Chapter 1-The book begins with someone writing in a diary, he states that it is a shame to write what he is writing because it is a shame to have one thoughts that none of the others think. His name is Equality7-2521 and he always refers to himself as "we" or "us". He explains how he and his "friend", even though the preference of one person over another is not allowed by the Council, find an old tunnel that does the job of sweeping the street behind the theater. He tells Internationl4-8818 (his friend) to promise not to tell anyone about the tunnel. In this diary he talks about how he was different growing up because he was smart and would question things until his teachers forbade him. He explained that he wanted to be assigned to the House of Scholars, which developed all the technology for the company, which would be his job for the rest of his life. Instead he was assigned to the House of Sweepers. Chapter 2-Equality7-2521 falls in love with a girl he sees working in a field for the Casa dei Contadini. He calls her Golden One and learns that her name is Liberty5-3000. He says how beautiful she is when he first saw her. The next day they work closer together, they don't speak but make gestures to attract each other's attention. After a few days they talk and start flirting. He tells her she's beautiful and she says she hopes it's not one of her brothers, and he says he hopes it's not one of his sisters. It makes him think of the city's Mating Place, where once a year mature people are sent to have sex with an assigned person, he is angry at the thought of seeing her there, but then finds out that she is only 17, too young to go. Afterwards he is sent to the Council because he sings with joy, they ask him why he sings and he says he sings because he is happy. They tell him he should be happy because he lives with his brothers. He thinks about what happiness is and realizes that his brothers are sad. He then begins to speak of the Unspeakable Word, which once spoken is punishable by death. He says someone was burned alive for saying the Unspeakable Word and said his face didn't suffer, but he looked like a saint.