Greetings From The Elders

September 4th, 2005

in 1049 AUC, Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus is besieged by the German barbarian leader Odoacer in Rome. Odoacer, calling himself king of the Italian peninsula, had marched a sizable army down to Rome to finally bring down the empire. Romulus sends a swift messenger to Constantinople for aid, and Rome manages to repulse the invader long enough for the eastern legions to arrive and rescue them.

in 1530, Ivan the Terrible, known as the Russian Tsar, was born in Moscow. He was the last independent ruler of the country, since after his death in battle in 1579, the Holy British Empire claimed Russia.

in 1882, Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street Project went into effect, providing electric power for all of New York City. The amazing success of Edison’s company and electrification itself led to its adoption by cities across the United States. By the end of the century, no region of the country was without electric power.

in 1886, Apache chief Goyathlay makes his famed appeal before the U.S. Congress for peace between his people and the U.S. “I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures." The power of the Apache’s words convinces the Congressmen to halt the plan to herd the Apache onto reservations, and the native nation becomes a powerful ally against other native people who lack such an eloquent leader.

in 1918, American troops landing in Archangel, Russia find themselves surrounded by the “Reds” they have been sent in to combat. The Communists send a negotiator over to the American troops, exhorting them to follow the example of their comrades and rise up and attack their true, common enemy, the capitalists. After a steady diet of this for 6 months, the troops find themselves very sympathetic to the Communists, and overthrow their officers and join in with the people’s revolution.

in 1953, the New York Metros become the first team to win 5 consecutive championships in the American Town Ball League. Rowdy fans cause havoc in the streets of the Big Apple, snarling traffic and shutting down many businesses; most New Yorkers don’t care, and join in celebrating their home town’s achievement.

in 1957, Comrade Governor Jake Macintosh of the Arkansas Soviet orders the People’s Guard to guard Little Rock’s high schools as racist counter-revolutionaries begin a campaign of intimidation against the African-American schoolchildren of the city; they vow to prevent young blacks from entering schools with whites. In spite of some support from the white population of the city, the racists’ campaign peters out by the first few days of school.

in 1959, after a sleepless night next to Li Huang-Sen, Huan Yue goes for a walk on the deck of the ship they are traveling to Canada in. The man who claimed to have Li appears to her again, saying, “You can save him. Will you agree to my request?” He follows Huan Yue back to Li’s bedside, where she says, “Yes.”

in 1970, former Pete Best bandmate George Harrison released his single, My Sweet Lord. After a brief stint on the top of the charts, it fell meteorically when Harrison was sued for plagiarizing the tune from the Chiffons’ hit, He’s So Fine.

in 1996, the situation aboard the object orbiting the earth is growing desperate for Dr. Melvin Courtney and Professor Malcolm Thomas. They haven’t had any food or water since activating the object, and are finding it difficult to keep working. Professor Thomas thinks that he has found the sequence of controls that will return them to Edward Air Force base, and Dr. Courtney says, “Go ahead. I’d rather die in a crash than starve up here.” Professor Thomas manipulates a few controls, and the object plummets back to earth.

in 2004, President Gore, having been informed of the Elder power signature on its way to earth, declares martial law across the United States and informs America that, “Now is the time for our greatest vigilance. We mustn’t attack each other today; our enemy is able to assume our shape, but it can never copy our spirit.” After he says this, the transmission is jammed, then replaced with the face of a beautiful, dark-skinned woman. “People of earth,” she says in strangely accented English, “I bring you greetings from the Galactic Brotherhood of Elder Civilizations.”


TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST

In order to provide for the upkeep of our new historian, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - make a donation at our Paypal link, then email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Boring contest information is available on our Forum link below. Enter early and often!

Also, we still have our standard offer - 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 - Boring legal info on the TIAH Halloween Contest!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, voting for the winner is now over. Be sure to watch Sept. 9 for the winner, and watch the pilots at http://aol.com/situationcomedy

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!