Monday, December 05, 2005

Mozart Poisoned; Prohibition Ends

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: One of today's entries has something a little different, a link to a longer document which gives more space to the entry. Please let us know if you like that by leaving a comment or emailing us.

December 5th, 2005

in 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a minor composer living in Vienna, Austria, was poisoned by Court Composer Antonio Salieri. The crazed Salieri claimed that Mozart had been the voice of God, and the court composer went insane from jealousy over it. Austrian Emperor Joseph II reluctantly committed his favorite composer to an insane asylum for the rest of his days.

in 1842, famed French ballerina Ki’Ktoma dies in Paris. One of the first Mlosh generation born on earth, Ki’Ktoma had fallen in love with human music and demonstrated a grace that was, literally, out of this world. Her performances were famed throughout Europe, and she danced until she was nearly 100 years old, giving her final performance in 1818 in Paris.

in 1902, President Strom Thurmond was born in South Carolina. During the period when the KKK forbade its membership from joining the American Bund, Thurmond was the only choice for American voters unwilling to allow the influence of the German New Reich into American politics; the lesser of two evils.

in 1929, the American League for Physical Culture spread their German nudist philosophy to the United States. The small club of nudists founded in Peekskill, New York soon became a larger club with chapters across the country. The philosophy of naturalism has become so common that clothing is entirely optional in most places in America.

in 1933, Utah State Representative Beauregard T. Jackson casts the deciding vote to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, ending Prohibition.

in 1945, a Naval squadron of planes, on a training mission off the coast of Florida, disappears. Richard Tolman, cult-leading physicist, says that he can find them using his technique of searching parallel dimensions. After fruitless days of searching, the Navy turns to him, and he is able to bring the squadron back out of the parallel universe they had fallen into. News of this is quickly suppressed.

in 1956, Thornton Wilder’s dark, surreal tragedy Matchmaker debuts on Broadway in New York City. The questioning of gender roles that comprise the core of the play almost got it banned from the stage, but more recent audiences have hailed it as ground-breaking.

in 1978, the Soviet States of America and the island nation of Jamaica sign a “friendship treaty”, renewing the ties that the two nations had enjoyed under the old Community of Trade. It unfortunately draws the S.S.A. into Jamaica's civil war which erupts the next year, and proves disastrous for America's international position.

in 2002, just as Professor Thomas and Captain Laughlin are about to destroy the ship carrying them, Dr. Courtney and several Air Force crewmen, an alien vessel appears alongside the craft and beams several people in. They are able to subdue Thomas and Laughlin, and assist in repairing the ship. Dr. Courtney thanks them profusely in their native tongue, and sets course back for earth.

in 2003, a crowd of Londoners sees Estelle Gerard walking across the Thames to save a man who had been thrown in by Templars. As she holds the man in her arms, she stands on the water and preaches the famous Sermon on the Thames to the astonished crowd. Even the Templars watching from the banks are moved by her beautiful words, and all become her new followers. Each day, the rank of the Estellians grows, and Pope Righteous I will soon attempt to put a stop to that.


Christmas Day Contest! ONLY 15 DAYS LEFT!! 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!

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Because the main part of the site is little news-like snippets, the fiction doesn't quite sit right... sorry

Alien Truther said...

I see your point. I may actually be making a switch-over to where the site is mainly long fiction, but if you guys would prefer the standard format, my mind will change. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your comment.

Anonymous said...

I guess you want to showcase your fiction :) Otherwise, I'd suggest writing a sort of longer newspaper-article-like additional bit...

Anonymous said...

tihuy

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.