Winston: Does Big Brother exist?
O'Brien: Of course he exists. The Party exists. Big Brother is the embodiment of the Party.
Winston: Does he exist in the same way as I exist?
O'Brien: You do not exist.
Winston: I think I exist. I am conscious of my own identity. I was born, and I shall die. I have arms and legs. I occupy a particular point in space. No other solid object can occupy the same point simultaneously. In that sense, does Big Brother exist?
O'Brien: It is of no importance. He exists.
Winston: Will Big Brother ever die?
O'Brien: Of course not. How could he die? Next question.
O'Brien: Of course he exists. The Party exists. Big Brother is the embodiment of the Party.
Winston: Does he exist in the same way as I exist?
O'Brien: You do not exist.
Winston: I think I exist. I am conscious of my own identity. I was born, and I shall die. I have arms and legs. I occupy a particular point in space. No other solid object can occupy the same point simultaneously. In that sense, does Big Brother exist?
O'Brien: It is of no importance. He exists.
Winston: Will Big Brother ever die?
O'Brien: Of course not. How could he die? Next question.
— 1984
"The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth—it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true."
— Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation
"Do you hear what I'm saying? If so, you'd better have your ears checked, because nobody said anything at all."
