Siege Of Hanoi Ends

July 7th, 2004

in 4561, Lord Vo was marched into the ruins of once-proud Hanoi and made to order his soldiers to surrender. Most did so gladly; they had lost the taste for freedom long ago. Only a handful of defenders survived in any case; out of a fighting force of 150,000 at the beginning of the war, only 417 marched out of Hanoi alive. Vo was taken to Beijing, and the Emperor asked him if he was afraid of what was going to happen to him. Lord Vo replied, “Sire, I face my fate with a light heart; for no punishment you may bring upon me can match the hell that was Hanoi.” Min-Yuan let Vo live, but imprisoned him for life. Vo told reporters that it was the worst punishment he could imagine, for the dead of Hanoi surrounded him the rest of his days.

in 1898, President William Haywood signs a treaty with the Kingdom of Hawaii to bring it into the United States’ Community Of Trade. The COT, begun by Haywood to provide a socialist counter-weight of second and third-world nations against the great powers of Europe, now reaches from the Caribbean to the Pacific, and provides the basis for most of the growth enjoyed by the U.S. over the next 2 decades.

in 1907, science fiction author and cult leader Robert A. Heinlein was born in Butler, Missouri. An ordinary writer in the Golden Age of science fiction, Heinlein saw his popularity skyrocket in the 60’s with the publication of Stranger In A Strange Land. At the urging of fellow SF author L. Ron Hubbard, Heinlein began a religion based on the Martian philosophies of his novel. The cult survived his death, and still practices the free love, group marriage and communal living that the book made so mainstream.

in 1936, Pascal-Edison, Inc. release the Dede Operating System, a friendly interface which allows the operator of a Dede to use it much more efficiently, with a few simple typed-in commands. D.O.S. drives the sales of the Dede through the roof.

in 1947, the police drama Dragnet premiered on NBC Radio. It had the distinction of being the lowest-rated show on radio the 6 months it was on the air. Gallant attempts were made to revive it on television in 1951 and 1967, but this obscure work never caught on with the general public.

in 1947, Major Jesse Marcel of the Roswell Army Air Base arrives at Mac Brazel’s ranch to look over the debris. The bodies have been picked fairly clean, but the mechanical debris interests Marcel a great deal. He has several soldiers come in from the base to pick it up and cart it in to where they can examine it. He also has a doctor supervise the loading of the bodies.

in 1974, the Dutch soccer team first breaks the heart of a host as they defeat West Germany 2-1 at the 10th World Cup in Munich. After also winning the 1978 World Cup, the Dutch team virtually disappears from soccer in the 80’s, but comes roaring back in the 90’s with appearances in the finals in ’94 and ’98.

in 2003, the Martian Ambassador appears with Kofi Annan in a joint news conference to announce the complete cessation of hostilities. “We are a desperate people,” the Ambassador said through an interpretation device, “and your planet represented many riches that we desired. I regret that our needs overcame us; but our planet is not capable of supporting us much longer.” In spite of the unprovoked attack on earth, sympathy does rise for the aliens, although many people still distrust them.