That night I walked up and down outside her building until I saw the light in her room go out. Seeing nothing unusual, I went home. I was sure it had been a terrible shock to her, but at least now she would be under no illusions. The problem was that I had no idea how she would cope with the situation. Would she insist on leaving Unit 701? She was always so decisive; she didn’t think about the consequences. I was really worried that she would do something hasty, and both she and the Party would suffer from it. It was for that reason I wrote her a long letter that night and pushed it under her door, in the hope she would face up to the whole thing squarely.

I don’t know if it was because of my letter or for some other reason, but she arrived on time at her office the next day – which was pleasing, but scary. I quickly realized that she had changed: she wasn’t as cheerful as she had been before, she spoke less and seemed colder, particularly towards me. Her eyes shone with an icy glitter, which left me uneasy and at a loss.