199.英文正文(199)
“itoldyou,”saido’brien,“thatifwemetagainitwouldbehere。”
“yes,”saidwinston。
withoutanywarningexceptaslightmovementofo'brien'shand,awaveofpainfloodedhisbody。itwasafrighteningpain,becausehecouldnotseewhatwashappening,andhehadthefeelingthatsomemortalinjurywasbeingdonetohim。hedidnotknowwhetherthethingwasreallyhappening,orwhethertheeffectwaselectricallyproduced;buthisbodywasbeingwrenchedoutofshape,thejointswerebeingslowlytornapart。althoughthepainhadbroughtthesweatoutonhisforehead,theworstofallwasthefearthathisbackbonewasabouttosnap。hesethisteethandbreathedhardthroughhisnose,tryingtokeepsilentaslongaspossible。
“youareafraid,”saido’brien,watchinghisface,“thatinanothermomentsomethingisgoingtobreak。yourespecialfearisthatitwillbeyourbackbone。youhaveavividmentalpictureofthevertebraesnappingapartandthespinalfluiddrippingoutofthem。thatiswhatyouarethinking,isitnot,winston?”
winstondidnotanswer。o’briendrewbacktheleveronthedial。thewaveofpainrecededalmostasquicklyasithadcome。
“thatwasforty,”saido’brien。“youcanseethatthenumbersonthisdialrunuptoahundred。willyoupleaseremember,throughoutourconversation,thatihaveitinmypowertoinflictpainonyouatanymomentandtowhateverdegreeichoose?ifyoutellmeanylies,orattempttoprevaricateinanyway,orevenfallbelowyourusuallevelofintelligence,youwillcryoutwithpain,instantly。doyouunderstandthat?”