The "power of the sky" is, of course, electricity. In his research, Equality 7-2521 has discovered the long lost knowledge of this energy that, as he accurately surmises, was known to thinkers of the Unmentionable Times. Given his relentless dedication to the acquisition of scientific knowledge, it comes as no surprise to learn that he intends to follow this course of study until he understands it completely. Equality 7-2521, in this regard, is akin to such pioneers of the electric age as Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse. Edison invented not only the light bulb but also created the world's first electric lighting system. Tesla invented the alternating current motor, and Westinghouse hired him to adapt the motor for use in his power system, which was capable of transmitting electricity over greater distances than the then-dominant method employing direct current. Like these great thinkers of an earlier age, Equality 7-2521 is an innovator, a man who develops new ideas. Unlike them, he lives in a collectivist dictatorship that threatens his life for the "crime" of freethinking.
Equality 7-2521 is on his way to a discovery even more momentous than electricity. He moves painfully toward the realization that the independent mind is the highest value on earth and is capable of greater achievement than that dreamed of by the crowd of blind followers. "No single one can possess greater wisdom than the many Scholars," he reminds himself. And yet, "we can. We do. We have fought against saying it, but now it is said." Though belief in the superiority of the individual mind is held to be the cardinal sin in this society, Equality 7-2521 gropes toward recognizing its truth. He does not yet know that great innovators of history have often been opposed and tormented by their societies. He has no way of knowing that these great men and women were moved by dedication to their own visions, not by desire to serve humanity — but he feels it, he lives it, and he slowly comes to understand it. Equality 7-2521's battle involves more than a quest for scientific breakthroughs against a hostile society; it embodies the struggle of the independent mind to recognize its supreme value in a world bent on keeping this truth suppressed.
