A collectivist society is brutally repressive in its treatment of those who think independently. Just like it burned at the stake the Saint of the Pyre for discovering and uttering the Unspeakable Word, so it lashes Equality 7-2521 for his unexplained absence. In a Nazi or Communist society such as this, obedience is considered the fundamental virtue. Individualists, like Equality 7-2521, who act on their own thinking, are regarded as dangerous troublemakers and treated like criminals.
Equality 7-2521 knows that if the state discovers the full extent of his "crimes" — his illicit scientific research and invention of an electric light — he will be executed and his creation destroyed. He has performed actions that are major violations of the lock-step conformity required by society. He has placed the satisfaction of his own goals above the necessity of compliance to society — and this is unforgivable. The legal authorities will not understand the significance of the light nor will they care. They will see only the refusal to conform. Equality 7-2521's only hope lies with the Scholars. They are the men of wisdom. The Scholars, he believes, are honest seekers after truth, who will both understand and care about the electric light. They will intercede on his behalf — and he and the light will be saved.
