1984

           Evennow,Iamwellaware,youareclingingtoyourdiseaseundertheimpressionthatitisavirtue. Nowwewilltakeanexample. Atthismoment,whichpowerisOceaniaatwarwith?’ 

           ‘WhenIwasarrested,OceaniawasatwarwithEastasia.’ 

           ‘WithEastasia. Good. AndOceaniahasalwaysbeenatwarwithEastasia,hasitnot?’ 

           Winstondrewinhisbreath. Heopenedhismouthtospeakandthendidnotspeak. Hecouldnottakehiseyesawayfromthedial. 

           ‘Thetruth,please,Winston. YOURtruth. Tellmewhatyouthinkyouremember.’ 

           ‘IrememberthatuntilonlyaweekbeforeIwasarrested,wewerenotatwarwithEastasiaatall. Wewereinalliancewiththem. ThewarwasagainstEurasia. Thathadlastedforfouryears. Beforethat——’ 

           O’Brienstoppedhimwithamovementofthehand. 

           ‘Anotherexample,’hesaid. ‘Someyearsagoyouhadaveryseriousdelusionindeed. Youbelievedthatthreemen,threeone-timePartymembersnamedJones,Aaronson,andRutherford—menwhowereexecutedfortreacheryandsabotageaftermakingthefullestpossibleconfession—werenotguiltyofthecrimestheywerechargedwith. Youbelievedthatyouhadseenunmistakabledocumentaryevidenceprovingthattheirconfessionswerefalse. Therewasacertainphotographaboutwhichyouhadahallucination. Youbelievedthatyouhadactuallyhelditinyourhands. Itwasaphotographsomethinglikethis.’