"We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin, summary Automatic translate

This book is the first classic dystopian novel, frighteningly accurately anticipating the harsh structure of real totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. Written in 1920, the protagonist’s personal diary meticulously chronicles the gradual and painful awakening of the human soul in a world of strict mathematical logic. The novel won the prestigious Prometheus Award in 1994 and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame for its outstanding contribution to the development of science fiction.

The ideal world of the One State

The action takes place in the twenty-sixth century. The survivors of a long world war have built a United State. A huge Green Wall has forever cut off the glass city from the wild. Citizens have long been deprived of their traditional names. The authorities use alphanumeric numbers. Life is strictly governed by a mathematical schedule that regulates every step. People wear identical blue uniforms. The townspeople subsist on synthetic petroleum food. Crowds march in sync along the avenues to the sounds of the Music Factory. Sexual life is also strictly regulated and governed by a system of pink coupons. Only two hours a day are allocated for personal matters.

The protagonist, D-503, works as a senior engineer. He oversees the construction of the Integral, the first spacecraft. This powerful craft is soon scheduled for launch. The ship is destined to bring mathematically calculated happiness to the inhabitants of other planets. The engineer is absolutely devoted to the system. He sincerely believes in the infallibility of the Benefactor. Inspired by the upcoming flight, the mathematician begins keeping detailed records for future space readers. His daily circle of contacts is extremely simple. The sweet, childishly round-faced O-90 often takes coupons for him. The engineer’s friend is the state poet R-13, who dutifully composes official odes.

Invasion of the irrational

D-503’s measured, transparent existence begins to crack after a chance stroll. In a crowd, he encounters a female number, I-330. She behaves provocatively, defiantly mocks dogma, and displays a frightening independence. She arranges a date with the engineer at the Ancient House, a unique museum of antique life with opaque walls and chaotic furniture. There, I-330 dons a yellow silk dress, drinks illegal liquor, and smokes. D-503 is deeply shocked by what is happening. He is physically sickened by this brazen violation of the law.

Laws require that any misdeeds be reported immediately. The engineer goes to the police to turn in the criminal. However, an inexplicable weakness suddenly paralyzes his will. He leaves silently. Soon, he discovers frightening symptoms: insomnia, sudden mood swings, and vivid dreams. After an examination, the local doctor makes a catastrophic diagnosis: D-503 has developed a soul. This irrational feeling mercilessly disrupts his habitual thinking. The hero suffers constantly from acute jealousy and completely loses his peace of mind.

Secret Resistance

The engineer becomes increasingly entangled in the web of his new acquaintance. I-330 masterfully manipulates him, cunningly using the ethnographic museum as a reliable cover. The true scale of the brewing conspiracy soon becomes apparent. An underground organization, "Mephi," is active within the country. The rebels seek to overthrow the Benefactor’s dictatorship, break through the glass barrier, and restore humanity’s right to freedom. During one of his forays, I-330 leads D-503 through underground corridors beyond the Green Wall. For the first time, the engineer sees real earth, trees, birds, and wild people, completely covered in thick animal fur.

The mathematician is cruelly torn between the logic of the state and his insane, animalistic passion for the rebel. The situation is greatly complicated by constant surveillance. Guardian S-4711 doggedly follows the engineer like a tethered shadow. Meanwhile, his relationship with O-90 quickly becomes entangled. His round-faced friend unlawfully begs him to give her a child. Unauthorized childbearing carries the penalty of immediate death. D-503 reluctantly yields to her tearful pleas. Later, I-330 helps the pregnant O-90 escape a terrible execution. She secretly smuggles the girl beyond the Wall to the forest savages.

Unanimity Day and the Riot

The most important event of the year is approaching — the election festival. Citizens gather in a huge square to re-elect the Benefactor, following a long-standing tradition. The ritual always goes off without a hitch, but this time is a notable exception. Thousands of Numbers suddenly raise their hands against the current ruler. Terrible panic ensues, and the guards resort to force and brutally disperse the rioters. During the mass clash, I-330 is seriously wounded. The poet R-13, revealed to be an active participant in the conspiracy, bravely carries the girl out. D-503 fights his way through the crowd and helps them escape pursuit.

The organization decisively resorts to harsh measures. The rebels’ plan is desperately audacious: they want to hijack the spaceship during its first test launch. I-330 firmly demands that the engineer aim the rocket nozzles directly at the capital. D-503 blindly obeys her will. However, during the flight, the vigilant Guardians block the crew and thwart the hijacking just in time. The painfully banal reason for the rapid failure is revealed. The elderly controller Yu, secretly harboring tender feelings for the mathematician, read his careless notes. Wanting to protect her beloved from a deadly crime, she obediently reported the plot to the authorities.

The Great Operation

The failure of the organized rebellion leads D-503 straight to the Benefactor’s government office. The dictator personally conducts a lengthy interrogation. He explains the foundations of the state structure with utmost calm and reason. The people themselves, tired of the heavy burden of choice, voluntarily asked to be shackled for the sake of mathematical peace. The ruler openly ridicules the engineer’s pathetic romantic impulses. He says, "Did it really never occur to you that they only needed you as a shipbuilder?" These cruel words instantly shatter the mathematician’s psyche. He flees the office with a wild scream.

The authorities quickly find a radical way to suppress the nascent resistance. A state newspaper solemnly announces a mandatory medical procedure. Doctors surgically remove citizens’ imaginations using targeted X-rays. People quickly transform into completely submissive, perpetually happy biological mechanisms. Passersby are rounded up en masse on the streets as they flee and herded to hospitals. D-503 narrowly escapes a crowd of already-operated fanatics. In utter despair, he rushes to the police station to voluntarily hand over all his conspirators. In the investigator’s office, he learns with chilling horror that S-4711 is himself one of the supreme leaders of the resistance.

Return to normal

The rebellion quickly escalates into full-blown war. Rebels brazenly blow up sections of the glass fence. Fur-covered forest savages and wild birds invade the perfect city avenues. The city is gripped by animal panic and blazing fires. Bloodied corpses litter the streets. Among the dead, D-503 accidentally spots the dead R-13. The engineer senselessly rushes through the crumbling neighborhoods, completely losing his bearings. Eventually, the exhausted hero is mercilessly captured by law enforcement. He is forcibly taken to a hospital ward and subjected to an irreversible fantasy burnout.

After a brutal medical intervention, D-503 is completely freed from all feelings and his previous absurd mental anguish. He sits peacefully in a bright gas chamber with the Benefactor. Right before his eyes, I-330 is methodically tortured by asphyxiation. The girl loses consciousness three times, but stubbornly refuses to reveal the names of her escaped comrades. Tomorrow, the revolutionary will be coldly sent to a public execution. The renewed mathematician watches the torment of his former lover with perfect, cold indifference. The tortured rebel arouses in him only a mild scientific curiosity. The western districts of the metropolis still resist desperately, but the hero is now firmly and unconditionally confident that the machine intelligence will inevitably achieve final victory.