 Although never explicitly mentioned in the text, the alternative future that Emily and Honoré visit in the novella is the 1984 of George Orwell's social allegory.The only indication of this — aside from the cover — is Radford's ability to comprehend the concept of paradoxes without confusion because they so resemble the concept of doublethink.In a fictional introduction to "The Albino's Dancer" on his website, Dale Smith suggests that Honoré inspired Orwell to write "1984" by telling him the story of "The Winning Side" during the Spanish Civil War.