be so; how could the immortal, collective
brain be mistaken? By what external standard could you check its
judgements? Sanity was statistical. It was merely a question of learning to
think as they thought. Only--!
The pencil felt thick and awkward in his fingers. He began to write
down the thoughts that came into his head. He wrote first in large clumsy
capitals:

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

Then almost without a pause he wrote beneath it:

TWO AND TWO MAKE FIVE

But then there came a sort of check. His mind, as though shying away
from something, seemed unable to concentrate. He knew that he knew what
came next, but for the moment he could not recall it. When he did recall
it, it was only by consciously reasoning out what it must be: it did not
come of its own accord. He wrote:

GOD IS POWER

He accepted everything. The past was alterable. The past never had
been altered. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at
war with Eastasia. Jones, Aaron