Alan trod through the streets of London when he suddenly spotted something out of the ordinary. For as long as he could remember, the posters of Big Brother lined the walls of all the buildings, but now they had been replaced. The stern images reminding him that Big Brother was always watching him were a strange, calming presence to Alan. After all, that man was the hero of The Revolution, the leader of Oceania! All his life, Alan had lived to bring the vision of the Party to fruition, and the thought of Big Brother no longer being a part of that scared him deeply. Surely, this was some sort of error, a mistake in the several levels of bureaucracy that would quickly be fixed. But, for the sake of being able to report this error more quickly, he took a look at the poster. In many ways, it was quite similar, also focusing on a face with a simple slogan underneath. But now, the face adorning the posters was a much more feminine one, though still clearly male, with long hair and a soft, calm expression that strongly contrasted with Big Brother's. Similarly, the slogan was much less threatening, more pleading—"Little Brother needs you".
While this was worrying, Alan still believed this to be some sort of strange error as he went into work at the Ministry of Plenty. Surely his Party comrades would be able to clear this up for him and fix this mistake. But his confidence faltered, turning to complete bewilderment and confusion as all he got in return was rejection. Everybody simply acted like there had never been a Big Brother, and that this Little Brother had always been the leader of Oceania, hero of The Revolution, and the personification of the Party. All the while, Alan's life was falling apart before his very eyes, with the one thing he had spent all his energy for suddenly just gone, replaced with something new and unfamiliar. And then, his life changed even further. As he tried to get back to work and sort his feelings out, two of his coworkers slapped a pair of handcuffs on him and dragged him off. They did not elaborate, but it was obvious to Alan just what had happened. They were Thought Police, and he was being brought to the Ministry of Love. In all his years working for the Party, he had never thought he would land here. He was a devoted Party man... but at this point, it seemed to him that the Party was no longer what he thought it was.
Before long, he was sitting in a chair in a dimly lit, sparsely furnished office of the Ministry of Love. Nothing but a simple desk, a small lamp on top of that which barely managed to fight against the creeping darkness, two uncomfortable chairs... as well as Alan and the man sitting across from him. Much like the posters that he saw this morning, this man had a look about him that Alan had never seen before. Just like this Little Brother, the man had long, blonde hair, and a soft expression. Were it not for his eyes, he could have been the actual model for those posters. And as he began to speak, his voice was just as calm and welcoming as the face implied. "Ah, Mr. Wilson. Such a shame it had to come to this, as you were almost an ideal Party man up to this point, but do not worry, we shall cure your insanity before long. You'll serve Little Brother just like all other Party men do," he explained. "You can call me Anderson."
Alan's confusion was never greater, and while he could have been furious, at this point, he just wanted some answers. "What... what is going on here? What happened to Big Brother?" was all he managed to ask, still overwhelmed.
But Anderson would not give him any answers. Instead, he simply threw up more questions. "Big Brother? What a strange concept. There could obviously be nothing like a Big Brother in our Party, since that would imply there being something greater than Little Brother. Nonetheless, Little Brother does need you, after all. He needs you to serve him. Submission is freedom," the Inner Party man said.
"Submission is freedom? What does that even mean?" Alan asked in return. What was this Party? It was not the Party he had known.
Anderson laughed, his tone carrying an air of superiority. "Why, part of the Party's motto, of course! 'Femininity is masculinity. Submission is freedom. Debauchery is modesty.' The foundation that the entirety of Oceania was built upon! Your insanity must run very deep if you can't even remember that..." he trailed off, giving Alan an opportunity to protest.
"This... this is ridiculous! Big Brother is the hero of the Party! The one that made Oceania what it is today!" he yelled, pounding his fist on the table in a rare display of genuine anger.
But despite that, the man across the table barely reacted to this outburst at all. Instead, he pulled a newspaper out of a bag standing on the ground and laid it out in front of Alan. The headline read "LITTLE BROTHER SPEAKS ON HATED ENEMY EASTASIA, LAUDS GREAT ALLY EURASIA", and there on the photo was that same feminine looking man, standing at a pedestal and speaking to a massive crowd, with huge banners that looked just like those posters. The article went on at great length about all the accolades of this Little Brother, all those accolades that Alan thought belonged to Big Brother.
"You know, we've heard of people like you. They just seem to completely disassociate with reality, creating this strange new world that they believe to be actually real. That's alright. We'll save you yet, Mr. Wilson. You'll be staying here at the Ministry indefinitely, and I will be staying alongside you. Now, follow me, and I will show you your room," Anderson said, getting up from the chair and motioning for Alan to follow him.
And so they walked down the hallway, past many doors that most likely led to cells where people who had broken the rules of the Party were being held, or rooms where people like Anderson stayed. But soon enough, they came to a door with the number 9 written on it, and Alan entered the room. It looked just like the rest of the building, with plain white walls, a desk, a bed, and a single light bulb that barely illuminated the room, casting a dim glow over everything. As the two stood there in the middle of this simple room, Anderson stepped close to Alan. "Now, Mr. Wilson... I shall show you the way to serve Little Brother. First, take a seat on the bed," he instructed. Alan did so, and as soon as he sat down, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his head, making him lose consciousness.
When he awoke, he was chained to the bed and he was completely naked. Furthermore, Anderson was laying there, right next to him, a wide smile on the Inner Party man's face as his hand idly touched Alan's bare chest, gently caressing it.