1984 - Planet eBook

ous, though strictly speaking it had not always been thesame war. For several months during his childhood therehad been confused street fighting in London itself, some ofwhich he remembered vividly. But to trace out the historyof the whole period, to say who was fighting whom at anygiven moment, would have been utterly impossible, sinceno written record, and no spoken word, ever made mentionof any other alignment than the existing one. At this moment,for example, in 1984 (if it was 1984), Oceania was atwar with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia. In no publicor private utterance was it ever admitted that the threepowers had at any time been grouped along different lines.Actually, as Winston well knew, it was only four years sinceOceania had been at war with Eastasia and in alliance withEurasia. But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledgewhich he happened to possess because his memory was notsatisfactorily under control. Officially the change of partnershad never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia:therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. Theenemy of the moment always represented absolute evil, andit followed that any past or future agreement with him wasimpossible.The frightening thing, he reflected for the ten thousandthtime as he forced his shoulders painfully backward(with hands on hips, they were gyrating their bodies fromthe waist, an exercise that was supposed to be good for theback muscles)—the frightening thing was that it might allbe true. If the Party could thrust its hand into the past andsay of this or that event, IT NEVER HAPPENED—that,