The Party found it surprisingly easy to manipulate the openly expressed views of business, just as they easily manipulated the views of the people. With people they were given enemies to fear, both within and without, the ever present treat of a terror bomb or of the inevitable war with the vast armies of Eurasia and Eastasia served to unite the people, who willingly sacrificed much in order that the Party maintained their security and worked toward survival and victory in the war. But with companies, some of significant power and reach, different methods were needed. Some, managed by those loyal to the Party fell into line immediately, but others required incentives. The managerial elite were well educated and would not fall for the simple propaganda that swayed the masses, instead their greed was played upon. The Party offered many lucrative contracts, for companies to directly serve the state, the rewards of these were considerable and well known. So by offering such contracts only to those companies that openly espoused the party, that supported the policies of the Party and the state, those companies who dared to follow any other path than loyalty to the Party would be blocked from state contracts and thereby denied the profit that such bought. Even those managers who did not agree with the Party's policies and agenda would publicly support them and ensure that their companies and employees supported them, for fear of losing the contracts. In time the managers became enforcers of the Party's will and competed with each other to demonstrate how loyal their companies and their employees were to the party, because such loyalty became the way in which contracts were won. Quality of work was less important that loyalty but only a traitor would dare to criticise the Party and the state or the products of the same. Loyalty was everything to the Party and it was either gained through Fear, Propaganda or when necessary, Bribery. Liam Fox’s Department for International Trade (DIT) has inserted a clause into advertisements inviting tech companies to bid for work, saying that in order to have the right “cultural fit” for the task, they must “be committed to the best possible outcome for the United Kingdom following its departure from the European Union”. One critical aspect of the Party's control was loyalty, it was not enough that people professed their loyalty to the Party and to the state but that they were seen to be loyal as well. In public acts of disloyalty would be quickly reported, the cameras that covered every corner or the ranks of citizens eager to demonstrate their own loyalty by reporting a traitor. But it was in private, beyond the reach of the cameras and the masses, that disloyalty would fester and grow. It was not enough to ask children to report their own parents, or parents their children, for disloyalty and treason could be hidden even from those closest to the traitors. Instead the Party found it necessary to monitor the communications of every traitor and since it was not possible to identify a traitor before they acted, it became necessary to monitor everyone. Seeking the first sign of disloyalty. The Party, much to its regret, could not listen to the thoughts inside a citizens head and so they had to settle for monitoring their every message sent or received, every phone call made, every place visited, every poster or book read under the invisible eyes of the security services. In this way, as a place or a book or the words of a person were classified as disloyal or treasonous, so everyone who had been exposed to such words or writing could be identified for later consideration. The list of traitors grew long indeed once the Party had the means to record every person who listen to treasonous or disloyal words, not by the camera that watched the door for those who would enter, but through the invisible eyes of the Party that waited to spy upon every private activity of every citizen in the privacy of their homes and terminals. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 which requires web and phone companies to store everyone’s web browsing histories for 12 months and give the police, security services and official agencies unprecedented access to the data and provides the security services and police with new powers to hack into computers and phones and to collect communications data in bulk came into force at the beginning of this year. The party prized itself on the loyalty of its members, no one could work for the Party or the State who was not also a member of the Party and in good standing. No member of the Party could be anything other than of good standing for every party member represented the Party and to bring the Party into disrepute was an act of Treason. But the fear of traitors was everywhere, agents of the enemy could be anywhere and the Party did many things that it preferred were not known by the massed ranks of citizens. Much could be explained but some things stretched even the bounds of Doublethink and Right think and it was these things that the Party wished unknown. So it was that harsh punishments for treason were extended to cover not just matters considered vital to the security of the State and of the Party, matters of national security as they were known, but the punishments for treason were expanded to include many other crimes of disloyalty. The very concept of national security and treason to the State became treason to the Party simply by being critical of the Party and of the Party's deeds or by helping others to criticise the Party. Treason against the State was redefined, the Party was the State, Treason against the State was Treason against the Party and Disloyalty, the revealing of anything critical of the Party, became Treason against the State. The updated Espionage Act which will replace all previous legislation relating to national security, the official secrets act and espionage legislation proposes that ALL governmental data that is considered sensitive by the Government be covered, not just the older definition of data whose release would threaten the safety and security of the nation. The maximum penalty for breaching this new legislation by 'Obtaining, Gathering or Sharing' is proposed to be 14 years rather than the current 3 years. The Party, in its desire to maintain control over the population and the State found it necessary to control entry to and exit from the State, by tightly controlling who could enter or leave they could prevent those thought or known to be disloyal or traitors from entering the State or escaping the reach of the Party. Entry of those from nations currently at war with the Party and the State was strictly forbidden under any circumstances, the very fact of the war being enough justification. But for others, for those from nations that were not at war with the Party or the State, from those nations that had always been friendly to the Party and the State, they needed to be controlled as well, in case the status of those nations who had always been friendly to the Party and the State became subject to revision. The Party found it easiest to simply ban all peoples from all such countries, to use the fear of Traitors and Terrorists and to simply prevent any such person from entering the State. In this way it did not matter if the nation had always been at war with the Party and the State, or had always been friends of the Party and the State, they were banned from entering no matter what today's situation was. Trump signs executive order banning travel to the US from seven Middle Eastern countries. In addition the Party found it necessary to monitor those arriving from other nations, outside of those who had always been enemies or who had always been friends. Traitors were everywhere and hide themselves not just amongst the citizens, but also in the ranks of permitted visitors. For this reason the Party and the State ordered that those who wished to enter the state be subject not just to checks of such items as they carried with them, but also that more detailed investigations of their activities be carried out. Just as the citizens of the State were subject to constant monitoring by the invisible eye of the Party, so to were all visitors considered to be at risk of Disloyalty subjected to the same checks. But in the case of visitors it was not possible to quickly access their activities in their own nations, however many such visitors unwittingly bought with them the devices by which they sent and read messages and the writings and words of Traitors and anti Party agitators in their own nations. So it was that by preventing people from entering the State, unless they gave over their secrets and the passwords and names they hide behind, the Party was able to force people to reveal their own words and messages and the words and messages they read and received. Words critical to the Party, sent or received by the prospective visitor would be found and in this way potential Traitors and anti party agitators would be blocked at the border. US border security forcing people to unlock mobiles and tablets for investigation and downloading of data. Interesting isn't it, how easy it is to write the news as if it were part of a Dystopian novel. Today is the first of march 2017. The year is 60 days old. Sixty short days, the time seems to have passed so quickly. What will I be writing about 60 days from today? |
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