We: Record 9 Summary & Analysis

It’s a bright day, and D-503 can look past his sickness. He and a crowd of other ciphers are at the Cube Plaza, which is constructed of 66 concentric glass circles. The atmosphere is grave and silent. D-503 likens his surrounding environment to the Ancients’ religious services, though he mocks the ludicrousness of their relationship to God—Ancients who offered sacrifices to their God were met mostly with anguish and tragedy. In contrast, the ciphers who make sacrifices to their God receive “the victory of the many over the one.”

D-503 is about to witness one such sacrifice at the Cube Plaza: a convicted cipher stands, restrained and afraid, on the steps of the Cube. Above him, on the Cube, is the Machine—a mechanical surrogate for the Benefactor, consisting of “quadratic outlines” and heavy, stone hands. R-13 rises and recites poetry condemning blasphemous poetry that insults the Benefactor. R-13 sits. The Benefactor approaches the Machine, pulls a lever, and the Machine chemically eviscerates the convicted cipher. D-503 and the rest of the crowd are excited by the execution, as it affirms the power and order of the Benefactor and the One State.