1984

           Asforthethirdmessage,itreferredtoaverysimpleerrorwhichcouldbesetrightinacoupleofminutes. AsshortatimeagoasFebruary,theMinistryofPlentyhadissuedapromise (a‘categoricalpledge’weretheofficialwords) thattherewouldbenoreductionofthechocolaterationduring1984. 

           Actually,asWinstonwasaware,thechocolaterationwastobereducedfromthirtygrammestotwentyattheendofthepresentweek. AllthatwasneededwastosubstitutefortheoriginalpromiseawarningthatitwouldprobablybenecessarytoreducetherationatsometimeinApril. 

           AssoonasWinstonhaddealtwitheachofthemessages,heclippedhisspeakwrittencorrectionstotheappropriatecopyof‘TheTimes’andpushedthemintothepneumatictube. Then,withamovementwhichwasasnearlyaspossibleunconscious,hecrumpleduptheoriginalmessageandanynotesthathehimselfhadmade,anddroppedthemintothememoryholetobedevouredbytheflames. 

           Whathappenedintheunseenlabyrinthtowhichthepneumatictubesled,hedidnotknowindetail,buthedidknowingeneralterms. Assoonasallthecorrectionswhichhappenedtobenecessaryinanyparticularnumberof‘TheTimes’hadbeenassembledandcollated,thatnumberwouldbereprinted, theoriginalcopydestroyed,andthecorrectedcopyplacedonthefilesinitsstead. Thisprocessofcontinuousalterationwasappliednotonlytonewspapers, buttobooks,periodicals,pamphlets,posters,leaflets,films,sound-tracks,cartoons,photographs —toeverykindofliteratureordocumentationwhichmightconceivablyholdanypoliticalorideologicalsignificance. Daybydayandalmostminutebyminutethepastwasbroughtuptodate.