Chapters 1-3

The first chapter begins with a tour of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, led by the Centre’s director, for a group of new scientists who are to work at there. This tour introduces the reader to many of the aspects of the World State, a global government that exercises absolute control over every inch of the planet. In this futuristic society, motherhood no longer exists; children are raised from embryos in a solution of nutrients. Embryos are divided into castes based on intelligence level. The castes are, in order from most to least intelligent, Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, Epsilon, and the caste system will be explored more in depth in a future post. Another characteristic of this world is that God has been replaced by Henry Ford, whose developing the assembly line was the starting moment for this utopian society, and this will be explored more in depth in a later post as well. One mean for obtaining stability is the maintenance of the happiness of the people. From birth, children are subjected to hypnopaedia, where they are constantly, during their sleep, read a line the State wants them to know, and it is forever ingrained in their heads. They are also given the drug soma, which creates pleasant hallucinations with no side effects, and are conditioned to take some instead of brooding over discontent, preventing dissent against the State.

The World State is an exceptionally interesting society, and an interesting concept. It provides no freedom, yet all of its citizens are happy. It has eliminated disease, hunger and war; it has created productivity unimaginable to any society that came before. Yet, these benefits come at a cost. Religion is replaced with Ford, as mentioned earlier, and the State is the true follower of Ford, meaning that the State has effectively replaced religion. Virtually all freedoms are eliminated. From birth, children have their career paths set for them. All writers must submit their works to the State before being published, to ensure their ideas are compatible with social order. All of those with different, unique, unorthodox behavior are shipped to islands where their dissidence can’t spread. The question is: are order and happiness worth sacrificing freedom? This is a question for the reader and society as a whole to decide.