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Collective 0-0009 is the most senior member of the World Council of Scholars, and in his interaction with Equality 7-2521, he acts as an embodiment of the state’s distrust of individualism. Including “Collective” as the first part of his name emphasizes where his loyalties lie, and featuring this character in the novel’s climax further reinforces the broader, antagonizing forces that Equality 7-2521 is up against. When Equality 7-2521 first enters with his lightbulb, Collective 0-0009 quickly expresses skepticism toward him based on his appearances alone. The fact that he uses Equality 7-2521’s non-scholarly look as the initial basis of his distrust emphasizes just how strongly he believes in the need for sameness in all aspects of life. He immediately views this arrival of individualism into the collective as a threat, as do the other members of the Council who are “angry and frightened.” Once Equality 7-2521 presents his invention, however, Collective 0-0009’s attitude shifts from suspicious to angry as he explains all of the ways in which Equality 7-2521’s behavior has broken the laws. The level of ferocity and vehemence behind his denunciation of both the inventor and the invention adds to Rand’s broader arguments about the brutality behind collectivist societies. Collective 0-0009 and the other council members are so concerned with maintaining the status quo and protecting their sense of control that they fail to see the benefits that can come from independent thought. Equality 7-2521 emphasizes that the lightbulb would simplify life for everyone, yet because this invention was not the product of a group effort, the Council dismisses it outright. Collective 0-0009’s ultimate solution is destruction, and Rand’s word choice in this moment highlights the harmful consequences that she attributes to collectivism’s blindness and ignorance. She seems to suggest that focusing on the whole rather than on the individual is ultimately depletive rather than empowering.
