Anthem | Page 8

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," they answered.
We said: "The Council does not know of this hole, so it cannot be
forbidden."
And they answered: "Since the Council does not know of this hole,
there can be no law permitting to enter it. And everything which is not
permitted by law is forbidden."
But we said: "We shall go, none the less."
They were frightened, but they stood by and watched us go.
We hung on the iron rings with our hands and our feet. We could see
nothing below us. And above us the hole open upon the sky grew
smaller and smaller, till it came to be the size of a button. But still we
went down. Then our foot touched the ground. We rubbed our eyes, for
we could not see. Then our eyes became used to the darkness, but we
could not believe what we saw.
No men known to us could have built this place, nor the men known to
our brothers who lived before us, and yet it was built by 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. Only 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 suddenly 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 years ago men knew secrets
which we have lost. And we thought: "This is a foul place. They 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 thirsty 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.
"Equality 7-2521," they said, "your face is white."
But we could not speak and we stood looking upon them.
They backed away, as if they dared not touch us. Then they smiled, but
it was not a gay smile; it was lost and pleading. But still we could not
speak. Then they said:
"We shall report our find to the City Council and both of us will be
rewarded."
And then we spoke. Our voice was hard and there was no mercy in our
voice. We said:
"We shall not report our find to the City Council. We shall not report it
to any men."
They raised their hands to their ears, for never had they heard such
words as these.
"International 4-8818," we asked, "will you report us to the Council
and see us lashed to death before your eyes?"
They stood straight all of a sudden and they answered: "Rather would
we die."
"Then," we said, "keep silent. This place is ours. This place belongs to
us, Equality 7-2521, and to no other men on earth. And if ever we
surrender it, we shall surrender our life with it also."
Then we saw that the eyes of International 4-8818 were full to the lids
with tears they dared not drop. They whispered, and their voice
trembled, so that their words lost all shape:
"The will of the Council is above all things, for it is the will of our
brothers, which is holy. But if you wish it so, we shall obey you. Rather
shall we be evil with you than good with all our brothers. May the
Council have mercy upon both our hearts!"
Then we walked away together and back to the Home of the Street
Sweepers. And we walked in silence.
Thus did it come to pass that each night, when the stars are high and the
Street Sweepers sit in the City Theatre, we, Equality 7-2521, steal out
and run through the darkness to our place. It is easy to leave the Theatre;
when the candles are blown out and the Actors come onto the stage, no
eyes can see us as we