It is many days before Equality 7-2521 gets to speak to Liberty 5-3000 again. It is a particularly scorching day and the heat is stifling. No wind is moving, and the women in their white tunics are weary as they work, each task taking them longer than usual. They are far from the road when Equality 7-2521 and his fellow Street Sweepers arrive to work, but Liberty 5-3000 is standing near the hedge waiting for him. Although her eyes are hard toward the world, Liberty 5-3000 looks at him with willing obedience.

Equality 7-2521 tells Liberty 5-3000 that he has given her a name in his mind: the Golden One. She tells him that she no longer thinks of him as Equality 7-252. She holds her head high and looks at him directly as she tells him that in her thoughts, she thinks of him as The Unconquered. Both of them are silent for a long time until Equality 7-2521 reminds her that these kinds of thoughts are forbidden. She reminds him that his thoughts, too, are forbidden. Yet he wishes her to think them.

Equality 7-2521 looks into her eyes and cannot lie to her; he calls her his “dearest one” and asks her not to obey his warning. She is moved by the endearment, for men have never before said such things to women. The Golden One stands with her head bowed and her palms at her sides, facing Equality 7-2521 as if in complete submission to him. Finally she raises her head and speaks gently, as she wants him to forget about some anxiety she is experiencing.

She knows he must be hot and weary from working; although he denies it, she offers to bring him some water since he is not allowed to cross the hedge to get some for himself. She kneels at the moat, cups her hands to gather some water, and holds the water to Equality 7-2521’s lips. He is not sure if he drank any water, but he does know he is still standing with his lips to her hands; she knows it and does not move.

Both of them raise their heads and take a step back, for they are not sure what has prompted them to do this unheard-of thing. They are afraid to understand it. The Golden One steps back, looking at her hands in wonder before moving away, even though no one is coming. Then she steps back, as if she is compelled to walk away backwards, her eyes always on Equality 7-2521; her arms are bent before her, as if she cannot lower her hands.