In this article, the work ‘omega’ appears in parentheses twice. Can anyone give me an explanation as to why?
It appears to indicate a page break in the hard copy edition of the paper - a tag that shouldn’t appear in the story.
You have spotted the fnord.
Please stay where you are while men come to have a talk with you. Do not leave your current location, or we will have to end your program.
Actually, I imagine it’s meant as a replacement word for “Nirvana” or Enlightenment. Probably they felt that all the traditional words were viewed as too mystical.
Edit: Or what Hawthorne said…
This came up a few months ago, with another Independent story. I tracked down the print version of that one and found that it was where the little “turn the page” dingbat fell in the copy.