We · Chapter
Endnotes explained
The chapter consists of endnotes that provide commentary on the text, referencing the chemical constitution of an unknown substance, the origin of flowers from the Botanical Museum, and a historical event from the third century AT (After th
What happens
The chapter consists of endnotes that provide commentary on the text, referencing the chemical constitution of an unknown substance, the origin of flowers from the Botanical Museum, and a historical event from the third century AT (After the Tables).
Themes in this chapter
Nature vs. Civilization
The endnote dismisses flowers as belonging to a 'lower kingdom' beyond the Green Wall, contrasting natural beauty with the rational, useful world of machines and formulae.
Technology and Dehumanization
The assertion that only rational and useful things are beautiful—machines, boots, formulae, food—reflects a dehumanizing prioritization of utility over aesthetic or emotional experience.
Key passages
“Only rational and useful things are beautiful: machines, boots, formulae, food, etc.”
Beauty is defined solely by practicality and reason, encompassing items like machinery, footwear, mathematical expressions, and sustenance.
This encapsulates the One State's utilitarian ideology, rejecting natural or artistic beauty.
“It happened long ago, in the third century AT (After the Tables).”
This event occurred in the distant past, specifically in the third century following the establishment of the Tables.
The dating system 'AT' underscores the foundational role of the Tables in the One State's chronology.