1984

           Theclovesandsaccharine,themselvesdisgustingenoughintheirsicklyway,couldnotdisguisetheflatoilysmell; andwhatwasworstofallwasthatthesmellofgin,whichdweltwithhimnightandday,wasinextricablymixedupinhismindwiththesmellofthose—— 

           Henevernamedthem,eveninhisthoughts,andsofarasitwaspossiblehenevervisualizedthem. Theyweresomethingthathewashalf-awareof,hoveringclosetohisface,asmellthatclungtohisnostrils. Astheginroseinhimhebelchedthroughpurplelips. Hehadgrownfattersincetheyreleasedhim,andhadregainedhisoldcolour—indeed,morethanregainedit. Hisfeatureshadthickened,theskinonnoseandcheekboneswascoarselyred,eventhebaldscalpwastoodeepapink. Awaiter,againunbidden,broughtthechessboardandthecurrentissueof‘TheTimes’,withthepageturneddownatthechessproblem. Then,seeingthatWinston’sglasswasempty,hebroughttheginbottleandfilledit. Therewasnoneedtogiveorders. Theyknewhishabits. Thechessboardwasalwayswaitingforhim,hiscornertablewasalwaysreserved; evenwhentheplacewasfullhehadittohimself,sincenobodycaredtobeseensittingtooclosetohim. Heneverevenbotheredtocounthisdrinks. Atirregularintervalstheypresentedhimwithadirtyslipofpaperwhichtheysaidwasthebill,buthehadtheimpressionthattheyalwaysunderchargedhim. Itwouldhavemadenodifferenceifithadbeentheotherwayabout. Hehadalwaysplentyofmoneynowadays. Heevenhadajob,asinecure,morehighly-paidthanhisoldjobhadbeen. 

           Themusicfromthetelescreenstoppedandavoicetookover. Winstonraisedhisheadtolisten. Nobulletinsfromthefront,however.ItwasmerelyabriefannouncementfromtheMinistryofPlenty. Intheprecedingquarter,itappeared,theTenthThree-YearPlan’squotaforbootlaceshadbeenoverfulfilledby98percent.