Brave New World

"A gramme is better than a damn," said Lenina mechanically from behind herhands. "I wish I had my soma!""I ought to have been there," the young man went on. "Why wouldn't they let mebe the sacrifice? I'd have gone round ten times–twelve, fifteen. Palowhtiwa only gotas far as seven. They could have had twice as much blood from me. Themultitudinous seas incarnadine." He flung out his arms in a lavish gesture; then,despairingly, let them fall again. "But they wouldn't let me. They disliked me for mycomplexion. It's always been like that. Always." Tears stood in the young man'seyes; he was ashamed and turned away.Astonishment made Lenina forget the deprivation of soma. She uncovered her faceand, for the first time, looked at the stranger. "Do you mean to say that you wantedto be hit with that whip?"Still averted from her, the young man made a sign of affirmation. "For the sake ofthe pueblo–to make the rain come and the corn grow. And to please Pookong andJesus. And then to show that I can bear pain without crying out. Yes," and his voicesuddenly took on a new resonance, he turned with a proud squaring of theshoulders, a proud, defiant lifting of the chin "to show that I'm a man … Oh!" Hegave a gasp and was silent, gaping. He had seen, for the first time in his life, theface of a girl whose cheeks were not the colour of chocolate or dogskin, whose hairwas auburn and permanently waved, and whose expression (amazing novelty!) wasone of benevolent interest. Lenina was smiling at him; such a nice-looking boy, shewas thinking, and a really beautiful body. The blood rushed up into the youngman's face; he dropped his eyes, raised them again for a moment only to find herstill smiling at him, and was so much overcome that he had to turn away andpretend to be looking very hard at something on the other side of the square.Bernard's questions made a diversion. Who? How? When? From where? Keeping hiseyes fixed on Bernard's face (for so passionately did he long to see Lenina smilingthat he simply dared not look at her), the young man tried to explain himself. Lindaand he–Linda was his mother (the word made Lenina look uncomfortable)–werestrangers in the Reservation. Linda had come from the Other Place long ago, beforehe was born, with a man who was his father. (Bernard pricked up his ears.) She hadgone walking alone in those mountains over there to the North, had fallen down asteep place and hurt her head. ("Go on, go on," said Bernard excitedly.) Somehunters from Malpais had found her and brought her to the pueblo. As for the manwho was his father, Linda had never seen him again. His name was Tomakin. (Yes,"Thomas" was the D.H.C.'s first name.) He must have flown away, back to the OtherPlace, away without her–a bad, unkind, unnatural man."And so I was born in Malpais," he concluded. "In Malpais." And he shook his head.The squalor of that little house on the outskirts of the pueblo!A space of dust and rubbish separated it from the village. Two famine-stricken dogswere nosing obscenely in the garbage at its door. Inside, when they entered, thetwilight stank and was loud with flies."Linda!" the young man called.From the inner room a rather hoarse female voice said, "Coming."They waited. In bowls on the floor were the remains of a meal, perhaps of severalmeals.The door opened. A very stout blonde squaw stepped across the threshold andstood looking at the strangers staring incredulously, her mouth open. Leninanoticed with disgust that two of the front teeth were missing. And the colour of theones that remained … She shuddered. It was worse than the old man. So fat. Andall the lines in her face, the flabbiness, the wrinkles. And the sagging cheeks, withthose purplish blotches. And the red veins on her nose, the bloodshot eyes. Andthat neck–that neck; and the blanket she wore over her head–ragged and filthy.