November 28th, 2005
in 1520, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator seeking a western route to the riches of Asia, hits the straits at the southern tip of South America and, in a series of bad decisions, is stranded when his ships are dashed against the rocks. The small company of survivors, including Magellan, strike north and are rescued by the Inca, with whom Magellan negotiates trading rights for Portugal.
in 1582, 18-year old William Shakespeare leaves his pregnant bride, Anne Hathaway, at the altar and runs to London to join the theater there. When Miss Hathaway dies during childbirth, her father hunts down young Shakespeare and kills him in cold blood outside a pub the actor frequented.
in 1907, Louis B. Mayer, a scrap dealer in New England, diversifies his business by opening a movie theater in Haverville, Massachusetts. His enormous ego eventually led him to try his hand at producing films, but clashes with other theater owners forced him to sell his theaters in 1920 at a loss.
in 1943, German Underground forces captured a meeting of Greater Zionist Resistance leaders in Teheran, Persia. The G.Z.R. had assembled a small group of strategists in Persia to plan a counter-attack against the G.U. forces in the west. This capture was a serious blow to the G.Z.R., as it took many of their best generals.
in 1954, the U.S. military becomes interested in Richard Tolman’s parallel universe cult when nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi disappears after attending a cult meeting. Military investigators at first suspected Fermi had been killed by the cult, but could find no evidence they had done any foul play. One of the investigators also disappeared a couple of weeks into the investigation, further complicating matters.
in 1964, after hearing his advisers roll out a plan for an escalation of the bombing of North Vietnam, President John Kennedy, newly re-elected just the month before, approved the plan and accelerated the timetable. The disastrous increase in the military involvement in Vietnam proved to be the death blow for Kennedy's reputation. As the Viet Cong refused to die, protesters against the war began chanting, “Hey, hey, JFK, how many kids did you kill today?”
in 1987, New York teenager Tawana Brawley returns home late after a long night with an ex-boyfriend and faces a withering punishment from her mother, who had already grounded her.
in 1989, in yet another blow to the Communist Movement, the government of Venezuela stepped down voluntarily and transferred power to an elected committee of industrialists and bankers. The Congress of the Soviet States of America pleaded with Comrade President Ann Richards to halt the erosion of the people’s power in the American hemisphere, but she again refused, just as she had in Panama.
in 2002, the lines across the skin of the comatose patients become large webs of a hard sticky substance. Dr. Courtney orders everyone to stay out of the medical chamber on their spacecraft, and puts a force field around the entire room. He sends a message to earth that they will be delayed, and changes course. He is going to seek help from an alien race that has no reason to aid him.
in 2003, Estellians, the followers of Estelle Gerard, storm the Tower of London and free hundreds of their brethren held there. The guards at the Tower were so weak from the plagues striking across the Holy British Empire that they were unable to resist the Protestants, and many crossed over to their side. Pope Righteous I excommunicated all guards who did so.
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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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
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