Anthem

They existed only to serve the state. They were conceived in controlled Palaces of Mating. They died in the Home of the Useless. From the cradle to the grave, the crowd was one—the great WE.

In all that was left of humanity, only one man dared to think, seek, and love. He lived in the dark ages of the future. In a loveless world, he dared to love the woman of his choice. He dared to seek and find knowledge in an age that had lost all trace of science and civilization. But these were not the crimes for which he would be hunted. He was marked for death because he had committed the unpardonable sin: He had stood forth from the mindless human herd. He was a man alone. He had rediscovered the lost and holy word—I.