XIV

There is much that has occurred since I departed from my home. First and foremost, I barely took one step into the Accursed Place before realizing that I was no longer welcome there. There were two sheets of paper on every building. One said: RUNAWAY WANTED: Equality 7-2521. The other predictably said: RUNAWAY WANTED: Liberty 5-3000. "But my name is no longer Equality 7-2521," I reasoned with myself. "I have a new name now; Prometheus. Therefore, I am not 'wanted'." With this slightly comforting thought, I continued on. I walked through the streets. I thought this may be easier than I had first anticipated. After all, the Palace of Corrective Detention had no guards; who would look for me? They wouldn't change their society just because of a couple of runaways, would they? At least, not this quickly. Perhaps I could just take my friends and leave. If only it had been that easy. As I headed toward the Home of the Street Sweepers, I nearly ran right into Collective 0-0009. A sense of doom came over me. I was one of the two greatest convicts the Accursed Place had ever known. And Collective 0-0009 was the eldest of the World Council of Scholars. I didn't stand a chance. I was instantly placed into the Palace of Corrective Detention.

"We will hold a trial for you, later," said Collective 0-0009. "For now, you will stay here. Rest assured, Street Sweeper, your punishment will be severe…." They departed from the palace without another word. I felt as if I had just entered my own personal hell. They were going to strip me of my individuality again. They were going to call me that horrible name; Equality 7-2521. In trying to free my friends, I had been recaptured. Now, I found, there was nothing to do but wait for my trial.

The first surprise I faced in the palace was that a lock had been placed on my door. It was a genuine, sturdy lock. The second surprise is that there was a guard standing outside my door. Was this what it took to bring change to this Accursed Place? Someone to break away from the collective group. Was it possible that in breaking away from the Accursed Place, I had caused the change that I'd dreamed of the entire time I had lived there? "No," I thought. They were more afraid of change than they were of me. They had simply added security to the Palace to keep me in this time. And now, I was to be held accountable for my crime. The crime of being an individual.