October 9th, 2005
in 1117, after a century of somewhat peaceful coexistance, the Vikings and Vinlandians have a small scuffle at Moriksburg that erupts into a larger conflict. Europeans had been drifting over to Vinland since Leif Ericson's discovery of a safe passage to it the century before, and in some areas of North Vinland, they outnumbered the natives. Ericson had kept the peace during his lifetime, but with him dead, the differences between the two peoples boiled over.
in 1635, religious zealot Roger Williams is sentenced to exile from the Massachusetts colony for his crime of dissent against the crown's Indian policies. Williams soon gathers hundreds of followers and storms back into Massachusetts, taking the colony from the crown by force and establishing the short-lived Freemen's Land.
in 1811, General Ned Ludd provoked his followers into a riot at a factory in Manchester, England, in protest of the new Mlosh technologies that were being produced. The Luddites felt that the knowledge the Mlosh were bringing to humanity was unnatural and should be suppressed, and they were willing to take drastic steps to do so.
in 1890, with most of the fighting in Salt Lake City settled, Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson sends a few patrols into the surrounding countryside. Several die-hard LDS have holed up in the Utah wilderness, and Colonel Jackson realizes that it will take time to root them out. He sends to Washington for even more troops.
in 1910, with the aid of the Maktar, Commander Mohandas Namboudry quells the violence on the Mlosh homeworld and turns the Q'Bar refugee ships back around and sends them off to their new home. The Congress of Nations finally replies that assistance is on the way; Commander Namboudry tells them not to hurry.
in 1946, the hilarious comedy The Iceman Cometh, following the wacky misadventures of a family waiting for the iceman during a heat wave, premiered on Broadway. The author, Gene O’Neill, was hailed with a Tony for Best Comedy of 1946.
in 1961, German Reich dissident Oskar Schindler is executed for his crimes. Schindler, at one point a loyal Nazi, had spirited thousands of Jews and dissidents out of the expanding German Reich by creating fake covers for them as workers in his enamel factories. When the ruse was uncovered, the Semitic-African Resistance attempted to rescue him, but the raid only succeeded in killing a few guards and most of the S.A.R. raiding party.
in 1975, peace activist Dr. Jonas Salk of the Soviet States of America wins the Nobel Peace Prize. After retiring from his medical career, he had spent his life pursuing change in the Soviet States, and an end to its aggression towards other nations. While the award is celebrated in Europe, it is denounced by the government of America as “another capitalist reward for a counter-revolutionary.”
in 4697, Chdo reinforcements arrive and begin consultation with the Chinese as to what might be done to stop the Y’T’T’li. The Chdo are opposed to the idea of allowing the Y’T’T’li time within the system. They feel that, given time and the raw material of the solar system, they will be unstoppable. A bold plan is conceived, and the Chdo ships carry out the weapon on which humanity’s hopes rest.
in 2002, one of the “important devices” that Professor Thomas and Dr. Courtney acquired from the moon raid begins wailing at them from its new home in Edwards Air Force base. The scientists look terribly alarmed at the sound, and begin scrambling all of their trainees into craft. They alert the Pentagon that trouble is on the way.
TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST - no donation required, just send us your stuff! Only 11 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. Entries must be received by October 20th! 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!
2 comments:
Am I being pedantic if I find it extremely unlikely that Jonas Salk would have been born in the SSA timeline? The timeline diverged roughly...what, 40 years before he was born? It seems hard to believe he would've been born.
Just a little bit - but in alternate history, it's often easier to use established figures rather than take the more realistic view that entirely different people would rise up in their place.
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