Monday, July 18, 2005

Nero Saves Rome; The Birth Of Chinese Democracy

July 18th, 2005

in 817 AUC, enemies of the state ignited a series of fires across Rome. Heroically, Emperor Nero directed the fight against these fires himself, rallying the citizens and saving most of the city. Afterwards, the good will the emperor had built up by his actions was used to find and execute these imperial enemies.

in 1642, the inhabitants of Lalande 25372 translate the transmissions coming from the Rope star system, 351 light years distant. These are a people much like themselves, steady and methodical, and they begin transmitting back in the Rope language, sharing the location of their star system, their culture and their history. The people of the Rope, like the Hunters 1100 light years away, speak of the galactic civilization of the Elders in their transmissions. The Lalandians are curious as to when they might meet this alien race.

in 1899, clergyman and author Horatio Alger dies in New York. Famed for his tragic novels of heroes falling from grace, Alger famously wrote that if he had allowed his heroes to climb back up again, he might have sold more books, but that would hardly reflect the real world.

in 1905, Carla Lambert appears in A Woman Unchained, a movie about suffragists in New York. This film rockets her to international stardom, and rumors start flying as to who she is seeing romantically.

in 1936, the Spanish Civil War begins, with the outnumbered forces of fascist Francisco Franco fighting against Republican forces. Dozens of nations sent in troops surreptitiously to prevent another European nation from falling to right-wing revolutionaries, and it worked. Franco was defeated the following spring, and Spain grew into a free democracy.

in 1937, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Hunter S. Thompson is born in Louisville, Kentucky. His clear-headed, no-nonsense style and strict adherence to the rules of journalism became the standard by which all other journalists were judged in the 60’s and 70’s.

in 4648, Emperor Dao-Ming speaks to the Chinese Empire over video. “My people, these recent years have brought us fantastic change; we have risen to the heavens, we have raised colonies there, we have made contact with another people who live among the stars. And they have brought with them ideas of another way that a government may be run. Their ideas have shown me that what has always been may not always be right. Therefore, I have made the decision that we shall become a democracy like our friends, the Chdo. Not at first; but slowly and carefully, as befits our nature.”

in 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy is caught by his wife attempting to leave a party with attractive young Mary Jo Kopechne. The resulting divorce causes havoc with Kennedy’s political career, as details of his womanizing and drinking become public. Kennedy pledges his constituents that he will reform, and after a brief period in a rehabilitation clinic, he comes out sober and focused. After winning the presidency in 1976, he entered his second marriage – also the second marriage of a President in the White House – to Victoria Reggie in 1977.

in 1996, after unburying the entire object, Dr. Courtney’s team in Chimanimani National Park is coming to some rather bizarre conclusions. The object is a disk with a circumference of over a hundred feet and a thickness of 30. There are a few strange symbols in various places around it, but, in spite of a knowledge of over 50 languages in the team, no one among them is able to decipher them.

in 2000, Velma Porter and Mikhail von Heflin reach the New York coast and sink the container holding the creature from beyond the world in the Atlantic Ocean. They are able to move it partially outside of our own dimension, making it much more difficult to get at; this procedure exhausts the two of them, and they spend the night on the beach, recuperating.


WE HAVE GAS, BUT WE STILL NEED HELP!

Thanks to your generosity, we have gas money, and truly appreciate the assistance. But, we still have a broken windshield to repair, so we're keeping the offer open - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!


Forum Link - talk with everybody in the TIAH community
New Poll - Tell us what you think! More or less repeats? Our fate may be in your hands!


Buy my stuff at Lulu!
Warp and Protocols still available

No comments:

TIAH Editor says we'd like to move you off the blog, if you're browsing the archives - and most people are - more than half of them are already on the new site. We need to be sure the new web site accomodates your archive browsing needs because we don't want to lose any readers. Please supply any feedback or comments by email to the Editor and please note the blogger site is shutting on December 1st.