Human League Kidnaps Mlosh Doctor; Brezhnev Scandal In Soviet Union

November 10th, 2005

in 12-9-12-16-9, even as the Osage nation gave its most fertile land to the Oueztecan Empire, the Oueztecans began a massive program of buffalo domestication. Within a generation, the mighty herds of the buffalo, who had once darkened the plains of the Oueztecan continent, were penned and broken of their wild habits and turned into a simple meat animal for the Empire.

in 1861, the Human League commits its first terrorist act with the kidnapping of Doctor Pri’Kato’Mli of Edinborough. Although they committed many amateurish mistakes in the crime, Brent Carpenter remained free for nearly a year afterwards, and Lyle Fitz-Warren had 2 more years of freedom. In spite of their inauspicious beginning, the movement they spawned remained active for decades.

in 1863, Swiss Immigrant Henry Wirz was hung for the murder of hundreds of Union soldiers during his tenure as commander of the Andersonville Prison Camp in Georgia. When the Southern Rebellion broke out against President Walt Whitman, the rebels sent any Union prisoners to Andersonville, a small stockade that had no facilities for the care of any prisoners at all. Over the months of incarceration, Wirz allowed horrific deaths by disease and starvation to thin out the prisoner population. President Whitman, on hearing of the conditions at the camp, said, “There are deeds, crimes that may be forgiven, but this is not among them.”

in 1890, with three hundred followers at his heel, rebel Mormon Charles Brigman storms into Salt Lake City and attacks the jail that is holding his men. Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson personally defends the jail, and the two adversaries actually meet for a brief moment on the field. “I will be your end,” Brigman vows to Jackson before the tide of battle sweeps them away from each other. Brigman manages to free a few prisoners, but loses many more men in the fight and is forced to flee in defeat.

in 1917, 41 Suffragettes, in a staged protest in front of the White House, commit suicide as the police arrive to arrest them. The horror of the nation at the desperation this action speaks of makes Congress rush through legislation granting universal suffrage throughout the United States.

in 1973, a church group in Rugby, North Dakota burned all the copies of the novel Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut that were in the town’s library. Reverend Jonathan Clark of the First Church of Christ then announced that they would “burn all the wickedness out of our town,” and the local library itself was burned to the ground, followed by the personal libraries of several citizens of Rugby. The National Guard had to be called in to prevent the Reverend Clark's followers from burning more than a few citizens of Rugby, as well.

in 1982, Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, General-Secretary of the Soviet Union's Communist Party, dies in the arms of a young lover in Moscow. The scandal taints the entire hierarchy of the Soviet Union, allowing the dissident Aleksei Morrikov to rise to power over his comrades. His repressive rule of the Soviets is only ended by the nuclear attack on Moscow by American-supplied Afghani terrorists in 1998.

in 1373, Islam Saro-Wiwa, outspoken playwright and leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People is executed by his Nigerian Caliph. Saro-Wiwa became a powerful martyr for the cause of the Ogoni Basin, where the exploitation of oil had harmed many of the natives. Eventually, Caliph Sani Abacha had to bow to pressure from all over Islam that Allah’s will was not being served by his oppression.

in 2002, after several hours of attempting to sabotage the robot ship carrying them, Professor Thomas and Air Force Captain Trent Laughlin sink exhaustedly into the seats on the bridge; the ship seems completely unaffected by their best efforts. Dr. Courtney tells them to try to find some way of bringing the shields down so that he can disable the engines and transport them off. They begin exploring the ship.

in 2004, Chelsea Perkins had her fateful meeting with her father Terrence at a diner in Jackson, Arizona. He essentially kidnapped her from the diner, taking her to his home west of the town and introducing her to the ancient rites of her ancestors, which she promptly refused to cooperate in.

Christmas Day Contest! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often - entries must be received by December 20th, 2005! Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

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!

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