Records 24-27 Summary

D-503 is like a motor running too fast, headed for meltdown. He establishes L=f(D)—"love is the function of death." That is why he is afraid of I-330 and struggles against her. He longs for the "happy death" he escaped yesterday. Tomorrow is the Day of Unanimity, which they will both attend, but not together. It is absurd to long for pain. That evening, watching a feverish pink sunset, D-503 reminds himself for whom he is writing this diary, and explains the coming holiday. The Day of Unanimity is like the ancient Christians' Easter. As a boy, D-503 prepares an hour calendar to count down the wait. New unifs are distributed. Every year, Numbers wear them to witness the annual re-election of the Well-Doer. It is symbolic of their powerful union, quite unlike the unpredictable elections of the...