Plantagenet Family War; London Front

September 3rd, 2005

in 1189, Richard Plantagenet, eldest living son of King Henry II, prepares to lay siege to London as his younger brother John is crowned King of England. John had been named heir to the throne by King Henry before his death, bypassing the more obvious choice of Richard, because of some familial dispute. The Plantagenet family wars raged until Richard’s death from an arrow wound in 1197.

in 1658, Protector of the English People, Oliver Cromwell, dies at the age of 59. In 1640, Cromwell led a bold experiment in rule by the people without the interference of the nobility, an 18-year period in which all British officials were directly elected by the citizenry. Cromwell had defeated King Charles I and was offered the crown, but refused it in favor of a more democratic form of government, saying, “I am neither heir nor executor to Charles Stuart.” Parliament restored a weakened monarchy after Cromwell’s passing, but Cromwellian England remained a shining standard for many people’s movements, such as the American Revolution and the Communist movements of the 19th century.

in 1752, the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar disrupts the space-time continuum and 10 days vanish for England. People riot in protest at the government’s reckless disregard for the sanctity of time.

in 1777, rebel General William Maxwell unveils the official flag of the so-called United States for the first and last time as his forces meet the British in battle at Cooch’s Bridge, Maryland. After they are utterly crushed, the British desecrate the Stars & Stripes, as it is known, and send the bloody and filthy flag to the Continental Congress saying, “This is what shall be done to all the rebels.” Many supporters of the rebellion quietly slipped away to the west after this battle, hoping to escape British vengeance.

in 1791, the great Mlosh poet Klekt’t’kel is born in Clonmacnois, Ireland. The writer of the epic poem, Cries to a lost star, Klekt’t’kel is widely considered the only author of the first Mlosh century who effectively communicated to the human community their profound sense of loss in being unable to return to their homeworld. Klekt’t’kel was awarded the inaugural Nobel Prize for literature in 1901, three years before her death.

in 1855, General William Harney, just before ordering the massacre of a Sioux village near Ash Hollow, Nebraska in revenge for the killing of soldiers in Wyoming, speaks with a young Sioux girl who had witnessed the Wyoming incident. She had followed his soldiers in a desperate attempt to prevent this retaliation; after speaking with her and learning that the Wyoming commander had goaded the Sioux into attacking, General Harney accepted the surrender of the village and began working for peace with the Sioux.

in 1911, Dynamic Pictures produces Sunset, a touching film about the end of the “cowboy” way of life in the western United States, starring Mary Pickford. This film gave birth to an entire new genre of storytelling that concentrated on the American West of the late 19th century, known as Horse Operas, or Westerns. Thomas Edison reportedly didn’t like the popularity of the genre, and discouraged the studio from making such films, until he saw Carla Lambert in Plainsgirl in 1916. After that, he let Dynamic’s executives make Westerns as much as they pleased.

in 1914, H.G. Wells organizes London Front, a wargaming convention in London, England. Expecting a few hundred people, Wells is overwhelmed as over 10,000 enthusiasts pour into the convention to play Little Wars and Little Warriors over the next 4 days. Much to Wells’ surprise, Little Warriors is by far the more popular of his 2 games, and this leads Wells to develop more games that are along the role-playing line.

in 1955, the band Bill Haley & The Comets, overcoming a fear of flying, booked their first tour outside the U.S. Ironically, the entire group was killed as the plane they were riding across the Atlantic was struck by lightning and crashed into the water. A young Pete Best, who’d had tickets to the show they had been scheduled to play in Liverpool, wrote a song about it in 1969, called Comet in the waves.

in 1959, the man who had appeared to Huan Yue on the water appears beside Li Huang-Sen’s bed and speaks with her. “I have him now,” the man says. “But I can release him if you will come with me.” Huan Yue agonizes over the offer, but refuses. “Very well. I shall return when you have had more time to realize he will not recover on his own.”

in 1969, anti-Reich terrorist Ho Chi Minh was executed by the New Reich’s Chinese Governor in a public hanging in Hanoi. The death of the highly popular Minh made the next three years a turbulent period for the Reich in Asia, as Vietnamese recruits joined with the remnants of the Greater Zionist Resistance to fight the Reich.

in 1996, in a high orbit over earth, Dr. Melvin Courtney and Professor Malcolm Thomas attempt to decipher the controls of the object they are flying in. They desperately work on translating the rest of the writing on the panels, hoping that enough will be written down to let them know how to return the object to Edwards Air Force base. The fact that the object’s last landing was a crash doesn’t hearten them.

in 2004, the ELS-3, a Lalandian-style vessel keeping watch at the edge of the solar system, detects an Elder power signature streaking past them at the speed of light in the direction of the earth. They send a signal back to the U.N. and the other 2 ELS ships patrolling with them. ELS-1, with a military crew, turns around and heads back to earth at its top speed.


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!