A young man lives in a place where the word “I” does not have meaning. It is a society where there are no individuals. It is, however, a place whereyou strive to serve your brothers.
Equality 7-2521 was taught from birth thatthe individual is not important. He is in a crazed society where the only formof government is collectivism. Equality, at age 21, has absolutely no freedom. He is a a strong, tall young man who stands about six feet. However, in thissociety, anyone who is six feet tall was considered to be evil.
His dream ofgoing to the House of Scholars is lost and he is sent to the Hose of StreetSweepers instead. Here the rules are very strict. He is not allowed to laugh orsing for any reason. These are a couple of hardships that Equality has to faceso far in this mixed up society. His troubles get greater and greater untilfinally he does something about it.
All through his life, Equality thinks he isnot capable of accomplishing anything. Through time though, he discovers that heis capable of doing many things by himself and more importantly that he is anindividual. When he is in the tunnel, he discovers a light. This provides himwith the confidence that he is able to do things.
Other experiences, such asfalling in love with Liberty and seeing his reflection in the pond also help himto believe in himself as a strong individual. Equality later realizes that hehas commited sins as he was growing up. He thinks by showing his invention tothe House of Scholars that he would be forgiven for his wrongdoings. He hopes toshow his invention to society and find a way into the House of the Scholars. Healso wants to prove that being tall does not make you an evil individual. Hefeels that he has sinned because he was sent to the Palace of CorrectiveDetention when he did not reveal where he has been.
He wishes to be forgiven forbeing sent there. Even though entering the tunnel is against the law, he feelsthat he is going to discover things that would improve the society that he isliving in. Equality tries to get the House of Scholars to accept him for thelast time. He finds out when and where they are going to meet and devises aplan. He decides to escape from the Palace of Corrective Detention and go towhere the meeting is being held.
He arrives at the Council of Scholars and lookat him in astonishment. The members are afraid at first because they do not knowexactly what Equality is presenting to them. After they realize what it is thatEquality is showing them, they are very insulted that a mere street sweeper wasbelittling their intelligence as Council members. Upon hearing that his idea isrejected, he leaps out the window and runs to the Uncharted Forest where no mansurvives. He finds out that Liberty has followed him into the forest. They cometogether and find an abandoned house.
They enter it and see things that theyhave never seen before. They find clothes, 2 beds in one room, and one thingthat shocked them the most, a mirror. After looking at the mirror, he now knowsfor sure that he is an individual. He now understands that the word”I” that he had learned from the manuscripts of the UnmentionableTimes has meaning. He knows that he lives for himself and not for others.
Herealizes that he is his own self and he determines his own fate. He then changeshis name to Promethus which is a Greek God who stole the light of the 600’s andgave it to man. Promethus had suffered just as Equality had, and Equalityadmired him very much and chose his name to be his own. Liberty also changed hername. Equality gave her the name Gaea after the Greek Goddess who was the motherof earth and all the God’s.
Gaea becomes pregnant and they both decide to raisetheir child as an individual and to never let it experience the hardships theyhad faced in the crazed society of Collectivism. Equality makes it his duty torescue the other friends he had left behind. He feels that they deserve the samefreedom that he is now experiencing. He plans to “save all
