1984

           Hecontinuedtomovetoandfrooverthesoftcarpet. Inspiteofthebulkinessofhisbodytherewasaremarkablegraceinhismovements. Itcameouteveninthegesturewithwhichhethrustahandintohispocket,ormanipulatedacigarette. Moreeventhanofstrength,hegaveanimpressionofconfidenceandofanunderstandingtingedbyirony. Howevermuchinearnesthemightbe,hehadnothingofthesingle-mindednessthatbelongstoafanatic. Whenhespokeofmurder,suicide,venerealdisease,amputatedlimbs,andalteredfaces,itwaswithafaintairofpersiflage. ‘Thisisunavoidable,’hisvoiceseemedtosay;‘thisiswhatwehavegottodo,unflinchingly. Butthisisnotwhatweshallbedoingwhenlifeisworthlivingagain.’ Awaveofadmiration,almostofworship,flowedoutfromWinstontowardsO’Brien. ForthemomenthehadforgottentheshadowyfigureofGoldstein. WhenyoulookedatO’Brien’spowerfulshouldersandhisblunt-featuredface,souglyandyetsocivilized,itwasimpossibletobelievethathecouldbedefeated. Therewasnostratagemthathewasnotequalto,nodangerthathecouldnotforesee. EvenJuliaseemedtobeimpressed. Shehadlethercigarettegooutandwaslisteningintently. O’Brienwenton: 

           ‘YouwillhaveheardrumoursoftheexistenceoftheBrotherhood. Nodoubtyouhaveformedyourownpictureofit.Youhaveimagined,probably,ahugeunderworldofconspirators,meetingsecretlyincellars,scribblingmessagesonwalls,recognizingoneanotherbycodewordsorbyspecialmovementsofthehand. Nothingofthekindexists. ThemembersoftheBrotherhoodhavenowayofrecognizingoneanother,anditisimpossibleforanyonemembertobeawareoftheidentityofmorethanafewothers. Goldsteinhimself,ifhefellintothehandsoftheThoughtPolice,couldnotgivethemacompletelistofmembers,oranyinformationthatwouldleadthemtoacompletelist.