1984

           ‘Black,veryshabby.Withtwostraps.’ 

           ‘Black,twostraps,veryshabby—good. Onedayinthefairlynearfuture—Icannotgiveadate—oneofthemessagesamongyourmorning’sworkwillcontainamisprintedword,andyouwillhavetoaskforarepeat. Onthefollowingdayyouwillgotoworkwithoutyourbrief-case. Atsometimeduringtheday,inthestreet,amanwilltouchyouonthearmandsay "Ithinkyouhavedroppedyourbrief-case." TheonehegivesyouwillcontainacopyofGoldstein’sbook. Youwillreturnitwithinfourteendays.’ 

           Theyweresilentforamoment. 

           ‘Thereareacoupleofminutesbeforeyouneedgo,’saidO’Brien. ‘Weshallmeetagain—ifwedomeetagain——’ 

           Winstonlookedupathim. ‘Intheplacewherethereisnodarkness?’hesaidhesitantly. 

           O’Briennoddedwithoutappearanceofsurprise. ‘Intheplacewherethereisnodarkness,’hesaid,asthoughhehadrecognizedtheallusion. ‘Andinthemeantime,isthereanythingthatyouwishtosaybeforeyouleave? Anymessage? Anyquestion?.’ 

           Winstonthought. Theredidnotseemtobeanyfurtherquestionthathewantedtoask:stilllessdidhefeelanyimpulsetoutterhigh-soundinggeneralities. InsteadofanythingdirectlyconnectedwithO’BrienortheBrotherhood,therecameintohismindasortofcompositepictureofthedarkbedroomwherehismotherhadspentherlastdays,andthelittleroomoverMrCharrington’sshop,andtheglasspaperweight,andthesteelengravinginitsrosewoodframe. Almostatrandomhesaid: