1984

           IfhecouldhavebeencertainthatO’Brienwaslying,itwouldnothaveseemedtomatter. ButitwasperfectlypossiblethatO’Brienhadreallyforgottenthephotograph. Andifso,thenalreadyhewouldhaveforgottenhisdenialofrememberingit,andforgottentheactofforgetting. Howcouldonebesurethatitwassimpletrickery? Perhapsthatlunaticdislocationinthemindcouldreallyhappen: thatwasthethoughtthatdefeatedhim. 

           O’Brienwaslookingdownathimspeculatively. Morethaneverhehadtheairofateachertakingpainswithawaywardbutpromisingchild. 

           ‘ThereisaPartyslogandealingwiththecontrolofthepast,’hesaid. ‘Repeatit,ifyouplease.’ 

           ‘"Whocontrolsthepastcontrolsthefuture:whocontrolsthepresentcontrolsthepast,"’repeatedWinstonobediently. 

           ‘"Whocontrolsthepresentcontrolsthepast,"’saidO’Brien,noddinghisheadwithslowapproval. ‘Isityouropinion,Winston,thatthepasthasrealexistence?’ 

           AgainthefeelingofhelplessnessdescendeduponWinston. Hiseyesflittedtowardsthedial. Henotonlydidnotknowwhether‘yes’or‘no’wastheanswerthatwouldsavehimfrompain;hedidnotevenknowwhichanswerhebelievedtobethetrueone. 

           O’Briensmiledfaintly. ‘Youarenometaphysician,Winston,’hesaid. ‘Untilthismomentyouhadneverconsideredwhatismeantbyexistence. Iwillputitmoreprecisely. Doesthepastexistconcretely,inspace? Istheresomewhereorotheraplace,aworldofsolidobjects,wherethepastisstillhappening?’