e a
o a eam hich la a a eak of e a no a e b onl a c in he ned, and he k a he bo om. We o d ink. And hen e opped. Fo , o o n face fo he fi ime.
We a ill and e held o b ea h. Fo o face and o bod ee bea if l. O face a no like he face of o b o he , fo e fel no pi hen e looked pon i . O bod a no like he bodie of o b o he , fo o limb e e aigh and hin and ha d and ong. And e ho gh ha e co ld hi being ho looked pon f om he eam, and ha e had no hing o fea f om hi being. We alked on ill he n had e . When he hado ga he ed among he ee , e opped in a hollo be een he oo , he e e hall leep onigh . And ddenl , fo he fi ime hi da , e emembe ed ha e a e he www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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Damned. We remembered it, and we laughed. We are writing this on the paper we had hidden in our tunic together with the written pages we had brought for the World Council of Scholars, but never given to them. We have much to speak of to ourselves, and we hope we shall find the words for it in the da s to come. Now, we cannot speak, for we cannot understand.
Chap er Nine We have not written for man da s. We did not wish to speak. For we needed no words to remember that which has happened to us. It was on our second da in the forest that we heard steps behind us. We hid in the bushes, and we waited. The steps came closer. And then we saw the fold of a white tunic among the trees, and a gleam of gold. We leapt forward, we ran to them, and we stood looking upon the Golden One. The saw us, and their hands closed into fists, and the fists pulled their arms down, as if the wished their arms to hold them, while their bod swa ed. And the could not speak. We dared not come too close to them. We asked, and our voice trembled: "How come ou to be here, Golden One?" But the whispered onl : "We have found ou...." "How came ou to be in the forest?" we asked. The raised their head, and there was a great pride in their voice; the answered: "We have followed ou." Then we could not speak, and the said: "We heard that ou had gone to the Uncharted Forest, for the whole Cit is speaking of it. So on the night of the da when we heard it, we ran awa from the Home of the Peasants. We found the marks of our feet across the plain where no men walk. So we followed them, and we went into the forest, and we followed the path where the branches were broken b our bod ." www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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Their white tunic was torn, and the branches had cut the skin of their arms, but the spoke as if the had never taken notice of it, nor of weariness, nor of fear. "We have followed ou," the said, "and we shall follow ou wherever ou go. If danger threatens ou, we shall face it also. If it be death, we shall die with ou. You are damned, and we wish to share our damnation." The looked upon us, and their voice was low, but there was bitterness and triumph in their voice: "Your e es are as a flame, but our brothers have neither hope nor fire. Your mouth is cut of granite, but our brothers are soft and humble. Your head is high, but our brothers cringe. You walk, but our brothers crawl. We wish to be damned with ou, rather than be blessed with all our brothers. Do as ou please with us, but do not send us awa from ou." Then the knelt, and bowed their golden head before us. We had never thought of that which we did. We bent to raise the Golden One to their feet, but when we touched them, it was as if madness had stricken us. We sei ed their bod and we pressed our lips to theirs. The Golden One breathed once, and their breath was a moan, and then their arms closed around us. We stood together for a long time. And we were frightened that we had lived for twent -one ears and had never known what jo is possible to men. Then we said: "Our dearest one. Fear nothing of the forest. There is no danger in solitude. We have no need of our brothers. Let us forget their good and our evil, let us forget all things save that we are together and that there is jo between us. Give us our hand. Look ahead. It is our own world, Golden One, a strange, unknown world, but our own." Then we walked on into the forest, their hand in ours. And that night we knew that to hold the bod of a woman in our arms is neither ugl nor shameful, but the one ecstas granted to the race of men. We have walked for man da s. The forest has no end, and we seek no end. But each da added to the chain of da s between us and the Cit is like an added blessing. We have made a bow and man arrows. We can kill more birds than we need for our food; we find water and fruit in the forest. At night, we choose a clearing, and we build a ring of fires around it. We sleep in the midst of that ring, and the beasts dare not attack us. We can see their e es, green and ellow as coals, watching us from the tree branches be ond. The fires smolder www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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as a crown of jewels around us, and smoke stands still in the air, in columns made blue b the moonlight. We sleep together in the midst of the ring, the arms of the Golden One around us, their head upon our breast. Some da , we shall stop and build a house, when we shall have gone far enough. But we do not have to hasten. The da s before us are without end, like the forest. We cannot understand this new life which we have found, et it seems so clear and so simple. When questions come to pu le us, we walk faster, then turn and forget all things as we watch the Golden One following. The shadows of leaves fall upon their arms, as the spread the branches apart, but their shoulders are in the sun. The skin of their arms is like a blue mist, but their shoulders are white and glowing, as if the light fell not from above, but rose from under their skin. We watch the leaf which has fallen upon their shoulder, and it lies at the curve of their neck, and a drop of dew glistens upon it like a jewel. The approach us, and the stop, laughing, knowing what we think, and the wait obedientl , without questions, till it pleases us to turn and go on. We go on and we bless the earth under our feet. But questions come to us again, as we walk in silence. If that which we have found is the corruption of solitude, then what can men wish for save corruption? If this is the great evil of being alone, then what is good and what is evil? Ever thing which comes from the man is good. Ever thing which comes from one is evil. Thus we have been taught with our first breath. We have broken the law, but we have never doubted it. Yet now, as we walk the forest, we are learning to doubt. There is no life for men, save in useful toil for the good of their brothers. But we lived not, when we toiled for our brothers, we were onl wear . There is no jo for men, save the jo shared with all their brothers. But the onl things which taught us jo were the power created in our wires, and the Golden One. And both these jo s belong to us alone, the come from us alone, the bear no relation to our brothers, and the do not concern our brothers in an wa . Thus do we wonder. There is some error, one frightful error, in the thinking of men. What is that error? We do not know, but the knowledge struggles within us, struggles to be born. Toda , the Golden One stopped suddenl and said: "We love ou." But then the frowned and shook their head and looked at us helplessl . "No," the whispered, "that is not what we wished to sa ." The were silent, then the spoke slowl , and their words were halting, like www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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the words of a child learning to speak for the first time: "We are one... alone... and onl ... and we love ou who are one... alone... and onl ." We looked into each other's e es and we knew that the breath of a miracle had touched us, and fled, and left us groping vainl . And we felt torn, torn for some word we could not find.
Chap er Ten We are sitting at a table and we are writing this upon paper made thousands of ears ago. The light is dim, and we cannot see the Golden One, onl one lock of gold on the pillow of an ancient bed. This is our home. We came upon it toda , at sunrise. For man da s we have been crossing a chain of mountains. The forest rose among cliffs, and whenever we walked out upon a barren stretch of rock we saw great peaks before us in the west, and to the north of us, and to the south, as far as our e es could see. The peaks were red and brown, with the green streaks of forests as veins upon them, with blue mists as veils over their heads. We had never heard of these mountains, nor seen them marked on an map. The Uncharted Forest has protected them from the Cities and from the men of the Cities. We climbed paths where the wild goat dared not follow. Stones rolled from under our feet, and we heard them striking the rocks below, farther and farther down, and the mountains rang with each stroke, and long after the strokes had died. But we went on, for we knew that no men would ever follow our track nor reach us here. Then toda , at sunrise, we saw a white flame among the trees, high on a sheer peak before us. We thought that it was a fire and we stopped. But the flame was unmoving, et blinding as liquid metal. So we climbed toward it through the rocks. And there, before us, on a broad summit, with the mountains rising behind it, stood a house such as we had never seen, and the white fire came from the sun on the glass of its windows. The house had two stories and a strange roof flat as a floor. There was more window than wall upon its walls, and the windows went on straight around corners, though how this house kept standing we could not guess. The walls were hard and smooth, of that stone unlike stone which we had seen in our tunnel. We both knew it without words: this house was left from the Unmentionable www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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Times. The trees had protected it from time and weather, and from men who have less pit than time and weather. We turned to the Golden One and we asked: "Are ou afraid?" But the shook their head. So we walked to the door, and we threw it open, and we stepped together into the house of the Unmentionable Times. We shall need the da s and the ears ahead, to look, to learn and to understand the things of this house. Toda , we could onl look and tr to believe the sight of our e es. We pulled the heav curtains from the windows and we saw that the rooms were small, and we thought that not more than twelve men could have lived here. We thought it strange that man had been permitted to build a house for onl twelve. Never had we seen rooms so full of light. The sunra s danced upon colors, colors, and more colors than we thought possible, we who had seen no houses save the white ones, the brown ones and the gre . There were great pieces of glass on the walls, but it was not glass, for when we looked upon it we saw our own bodies and all the things behind us, as on the face of a lake. There were strange things which we had never seen and the use of which we do not know. And there were globes of glass ever where, in each room, the globes with the metal cobwebs inside, such as we had seen in our tunnel. We found the sleeping hall and we stood in awe upon its threshold. For it was a small room and there were onl two beds in it. We found no other beds in the house, and then we knew that onl two had lived here, and this passes understanding. What kind of world did the have, the men of the Unmentionable Times? We found garments, and the Golden One gasped at the sight of them. For the were not white tunics, nor white togas; the were of all colors, no two of them alike. Some crumbled to dust as we touched them, but others were of heavier cloth, and the felt soft and new in our fingers. We found a room with walls made of shelves, which held rows of manuscripts, from the floor to the ceiling. Never had we seen such a number of them, nor of such strange shape. The were not soft and rolled, the had hard shells of cloth and leather; and the letters on their pages were small and so even that we wondered at the men who had such handwriting. We glanced through the pages, and we saw that the were written in our language, but we found man words which we could not understand. Tomorrow, we shall begin to read these scripts. When we had seen all the rooms of the house, we looked at the Golden One and we both knew the thought in our minds. "We shall never leave this house," we said, "nor let it be taken from us. This www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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i o home and he end of o jo ne . Thi i o ho e, Golden One, and o , and i belong o no o he men ha e e a fa a he ea h ma e ch. We hall no ha e i i h o he , a e ha e no o jo i h hem, no o lo e, no o h nge . So be i o he end of o da ." "Yo
ill be done," he
aid.
Then e en o o ga he ood fo he g ea hea h of o home. We b o gh a e f om he eam hich n among he ee nde o indo . We killed a mo n ain goa , and e b o gh i fle h o be cooked in a ange coppe po e fo nd in a place of onde , hich m ha e been he cooking oom of he ho e. We did hi o k alone, fo no o d of o co ld ake he Golden One a a f om he big gla hich i no gla . The ood befo e i and he looked and looked pon hei o n bod . When he n ank be ond he mo n ain , he Golden One fell a leep on he floo , amid je el , and bo le of c al, and flo e of ilk. We lif ed he Golden One in o a m and e ca ied hem o a bed, hei head falling of l pon o ho lde . Then e li a candle, and e b o gh pape f om he oom of he man c ip , and e a b he indo , fo e kne ha e co ld no leep onigh . And no e look pon he ea h and k . Thi p ead of naked ock and peak and moonligh i like a o ld ead o be bo n, a o ld ha ai . I eem o i a k a ign f om , a pa k, a fi commandmen . We canno kno ha o d e a e o gi e, no ha g ea deed hi ea h e pec o i ne . We kno i ai . I eem o a i ha g ea gif o la befo e . We a e o peak. We a e o gi e i goal, i highe meaning o all hi glo ing pace of ock and k . We look ahead, e beg o hea fo g idance in an e ing hi call no oice ha poken, e e ha e hea d. We look pon o hand . We ee he d of cen ie , he d hich hid g ea ec e and pe hap g ea e il . And e i i no fea i hin o hea , b onl ilen e e ence and pi . Ma kno ledge come o ! Wha i hi ec e o hea ha nde ood and e ill no e eal o , al ho gh i eem o bea a if i e e endea o ing o ell i ?
Chapter Ele en I am. I think. I ill. www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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M hands... M spirit... M sk ... M forest... This earth of mine.... What must I sa besides? These are the words. This is the answer. I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift m head and I spread m arms. This, m bod and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a warrant for being. I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon m being. I am the warrant and the sanction. It is m e es which see, and the sight of m e es grants beaut to the earth. It is m ears which hear, and the hearing of m ears gives its song to the world. It is m mind which thinks, and the judgment of m mind is the onl searchlight that can find the truth. It is m will which chooses, and the choice of m will is the onl edict I must respect. Man words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are false, but onl three are hol : "I will it!" Whatever road I take, the guiding star is within me; the guiding star and the loadstone which point the wa . The point in but one direction. The point to me. I know not if this earth on which I stand is the core of the universe or if it is but a speck of dust lost in eternit . I know not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And m happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. M happiness is not the means to an end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose. Neither am I the means to an end others ma wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. I am a man. This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before! I do not surrender m treasures, nor do I share them. The fortune of m spirit is not to be blown into coins of brass and flung to the winds as alms for the poor of the spirit. I guard m treasures: m thought, m will, m freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom. I owe nothing to m brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for an others. I covet no man's soul, nor is m soul theirs to covet. I am neither foe nor friend to m brothers, but such as each of them shall deserve of me. And to earn m love, m brothers must do more than to have been born. I do not grant m love without reason, nor to an chance passer-b who ma wish to claim it. I honor men with m love. But honor is a thing to be earned. www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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I shall choose friends among men, but neither slaves nor masters. And I shall choose onl such as please me, and them I shall love and respect, but neither command nor obe . And we shall join our hands when we wish, or walk alone when we so desire. For in the temple of his spirit, each man is alone. Let each man keep his temple untouched and undefiled. Then let him join hands with others if he wishes, but onl be ond his hol threshold. For the word "We" must never be spoken, save b one's choice and as a second thought. This word must never be placed first within man's soul, else it becomes a monster, the root of all the evils on earth, the root of man's torture b men, and an unspeakable lie. The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equall in the gre of it. It is the word b which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, b which the weak steal the might of the strong, b which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages. What is m jo if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is m wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is m freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and impotent, are m masters? What is m life, if I am but to bow, to agree, and to obe ? But I am done with this creed of corruption. I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of miser , falsehood and shame. And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them jo and peace and pride. This god, this one word: "I."
Chapter T el e It was when I read the first of the books I found in m house that I saw the word "I." And when I understood this word, the book fell from m hands, and I wept, I who had never known tears. I wept in deliverance and in pit for all mankind. I understood the blessed thing which I had called m curse. I understood wh the best in me had been m sins and m transgressions; and wh I had www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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never felt guilt in m sins. I understood that centuries of chains and lashes will not kill the spirit of man nor the sense of truth within him. I read man books for man da s. Then I called the Golden One, and I told her what I had read and what I had learned. She looked at me and the first words she spoke were: "I love ou." Then I said: "M dearest one, it is not proper for men to be without names. There was a time when each man had a name of his own to distinguish him from all other men. So let us choose our names. I have read of a man who lived man thousands of ears ago, and of all the names in these books, his is the one I wish to bear. He took the light of the gods and brought it to men, and he taught men to be gods. And he suffered for his deed as all bearers of light must suffer. His name was Prometheus." "It shall be our name," said the Golden One. "And I have read of a goddess," I said, "who was the mother of the earth and of all the gods. Her name was Gaea. Let this be our name, m Golden One, for ou are to be the mother of a new kind of gods." "It shall be m name," said the Golden One. Now I look ahead. M future is clear before me. The Saint of the p re had seen the future when he chose me as his heir, as the heir of all the saints and all the mart rs who came before him and who died for the same cause, for the same word, no matter what name the gave to their cause and their truth. I shall live here, in m own house. I shall take m food from the earth b the toil of m own hands. I shall learn man secrets from m books. Through the ears ahead, I shall rebuild the achievements of the past, and open the wa to carr them further, the achievements which are open to me, but closed forever to m brothers, for their minds are shackled to the weakest and dullest among them. I have learned that the power of the sk was known to men long ago; the called it Electricit . It was the power that moved their greatest inventions. It lit this house with light that came from those globes of glass on the walls. I have found the engine which produced this light. I shall learn how to repair it and how to make it work again. I shall learn how to use the wires which carr this power. Then I shall build a barrier of wires around m home, and across the paths which lead to m home; a barrier light as a cobweb, more impassable than a wall of granite; a barrier m brothers will never be able to cross. For the have nothing to fight me with, save the brute force of their numbers. I have m mind. www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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Then here, on this mountaintop, with the world below me and nothing above me but the sun, I shall live my own truth. Gaea is pregnant with my child. He will be taught to say "I" and to bear the pride of it. He will be taught to walk straight on his own feet. He will be taught reverence for his own spirit. When I shall have read all the books and learned my new way, when my home will be ready and my earth tilled, I shall steal one day, for the last time, into the cursed City of my birth. I shall call to me my friend who has no name save International 4-8818, and all those like him, Fraternity 2-5503, who cries without reason, and Solidarity 9-6347 who calls for help in the night, and a few others. I shall call to me all the men and the women whose spirit has not been killed within them and who suffer under the yoke of their brothers. They will follow me and I shall lead them to my fortress. And here, in this uncharted wilderness, I and they, my chosen friends, my fellow-builders, shall write the first chapter in the new history of man. These are the last things before me. And as I stand here at the door of glory, I look behind me for the last time. I look upon the history of men, which I have learned from the books, and I wonder. It was a long story, and the spirit which moved it was the spirit of man's freedom. But what is freedom? Freedom from what? There is nothing to take a man's freedom away from him, save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. That is freedom. That and nothing else. At first, man was enslaved by the gods. But he broke their chains. Then he was enslaved by the kings. But he broke their chains. He was enslaved by his birth, by his kin, by his race. But he broke their chains. He declared to all his brothers that a man has rights which neither god nor king nor other men can take away from him, no matter what their number, for his is the right of man, and there is no right on earth above this right. And he stood on the threshold of freedom for which the blood of the centuries behind him had been spilled. But then he gave up all he had won, and fell lower than his savage beginning. What brought it to pass? What disaster took their reason away from men? What whip lashed them to their knees in shame and submission? The worship of the word "We." When men accepted that worship, the structure of centuries collapsed about them, the structure whose every beam had come from the thought of some one man, each in his day down the ages, from the depth of some one spirit, such as spirit existed but for its own sake. Those men who survived those eager to obey, eager to live for one another, since they had nothing else to vindicate them those men could neither carry on, nor preserve what they had received. Thus did all thought, all science, all wisdom perish on earth. Thus did men men with nothing to offer save their great numbers lose the steel towers, the flying ships, the power wires, all the things they had not created and could never keep. Perhaps, later, some men had been born with the mind and the www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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courage to recover these things which were lost; perhaps these men came before the Councils of Scholars. They answered as I have been answered and for the same reasons. But I still wonder how it was possible, in those graceless years of transition, long ago, that men did not see whither they were going, and went on, in blindness and cowardice, to their fate. I wonder, for it is hard for me to conceive how men who knew the word "I," could give it up and not know what they had lost. But such has been the story, for I have lived in the City of the damned, and I know what horror men permitted to be brought upon them. Perhaps, in those days, there were a few among men, a few of clear sight and clean soul, who refused to surrender that word. What agony must have been theirs before that which they saw coming and could not stop! Perhaps they cried out in protest and in warning. But men paid no heed to their warning. And they, those few, fought a hopeless battle, and they perished with their banners smeared by their own blood. And they chose to perish, for they knew. To them, I send my salute across the centuries, and my pity. Theirs is the banner in my hand. And I wish I had the power to tell them that the despair of their hearts was not to be final, and their night was not without hope. For the battle they lost can never be lost. For that which they died to save can never perish. Through all the darkness, through all the shame of which men are capable, the spirit of man will remain alive on this earth. It may sleep, but it will awaken. It may wear chains, but it will break through. And man will go on. Man, not men. Here, on this mountain, I and my sons and my chosen friends shall build our new land and our fort. And it will become as the heart of the earth, lost and hidden at first, but beating, beating louder each day. And word of it will reach every corner of the earth. And the roads of the world will become as veins which will carry the best of the world's blood to my threshold. And all my brothers, and the Councils of my brothers, will hear of it, but they will be impotent against me. And the day will come when I shall break the chains of the earth, and raze the cities of the enslaved, and my home will become the capital of a world where each man will be free to exist for his own sake. For the coming of that day I shall fight, I and my sons and my chosen friends. For the freedom of Man. For his rights. For his life. For his honor. And here, over the portals of my fort, I shall cut in the stone the word which is to be my beacon and my banner. The word which will not die, should we all perish in battle. The word which can never die on this earth, for it is the heart of it and the meaning and the glory. The sacred word: EG www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm
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