Yevgeny Zamyatin — We [733]

I was still feverishly scanning the rows-face after face, like pages—and still failing to find the only one, the one I sought, I had to find it, quickly, for in a moment the pendulum would tick, and then… — Yevgeny Zamyatin, We, 733

Note

The use of face-as-page metaphor and the ticking pendulum creates an exceptional sense of panicked, relentless scanning.