The Isle of Wight would be a good place for that - freer than the rest of Great Britain (so, on par with most IRL authoritarian regimes), but its inhabitants are forbidden from residing in the mainland; their version of the Oceania myth, might be that they're all that's left of pre-war Great Britain, and that the island is largely uninhabitable, trade with the rest of the world being vital for reconstruction.
Rebuilding After Big Brother: A 1984 Story
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- 1984 nineteen eighty four
The Isle of Wight would be a good place for that - freer than the rest of Great Britain (so, on par with most IRL authoritarian regimes), but its inhabitants are forbidden from residing in the mainland; their version of the Oceania myth, might be that they're all that's left of pre-war Great Britain, and that the island is largely uninhabitable, trade with the rest of the world being vital for reconstruction.
How aware is the Inner Party of the Special Administrative Region status of these areas?
Certain individuals would be both aware and ignorant at the same time, in accordance with Doublethink. Any staff used would likely know the consequences of opening their gobs and thus a one way trip to MiniLuv and thence Room 101.
Likely the crews would be the unpersons due for vaporising or proles. Either way, dead men say nowt.
Likely the crews would be the unpersons due for vaporising or proles. Either way, dead men say nowt.
Is there an Oceanian equivalent to Albert Speer? The sharp technocrat who is aware of the steamier side without Obrien level loyality.
Somewhere, I'd presume so, but the only info we have is what Winston knows, and even he is dubious or cynical about it.
That's the real plot flaw in the book. Winston is so cynical about people, so untrusting of Julia that he wants to cave her skull in with a brick at one point, yet just falls for her simple "I love you" message instead of dismissing it as a trap. Ditto he should have guessed that O'Brien was a trap, especially when the latter mentions Syme obliquely.
Even if he does avoid them, the Thought Police are on his case anyway due to buying the diary from one of their sleepers amongst the Proles.
Charrington, which IIRC wasn't his name per se rather the name over the shop he operates as a cover, was likely an Inner Party member rather than a bought off prole. For that sort of work, the Party wouldn't trust an outer party member.
That's the real plot flaw in the book. Winston is so cynical about people, so untrusting of Julia that he wants to cave her skull in with a brick at one point, yet just falls for her simple "I love you" message instead of dismissing it as a trap. Ditto he should have guessed that O'Brien was a trap, especially when the latter mentions Syme obliquely.
Even if he does avoid them, the Thought Police are on his case anyway due to buying the diary from one of their sleepers amongst the Proles.
Charrington, which IIRC wasn't his name per se rather the name over the shop he operates as a cover, was likely an Inner Party member rather than a bought off prole. For that sort of work, the Party wouldn't trust an outer party member.
I think what that speaks to is perhaps something juvenile and immature of a person that has never been allowed to develop. Becoming one's self is a journey which requires growth, experience, exposure and the willingness to be wrong or understand when we're wrong to be right (whatever that may mean for the individual). Winston Smith doesn't really have that. I would summarize Winston Smith early in the story as a perpetual pubescent and that stage of development has stagnated, stifled and rotted for decades into a middle aged man.
Winston lives a paranoid but sheltered and controlled existence. While his journey does reflect some inward developments, the emphasis is external: Winston versus the State. That is a result of Oceania and it's society setting the terms for it, but nonetheless that is the state of affairs. The inward change he has is his love. And I can excuse all the hate projection that proceeds it because Winston Smith doesn't really have emotions of his own initially. He has a psychology, possibly psychosis but there's no individual emotion. Or rather, there's no honest, true emotions that he grows, develops, reflects on and expresses. He wouldn't even know the words or definitions to understand them. He is very analytical because the State prevents emotional understanding. Winston is initially projecting an imitation of emotion. The one real emotion he discovers as his own individual, real emotion is love.
I would summarize the dynamics of any of the characters (Winston, Julia, O'Brien, etc) as kids roleplaying and trying their best. They hold the trappings of an adult, but they're just playing up to something forever beyond them. There's no real maturity or wisdom in any human being in Oceania because there's no inner, individual being that's allowed to grow in Oceania. Winston is on the path but the Party always destroys it.
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Paradise Lost
Interrogation Room, United Nations Detention Unit, The Hague
Ellen drummed her fingers on the table but looked up when her newest interviewee was brought in. This man was in his fifties, balding and with spectacles over his green eyes. He wore the same prison jumpsuit as O'Brien but his appearance wasn't the only difference from the older man. He seemed a bit more resigned than his former Inner Party comrade. O'Brien, despite his seeming emotionlessness, appeared entirely in control of his outward appearance. He let her know nothing he didn't want her to.
This man's body language was much more unconsciously expressive.
"Patrick Danforth," she said.
"Yes," he replied dryly. He took a set opposite her and took a drink of water from the cup in front of him.
"Crisp," he said. "Bit of a biting chill, actually."
"I thought the Inner Party resigned themselves to having blander lives than other ruling classes," Ellen replied. "That's what O'Brien tells me." Patrick gave a smile that looked like the corners of his mouth were being pulled apart by fish hooks.
"We allowed ourselves some extravagance. Not much though."
"So I've heard."
"I assume this part of the conversation won't appear in the released version of the interview."
"Not unless you want it to."
"Do what you like. It makes no difference."
"Thank you. Now, I'm hoping you'd help me understand how the Inner Party viewed the proles." Patrick raised an eyebrow.
"A simple question. What does a farmer think of the oxen that plow his fields?"
"A tool," Ellen replied.
"Precisely. A means of attaining what one desires. A means of producing what one consumes."
"And when they can't work anymore you consume them?"
"In a metaphorical sense only, I promise you. An Inner Party member who partook in cannibalism would have been removed immediately."
"So the Proles were just animals to you?"
"Yes. We looked at them the same way a farmer looks at their chickens or pigs. We were only concerned with them producing enough to ensure our own needs were provided for."
"They're branching out into new things now," Ellen said. "Have been since the liberation." Patrick grew terse.
"You didn't do it."
"Didn't what?"
"You didn't liberate the Proles, we did."
Ellen put her head in her right hand.
"Care to explain?" Patrick sighed.
"You disappoint me. You understand how we saw them but you fail to understand the damage you inflicted. The Proles were content while we were in power. Do you know why?"
"Humor me."
We expected nothing of them one wouldn't expect of a farm animal. So long as quotas were met, we were happy to live simple, docile lives. They worked, they relaxed, they bred. That was all we expected of them and they were content. There was no need to burden their feeble minds with complicated ideas or notions that weren't immediately relevant to their everyday lives. We handled those matters so they wouldn't have to worry themselves with anything beyond their basic needs. We made them an Eden and were content to let them live in it."
Patrick gave her a humorless smile.
"And NATO was the snake that tempted Adam and Eve with the apple. By removing us, you removed the walls that kept unwanted complications out of their lives. You cursed them with ambition, discontent. They couldn't be satisfied anymore with what we allowed them. You believe us to be cruel but you set their paradise ablaze. Before the 'liberation' they want for nothing. Now they look to the rest of the world and become so horrendously demanding."
"They were given the choice to determine their own future, how their lived their lives." Patrick put his face in his hands.
"You still fail to understand."
"What am I missing?" He grit hs teeth.
"That what you see as a blessing was in fact a curse!" he said irritably. "They had the bliss only those who were certain of how their lives would unfold could ever experience! We freed them from uncertainty, from fear that their choices could lead to a negative outcome! We gave them a life where they felt secure in the knowledge that every day, every week, every year would be exactly like the last! They had nothing to fear!" He was panting but soon collected himself.
"But you robbed them of their bliss. No matter what happens now, you've let uncertainty back into their lives."
"I take it you regret nothing about how you treated them?"
"Of course. In fact, I feel somewhat fortunate."
"And why is that?"
"I don't have to clean up the mess the 'liberation' made."
Ellen drummed her fingers on the table but looked up when her newest interviewee was brought in. This man was in his fifties, balding and with spectacles over his green eyes. He wore the same prison jumpsuit as O'Brien but his appearance wasn't the only difference from the older man. He seemed a bit more resigned than his former Inner Party comrade. O'Brien, despite his seeming emotionlessness, appeared entirely in control of his outward appearance. He let her know nothing he didn't want her to.
This man's body language was much more unconsciously expressive.
"Patrick Danforth," she said.
"Yes," he replied dryly. He took a set opposite her and took a drink of water from the cup in front of him.
"Crisp," he said. "Bit of a biting chill, actually."
"I thought the Inner Party resigned themselves to having blander lives than other ruling classes," Ellen replied. "That's what O'Brien tells me." Patrick gave a smile that looked like the corners of his mouth were being pulled apart by fish hooks.
"We allowed ourselves some extravagance. Not much though."
"So I've heard."
"I assume this part of the conversation won't appear in the released version of the interview."
"Not unless you want it to."
"Do what you like. It makes no difference."
"Thank you. Now, I'm hoping you'd help me understand how the Inner Party viewed the proles." Patrick raised an eyebrow.
"A simple question. What does a farmer think of the oxen that plow his fields?"
"A tool," Ellen replied.
"Precisely. A means of attaining what one desires. A means of producing what one consumes."
"And when they can't work anymore you consume them?"
"In a metaphorical sense only, I promise you. An Inner Party member who partook in cannibalism would have been removed immediately."
"So the Proles were just animals to you?"
"Yes. We looked at them the same way a farmer looks at their chickens or pigs. We were only concerned with them producing enough to ensure our own needs were provided for."
"They're branching out into new things now," Ellen said. "Have been since the liberation." Patrick grew terse.
"You didn't do it."
"Didn't what?"
"You didn't liberate the Proles, we did."
Ellen put her head in her right hand.
"Care to explain?" Patrick sighed.
"You disappoint me. You understand how we saw them but you fail to understand the damage you inflicted. The Proles were content while we were in power. Do you know why?"
"Humor me."
We expected nothing of them one wouldn't expect of a farm animal. So long as quotas were met, we were happy to live simple, docile lives. They worked, they relaxed, they bred. That was all we expected of them and they were content. There was no need to burden their feeble minds with complicated ideas or notions that weren't immediately relevant to their everyday lives. We handled those matters so they wouldn't have to worry themselves with anything beyond their basic needs. We made them an Eden and were content to let them live in it."
Patrick gave her a humorless smile.
"And NATO was the snake that tempted Adam and Eve with the apple. By removing us, you removed the walls that kept unwanted complications out of their lives. You cursed them with ambition, discontent. They couldn't be satisfied anymore with what we allowed them. You believe us to be cruel but you set their paradise ablaze. Before the 'liberation' they want for nothing. Now they look to the rest of the world and become so horrendously demanding."
"They were given the choice to determine their own future, how their lived their lives." Patrick put his face in his hands.
"You still fail to understand."
"What am I missing?" He grit hs teeth.
"That what you see as a blessing was in fact a curse!" he said irritably. "They had the bliss only those who were certain of how their lives would unfold could ever experience! We freed them from uncertainty, from fear that their choices could lead to a negative outcome! We gave them a life where they felt secure in the knowledge that every day, every week, every year would be exactly like the last! They had nothing to fear!" He was panting but soon collected himself.
"But you robbed them of their bliss. No matter what happens now, you've let uncertainty back into their lives."
"I take it you regret nothing about how you treated them?"
"Of course. In fact, I feel somewhat fortunate."
"And why is that?"
"I don't have to clean up the mess the 'liberation' made."
stirlingdraka
Donor
Very interesting. Yes, that would be how the Inner Party saw the proles. Maybe Patrick is right about the mess of liberation but so far it seems to be handled well enough by the UN. If that continues, then a new form of freedom can be found.
And that's what Patrick's going to be most afraid of. The Proles becoming more than the Inner Party wanted them to be.
stirlingdraka
Donor
Exactly that`s what all totalitarian regimes are afraid of the people they`ve oppressed becoming something else that they can`t control anymore.
Go To Horny Jail!
This chapter's gonna be a lot more comedic than the last few.
Meeting Room 9, UN Britain Mission HQ, London
Tina Langford adjusted her tie one more time before the had the recording equipment set up for the podcast.
"Hello, I'm Kate Henshaw and joining us for the Morning Brew Podcast is Tina Langford, press czar for the UN Britain Mission."
"You don't need to be that formal."
"Sorry, bit of humor. So, first things first. We're told that there are plans for Britain to have a largely green power grid."
"Yes. We're getting nearly three thousand wind turbines a month and we're setting them up largely in inland areas but they're also going to be used in coastal regions too. We're working to integrate wind and solar power into a new national grid."
"Several environmental groups have still found contaminants in rivers and streams though, just not at the levels they used to be."
"The Lakes region in particular was a really big mess, a lot of industrial runoff going into the water supply. We've dealt with the worst of the waterborne illnesses that were huge problems in the beginning, and we have the people who put in the purification systems to thank for that but the amount of lead in the major lakes is still very troubling."
"Can you explain?"
"We are still finding water from lakes and rivers carrying high amounts of industrial chemicals in smaller channels that are hard to find. Sometimes we'll find a stagnant pool of water that's got very high amounts of effluent from paper mills for example."
"Thank you, we'll get back to that in a bit. Now, there's a certain question that I know you and your staff are familiar with..." Tina sighed.
"For the last time, Pornosec will not be a part of the provisional British government," she said firmly. "There were no such plans, there are no such plans, and there will be no such plans."
"Oh, I'm aware of that, but people in some other countries are hoping to create their own equivalent of Pornosec."
"I...excuse me?
"One such petition in the United States has reached over five hundred thousand signatures, another in Canada nearly three hundred thousand."
"What?" Tina ask flatly.
"The Hungarian parliament is weighing in on legislation regarding the creation of a government owned adult entertainment company this fall. In India this hasn't gotten to the point where it's being considered by lawmakers but it seems to be gaining traction."
"And how many people in India want their own version of Pornosec?"
"Five million last time the signature count was updated." Tina let out a long sigh.
"All these people want there to be government run porn outlets?"
"Well, there are those who argue that from a free market perspective, there's nothing inherently wrong with government participation in the adult entertainment industry."
There was a brief pause.
"Would you like for us to return to the environmental questions?"
"Please."
Meeting Room 9, UN Britain Mission HQ, London
Tina Langford adjusted her tie one more time before the had the recording equipment set up for the podcast.
"Hello, I'm Kate Henshaw and joining us for the Morning Brew Podcast is Tina Langford, press czar for the UN Britain Mission."
"You don't need to be that formal."
"Sorry, bit of humor. So, first things first. We're told that there are plans for Britain to have a largely green power grid."
"Yes. We're getting nearly three thousand wind turbines a month and we're setting them up largely in inland areas but they're also going to be used in coastal regions too. We're working to integrate wind and solar power into a new national grid."
"Several environmental groups have still found contaminants in rivers and streams though, just not at the levels they used to be."
"The Lakes region in particular was a really big mess, a lot of industrial runoff going into the water supply. We've dealt with the worst of the waterborne illnesses that were huge problems in the beginning, and we have the people who put in the purification systems to thank for that but the amount of lead in the major lakes is still very troubling."
"Can you explain?"
"We are still finding water from lakes and rivers carrying high amounts of industrial chemicals in smaller channels that are hard to find. Sometimes we'll find a stagnant pool of water that's got very high amounts of effluent from paper mills for example."
"Thank you, we'll get back to that in a bit. Now, there's a certain question that I know you and your staff are familiar with..." Tina sighed.
"For the last time, Pornosec will not be a part of the provisional British government," she said firmly. "There were no such plans, there are no such plans, and there will be no such plans."
"Oh, I'm aware of that, but people in some other countries are hoping to create their own equivalent of Pornosec."
"I...excuse me?
"One such petition in the United States has reached over five hundred thousand signatures, another in Canada nearly three hundred thousand."
"What?" Tina ask flatly.
"The Hungarian parliament is weighing in on legislation regarding the creation of a government owned adult entertainment company this fall. In India this hasn't gotten to the point where it's being considered by lawmakers but it seems to be gaining traction."
"And how many people in India want their own version of Pornosec?"
"Five million last time the signature count was updated." Tina let out a long sigh.
"All these people want there to be government run porn outlets?"
"Well, there are those who argue that from a free market perspective, there's nothing inherently wrong with government participation in the adult entertainment industry."
There was a brief pause.
"Would you like for us to return to the environmental questions?"
"Please."
If the state is serious about it, government intervention in, and regulation of, adult entertainment and services could be beneficial - there's a reason why, even IRL, many advocate for unions of sex workers in order to try and stop abuse and exploitation; on the other hand, if the government is corrupt enough, nothing would change and, in fact, things might take a turn for the worse - you can see this in the relationship between the K-Pop industry and the South Korean government, plenty of shady shit in the former gets thrown under the rug on a regular basis because the industry's revenue and soft power are a boon for the latter.
The post Paradise Lost is Nice homage to Animal Farm by Orwell.
The post Go To Horny Jail!, is strange, because if the TL outside INSOC went like ours,
The USA is then the biggest producer of pornographic material! so a Pornosec makes not much sense there.
The irony that Hungary goes Pornosec, is that Nation is biggest producer of pornographic material for europeans market!
i would not be surprised if France, Netherlands, Scandinavia also start up they're version Pornosec or Nationalised Their porno industry.
Oh dear poor Changellor Angela Merkel and conservative Catholic Democrats in Germany dealing with:
"Gesetzesinitiative zur Einführung einer Staatliche institution zu Forderung der Pornographie"...
The post Go To Horny Jail!, is strange, because if the TL outside INSOC went like ours,
The USA is then the biggest producer of pornographic material! so a Pornosec makes not much sense there.
The irony that Hungary goes Pornosec, is that Nation is biggest producer of pornographic material for europeans market!
i would not be surprised if France, Netherlands, Scandinavia also start up they're version Pornosec or Nationalised Their porno industry.
Oh dear poor Changellor Angela Merkel and conservative Catholic Democrats in Germany dealing with:
"Gesetzesinitiative zur Einführung einer Staatliche institution zu Forderung der Pornographie"...
Fortress Eire
Author's note: I'm not Irish, I just saw this as a possible outcome of the Party taking power.
When the Party rose to power and isolated its territory from the rest of the world, the power dynamic in Europe and across the world had shifted. There was now a second threat to the NATO aligned countries of Western Europe. France, the Netherlands and Denmark were all within range of military assault by Oceanian forces if the Cold War went hot. The prospect of attack from two directions was a chilling likely one to NATO's commanders. The French, Dutch, and Danes all enacted mandatory military service policies.
The effects in the wider world were just as startling. The sun had set on an empire that spanned a quarter of the globe when the century began. Colonies were cut off from London's directives and independence movements seized their chance. Some took over peacefully, others by force. America, the USSR, and the world's newest rising power, India, became heavily involved in regions that were once ruled by the British crown. One such instance was the pro-Soviet coup in Tehran which led to Iran becoming part of the Warsaw Pact.
One particular result of the Party's takeover was Ireland becoming a NATO member in 1959. The Emerald Isle received multiple waves of refugees fleeing Oceania after the Ingsoc regime manifested, integrating them into Irish society. Talks began with Dublin and Washington about military cooperation in the mid 1950s and the idea of joining NATO was openly discussed. The Irish met all requirements for membership in the alliance and became the last member to join it in the 1950s.
Ireland instituted a 'national service' policy not long after and integrated its command structure into the NATO umbrella. This didn't meet much resistance from the Irish public given the threat posed by Oceania. Its military underwent a complete overhaul, with its aircraft, tanks, and ships all being updated. Training was streamlined, and a special forces command based off the SAS and Green Berets was created. Patrols in the Irish Sea were constant, escorting Oceanian refugees whenever possible and keeping a lookout for any signs of hostile military activity.
In the meantime, Ireland benefitted from integrating the thousands of highly educated Britons fleeing Big Brother. Doctors, engineers, architects and professors were all given jobs as soon as possible. The standard of living underwent a significant and sustained rise throughout the decades. All the while, the threat posed by Oceania was never far from people's minds. After the fall of the Soviet Union, a single question was on the minds of the Irish public.
"When?"
In 2004, when that question finally got an answer, Ireland played a major part in the fall of the Ingsoc government. Special forces units sabotaged communications relays. Irish aircraft pulverized tank columns and ammo dumps. And its soldiers took town after town, with the capture of Liverpool being celebrated by the burning of the Party flag by members of the Twenty Fourth Infantry Battalion.
When the Party rose to power and isolated its territory from the rest of the world, the power dynamic in Europe and across the world had shifted. There was now a second threat to the NATO aligned countries of Western Europe. France, the Netherlands and Denmark were all within range of military assault by Oceanian forces if the Cold War went hot. The prospect of attack from two directions was a chilling likely one to NATO's commanders. The French, Dutch, and Danes all enacted mandatory military service policies.
The effects in the wider world were just as startling. The sun had set on an empire that spanned a quarter of the globe when the century began. Colonies were cut off from London's directives and independence movements seized their chance. Some took over peacefully, others by force. America, the USSR, and the world's newest rising power, India, became heavily involved in regions that were once ruled by the British crown. One such instance was the pro-Soviet coup in Tehran which led to Iran becoming part of the Warsaw Pact.
One particular result of the Party's takeover was Ireland becoming a NATO member in 1959. The Emerald Isle received multiple waves of refugees fleeing Oceania after the Ingsoc regime manifested, integrating them into Irish society. Talks began with Dublin and Washington about military cooperation in the mid 1950s and the idea of joining NATO was openly discussed. The Irish met all requirements for membership in the alliance and became the last member to join it in the 1950s.
Ireland instituted a 'national service' policy not long after and integrated its command structure into the NATO umbrella. This didn't meet much resistance from the Irish public given the threat posed by Oceania. Its military underwent a complete overhaul, with its aircraft, tanks, and ships all being updated. Training was streamlined, and a special forces command based off the SAS and Green Berets was created. Patrols in the Irish Sea were constant, escorting Oceanian refugees whenever possible and keeping a lookout for any signs of hostile military activity.
In the meantime, Ireland benefitted from integrating the thousands of highly educated Britons fleeing Big Brother. Doctors, engineers, architects and professors were all given jobs as soon as possible. The standard of living underwent a significant and sustained rise throughout the decades. All the while, the threat posed by Oceania was never far from people's minds. After the fall of the Soviet Union, a single question was on the minds of the Irish public.
"When?"
In 2004, when that question finally got an answer, Ireland played a major part in the fall of the Ingsoc government. Special forces units sabotaged communications relays. Irish aircraft pulverized tank columns and ammo dumps. And its soldiers took town after town, with the capture of Liverpool being celebrated by the burning of the Party flag by members of the Twenty Fourth Infantry Battalion.