Beckett Is Martyred; Civil War In Cambodia

December 29th, 2004

in 47,392 BCE, Telka the Speaker and her great-granddaughter Swikolay reach the foothills of the Himalayas and begin their ascent. Full of optimism, the Speaker says, “The sky will be ours. All your children will look down from heaven.”

in 1170, Thomas Beckett, the Archbishop of Canterbury and rival for Pope Henry II of the Holy British Empire, is murdered by four priests as he knelt in prayer. Beckett and the pope had been friends for decades, but as Henry veered towards liberalization of the Holy Mother Church, Beckett began to oppose him, and he swayed many bishops and cardinals to his side. After his death, Pope Henry ruled with unquestioned authority.

in 1769, a French patisserie began offering its bread sliced to its patrons. It was the greatest thing ever.

in 1813, the North American Confederation city of Buffalo was burned to the ground when a plant manufacturing an experimental propellant exploded. The horrific flames resisted all attempts to put them out until the local governor was able to order in enough demolitions to level the town. The N.A.C. adopted the world’s most stringent regulations on the handling of propellants after this disaster.

in 4607, Emperor Chengzu named Sun Yat-Sen his Prime Minister. Sun pursued a policy of expansion in space and consolidation on earth. It was under Sun Yat-Sen’s direction that the Star Sailor corps began accepting non-Chinese subjects of the empire.

in 1940, German bombers raided London in the worst bombing of the war to that point. After a particularly powerful cluster of explosions, the sky filled with the planes of dozens of nations, as well as air ships that were unrecognizable. The huge dogfight that resulted ended when one of the planes dropped a weapon that blew up the entire city of London; all that was left was a multi-colored cloud that pulsed as if a heart beat within it. Physicist Richard Tolman sought and was given a meeting with President Roosevelt to discuss these events. This resulted in an unprecedented ceasefire declaration between the Axis and Allied powers to hear what Tolman had to say.

in 1997, Chinese authorities in Hong Kong, fearful of the economic damage that would result from killing all chickens possibly infected with influenza, disregard the recommendations of health professionals around the world and let the sale of chickens continue. The resulting epidemic of flu kills over 20 million Chinese, as well as an additional 2 million worldwide. The sanctions against Chinese food products that follow send China spiraling into the worst depression in its history.

in 1998, Cambodian strongman Pol Pot dies. The hated Khmer Rouge that had placed him in power begin a civil war for power that devastates the small Asian nation for the next three years. After the death toll of the war passes a million, Vietnam invades to put an end to it. The move is surprisingly supported by the international community, and marks a turning point for both nations; Cambodia, although it remains communist, becomes a freer country, and Vietnam is accepted into the community of nations.


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