Equality 7-2521’s first day in the forest is full of wonder. He wakes and feels the sunlight on his face; eventually he realizes he does not have to rise at the sound of a bell as he has done every morning for nearly his entire life. He lies on his back and throws his arms out as he looks at the sky and considers his future.

The leaves above him are silver and in the sunlight and they ripple in the wind. He is free to lie here as long as he wants, and the thought makes him laugh aloud. He is also free to twirl around in the rustling leaves or swing from a tree branch—both of which he does. Finally he rolls over on the moss and laughs as if there is nothing inside him but laughter.

Finally he takes his glass box and continues trekking through the forest, and the forest seems to welcome him. When he is hungry, he kills a bird with a stone and cooks it over a fire. He feels great satisfaction at having provided his own food. In fact, Equality 7-2521 is looking forward to getting hungry again so he can feel once again the pride of providing and eating his own meal.

Later he comes to a stream of calm water. As he leans over to drink from the stream, he is stunned by something he has never seen. He sees his image (reflected in the water) for the first time and cannot quit looking at himself.

He realizes his face and body are beautiful. His face is unlike those of his brothers, for he feels no pity when he sees it. His body is straight and thin, hard and strong, unlike those of his brothers. He feels as if he is a man who can be trusted and not feared. Equality 7-2521 walks until sunset. As he prepares his bed for the night, he suddenly remembers he is Damned and he laughs.

All of this he writes on the paper he had hidden in his tunic along with the written pages he had intended to give to the World Council of Scholars but never gave them. Equality 7-2521 has much to thinks about and hopes he will find the proper words to write it all in the days ahead. He cannot speak of it now, for he still does not understand.