Saturday, May 06, 2006

Defeat At Gaghra; Surrender Of Madagascar

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: we have our second anniversary coming up on May 27th, and we would like to have another contest. For our second anniversary, send us up to three of your own alternate histories, and we will publish the best - no limit on how many will end up on the final page! We would like to see as many of you enter this as possible, so please - think 'em up, write 'em down, and send 'em on to us at rat4cat@gmail.com! Help us celebrate our 2nd year of existence in style! Oh, and if you're like Sean and we owe you an appearance in TIAH - email us! SEAN - EMAIL - NOW!

May 6th, 2006

in 907, the emperor of the Moguls, Babur, is defeated by a combined force of Afghans and Bengals at the Battle of Gaghra. This stinging rebuke of Islam is not received well by the other Islamic powers of the region, and the Afghans and Bengals are nearly exterminated in the retaliative strike.

in the Dreaming, Anansi returns to the people and spins his web once more out into the heavens. The lost ones have been crying out to him, and he has pitied them at last. With the new webs in the heavens, the lost ones rejoin the people.

in 1856, émigré psychiatrist Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg. After visiting London during his college years, he decided to emigrate and become a citizen of the British Empire, where his theories of the psyche and id met with a receptive audience in Victorian England. Rumors that Queen Victoria herself underwent his brand of therapy were silenced, although she did appear happier after meeting with the doctor than she had at any point since her husband died.

in 1882, Congress refused to bow to racist pressure and shot down a bill that would have halted Chinese immigration into the U.S. for 10 years. This changed the face of the west coast as more and more Chinese came across the Pacific and settled in America and helped build the once-wild west. The cultural clash between the white-bread eastern US and the Asian-influenced west led to the riots of the 1960's that culminated in 1968's Equal Citizenship Act.

in 1915, as their minds break from the pressure of the stray Kainku telepathy, Dr. Argus McCloud and his crew work feverishly on a way to extend the power of the neural neutralizer he developed to let them stay near the alien race. Just as they are losing control, Dr. McCloud hits on a substance in the Kainku water itself that allows them to handle each other's thoughts; with this ingredient mixed in with his neutralizer, Dr. McCloud is able to restore sanity on his shuttle.

in 1937, Greater Zionist Resistance fighters destroyed the Hindenburg, the flagship of the German Underground’s civilian air fleet. The Hindenburg was a passenger jet built with technology from 1968 smuggled through to the G.U. The loss of this jet was a major propaganda blow to the G.U., who had been touting their air craft as invincible.

in 1940, Comrade John Steinbeck wins the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath, a story of migrant workers in southern Europe. Banned in the monarchies, it became one of the most widely-read books in the western hemisphere. Comrade Steinbeck was even nominated for a Nobel Prize before the Swedish monarchy stepped in and squashed the enthusiasm over this “peasant writer.”

in 1985, Chelsea Perkins and Debra Morris run into a young girl who is being bullied in the streets of London and decide to teach the bullies a little lesson. A small spell from Miss Morris sends them running with small dogs from all around the neighborhood yapping at their heels. Chelsea helps the girl gather her things back together and is a little shocked when the girl introduces herself as, “Redding, Patience Redding.”

in 1987, in a huge payoff scandal, Jim Bakker retains his position as the head of the Praise The Lord network. The board of directors of the network reportedly received millions from Bakker, and the stain of corruption pushed the ratings for the network into the cellar. In 1990, they had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

in 1994, the Egyptian military surrendered Madagascar to the South African forces of President Terreblanche. With defeat coming so quickly for the allies in both the African and American theatres of war, gloom lowered over the heads of state in Cairo, Peking and London, and they considered surrender to the right-wing machine of Terreblanche and American President Ralph Shephard.

Timelines in today's post: Islam Ascendant, the Dreaming timeline, the Mlosh, the GZR, Communist America, the Chelsea Perkins timeline and the Ralph Shephard timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect The Hindenburg to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.


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