Disappearance Of The Sun; Revenge Of The Jedi

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 25th, 2006

in Hellenic Year 3176, Comorus of Thebes makes the sun disappear with his powerful magic. The frightened citizens of Thebes make him their king; his first action is to forbid the teaching of astronomy to any Thebans.

in 1660, George Monck, a general in the Parliamentarian movement in England, assumed the title of Lord Protector from the son of the revolution’s leader, Richard Cromwell, in order to keep their dream of a realm without a king alive. Monck provided the leadership that Cromwell was unable to, and held off the resurgent Monarchists who were determined to restore Charles II to his father’s throne.

in 1787, the formerly united states of the American colonies dissolve the Articles of Confederation. The Articles had been losing their effectiveness since the end of the war in 1783, anyway. Several of the revolutionary war’s heroes attempted to bring the states together again with a convention in Philadelphia, but only 5 states sent delegates.

in 1803, New England’s elder statesman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Emerson was the mentor of the Communist Party’s founder Henry Thoreau, and one of the first public figures to back his young protégé’s ideals after the publication of Thoreau’s and Marx’s Communist Manifesto.

in 1844, New York City’s Stuart Perry patented an engine that ran on gasoline, a refined oil. Because gasoline was so hard to make, the design didn’t make much of an impact until it was modified to use vegetable-based oils; this engine runs most large machinery today.

in 1915, the Ottoman Empire attempts to deport its Armenian population in a brutal program of genocide against the minority, and quickly draws international condemnation, including the cessation of support from its Central Power allies, Germany and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. This causes the Ottomans to rethink their policy and halt the Armenian program.

in 1961, in a somewhat short-sighted effort to save money, President John Kennedy slows down the American space program, cutting funding to everything except the military projects. With their competition removed, the Soviet space program lands a man on the moon in 1972, and enjoys a tactical superiority over the world today.

in 1974, Jim Morrison’s ex-wife Pam died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles, California. Morrison had divorced her after going through drug rehabilitation in 1972, and her drug use had spiraled out of control since then. Morrison had attempted to get her into rehab earlier in the year, but she had refused his help.

in 1983, George Lucas released the last of his Star Wars films, The Revenge Of The Jedi. In spite of hinting at a larger backstory, Lucas never returned to the series, preferring to concentrate on other projects, such as his game and special effects businesses. He also started a computer graphics based animation studio, Pixar, that soon became as synonymous with cartoon excellence as Disney had once been.

in 2004, David Adams, a computer science professor at UCLA, frantically attempts to contact the White House about the Smartnet node he administers at the university in Los Angeles. He dies later that evening as the plane he is flying in to Washington, D.C. crashes in a freak collision at Dulles International Airport.

Timelines in today's post: Communist America and The Smartnet Timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Jim Morrison 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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