Friday, November 18, 2005

William Tell's Overture; Robertsonville Massacre

November 18th, 2005

in 1307, in a vain attempt to impress his king, William Tell attempts to shoot an apple balanced on the head of his son. The resultant tragedy provided the basis for many legends of hubris over the centuries, including the William Tell Overture, a sad recounting of that horrible day.

in 1783, widespread use of Mlosh aircar travel leads the establishment of time zones, dividing the planet into 24 zones and beginning the day in Greenwich, U.K. Each zone was one hour later than the zone before it, reflecting the time it took the earth to rotate to where the sun could be seen.

in 1890, Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson accepts the surrender of several dozen die-hard rebel Mormons, and begins working with the Mormon elders of Utah Territory to get them to accept the lack of polygamy in their lives. Before the war, they would have been offended – now, with so many dead, they are willing to make the compromise.

in 4619, Star Sailor Zhai Zhigang is born in the Hunan province. Zhai was famous for landing on the moons of Moqsing, and being the first man of the Chinese Empire to discover the strange life forms of its moon Jin-tao.

in 1940, the German Underground’s fascist allies in Italy are completely annihilitated as they attempt to invade Greece. The neo-Nazis from the future caution G.U. leader Adolf Hitler to cut them loose and use his own people in operations from that point on, advice he takes willingly.

in 1962, physicist Niels Bohr, missing since 1958, is seen briefly in his old classroom at the University of Copenhagen. He ignores all questions directed at him, but says to the students gathered that, “an apocalypse is coming. Tolman was right,” before vanishing into thin air.

in 1969, former president Joseph Kennedy dies at his home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts at the age of 81. Although his fortune came from questionable beginnings, Kennedy levied it and the reputation of having lost 2 sons to the war effort in World War II into successful presidential bids in 1956 and 1960.

in 1978, several hundred followers of the Reverend Pat Robertson commit mass suicide at their compound in Robertsonville, Liberia. Robertson had led them to the African nation to escape what he called “persecution” from the Soviet States government; the reality was that he was being investigated for outright fraud and abuse against his followers. When Congressman Comrade Lauch Faircloth, who had constituents among Robertson’s followers, arrived at the compound to view the conditions there, he was assassinated by Robertson’s security, prompting the Reverend to order his followers to “Join hands and march into Heaven”, according to a tape of Robertson’s last speech at the scene.

in 1987, Congress issues its indictments in the Iran-Contra scandal, beginning with Vice-President Bush and including several senior members of the Reagan administration. Although President Reagan pardons Bush himself, almost 20 members of this administration still face jail time, and the vote to impeach Reagan barely fails in the Senate.

in 2002, the robot ship carrying Professor Thomas and Air Force Captain Trent Laughlin lands on a large moon in orbit around a gas giant. Professor Thomas hastily transmits the coordinates to Dr. Courtney, and then tells Laughlin, “Prepare yourself. I have no idea what's waiting for us here.”

in 2004, during a lesson on contacting the spirit world, Chelsea Perkins feels the touch of someone who claims to be her grandfather. She begins conversing with him every day, asking him questions about her family and about what her life is going to be like.

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!


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?


Buy my stuff at Lulu!
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

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

No comments:

TIAH Editor says we'd like to move you off the blog, if you're browsing the archives - and most people are - more than half of them are already on the new site. We need to be sure the new web site accomodates your archive browsing needs because we don't want to lose any readers. Please supply any feedback or comments by email to the Editor and please note the blogger site is shutting on December 1st.