" ... If the speed of an aero equals zero, the aero is motionless; if human liberty is equal to zero, man does not commit any crime. That is clear. The way to rid man of criminality is to rid him of freedom."
Unknown to many, "We" has helped inspire some of our most influential dystopian fiction.
Yevgeny Zamyatin's stunningly powerful novel weaves a tale of crushing uniformity, interspersing stark, utilitarian descriptions with understated beauty. He painstakingly depicts an oppressed Russian society featuring mass surveilliance and an adherence to the laws of science.
"It was as foolish as the fact that in the days of the ancients the ocean blindly splashed on the shore for twenty-four hours a day, without interruption or use. The millions of kilogram meters of energy which were hidden in the waves were used only for the stimulation of sweethearts! We obtained electricity from the amorous whisper of the waves! We made a domestic animal out of that sparkling, foaming, rabid one! And in the same manner, we domesticated and harnessed the wild element of poetry."
Banned in the original Russian for some 35 years, "We" features a frantic pace toward the end, dragging you along, stumbling, as the One State breathes down your neck.
Such classics as "Brave New World" and "1984" owe a massive debt to Zamyatin's fully realized totalitarian society, making "We" essential reading in the genre.
Just watch your neck.
"Why is the dance beautiful? Answer: because it is an unfree movement. Because the deep meaning of the dance is contained in its absolute, ecstatic submission, in the ideal non-freedom."
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