Chapter 1: The Theme

Who is John Galt?

I have no idea. Neither does the bum, but I'm wondering if Eddie Willers knows more than he lets on. Eddie is in a hurry to get back to work at the Taggart Building, home of Taggart Transcontinental. Taggart is a rail company, with the slogan "From Ocean to Ocean". Eddie grew up with the Taggart family, and now works for the corporation.

James Taggert is the president of the company, and he's not happy to see Eddie. He knows that Eddie wants to talk about one of Taggert's rail lines. It's failing and may have to be abandoned if the tracks can't be fixed. James has given the steel contract to his friend, Orren Boyle. Orren is the head of Associated Steel, and they're already 15 months late on the Taggert order.

James would rather wait for Orren to get him the rails for the Rio Norte Line, and complain about his competition, the Phoenix-Durango. Both lines feed into Colorado, and Colorado is vital because of the oil fields of Ellis Wyatt. The very mention of Wyatt sends James Taggert into a fit. James is a whining, petulant man-child, and he can't face facts. Ellis Wyatt is the future of oil, and Orren Boyle is the past of steel. Eddie realized he's in a no-win situation, so he leaves. On his way out, a discussion with one of James' clerks elicits a repeat of the question, "Who is John Galt?"

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Richard Halley is a modern-day Beethoven, and the lady on the train knows all of his work. When she hears a brakeman whistling, she knows the tune should be a Halley piece, but she doesn't know it. The boy says it's Halley's Fifth Concerto, but she knows he only wrote four. She dozes off before she has a chance to question him further...and awakes to the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. The train is the Taggert Comet, and it is the only train in America that's never been late. A faulty stop light has caused the unexpected stop, and the lady on the train asks what it will take to get the train moving again. The engineer asks "Who is John Galt?", and we learn that this question has become a colloquialism for "why ask unanswerable questions?" The lady on the train reveals herself to be Dagny Taggert, Vice-President in Charge of Operations for Taggert Transcontinental. This is enough to get the train rolling again, and the Comet makes it to New York on time.

Dagny is James Taggert's sister, and his opposite in every way. She is a businesswoman whose only motivations are what works and what makes money. She has cancelled the rail contract with Orren Boyle, and given it to Henry Rearden of Rearden Steel. She has decided to switch the material from steel to Rearden's new proprietary substance, Rearden Metal. And she has done all this without any input from her brother or the Board. James thinks it's not fair to give all their rail business to Rearden, and he thinks it's scary to be the first to try out his new Metal. It quickly becomes obvious he's most afraid of taking any kind of responsibility, and quiets down as soon as Dagny assumes it. After the meeting with her brother, Dagny puts in a call to Ayers Music Publishing Company. Mr. Ayers assures her that there is no Fifth Concerto, and that Halley has stopped publishing music and withdrawn from public life.

Dagny has not forgotten the delayed Comet, and calls Owen Kellogg to her office to replace the man in charge of the offending Ohio Division. Owen informs Dagny that he has decided to leave Taggert. He is not taking a job at another rail company. In fact, he doesn't know what he'll do next. He has no complaint against the company, and there is nothing she can offer him to entice him to stay. When she finally, in exasperation, asks him why he's leaving, he answers "Who is John Galt?"

P.S. - We find out that Eddie is Dagny's assistant in this chapter, and I get the feeling he still has a crush on her from childhood.