In the two-dimensional world of Flatland, adult inhabitants reach a maximum length or width of roughly twelve inches. Women are structured as straight lines, while soldiers and lower-class workers consist of isosceles triangles possessing two equal sides and a very short base, terminating in a sharp and dangerous angle. The middle class is formed by equilateral triangles, and professional men and gentlemen are represented by squares and pentagons. The nobility comprises figures with increasing numbers of sides, culminating in polygons and ultimately the circular or ecclesiastical order, which represents the highest rank of all.
A natural law dictates that every male child possesses one more side than his father, allowing each generation to advance in social standing. However, this rule does not apply to merchants, soldiers, or workers, whose uneven sides keep them confined to their isosceles class. Despite this restriction, exceptional isosceles individuals can achieve a slight broadening of their base and a narrowing of their other sides through military success or diligent labor. Carefully arranged mixed marriages and generations of self-discipline can eventually lead to the rare birth of a true equilateral triangle from isosceles parents.
When a genuine equilateral triangle is born to servile parents, it causes widespread celebration and is adopted by a childless equilateral after being certified regular by the social health council. This upward mobility serves as a vital safeguard for the aristocracy, preventing lower-class revolutions by offering a glimmer of hope to the working masses. Furthermore, a natural law of compensation ensures that as isosceles individuals develop intelligence and mental faculties, their sharp, dangerous angles widen to approach those of the equilateral triangle, thereby blunting their physical threat. When rebellions nevertheless arise among stubborn groups, the ruling circles easily suppress them through state-managed surgeries, honorable detentions, or by instigating fratricidal conflicts among the rioters.