Virginians Take Fort Duquesne

May 28th, 2006

in 1754, British colonials capture the French-owned Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania. It is a stunning success for the Virginian militia, which results in only one death on their side, their commanding officer, Lt. Colonel George Washington. The young colonel's family is given the land around Fort Duquesne as a reward by the crown.

in 4558, Emperor Min-Yuan granted freedom to the vassals of the west. It was a controversial move that caused the Viet and Siamese people to attempt secession; in the war that followed, the Viet were almost wiped out, and the Siamese eventually switched sides back to the Empire.

in 1899, Thomas Edison announced the new Eddie for a new century, the Mandarin. The 20th century line of Eddies was named after orange varieties, and proved to be very popular; the cost was down to that of a new car, and they were the size of a large car. Edison vowed that with the Orange line of Eddies, by the end of the next century, an Eddie would be the size of a desk. Skeptics abounded.

in 1910, the Q’Bar sign the terms of surrender at the Barnard’s Star talks. They will be moving their entire race from the Mlosh home system to the Kantar star system, a move financed by the Jovian Mlosh, although Mlosh from across the system donate money to the cause. There is riotous celebration in all Mlosh communities after this victory.

in 1963, Comrade Elvis Presley, People's Attorney for the Soviet of Tennessee, declared that counter-revolutionary Lee Harvey Oswald had not acted alone in the assassination of Comrade President Rosenberg the year before. His far-reaching investigation was quashed by the Federal Soviet.

in 1961, Amnesty International, an underground organization dedicated to documenting human rights abuses across German-dominated Eurasia, is founded by British lawyer Peter Benenson. Benenson is killed by the German Reich later in the year, but A.I. continued to go on, at least slowing the international acceptance of the Reich’s abuses.

in 1965, a coal mine explosion that kills hundreds of people in the Indian city of Dharbad becomes the catalyst for Indian research into alternative fuels. With India's vast labor pool and native talent motivated as never before, they are able to eliminate the usage of coal and gasoline by 1993, turning their economy into the envy of the world.

in 1995, an earthquake levels the Russian town of Khabarovsk, and in particular smashes a temple that had been erected 5 centuries before by Baron Mikhail von Heflin. From across the world, he senses what has happened and rushes back to the old country.

in 1998, the largest wave of mergers and acquisitions to ever sweep through American businesses hits Wall Street. After the dust clears, all American businesses that are publicly traded on the stock exchange are owned by either SuperUltraMegaCorp or MicroPepExCo. Pleas for the government to step in and enforce anti-trust laws are ignored as the two super corporations own virtually every congressman in Washington.

in 2004, Marjorie Adams visits the Smartnet node at UCLA to see if she can piece together some of the things her dead father had hinted at in his correspondence with her were true. After speaking with Doug Barrister, the new Smartnet Administrator, she is somewhat reassured, but something about Barrister doesn’t sit well with her. She plans a return visit to UCLA – with some hacker friends.

Timelines in today's post: the Chinese Empire, Edison Steampunk, the Mlosh, the GZR, Communist America, von Heflin and The Smartnet Timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Elvis Presley 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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