The Balloon Corps; Love Me, Do

October 4th, 2005

in 1182, Francis of Assisi, the monk who taught that one could only be brought to Christ through pain, was born in Assisi, Italy. His torture of animals, children and parishioners in his native city led the Vatican to excommunicate him; at one point, they even attempted to exorcise him of evil spirits.

in 1861, President Lincoln observed the first flight of the new Balloon Corps, which he had commissioned to launch an aerial assault on the Confederates. The southern rebels also used a few balloons against the north, but the hundreds of balloons that the Union was able to sail over the Confederacy proved overwhelming; almost as fast as they could be shot down, a replacement sailed in to fill the gap. The aerial bombardment proved devastating to the south, and changed the face of warfare across the world.

in 1869, the Edinburgh headquarters of Mlosh Aid International, an organization dedicated to assisting impoverished Mlosh across the world, is bombed by Human League terrorists. 14 Mlosh and 2 humans are killed, while 40 others are wounded.

in 1890, as reinforcements are finally dispatched to Utah Territory, Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson enters the outskirts of Salt Lake City. It is obvious that the city is not under any kind of control; they can hear gunshots, and see parties fleeing the city at all points. Colonel Jackson addresses his men, who only number 500, and tells them that they are about to be called above and beyond duty, and asks that they “do me proud.”

in 1923, actor John Carter was born in Evanston, Illinois. One of the staunchest comrades ever to work in Hollywood, Comrade Carter went beyond the silver screen in his later years to dabble in politics, especially during the last years of the 20th century when restrictions against capitalism began lifting. “They’ll make me a capitalist only at the point of a gun,” he famously declared at a People’s Militia Association meeting, holding aloft an antique rifle.

in 1940, Adolph Hitler, leader of the German Underground, meets with neo-Nazi time travelers from the future to discuss his plans for conquering the Greater Zionist Resistance’s territories in eastern Europe. During this meeting, virtually all decision-making ability is stripped from Hitler when the neo-Nazis realize how incompetent he is at military strategy.

in 1962, the hit single Love Me, Do was released by Pete Best. It became a smash hit, but there was some litigation involved with its release, as two of Best’s former bandmates claimed to have written it. Best made a deal with John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s lawyers to give them part of the royalties from the single, and never recorded another of their songs again.

in 1993, Russian Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi and Communist Party Chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov order their tanks to destroy the Russian White House in Moscow. Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who had been removed from office by the Duma days before, had barricaded himself in the building with a few tanks of his own, but was unable to hold off the divisions led by his rivals. With his fall, hopes of democracy in Russia and peaceful relations with the west are shattered.

in 4697, Admiral Wu reaches the closest Chdo world and informs them of the Y’T’T’li invasion. The Chdo promise to send aid and will contact their main force for more. Wu then turns around and heads back to earth. Back in the home system, The Y’T’T’li are mounting an assault on Feng-Huang which is proving devastating to the Empire.

in 2002, the 3 craft piloted by Air Force pilots arrive in earth orbit, then land at Edwards Air Force base. The pilots describe a harried pursuit, which Professor Thomas and Dr. Courtney stayed behind to deal with. The military personnel watch the sky anxiously for sign of the two scientists.


TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST - no donation required, just send us your stuff! Only 16 days left!

In order to give us a tad more time for Halloween, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - 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 was available on our Forum link below, but since the forum has been hacked, we'll email it back to you if you want to know what it is. 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 not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
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, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

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!