Then they asked:
"What is your name?"
"Equality 7-2521," we answered.
"You are not one of our brothers, Equality
7-2521, for we do not wish you to be."
We cannot say what they meant, for there
are no words for their meaning, but we know it
without words and we knew it then.
"No," we answered, "nor are you one of our sisters."
"If you see us among scores of women,
will you look upon us?"
"We shall look upon you, Liberty 5-3000,
if we see you among all the women of the earth."
Then they asked:
"Are Street Sweepers sent to different
parts of the City or do they always work
in the same places?"
"They always work in the same places,"
we answered, "and no one will take this
road away from us."
"Your eyes," they said, "are not like the
eyes of any among men."
And suddenly, without cause for the
thought which came to us, we felt cold,
cold to our stomach.
"How old are you?" we asked.
They understood our thought, for they
lowered their eyes for the first time.
"Seventeen," they whispered.
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