King Edward VIII Marries

June 3rd, 2006

in 1937, King Edward VIII marries a much younger noble woman, Lady Edwina Goddard, in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey. King Edward had been convinced by several Parliamentary leaders to give up his relationship with the American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, and settle down with a nice English girl. Although to all outward appearances this is exactly what he did, the reality of his relationship with Queen Edwina was that she had little interest in him, preferring the company of other ladies; so, she raised no objections to the continuance of his affair with Simpson. The affair threw the country into turmoil in 1972, when Edward died without having produced an heir by his Queen; Edward's niece Elizabeth claimed the crown at first, but was challenged by Edward and Simpson's illegitimate son, George. The scandal very nearly brought down the monarchy, but Parliament decided to crown Elizabeth. Conservative MP Trenton Stokes famously stated the Parliamentary position on the matter when he muttered, “No bastard is going to sit on the throne of England while I live.”

in 1978, Mark Wilhight is initiated into a strange gang and told that he must never break its Code; Jedediah P. Carver explains the Code to him this way: “You know America and Russia, kid? How they got missiles pointed every which way, but never fired one in 30 years? It's cuz of somethin' called MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction. That's what the Code keeps us from. If we break it, they break it, and pretty soon, none of us are left.” Wilhight is puzzled as to who this mysterious “they” is, and asks. “They're the good guys, kid, the white hats, the super friends, whatever you wanna call 'em. They're the guys whose lives you're gonna make miserable.” Just as Wilhight is feeling good about this answer, he is thrust into a small metal chamber, where he is subjected to a bombardment of lethal radiation.

in 2005, Debra Morris and Terrence Perkins leave Chelsea Perkins at the Great Tree and go into town for a date. “I never knew you in my own timeline,” Miss Morris tells Terrence. “Do you know me well?” He considers for a moment, then says, “A man never really knows a woman well. She's always got something mysterious that she can spring on him.” Miss Morris smiles at this answer, and the two share a quiet dinner before heading back to the Great Tree. Just before they reach it, she asks Terrence, “What about you? Do you have a mystery for me?” He smiles, kisses her lightly on the cheek, and says, “Oh, yes.”

in 2017, the crew of the Eagle, the ship rocketing towards the Pindar-Asaki comet, reaches their destination and pilot Kalpana Sharma delicately guides the ship to a landing on the huge rock. Pindar-Asaki is far more solid than most comets, which is one reason why the international community was concerned enough to send along nuclear weapons in the Eagle's cargo bay. Mission Commander Eileen Patterson tells the small group of specialists, “We have two days to study the comet, but then we're going to need to activate the nuclear weapons in order to move it out of earth's path. We don't have a lot of time, so let's get moving.” The team fans out across the comet from the Eagle, each specialist lost in his or her own study of the great behemoth they are riding on.

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Edward & Mrs. Simpson 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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