It's a Beautiful Thing
Creative Writing Master's Piece - May 2019
“Gentleman, welcome to the inaugural meeting of the Federation of Utopian Sociable Societies. Do help yourself to refreshments. Don’t worry, they’re not poisoned. There’s no evidence of Novichok in anything. No evidence you’ll find at least. Well, not in time.”
Our host chuckles but clearly doesn’t have confidence in his own wit to appear convincing, as if wit has been forgotten, eradicated, become a thing of the distant past; whatever that is. The Novichok reference is aimed at me and I smile in support.
”Excuse me, just my little joke. I’ll introduce myself and then you can reciprocate. A creeping death, so to speak. I am Commissioner O’Brien, member of the senate here in Oceania.” (Orwell)
He indicates the man to his right who takes his turn followed by the others in an anti-clockwise direction.
“Commander B Frederick Judd, scientist and co-architect of the Republic of Gilead.” (Atwood)
“Mustapha Mond, Resident World Controller of Western Europe, in the World State. I am known as ‘His Fordship’ but I don’t wish to stand on ceremony.” (Huxley)
“Winston Noble. ‘Noble by name, Noble by nature’ as all my close friends like to say. I’m President of… Hell, you guys know who I am. You’re a bunch of smart cookies.” (Bradbury)
I watch O’Brien intently and expect him to react to the name of Winston, if only a raised eyebrow, but he remains impressively imperturbable.
At my turn I play the junior partner, explaining that I am merely a tiny and lowly cog in the giant wheel that is Brexitrumponia. I impassively registered the dramatis personae of, Nineteen Eighty-Four (Orwell), The Handmaids Tale (Atwood), Brave New World (Huxley) and Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury), respectively, without, I hope, revealing my knowledge of them as fictional creations, subjects of someone else’s imagination.
They are not to know that I am a false delegate. I don’t want to overplay my hand and give myself away. They are not to know that I have studied them at length. They think I represent Brexitrumponia. A slew of journals and publications at home are reporting the increased sales of these books as people try to come to terms with the collapse of our traditionally liberal society (Rodden) (Charles) (Will). I cannot allow them to know that my aim is to learn first-hand from the main protagonists of each regime and take my conclusions back to those in opposition to reactionaries at home.
A shiny white conference room in the Ministry of Truth (Orwell) is not the place to reveal such secrets.
“Gentlemen, we’d like to hold these meetings on a regular basis to discuss the best practices within our respective societies and establish an entente cordiale. The title of today’s colloquium is ‘The Destruction of Words’.”
There is a mutually agreed silent appreciation of O’Brien’s irony, his doublethink (Orwell), and he continues with a degree of self-satisfaction.
“There is no set agenda for this gathering. I think a free discussion of ideas is what is called for. If I may, I’m sure we can all agree that it is most important that we can control our citizens access to history. ‘Who controls the past controls the future…’”
“And who controls the present controls the past.” (Orwell) I interject a little too keenly.
“You know of this concept?”
“I am familiar.” I say, conscious that I may have contributed too early and revealed too much of myself.
“May I.” Mond rescues me. “History is bunk… (Huxley) The founder of our world ‘Our Ford’ declared this truth when he…”
Noble cuts in which clearly annoys Mond but the Controller holds his tongue.
“I know all about history. One of our Founding Fathers, the great Benjamin Franklin, he was the first Fireman of America. That was back in the 1790s when we were still a colony. It’s all there in The Constitution.” (Bradbury)
I choose not to point out that far from being a fireman burning books, Benjamin Franklin was one of the proponents of social libraries in early America (Patai). Nor do I feel the need to tell a man who calls himself ‘World Controller’ and ‘His Fordship’ that he has mis-quoted his ‘god’, Henry Ford, who actually said, ‘History is more or less bunk’. It’s these manipulations and exaggerations that encourage greater lies and lead to revolutions and wars that reverberate down the years. Instead I try to bring the conversation back to a degree of sanity.
“Commissioner O’Brien, we are currently trailing you by…” I think back to when Nineteen Eighty-Four was written. “…maybe seventy years or so. But we are still in the early creative stage. We call our version of massaging the truth, ‘Fake News’. We create information that is blatantly untrue and then repeat it so often that the unthinking multitude begin to believe it. We then accuse those in possession of the real truth, of lying, of presenting their own ‘Fake News’. When they present ‘Facts’ we talk of ‘Alternative Facts’, as if facts can actually be changed (Sopel).”
“Oh but they can,” says O’Brien with renewed enthusiasm. “We have a whole operation specialising in changing facts, in changing history. It takes a short while, a generation or two, but eventually everyone will believe everything they are told without question, without thinking. (Orwell) You gentleman should really look at adopting it.”
“We are well aware of the benefits of this. We are not as backward as people accuse us.” Says Judd. “We have an educational programme for our Handmaids which includes showing them ancient pornography, women raped and forced into submissive sex acts in collars and chains. It shows them how far they have progressed, to be under the protection of a benevolent paternity, and away from such senseless brutality. (Atwood) It reinforces their place within society as a cherished and venerated group. Each one knows her place and who she serves. Like you, we are in a transitional stage.”
“That sounds pretty backward if you ask me.” Says Mond. “You just seem to want to keep the ‘little woman’ down. Surely if you concentrated on getting their consent you would have a more contented society. We believe that everyone belongs to everyone (Huxley) and no-one person serves another. Except the Deltas and Epsilons, of course, but they are conditioned to be that way. All are happy in their own way. We never allow misogyny. We are proud of our record of gender equality.”
“Gender equality has never been sanctioned. We defer to a higher power, one that has decreed that the male of the species shall be paramount.”
“No-one smiles though, do they? No-one laughs. Except, maybe high-ranking men.”
O’Brien taps the table to bring order. “Gentlemen, maybe we should all behave with dignity. We are all respected philanthropists here, working for the common good of our Administrations. We have different approaches, but our general philosophies are all sound. Influence is attributed in different ways according to our laws. We in Oceania practice Collectivism.”
“You’re also an all-male Oligarchy.” Says Mond. “I don’t see many women in your Inner Party.”
“For that matter, Controller Mond, I doubt your world has many women of importance in powerful positions, either.”
“I don’t believe you have read enough about us to know, Commissioner O’Brien.”
I thoroughly agree with Mond’s point. Three of the books were created by men in societies that were male dominated (1932, 1949 and 1953). Women’s Lib. and Feminism were yet to be invented. All the principal characters are men except the obligatory wives and girlfriends and those that die early on, having served their purpose (Lenina and Linda {Brave New World}, Julia {Nineteen Eighty-Four} and Mildred and Clarisse {Fahrenheit 451}). Only Judd’s world was created by a woman, Margaret Atwood, but to announce that would probably bring about a cardiac arrest in the Commander. I decide that now would be a good time to show my conciliatory credentials.
“Gentleman.” I say. “As The Commissioner has indicated, we, are all different societies but all have similar goals. It isn’t seemly that such great men of high standing should squabble like this. History is key here. Your societies were all created at different times in history yet the one thing that you all have in common is that at the time of your creation men were essentially in total control of the levers of society. Had your genesis been at another time it may have been different. That one of us has a difficulty with gender equality doesn’t give us the right to undermine him. Maybe over time your societies will develop so that power and influence is spread widely, and any race or gender will be in a position to shape the future. Don’t you agree Commander Judd?”
“No, Sir. I do not. What is decreed, is decreed.”
Supportively O’Brien gives me an appreciative nod. “Our friend here is right. We all only see what is on the surface. We cannot predict how our societies will be made up in the future in terms of individual organisms. What is more important is that our principles continue unopposed. What matters is that our underlying principles of existence hold sway. And we all know what that is.”
O’Brien, Mond and Noble all nod and open their mouths simultaneously speaking across each other.
“POWER.” “CONSUMPTION.” “CENSORSHIP.”
There is a pause whilst we all attempt to process what each of them has said. Judd remains stony.
Noble continues, oblivious to the tension in the room. “Oh and ‘Ignorance’, we’re big on that. And ‘Conformity’, that’s important. ‘Equality’. Being made equal – that’s a vote winner.”
Once Noble’s sound bites dry up the pause resumes and Judd folds his arms, pointedly.
“GOD.” He says.
There is a stalemate in the silence that follows. I break it.
“I think Brexitrumponia is somewhere between Commander Judd and the rest of you gentleman. I’m not sure that particular battle has been won just yet, or what exactly the direction of travel is going to be.”
“Thank you,” says O’Brien. “Can we return to civil discourse. Perhaps we can guide you, lead you in a direction that will best support your own brand of utopia. I believe we all use violent repression to achieve our aims but I’m certain that this will only be temporary. As has been mentioned already, violence is only a transitional state. Once the conditioning has taken hold, the use of violence for all of us should be minimal. None of us is immune to organised violence. We have all experienced wars, genocides, purges, massacres and executions to point us in the right direction.”
“This is where I have to claim a degree of moral high ground, if you’ll forgive me gentlemen”, says Mond. “But our use of violence has all but disappeared. We, now, have a civilised form of control by employing cutting edge science as a tool where the rest of you still retain the iron fist.”
“And I applaud you Controller,” continues O’Brien, “but I’d like to return to the subject of words and how the manipulation of them can help you all; to use your analogy, Controller, keep that iron fist closed around your citizens throats without the need to cut off their supply of air. Firstly, we created reverse meanings, where the words are the opposite of the meaning, making them redundant and confusing. Our Party slogans are ‘War is Peace’, ‘Freedom is Slavery’ and ‘Ignorance is Strength’” (Orwell)
“I identify with that,” I say, “especially the last one. We have an excess of ignorance at the moment. Experts can’t be trusted.” (Shaw)
“Then we simplify the language to its most basic, ‘designed actually to restrict the range of meaning and nuance’ (Lewis and Moss) until we reach the point where potential rebels are incapable of expressing their thoughts because the vocabulary no longer exists to facilitate it. The process is not yet complete but in fifty years or so we will have a new and heavily reduced dictionary and our power will continue indefinitely.” (Orwell)
“We’ve got our own way of destroying words. A squirt of kerosene, the old flamethrower and Blammo! You know what I mean? ‘Works every time.”
“Doesn’t that only destroy the paper, Mr President, not the thought.” I say. “What happens if your people start to memorise the books before they’re burnt, won’t that allow them to retain their ideas, to save the thought in a different form?”
“Nah, that could never happen. No-one has the brains to do that. I think we’ve got our system nailed down as tight as a storm shelter in Tornado Alley. I love that we’re all on the same page with this ‘ignorance’ thing, though. Now with all this talk of squirts and flamethrowers, you’ll have to excuse me. I gotta point the hose, if you know what I mean.” Noble leaves the room.
A man elected in a landslide poll, for his stature, his looks and his home-spun, hokey simplicity, a populist who appears on a screen for the masses has now turned his back on us and is walking away. There was no point explaining to Noble that the academics were already memorising books. He would neither believe nor understand it. It was becoming clear that my homeland was nearer to the edge than I thought.
“You’re very quiet Commander.” says Mond.
“I no longer wish to be a part of this forum,” says Judd, standing. “It is clear that the mood of this meeting is in favour of the obliteration of all words. No-one, other than me, has mentioned, The Word. The Word of God. Gilead is a proudly paternalistic society and we are clear that the word of God raises man above woman and forbids women to be indulged beyond their primary duties.
“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence.
For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
And Adam was not deceived but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. (Holy Bible)
“Gilead is merely the subject of mockery, here, gentleman. Controller Mond, your sexual perversions appal me. Next you’ll be telling me that the Good Book should be cast into one of Noble’s fires. May your eyes be opened, gentleman.”
Judd leaves with O’Brien trailing behind, trying to convince him to stay.
“Just we two,” says Mond.
“Indeed,” I say.
“You realise that Judd is a liar and a hypocrite?”
“I’m not sure I understand you Controller. I haven’t known him long enough to form an opinion.”
“Like you, I have read the book. The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. Noble and Judd might be burning books and O’Brien incinerating his truths. I, however, retain a library. It’s a secret library (Huxley). But I think you already know that. I have a copy of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. I don’t have anything from Brexitrumponia though. It’s the year A.F. 632. (Huxley) Approximately your 2550 AD. There has never been a Brexitrumponia. Exactly who are you?”
“You’ve read the book. What do you know about Commander Judd?”
“His regime is false. It claims to hold Christian doctrines but there is very little compassion or turning of the other cheek. The only earth that the meek will inherit is six feet down. He and the rest of his elite are world class fornicators with brothels aplenty. I suppose Christians in the past have committed atrocities against the Jews so his personal brand of genocide, dumping vast shiploads of them in the middle of the Atlantic as part of his ‘repatriation’ scheme, shouldn’t come as a surprise. As I recall he regretted Jews being taught to read and was probably instrumental in banning women too. A lot of ‘unpalatable’ books got burnt, as well (Atwood). He is obviously uncomfortable talking about the written word. I say again, exactly, who are you?”
“You could call me an observer, a student of society. I too have read the book. Judd was responsible for the Presidents Day Massacre which enabled the coup and then invented Particicution, where the Handmaids get to rip political prisoners apart with their bare hands. (Atwood) I agree - very un-Christian. Fortunately, we both know that Gilead and Judd’s version of utopia doesn’t survive. My guess is that they are overthrown by internal rebels backed by outside forces.”
“A student of society? What’s your take on Fahrenheit 451?”
“As I was saying to Noble, the academics are memorising books. As the book ends a new war starts. (Bradbury) I imagine the war puts paid to that particular culture. It’s hard to say conclusively.”
There is a noise followed by voices in the corridor. O’Brien is returning. Mond talks quicker and in a lower voice.
“That’s reasonable. And Nineteen Eighty-Four is done and dusted within twenty or thirty years. It’s all there in the appendix (Orwell). To pander to your sexist implications, even Atwood worked that one out in her little bubbly-haired head (Hancock). You and I should beat a hasty retreat and talk privately. I’d welcome you as my guest. If O’Brien gets wind of your skulduggery it might not only be words that get destroyed.”
“Are you going to betray me? You seem the most reasonable of men, considering.”
“I have no book on Brexitrumponia. There is no Brexitrumponia. I’m still not sure who you are. But I do know that you, like me, have researched the others. What do you know about me?”
“I wonder if it is the all-consuming war that brings down Oceania? Or whether Winston Smith is wrong, and the Proles finally do revolt? (Orwell). I think of them as the near-equivalent of Noble’s academics (Bradbury). Or your Savages.” (Huxley)
“What do you know about me?”
“About you? It’s all there. In the book.”
“What book?”
“I couldn’t persuade him to stay,” says O’Brien, “he’s adamant about the defamation of his God. I managed to convince him that ‘Violent Repression’ should be the subject of our next meeting and he might find that more to his taste. He’s very keen to learn more about our Room 101.” (Orwell)
“The Controller and I were just discussing that. It comes as no surprise.”
“I’ll go and see if our other guest is going to join us.”
O’Brien sets off but stops when he hears Noble’s singing getting louder as he approaches. Mond only has time for a whispered plea.
“I need to know what’s in my book.”
“You need to get some big mirrors in there. A guy’s gotta look good for the folks when he appears on their parlour walls (Bradbury). What did I miss?”
I mouth ‘practically everything’ to Mond and he can’t stop himself smiling back. We have a bond.
O’Brien attempts to reconvene the meeting.
“Gentlemen, let us return to our discussion on ‘the destruction of words’.”
“I have a word for you Commissioner. A word you wouldn’t want to destroy. Consumption. Isn’t that what we all rely on?”
“Controller, I’d like to get on with the destruction discussion, but you are right. Consumption is extremely necessary. It’s why we are at perpetual war. War accounts for most of our consumption. It uses up virtually all of our resources and keeps the populace wretched.”
My mind wanders to the newsreels of the 1940s and images of austerity where most towns were a mass of rubble and rationing was a fact of life. The Second World War and its post-war hardships were the grey misery that formed the background of Orwell’s last novel. (BFI)
“They remain focused on self-sacrifice and blind obedience to The Party. They ‘Hate’ when they are told to hate. They love Big Brother. Eventually there will be no art or literature, no science, no thought. Everyone lives to serve Big Brother. No other distractions. Power for its own sake.” (Orwell)
“Hell, we’re all about distractions, says Noble. “We’re all about fast cars, Televisors in the walls. You should try our Window Smasher and Car Wrecker (Bradbury). Distractions. Destructions. Who needs books? They just give you misery. We have pleasure. Titillation. Why would anyone want to think?”
“Our distractions are also built around enjoyment,” says Mond in support, “the Feelies, Escalator Squash, Electro-magnetic Golf, all designed to use up time and energy, all designed for maximum consumption (Huxley). Our people don’t have enough time for books. They don’t have enough time for thought so we don’t offer it to them. The stimulations that President Noble and I provide are all that is needed to prevent thought. He is still burning books but no doubt the time will come when there will be no more left to burn. We haven’t had books for centuries. Every single one is destroyed.”
Mond glances at me as if imploring me to keep counsel. He continues.
“Commissioner, we have both followed your line in the destruction of words. We have removed, or are in the process of removing, them but our people are happy. We have replaced freedom of thought with happiness. In Oceania you have replaced it with misery. Nobody thinks anymore but we have provided fun. You have provided death.”
The mood of the room has slowly developed until it begins to resemble a political rally, each voice trying to be heard above the others.
“Most people would rather die than think,” I say, “and many of them do.” (Russell)
“What is the point of life for the people of Oceania? For us it’s pleasure. We determine the state of our citizens from before birth with chemical science and condition them with Neo-Pavlovian conditioning and hynopaedia in their formative years. We have no need to destroy words. No-one is interested in them. If anyone falters, we have SOMA, our happy drug of choice. If anyone still has doubts, they are shipped off to another part of the world where they can’t influence any ‘sane’ people and live out their lives with their own conscience (Huxley). Why must you concentrate on hate, Commissioner?”
“Because Oceania exists for POWER. Hate creates enemies and enemies create hate. CONTROL thought and CONTROL hate and you CONTROL POWER!” O’Brien has turned a bright shade of red.
“That seems like a lot of emotion for such a small, easily disposable word,” says Mond quietly.
“I need to wash my hands.” I say and leave.
Leaning over the basin I recall Acton’s assertion that ’Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’(Dalberg-Acton) As I splash water on my face I consider that my position as an imposter in a high security torture facility in a land of hate with a badly riled host in the room next door, is probably not the safest one.
Mond enters. He beams at me and slaps my arm playfully.
“O’Brien has decided to call it a day. I think he’s had his fill of hate for one morning. Noble is trying to persuade him to invest in some of his destructive toys. I think he believes that O’Brien could use his wrecking ball on dissidents. I never imagined a trade deal could come out of this.”
“Do you think that there will be a second meeting – ‘Violent Repression’, wasn’t it?”
“Maybe. What’ll be next? ‘Tactics of War’? ‘Military Technology’?”
“Probably not Religion or Culture.”
“That would bring Commander Judd back. I think these three are too reliant on killing for my liking. Like everyone we have had our share of violence but that all finished centuries ago. I’m not sure this forum is going suit the World State. We are a peace loving, fun loving people.”
“Hmm.”
“You don’t approve?”
“Of all these regimes yours seems to have the most to offer. You don’t threaten fear and rarely practice violence. In fact, it’s more likely that you’d use SOMA vapour to subdue miscreants than any kind of weapon. But you don’t allow for freewill. There’s a good old-fashioned Christian concept – God giving his people the right to freewill, to be allowed to make their own mistakes. There’s a man called John who you may know. He came from a Savage Reservation.” (Huxley)
“So there is a book?”
“Of course. If there wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
“I remember him.”
“He didn’t want your brand of chemically induced happiness. He wanted the right to be unhappy, contract diseases, go hungry, be tortured. He claimed the right to all of them.” (Huxley)
“Do you know what I said?”
“Remind me.”
“I told him he was welcome. You’re forgetting, at no point did I force him to adhere to our lifestyles. The Savages can live how they like. He had access to ancient books on his Reservation. We didn’t destroy them. As long as they don’t contaminate our citizens, they can live how they like.”
“But you play God. You determine who will be Alphas and who will be Epsilons. You nourish the Alphas and ‘cretinise’ the Epsilons. To paraphrase another Christian teaching: Your world of ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ means you make them ‘high and lowly, and order their estate’. (Alexander) That was an old hymn from the days when religion and state were the same controlling force. That would still fit in Gilead.”
“Our people live happy lives according to their pre-determined abilities. If there are any mistakes or anomalies they are allowed to live in remote places. They even get to live with like-minded people.”
“What happens if the SOMA runs out, if the science breaks down?”
“The science can never break down. We can control how many people are hatched, keep the population stable, provide them with all the resources they need. The science can never break down. There is no reason why we should ever cease to exist.”
“Really?”
“What is in the book? What do you know about our future? Noble, O’Brien, Judd, they will all, ultimately fail. Their books are written. Their endings are decided. What happens to the World State?”
“The book ends with the Savage dying. (Huxley) It is a symbol of the death of individualism.”
“And?”
“There is no evidence that the World State will ever end.”
Mond smiles contentedly and places an arm across my shoulder, guiding me towards the door.
“I was talking to O’Brien earlier. He said he had doubts about you and this Brexitrumponia. I convinced him that you were one of us, a true utopian. Come, I’ll get you past the guards.”
WORD COUNT: 4375
WORKS CITED
Alexander, Cecil F. All Things Bright and Beautiful http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/a/l/l/t/allthing.htm
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. O.W. Toad Limited (1985).
BFI A Day in the Life: Four Portraits of Post War Britain British Film Institute (2010) https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=post+war+austerity+newsreels&&view=detail&mid=6BB7D462C3CD8E8BDCDC6BB7D462C3CD8E8BDCDC&&FORM=VRDGAR
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd (1954).
Charles, Ron. Alternative facts and Orwellian fiction. The Washington Post. 01/25/2017.
Hancock, Geoff. Tightrope-Walking Over Niagara Falls. Waltzing Again, New and Selected Conversations with Margaret Atwood. Edited by Ingersoll, Earl G. Ontario Review Press (2006).
(The) Holy Bible (1611) Revised Standard Version William Collins & Sons Co. Ltd. (1952)
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Chatto & Windus (1932).
Lewis, Florence and Moss, Peter. The Tyranny of Language. Nineteen in 1984 Autonomy, Control and Communication. Edited by Chilton, Paul and Aubrey, Crispin. Commedia Publishing Group (1983).
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Martin Secker & Warburg (1949).
Dalberg-Acton, Lord, John. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Third Edition (1985). Oxford University Press (1979)
Patai, Daphne. Ray Bradbury and the Assault on Free Thought. Society. Feb 2013, Vol. 50 Issue 1, p41 7p.
Rodden, John. Donald and Winston at the Ministry of Alternative Facts. Society. June 2017, Vol. 54 Issue 3, p215 3p.
Russell, Bertrand. The ABC of Relativity. 1925. Routledge (2001) http://thinkexist.com/quotation/most_people_would_rather_die_than_think-many_do/146141.html
Shaw, Julia. The Real Reason we don’t Trust Experts Anymore. 8th July 2016 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-real-reason-that-we-don-t-trust-experts-a7126536.html
Sopel, John. If Only They Didn’t Speak English Notes from Trump’s America. BBC Books (2017)
Will, George F. Instead of '1984,' Read This. The Washington Post. 03/05/2017.