what does equality mean in the first page in chapter 7, when he says, " we are the old now, but we were young this morning?(pg.68)

Equality 7-2521's next journal entry comes from the dark forest, where he waits while sleeping on the moss for the beasts. He feels old and futureless, although earlier in the morning he feels young as he carries his box to the World Council of Scholars. The invention and it's potential made Equality feel young.