It started three months ago with a small newspaper story: "Variety of animals injected with human cells." The article was about ethics guidelines for stem cell research projects, including sheep with partially human livers, pigs with human blood and a proposal to create mice with brains nearly completely made of human brain cells. A Stanford University ethics committee recommended closely monitoring the mice and "immediately killing any that display human-like behavior."

This made me think about Orwell’s novel "Animal Farm," a political satire of the Russian Revolution in which the animals band together to overthrow the humans and run the farm themselves, until absolute power corrupts even their own leaders, the pigs.

Now, I’m re-reading Orwell’s even-more-famous novel, "1984," and wondering what this brilliant British writer, who would be 102 if he were alive, would think of today’s world.

We are, of course, fortunate that his bleak rendering of a totalitarian civilization founded on fear, hatred and cruelty has not come to pass — at least not here. These days, the only "Big Brother" most Americans encounter is the reality TV show in which 14 people live in a high-tech house, taking part in competitions and evicting one housemate each week, while cameras record their every move for live Internet video feeds.

Indeed, we are lucky that we still live in a free society, even if we are not as free or as anonymous as we used to be.

In the frightening world Orwell imagined, people were under constant surveillance by the Thought Police, who abducted, tortured and brainwashed those who dared rebel against the Party.

In today’s society, most people would laugh at the idea of someone keeping track of what they do and say. But before you dismiss the idea, consider the fact that it is now more possible than ever before.

Between the war on terror and the technological revolution, there’s a motive and a means for somebody to be watching. Now more than ever, we as a society are struggling to balance the threats of terrorism and identity theft with the threat of losing our right to privacy.

Think about all the times you create a paper trail, and realize that in today’s world, the trail is electronic and can be accessed faster and more easily. You write a check, or use a credit card. You make a call on your cell phone. You withdraw cash from an ATM.

Think about all the times your face shows up on surveillance footage: in the grocery store, at the bank, and, if you live in or visit a major city, even at a traffic intersection.

On the Internet, every click you make can be tracked. It’s possible for someone to find out what websites you’ve visited or read e-mails you’ve sent. Soon, television will be interactive, too. You’ll be able to press a button for more information on an advertised product or order a pizza without picking up the phone, and you can be sure someone will be collecting data on everything you do — not just which programs you watch, but what was happening on the screen when you changed the channel and which commercials held your attention.

Technology is providing new ways to invade people’s privacy for their own good. For example, doctors in Britain plan to implant computerized sensors in patients to monitor chronic conditions such as diabetes.

It’s not a stretch to imagine a world where we carry ID under our skin rather than in our wallets; where we enter our homes and workplaces using government-issued fingerprint- or facial-recognition software; where we use one central telescreen to get the news, pay bills, order groceries, download music tracks, movies and TV programs, talk to family and friends, conduct business, get medical advice and even "attend" school.

Just as we embraced the Internet, cell phones and the digital domain, most of us will likely welcome this technology, even at the expense of our privacy. Either we’ve all been brainwashed, "1984"-style, or we simply have faith that most of our leaders are looking out for our best interests; that most people will use the tools technology and the Department of Homeland Security have given them for honest and compassionate purposes; that power will remain a means, not an end.

I’m an optimist, so I choose to believe the latter.

Meanwhile, it’s nice to know that if we ever do create pigs that are as smart as humans, we’ll be able to keep track of where they are and what they’re doing.

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Lisa Miller is a freelance writer who lives in Oneonta. She can be reached at lisamiller44@hotmail.com.