But that is all the more reason for their making a special effort to conform.
It is their duty to be infantile, even against their inclination.
And so, Mr. Marx, I give you fair warning."
The Director's voice vibrated with an indignation that had now become wholly righteous and impersonal-was the expression of the disapproval of Society itself.
"If ever I hear again of any lapse from a proper standard of infantile decorum, I shall ask for your transference to a Sub-Centre-preferably to Iceland.
Good morning."
And swivelling round in his chair, he picked up his pen and began to write.
"That'll teach him," he said to himself.
But he was mistaken. For Bernard left the room with a swagger, exulting, as he banged the door behind him, in the thought that he stood alone, embattled against the order of things; elated by the intoxicating consciousness of his individual significance and importance.
Even the thought of persecution left him undismayed, was rather tonic than depressing.
He felt strong enough to meet and overcome affliction, strong enough to face even Iceland.
And this confidence was the greater for his not for a moment really believing that he would be called upon to face anything at all.
People simply weren't transferred for things like that.
Iceland was just a threat.
A most stimulating and life-giving threat.
Walking along the corridor, he actually whistled.
Heroic was the account he gave that evening of his interview with the D.H.C.
"Whereupon," it concluded,
"I simply told him to go to the Bottomless Past and marched out of the room.
And that was that."
He looked at Helmholtz Watson expectantly, awaiting his due reward of sympathy, encouragement, admiration.
But no word came.
Helmholtz sat silent, staring at the floor.
He liked Bernard; he was grateful to him for being the only man of his acquaintance with whom he could talk about the subjects he felt to be important.
Nevertheless, there were things in Bernard which he hated.
This boasting, for example.
And the outbursts of an abject self-pity with which it alternated.
And his deplorable habit of being bold after the event, and full, in absence, of the most extraordinary presence of mind.
He hated these things-just because he liked Bernard.
The seconds passed.
Helmholtz continued to stare at the floor.
And suddenly Bernard blushed and turned away.
§3 THE journey was quite uneventful.
The Blue Pacific Rocket was two and a half minutes early at New Orleans, lost four minutes in a tornado over Texas, but flew into a favourable air current at Longitude 95 West, and was able to land at Santa Fe less than forty seconds behind schedule time.
"Forty seconds on a six and a half hour flight.
Not so bad," Lenina conceded.
They slept that night at Santa Fe.
The hotel was excellent-incompara-bly better, for example, than that horrible Aurora Bora Palace in which Lenina had suffered so much the previous summer.
Liquid air, television, vibro-vacuum massage, radio, boiling caffeine solution, hot contraceptives, and eight different kinds of scent were laid on in every bedroom.
The synthetic music plant was working as they entered the hall and left nothing to be desired.
A notice in the lift announced that there were sixty Escalator-Squash-Racket Courts in the hotel, and that Obstacle and Electro-magnetic Golf could both be played in the park.
"But it sounds simply too lovely," cried Lenina.
"I almost wish we could stay here.
Sixty Escalator-Squash Courts ..."
"There won't be any in the Reservation," Bernard warned her.
"And no scent, no television, no hot water even.
If you feel you can't stand it, stay here till I come back."
Lenina was quite offended.
"Of course I can stand it.
I only said it was lovely here because ... well, because progress is lovely, isn't it?"