What are the stars? They are bits of fire a few kilometres away.

We could reach them if we wanted to. Or we could blot them out.

The earth is the centre of the universe. The sun and the stars go round it.

For certain purposes, of course, that is not true. When we navigate the ocean, or when we predict an eclipse, we often find it convenient to assume that the earth goes round the sun and that the stars are millions upon millions of kilometres away.

But what of it?

Do you suppose it is beyond us to produce a dual system of astronomy?

The stars can be near or distant, according as we need them.

Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that?

Have you forgotten doublethink?

I think having the final word be "flat" makes it so much better. It opens up the poem to a much wider set of interpretations. There's yours, but you can also derive this statement about male dominance in hetero relationships, for example.