Disposal Duty

July 31st, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Personal Note: I don't talk about my personal life that often here, but today's going to be an exception. Last night, I went to an audition for a musical - Grease, specifically hoping to be cast in the Guardian Angel role, the one that Frankie Avalon played in the movie. I was called almost immediately and sang Beauty School Dropout a little shakily, but OK. Then, I sat and looked at all these kids, almost all of whom I was old enough to parent, or even, God help me, grandparent, and I thought about my own life in the theater. I started acting when I was 12, and have appeared in several dozen productions since then, acting alongside pros and amateurs alike. When I lived in Paris, I put on my own one-man show. Before I started dating my wife, I was in something like 6 productions in a row at the local theater. Since then, though, I've only been in one show, and that was mainly so that my wife could see me act. Sitting in that theater last night, I realized that I'd lost the fire that I used to have.
It actually started coming on me in the production I was in when I met my wife the second time around (another story I'll have to tell sometime). Except for a couple of old friends of mine, most of the cast was a bunch of jerks, and it really soiled the experience for me. I used to love performing in the theater – I relished auditions and the crushing of my competition beneath the heels of my superior talent. I lived for the applause, for the occasional notice of the critics, the respect of my peers. But, this production made me look at my peers differently. The local theater used to pride itself on a professional attitude. This cast treated the performance like a frat party, and not the fun Animal House kind, but the sick, twisted, Lacrosse-team-at-Duke University kind.
So, after the next production, I took a break, and that was when I started dating my lovely bride. We were married 7 months after our first date (true love waits for no one!), and a couple of months later, she convinced me to audition for another show, because she had never seen me act. It was an OK show, but there was a major problem with dropped lines from several cast members. I used to be in an improv troupe (another long story), so I can talk my way out of any sticky situation on stage, but this just added to the sense of ennui I felt about the theater.
Since then, I haven't been in any shows. I still look at the production schedule for the local theater companies, and think about showing up for something that looks fun, and when I saw that the auditions for Grease were open last night, I thought, maybe 10 years is a long enough break. But, instead of the rush I always felt from auditioning, I just thought about the time I was going to be giving up – not seeing my daughter every night, not hanging around with my wife, not being able to game with our friends on Wednesdays – and I just realized that it was no longer worth it to me. I made my apologies to the director and left.
I turn 42 in 2 weeks. When I was the age of most of the kids in that theater, I thought that, by this time, I'd be living in Hollywood with my Oscars. But, now that I've done Hollywood, (another long story), I find that I prefer the life of the writer. I'm my own boss and I set my own hours. I wouldn't rule out performing again, but probably only something I've written myself. It makes sense to me. Writing was my first love, and has been a more faithful companion (and more lucrative) than my acting paramour. It feels a little odd to let that side of myself go, though. It defined me for so long that I can't say how I feel about no longer having it around. A little old, yes. But, satisfied.
Anyway, enough of my maudlin personal life – on with the Alternate History, following the limey line...

Jimmy Hoffa	In 1975, a chance discovery occurred at the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. A waitress on disposal duty discovered a napkin tucked in the leather upholstery of a dining booth. The cryptic message "THEY RULE" was written upon it. The deep indents from a ball point suggested a state of nervous tension in the writer.
Terrified the waitress travelled to her Detroit suburb home, said nothing. Scared. Very scared. She was aware that on the previous day, Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa had disappeared from the parking lot of the restaurant. Realised that the production of the napkin could raise questions about her part in the event. Worried how the Police could have missed it, worried they might believe the napkin was actually passed to her directly. Knew that Hoffa had worked tirelessly for the labour movement. Went to bed and stared at the ceiling for most of the night. Suffered a dreadful dream in which Hoffa was sitting dead in the dining booth, looked up from the menu, said “They rule, you know?”. Woke up and ran to the wash room, stomach convulsing. Sick. Very sick.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1957, Sir Winston Churchill died in his London home at Hyde Park Gate at the age of 82. His wife Lady Clementine Churchill and other members of the family were at his bedside. His political career began as a Conservative MP for Oldham in 1900 - but he became disaffected and joined the Liberals in 1906. He was First Lord of the Admiralty during World War I - but shortly afterwards switched sides again, to rejoin the Conservatives in 1924. Much to his own surprise, he was made Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's government, ordering the disastrous return to the Gold Standard. He came into his own during World War II. He became prime minister in May 1940. His ceaseless energy, unflinching determination to beat the enemy and an ability to make great speeches, inspired the entire nation and eventually helped win the war. He retained power in 1945 after a surprise general election result brought the Conservatives Party to government. During the election, Churchill pledged that he would "not preside over the dissolution of His Majesty's Empire". Shortly thereafter, Churchill announced that it time was to put a stop to all the nonsense spread by that half-naked fakir and followers, dissolving the Indian Congress and gaoling Gandhi, Nehru, Vinoba and many others. Indians were then expelled from positions in the Civil Service and critical industries. The expense of these draconian measures caused a run on the pound and an economic crisis that forced the British to quit the Raj. Unable to accept that Gandhi could defeat him where Hitler failed he retreated into alcohol. Failing health forced Churchill to step down as Prime Minister in 1955. He continued as a backbencher until his death, an increasingly isolated figure speaking out against Harold Macmillan's Winds of Change policy. ~ alternate obituary from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to re-examine the significance of a controversial historical figure.

In 1994, newly elected Labour Leader Bryan Gould attended a most distasteful dining appointment at the Granita restaurant in Islington, London. His guest was the so-called arch-moderniser representive Prince of Darkness Peter Mandelson. Gould explained his plans for New Labour, a return to a values-based agent of change for the Country. He also indicated that he saw no role for either the perenially upbeat lawyer Tony Blair or "son of the manse" Gordon Brown. Or indeed Blair's wife, who had until recently entertained a fantasy she would be a First Lady. Of course that was if her husband won the Leadership election as was widely anticipated. This policy-before-presentation leadership style was in sharp contrast to his predecessors John Smith and Neil Kinnock. In order to give a fresh vitality to Labour's image, both former Leaders had paraded the Blair-Brown duo on television since the mid-1980s. Privately, Gould felt threatened by the arch-modernisers right up until they were expelled from the party in 1999, as a result of the outcry created by the documentary the "Blair Witch Project".

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2009, the TV networks presented episode twenty of So What If?. Historian Michael Orgill examines General Douglas MacArthur's invasion of China against orders and how he later set himself up as US dictator.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Eddie Cochran	That guitar's fine looking man woh it's something else ~ Lyrics to “Something Else” - Click to Play Sample
Master or servant?

Cochran describing the incredible powers of his favourite instrument, the Gretsch 6120 electric guitar. On the night of Saturday April 16, 1960, at about 11:50 p.m. while on tour in the United Kingdom, Cochran died in a traffic accident in a taxi travelling through Chippenham, Wiltshire, England on the A4. He was 21. The taxi crashed into a lamp post on Rowden Hill. There was no other car involved. A plaque erected there shows the actual spot. He was taken to St. Martin's Hospital, Bath, but died at 4:10 p.m. the following day. Songwriter Sharon Sheeley (Cochran's fiancée) and singer Gene Vincent survived the crash. The taxi driver, George Martin was convicted of dangerous driving, fined £50, disqualified from driving for fifteen years and sent to prison for six months. The car and other items from the crash were impounded at the local police station until a coroners' inquest could be held. At that time, David Harman, later known as Dave Dee of the band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, was a police cadet at the station, and taught himself to play guitar on Eddie's impounded Gretsch. An unknown rock 'n' roll fan called Mark Feld had carried the same guitar to the limo from a London gig the night before. Feld later changed his name to Marc Bolan and became one of the stars of the British Glam Rock scene of the 1970s. Marc Bolan also died in a car crash in 1977. The full lyrics are available at A1 Tracks

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

South Island	In 1512, at Te Whenua o Te Potiki-Tautahi (Christchurch, NZ) a Ngai Tahu chief performed certain rituals to connect to the Mesh, that global network of First Nation consciousness founded in Manna-hata, Turtle Island in 1492. In so doing, the south island of Te Wai Pounamu became a sub-node of the Dreamtime, the 40,000 Aboriginal ..
.. civilization on the mainland continent known to the European tourist as Australia.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1945, Pierre Laval, fugitive former leader of Vichy France, slipped through patrols by Allied soldiers in Austria to escape Europe. He fled to Argentina where he was assisted by Kameradenwerk (German for "comrade work"), the secret organization of former SS and Nazi officers formed after World War II.	Pierre Laval
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Idlewild	In 1948, at Idlewild Field, New York International Airport was dedicated. The Airport was later renamed Ronald Reagan International Airport after John Hinckley, assassinated the Gipper in 1981.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1964, Ranger 7 sent back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes. Regrettably the images did not reveal the space/time disturbance on the southern Sea of Tranquillity. Five years later the vortex was to send the Apollo 11 mission back ..	Ranger 7
.. through time to the night before the Battle of Tours. Commander Neil Armstrong was less worried that the in-craft time device was reporting 9th October 732; of greater concern was the sight of Frankish and Burgundian troops about to decamp with their heads down in abject defeat. The following day these soldiers must put a final stop to the Arab invasion of Europe, without which, there would be no Western Europe and no America!
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Texas Troubles

July 30th, 2007

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The Announcement

Sheep were so stupid.
Djari hated sheep. He hated having to watch them, having to shear them, having to herd them and protect them. He especially hated having to eat them, which he was doing right now. The meat was tough, and there was still some wool on it. It made him feel like he was biting one of them while it was still alive. His stomach churned at the thought of it, and he put the leg back on the hot stones to warm up some more.
Most of the sheep were asleep; it was late at night, and he had been driving them all day, so they were tired. He understood the feeling. He felt the exhaustion in his bones. His father and brother would normally be here, as well, but his brother was tending to a sick child and his father was tending to a sick calf. So, he was going to have to wait until the sheep were back home before he slept.
He shifted on the rocks, trying to find a comfortable spot. There wasn’t one, but hope sprang eternal. The lamb sizzled by the fire, and the smell wafted away on the wind. He almost hoped it would bring something hoping to catch dinner; he could stand some excitement. The stars drifted above him, and he looked for the warrior his father had told him about once; he had been so great that Allah couldn’t take him from the earth, so he was placed in the stars to always watch over the faithful. The warrior always comforted him on nights like this.
He started awake; something had spooked the sheep, and they were bleating and milling about. He cursed at himself for falling asleep, took up his staff, and waded into the herd to see what the matter was.

Maybe you didn't treat me Quite as good as you should have Maybe you didn't love me Quite as often as you could have Little things you should have said and done You just never took the time
Elvis Presley	You were always on my mind Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died I'll give you, give you one more chance To keep me satisfied, satisfied ~ Lyrics to “Always on My Mind” - Click to Play Sample
Cuckold

Reference has often been made to Presley's allegedly numerous conquests. According to eyewitness Byron Raphael, who worked for Presley's manager, the star even had a secret one-night stand with Marilyn Monroe. In reality, the King was celibate and dated famous women solely for presentational purposes as a red-blooded American icon. Peter Guralnick's two-volume biography of Elvis Presley Last Train to Memphis concludes simply “he wasn't really interested”. Trouble was this acting continued into his marriage to Priscilla Beaulieu. And jealousy was to have fatal consequences. In his wife's biography Elvis and Me she confesses to being a “wild child”, indulging in an affair with a mutual acquaintance - Mike Stone, a karate instructor. Elvis raged obsessively: "There's too much pain in me... Mike Stone [must] die. The full lyrics are available at Upper Cut Music

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1947, T.E. Lawrence was murdered by the underground Jewish group Lehi. Lawrence and Count Folke Bernadotte who also died, had been appointed United Nations Security Council mediators in the Arab-Israeli conflict and were making considerable progress which now appears to have been scuppered by extremists. Lawrence was born in North Wales in 1888 and educated at Oxford High School and Jesus College, Oxford. From 1911 to 1914 Lawrence worked as an archaeologist in the Middle East for the British Museum excavations team in Northern Syria. On 1st November 1914 the Ottoman Empire declared war on Great Britain. In 1915 he was posted as an intelligence officer to Cairo and subsequently travelled to Hejaz to assess the leadership and prospects of the Arab revolt. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is a description of his liaison role between British and Arab forces. Lawrence was determined that the wartime promises of self government made to the Arabs by the British government would be honoured. He helped achieve settlements he considered honourable in Iraq and Jordan. Lawrence returned to England in 1918 and subsequently advised Faisal I, then King of Syria (1918-1920), at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and worked in the Middle East Department of the Colonial Office in 1921. In 1922 he enlisted in the ranks of the RAF as John Hume Ross to avoid public attention. He adopted the name T.E. Shaw by deed poll in 1927. Lawrence served for 12 years, latterly working to develop RAF rescue launches which saved thousands of lives in World War II. In 1935, aged 46, he narrowly escaped death in a motorcycle accident. Desperately needing an inspirational leader for the North Africa campaign, in 1940 Churchill re-appointed Lawrence of Arabia as Commander of the British Eighth Army where he defeated Rommel's Afrika Corps and Italian allies. Less publicly, he also executed a cadre of Egyptian officers who had been attempting to rid North Africa of Britain's presence. Gamal Abdul Nassar, Anwar el-Sadat and Hosni Said Mubarak were just three of the many “traitors” who were found mysteriously floating face down in the River Nile. After the war, Lawrence was instrumental in the creation of the state of Israel, and the key decision to hand the Canal Zone and the British bases over to David Ben-Gurion. Lawrence remained a powerful agent of change in the region until his tragic death.

~ alternate obituary from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to re-examine the significance of a controversial historical figure.

In 2009, the TV networks presented episode nineteen of So What If?. Historian Barry Malzberg was interviewed in January 1975 and considered the consequences of Nixon's 1960 election as President and what might have happened if Kennedy had been elected.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Luz Long	"It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler... You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the twenty-four kilates friendship that I felt for Lutz Long at that moment. " ~ Jesse Owens at the Games of the XI Olympiad
German Olympic athlete

Jesse Owens on being advised and congratulated by Luz Long at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Carl Ludwig "Lutz" Long was a German Olympic athlete, most notable for giving advice to his competitor, Jesse Owens. Owens went on to win the gold medal for the broad jump, now referred to as the long jump, event at the 1936 Summer Olympics thanks to Long's advice. For his actions in the spirit of sportsmanship, Long was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal after fighting in Sicily and dying in a British military hospital.

~ quotation Steve Payne: this incredible event has not been modified by the Co-Historian

Jimmy Hoffa	In 1975, on this day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. Hoffa took over the presidency of the Teamsters in 1957, worked tirelessly to expand the union and in 1964 succeeded in bringing virtually all North American ..
.. over-the-road truck drivers under a single national master freight agreement. Hoffa then pushed to try to bring the airlines and other transport employees into the union. This was of great concern to the United States government and business as a strike involving all transport systems would be devastating for the national economy. Richard Nixon decided to act, authorising the White House Special Investigations Unit known as the Plumbers to abduct Hoffa and bury him under Giant Stadium.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2002, the accounting law referred to as "The Sarbanes Oxley Act" (Pub. L. No. 107-204, 116 Stat. 745, also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called SOX or Sarbox; July 30, 2002) was signed into law by United States President George W. Bush. The Public Company ..	Signing of SOX
.. Accounting Oversight Board was charged with overseeing, regulating, inspecting, and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies. The board found malpractice in the leadership of Haliburton and Texas Rangers by George W Bush and Dick Cheney respectively. Both the President and the Vice-President were hoisted by their own petard.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

England Victorious..	In 1966, at Wembley Stadium, host nation England won the Football World Cup. After ..
.. drawing 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes, England beat Germany 4-2. The winners medals were awarded by members of the British Royal Family, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Patriots were troubled by how much time the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh spent sympathising with defeated coach Helmut Schön, a conversation that was of course made in rapid and fluent German.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1619, in Jamestown, Virginia, the first representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convened for the first time. Later, after the American Revolution, institutional development resulted in the General Assembly which governs the Commonwealth of Virginia to this day.	House of Burges..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Dylan Dies

July 29th, 2007

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The Announcement

Drac pulled up the image of the young woman and displayed her on the desk. "And, what happens to dear Melissa when you take her place?"
"I'm afraid she dies."
"Tyr Weapons Systems." He tapped his head. "That's a whole universe of pain and death. Is the price you're getting worth it?"
"I think so."
"Can I be traced through you?"
"Anything is possible, Drac. I can't give you complete assurance on that."
He nodded. Whether he could be traced was a matter of his skill versus those of his opponents, and not up to her. "Who hired you?"
"You know I can't tell you that."
"Worth a shot." He thought for a minute, then nodded. "All right. When do you need to start?"
"I need the body complete by the 14th. And, I'll need to give you updates on her physical condition up to the 13th. All right?"
Drac shook his head. "I'm starting to think this isn't worth it for me."
Sonja leaned across the desk. "I really need this, Drac. You have no idea how important this is."
He reached across and took her hand. "All right, Sonja. For you. Leave me all the information you have, and I'll begin. Will you be able to transmit the updates, or will security require you to bring me those in person?"
"In person. Some things are too easy to pluck out of the air." She transmitted briefly, and he nodded to acknowledge receipt. Then, she got up and took a step back towards the hole. "Coming with me?"
His dark eyes were poring over the data in front of him, and he shook his head. "No, dear, you go ahead. The hole will let you out. I'm going to begin working on this masterpiece." He waved a hand and the hole opened back for her. When she walked underneath it, she was lifted up and passed through, back into the small booth. When she was back on her feet again, the hole closed over and was covered by the rectangular block - the coffin - that Drac kept to greet his customers.
She stepped through the beads and went back into the bazaar. This time, the wash of desires and noises was a welcome distraction from what she would have to do over the next week, and what would be done after that.

Once she was home, she set up a security field and dropped the personal defenses she had been keeping up since leaving. She was exhausted. She hadn't slept since getting the assignment, three days ago. There had been a lot to do, many people to see, and hundreds of preparations to make. She was pretty sure that she had it all in hand, now, and could let it all coast for a few hours while she rested.
She took off the silver jacket and laid it carefully at the foot of the bed. Then, she slid out of her boots and socks, lining them up carefully where her feet would fall when she swung her legs out of the bed. Off came her pants, and they were folded neatly and set on the chair within easy reach. She left on her blouse because she didn't like to sleep topless. She folded back the sheets, slid in, and covered up. The room saw that she didn't want to stay up, so the lights dimmed and the temperature dropped to make her comfortable. Within seconds, she was asleep.
Seconds later, a persistent tickle at her ear woke her up. "What is it?" Her eyelids fluttered open, and a man stood at her bedside, admiring her sleeping form. She drew the sheets a little more tightly around her. "What do you want, Gil?"
"You, of course, Sonja, but a little progress report would do for now."
"I'll give it to you after I've had a chance to sleep for a few hours." She waved a hand at him and pulled the cover over her head. "Go away."
His head lowered within inches of hers. "Our employer wants to know where we stand. This kind of man doesn't wait, baby."
"We're on track. Goodbye."
"Details, Sonja."
"Matilda," she muttered to her computer, "what level of privacy am I on?"
"Emergency calls only, mum," the soft english voice replied.
"Sonja, the guy hasn't heard from you in 3 days. He is friggin' threatening to have the Militia come in and torture me. You know I can't take real pain."
She pulled back the sheet and stared into Gil's eyes. They were bloodshot, as always - Gil never did take care of his appearance - and they were worried. He looked almost as bad as she felt. "Look, Gil, I've got the preparations made, the switchover will take place as planned on the 13th. Now, I need eight hours of sleep, or I'm going to die."
"Who are you using for the prep? He wants to know."
She narrowed her eyes. "He doesn't get to know, Gil. My sources remain anonymous to everybody - even big money types."
"Sonja..."
"Gil, I'm cutting you off now. If you call me back before eight hours is up, you won't have to worry about being tortured by the Militia."
"You'll give me everything then, though, right?"
She was really regretting ever coming to work with the little weasel. "Yes, Gil. Now you go bye-bye. Matilda, total privacy."
"Yes, mum." Gil's image blinked out, and Sonja settled back again. "Shall I play some music for you, mum? You seem somewhat tense."
"Sure." A few strains of folk music played out over her, and she breathed deeply. "This had better work." She flipped over on her side, trying to get more comfortable. "Hey, Matilda, was that call monitored?"
"There wasn't any discernible trace, mum."
"Can you analyze any unusual traffic that may have piggy-backed on Gil's signal and let me know?"
"Of course, mum." Matilda was silent for a minute, leaving the soothing pipes to work their magic on Sonja. She was almost asleep when Matilda came back. "There was a slight bulge in the amount of data being transmitted, mum, but I couldn't trace where it came from or where it went. The probability is that the call was being monitored."
"Damn it." Gil had been told to make the call and get information from her, and their employer was listening in. "I hate it when people don't trust you. A contract is a contract." She fussed and fumed mentally for a couple of seconds, then asked, "Can you tap into Gil, and find any residuals left in his area?"
"I'll try, mum. But, for what purpose?"
"If you can pick up a residual from anyone associated with Tyr Weapons Systems, bring it back, isolate, and culture it. Then work up an antidote."
Matilda paused, and hesistantly said, "Tyr Weapons Systems is known very widely for their security, mum."
"I have a lot of faith that you can break that reputation, Matilda."
"Very well, mum."
Sonja's exhaustion was weighing very heavily on her. "I've still got to get some sleep. Matilda, keep me posted of any emergencies, but let me sleep uninterrupted for at least five hours if you can. All right?"
"Yes, mum."
She covered herself again and closed her eyes. Everything was abuzz inside her, but she forced that all down. She called up the morpheus image she'd had planted to help her relax.
A muscular man's hands ran down her body, unclenching each muscle, relaxing all her nerves. Then, those wonderful hands smoothed away her hair and massaged her temples, and her breathing deepened. Her eyes closed, but the hands kept working their magic, flying to any part of her that needed to be soothed, and caressing away her cares and tensions. In minutes, she was asleep.
She really liked morpheus.

Five hours later, Matilda woke her with a gentle ringing bell. She sat up in the bed and stretched, feeling much better than she had in three days. She would have liked more, but she got enough to keep her going for a while.
"Find out anything, Matilda?"
"I have four different residuals that I am attempting to cultivate. They are all from different systems inside Tyr, and one of them is being very nasty about being held and cultured."
"Work on that one. I think it'll probably be the most helpful to the task we have at hand."
Matilda almost sighed. "I will try, mum, but you have no idea how difficult it's being."
Sonja smiled at the old girl. "I'm sorry, Matilda, but please do your best. This could make our lives a lot easier."
That almost-audible sigh again. "Yes, mum."

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian border Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence made a fateful decision for England and his family. The letters he had written between 1931 to 1934, posing as his own Uncle to John Bruce were a threat to his family. A threat to his missionary brother, and anchoress mother who had already lost two sons to the war. The shame washed over him. He swalled two quinine tablets, to disguise his sweating as malaria. Yet he had given his word to do his best for his Arab allies. Before November 1917, he would have consulted with his God, but God was no longer speaking to Thomas Edward Lawrence. "Publish and be damned" he told Skorzeny.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of Susan Shwarz original content has been made to celebrate the author's commanding genius.

Hey Joe Where you goin' with that gun in your hand? Hey Joe I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand? Well, dig it! I'm goin' way down south, way down south,(Hey) way down south to Mexico way!
Jimi Hendrix	Alright! (Joe) I'm goin' way down south, (Hey, Joe) way down where I can be free! you better run on down! (where you gonna...) Goodbye everybody. Ow! ~ Lyrics to “Hey Joe” - Click to Play Sample
Dead Man Walking

Guadalajara 1969 ~ Hendrix apocalyptic warnings about President Richard Nixon (codename “Joe”) and his covert operation to suppress the counter-culture had been largely ignored as paranoia until J. Edgar Hoover had terminated the Woodstock Music Festival on July 6th 1969. Within the next two years, many of the icons of the counter-culture including Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jim Hendrix had mysteriously died and those warnings were seriously re-evaluated. Counter-insurgency techniques planned for the VietCong were turned on American youth as the white suburbs of America became strategic hamlets. Which made perfect sense, some times you have to destroy the village to save it. Greenwich Village included. The Lyrics are available at Lyrics Freak

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1970, António de Oliveira Salazar had been dead for just forty-eight hours. Dramatic changes that had been held in check for many years were now unleashed; Portugal was no longer “Proudly Alone”. Immediate pressure for independence emerged from nationalists in Mozambique and Anglola. The most fevered speculation focused on the west coast of India. The Administration in Goa faced the very real prospect of losing the whole subcontinent, the Jewel in the Crown of the Portugese Colonial Empire. ~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2009, the TV networks presented episode eighteen of So What If?. Historian Mackinlay Kantor reviewed the history of the USA, CSA and Republic of Texas after the death of Grant on the way to Vicksburg and how Lee won at Gettysburg.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1967, explosion and fire on U.S. navy carrier Forrestall in Tonkin bay left 134 US servicemen dead. A Zuni rocket was accidentally fired from an F4 Phantom parked on the starboard side of the flight deck aft of the island. The missile streaked across the deck into a 400 gallon belly fuel tank on a parked A4D Skyhawk. The pilot of the Skyhawk was [the later to be] President John McCain of Arizona, he was able to evacuate the plane and got away safely.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Mosi-oa-Tunya	In 1855, from Mosi-oa-Tunya, known to the European as Victoria Falls, Makololo soul-deeps promoted the continent of Ifriquia to a mega-node in the Mesh, the global network of First Nation consciousness founded in Manna-hata, Turtle Island in 1492.
British witness David Livingstone recorded “the scene as so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” The smoke that thunders burst into the Zambezi River as indigenes around the globe celebrated the dawning of a new age of inter-connectivity.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1948, the first Summer Olympics since Berlin 1936 opened in London with the Games of the XIV Olympiad. Several new nations sent teams following territorial alignments either delayed or caused by the Great War. These included East and West Austria, North and South Japan, Palestine and Hindustan.	London 1948
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Bob Dylan	In 1966, the musician Bob Dylan died in upstate New York. Whilst riding his Triumph 500 motorcycle in Woodstock, New York, its brakes locked, throwing him to the ground. The fall broke his neck and he died instantly. He was sadly missed, even though other artists used the master's lyrics.
In the words of the CBS tag, "Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan”.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1981, Lady Diana Spencer married Charles Windsor, Prince of Wales. It was an unhappy marriage for the “Queen of Hearts” which ended with a tragic car crash in 1997, killing the Prince and his lover, Camilla Parker-Bowles. The widow subsequently married Dodi Al-Fayed, finding true happiness at last.	Diana Spencer
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Bazaar

July 28th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Justification: Here's something else new – sorry about all the jumping around lately. I'll settle down on one thing or another before too long. If you have an opinion about which story I should settle down on, email me or leave notes in the comments.

The bazaar smelled terribly, just as it always did. Sonja's nose crinkled for a second, then her filters kicked in, and most of the smell went away. Not all, of course, because some of those smells were capable of bypassing her filters, but at least the worst ones were subdued.
Most of the booths had pheromone attractors, and some of those were bypassing her filters, too. She was glad she had disabled her sex drive before coming. There were bombardment streams at some of the more pushy booths that tried to break into her main interest centers, but she had neural assistants to take care of those.
"This is what you want." The thought popped in, and she felt a great desire to stop at the booth that had supplied it. A second later, that thought was joined by, "This is what you will buy." A second after that, her assistants cleared all trace of that stream from her head. She raised an eyebrow at the expectant storekeep, smirked, then strode away. Several uglier thoughts followed after, which she didn't have to bother killing.
The booth she was heading towards had no need of the flashy ads the others employed. Its owner was an artist known by everyone who needed his talents. He did not wish to attract new customers by artificial means.
Sonja pushed through the beads surrounding his booth and sat on the cushion that faced a man-sized rectangular block. As she sat, the temperature and lighting in the area bounded by the beads instantly changed to what she enjoyed most. Light music began playing, a small piece from the last century that was one of her favorites. He hadn't read her mind to discern it - the booth worked on a thousand subtle clues she dropped as soon as she broke through the beads. Drac never read people's minds unless they asked him to. But the fact that he didn't need to made people respect him all the more.
It also showed that he respected the privacy of others. Whatever happened in Drac's booth was left in Drac's booth. Another great factor in his reputation.
The block began glowing, then slowly warped itself into the shape of a tall man, long and lean, with skin the color of mahogany. The attraction Sonja felt for him had nothing to do with pheromones. "Hi, Sonja. What can I do for you?"
"I've got something pretty hot to trade, Drac." She pulled a thin vial out of her shirt pocket. It was filled with a couple of milliliters of yellowish fluid. "This is Oregon's finest. Militia security culture. Know of anyone with a need to bypass Militia security systems?"
Drac smiled, revealing his fangs. "I can think of a person or two. Is it reproductive?"
She sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, this is it. But, this is enough to treat about a thousand kilos of total mass."
"Until they change cultures."
She nodded, a little disappointed that he caught on that fast. "Right, but they don't do that more than once a month. And they just made the change three days ago, so this culture's going to be good for at least three and a half more weeks."
"Have you got the antidote culture to it?"
"No, you'll have to find some way to clear it out. But, someone of your skills should be able to do that with no problem," she smiled, "right, Drac?"
"Of course, dear. I just needed to know whether I had to knock that off of whatever you want to trade that for." He leaned over to her. "What do you want to trade it for, Sonja?"
"I need a new body."
He looked her up and down. "I've always liked the one you currently have. It would be a real shame to get rid of it."
"I don't have much choice."
He frowned. "No, they never do. Why do you need a body from me? That's a very common function; practically anybody can supply you with culture that'll do that."
"Because I need your skill in creating it."
He snickered. "Why all the flattery, Sonja? Are you in that much trouble?"
"Yes."
He raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be wavering in his decision not to read minds. "Am I going to need that Militia culture myself after this?"
She didn't meet his gaze. "It's possible."
"Well, you've been very bad, indeed, little Sonja." He gestured below him, and a hole opened up. "Let's continue our discussion someplace a little more secure."
Her cushion rose into the air, and she held herself as steady as she could on it. It floated to the hole and dropped through, followed by Drac. As the shopkeep passed the hole, it closed, and they floated in darkness for a moment. Then, Sonja felt her cushion land, and a light came on around them.
They were in a cavernous office, filled with tasteful furniture that was at least two and probably three centuries old. Drac strode over to the desk that filled up half of one wall and seated himself in the throne-like chair behind it. He gestured, and the cushion placed itself and Sonja on an impossibly comfortable chair opposite him.
"You have such wonderful taste, Drac. How much does all of this cost?"
He looked around and ran a few numbers in his head. "More than you will see in your life."
"I don't know about that."
He settled himself down to business. "Why do you need a body from me, Sonja? And what sort of modifications is that body going to have?"
She pursed her lips. She had been working out the particulars for several hours, but had yet to hit on any that worked for her. "Well, I'm going to need a reader screen and at least temporary camouflage cultures." She held up her palm and an image of a woman popped up out of it. The face was angular, with blue eyes and high cheekbones. The hair was short and black. The body was a stylish hourglass, with high definition on the muscles of the legs and arms. "This is what I'll need to look like. She's 1.847 meters tall and weighs 61.013 kilos." An image of fingerprints popped up, followed by a retinal pattern. "This is her ID, and I've got a DNA sample for you to culture that you'll have to match."
"You know, I've always liked you as a blond. I don't know if you'd exhibit the same charm as a brunette." He looked her in the eye. "Who is she?"
"Do you really need to know?"
"I do if it's going to mean trouble for me. I don't like to move my shop; my clientelle know where I am, and the furniture gets scratched in transit." She felt a small pressure at her temples, a warning that he was holding a mental probe ready to use on her. "Tell me."
At least he warned her. Most of the other craftsmen she had considered for this job would have probed her the second she walked into their booths. "She's Ben Harrison's daughter, Melissa. Mr. Harrison is the president of Tyr Weapons Systems in Redmond."

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian border Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence took a massive gamble. Lawrence was a natural risk taker, often driving his motorcycle with such abandon that he betrayed the death wish which had gripped him since his disastrous loss of integrity in November 1917. Actually, in 1935, he had almost died when he had swerved to avoid two small boys and struck a van driven by German agents. Yet these letters he had written between 1931 to 1934, posing as his own Uncle to John Bruce were something else - a threat to his family. A threat to his missionary brother, and anchoress mother who had already lost two sons to the war.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of Susan Shwarz original content has been made to celebrate the author's commanding genius.

In 1970, António de Oliveira Salazar had been dead for just twenty-four hours. Labelling the African Unity Organization a Marxist movement, Salazar had fought the Winds of Change sweeping the southern hemisphere; "Proudly alone" was the motto of his final decade as the dictator of the Portuguese Republic.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

For we who grew up tall and proud In the shadow of the mushroom cloud Convinced our voices can't be heard We just wanna scream it louder and louder louder
Queen	What the hell we fighting for? Just surrender and it wont hurt at all You just got time to say your prayers While your waiting for the hammer to fall ~ Lyrics to “Hammer to Fall” - Click to Play Sample
Apocalyptic Childhood

The apocalyptic influence of the Dropshot War (World War III) and how it affected members of the band and their childhood. The lyrics are detailed in full at at Lyrics Freak

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1940, former New York DA Allister Park and new wife Kuurikwiljor depart the Tawantiinsuujan capital of Kuuskoo in an airwain, a scaled down aircraft with steam engines on either side of the wing. Unexpectedly, the Wheel of If turns once more as the airwain is forced to land in a Mexico City that repelled the conquistadors. The reason for the repulsion is apparent, the City is ruled by an ancient demon of the Aztec world Mictlantecuhtli. The Lord of Mictlan plans to sacrifice the newly weds at the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlanthe very next day..

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Stalin	In 1942, USSR leader Joseph Stalin issued Order No. 227 in response to alarming German advances into Russia. Under the order all Soviet forces retreated behind the armistice line. Comrade Stalin had intended to organise a series of hit and run strikes from Siberia, however his politburo colleagues executed him for betraying ..
.. the revolution due to his cowardly decision to quit Moscow.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1976, in China an earthquake measuring 8.2 magnitude flattened Tangshan, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851. Many people in Tangshan reported seeing strange lights the night before. A thousand chickens reportedly refused to eat and acted wildly, along with several hundred geese who reportedly tried to eat each other ..	Tangshan earthq..
.. in desperation and frustration, and sheer terror. Dogs would not stop barking and goldfish jumped out of their bowls. The source of this catastrophe was not understood at the time. Only later did Earth Scientists discover the extent of the underground damage caused by the Tunguska impact event of 1908, and the south-eastward trajectory of the Neutronium.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Armalite	In 2005, the Provisional English Republican Army (The PERA) called an end to their ..
.. thirty year long armed campaign in Southern England. In so doing they had finally heeded the advice of Taoiseach Éamon de Valera from 1942. During the disastrous State Visit of the 32nd US President, he had responded to Winston Churchill's call to action “Something has to be done”. de Valera argued “The English must now move forward from 1533 and stop arguing about the past”, a reference to Henry VIII actions in breaking with Rome which caused the collapse of English power at the hands of Catholic Europe.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley's British army defeats a much larger French force under Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Yorktown. Wellington had arrived in North America to set the clock back to 1776, and he meant business.	Wellington
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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One Horse Town

July 27th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alt-Hist Intro: This is a time-traveler idea I've had – let me know what you think in the comments!

I went back in time the other day. It was quite an interesting experience. I almost prevented the birth of Hitler, and was an inch away from saving Martin Luther King. And, by the way, it was Oswald, and he was the only gunman. I can say that without fear of contradiction.
I'm not supposed to interfere, but you can't help yourself, really. After all, what's the point of going back if you're not going to try to change things? Time travel is the ultimate wish fulfillment. If you go back far enough, and you know enough, you can be a god.
Marcus had wanted to do that; be a god. He told me that he could bring a few gadgets with him, set up shop in Mesopotamia or someplace like that, and he would never have to worry about anything ever again. I reminded him that modern conveniences like hologames, running water and vaccinations might be missed by someone playing the god for the primitive locals, but he says that he could tough it out. I doubt it.
But, he's been gone for a while now, and I don't think he's coming back. The world hasn't come crashing down around us, so whatever changes he's made, I assume that they've already been taken into account in the time stream. I hope.
That's what we all hope, really. Everybody involved in the project has got to hope that we can't really change the past, at least not in a way that will destroy the present. If we can, then somebody's going to screw us all up any day now.
Maybe they already have.
There are a lot of paradoxes in this line of work, and you really just have to get used to them. I mean, if you try to grasp each set of contradictions that you bring up just by appearing in the past, you'd spend all your time sitting around confused instead of doing something. And that's not very productive.
My main area of focus is on historical accuracy in textbooks. I was the one who got to correct all the assassination buffs who’ve been living on JFK rumors for decades. That was my masterpiece; seventeen cameras along a one mile patch of road in old Dallas. Conclusive proof that the only shots came from the book depository, there was nobody on the grassy knoll, and I got a really good close-up of Lee Harvey himself squeezing the trigger. How they howled. I've now been labeled part of the conspiracy.

In 2006, a series of high-level resignations continued in the Justice Department and at the FBI following the revelations of James Anthony Traficant, Jr. at a press conference in Washington.	James Traficant
A former Democratic Representative in the United States Congress from Ohio, Traficant, Jr. had been recently released from prison after compelling evidence emerged that he was the victim of a government set-up. This included false allegations of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington, D.C. All of which were dismissed at the re-trial.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian border the terrible past finally caught up with Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence. Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny had been sent on a desperate mission by General Rommel, in a last ditch attempt to rescue the Afrika Korps from certain defeat in the North Africa Campaign. Skorzeny presented a series of letters from 1931 through 1934 that Lawrence had written to John Bruce, posing as his own Uncle. The Obersturmbannführer was ordered to either "turn" the Commander of the British Eighth Army, or hand over the letters to Lawrence's Arab allies. The bitter irony of being turned was not lost on Lawrence. "How could you do it?" asked Skorzeny twisting the knife.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of Susan Shwarz original content has been made to celebrate the author's commanding genius.

"Saw a Cadillac for the first time yesterday, I'd always seen horses, buggies, bales of hay `Cause progress here don't move with modern times There's nothing to steal so there's not a great deal of crime It sure is hell living in a one horse town There's half a mile of Alabama mud bed ground
Elton John	Nothing much doing of an afternoon Unless you're sitting in a rocking chair just picking a tune And they ain't too well acquainted with the stars and stripes But if you want to hear Susanna then they'll pick all night They'll pick all night" ~ Lyrics to “One Horse Town” - Click to Play Sample
Exiled Genius

Following revelations about his personal life and flight from Great Britain, Elton John described his isolation in a remote part of Alabama at Lyric Dude

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1970, on this day António de Oliveira Salazar died. He had governed as the de facto dictator of the Portuguese Republic since 1932. During the previous two years he had ruled in name only since suffering a major stroke, forcing President Américo Tomás to effectively replace him with Marcelo Caetano. As a symbol of Portugese unity, the Mocidade Portuguesa (militia) of African, Asian and European ethnicity paid homage at his funeral. Dramatic changes that had been held in check for many years were now unleashed; Portugal was no longer “Proudly Alone”.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, a turn on the Wheel of If had transformed New York DA Allister Park into Celtic Judge Ib Scotlung. Brilliantly discharging the duties of a Pugnacious Peacekeeper through an intricacy of Islam, Park found a peaceful resolution to the border dispute between Tawantiinsuuju and Dar Al-Harb. The young widow and prospective wife, Kuurikwiljor had written down the belief system of Patjakamak for Park's study. This practice was not forbidden yet not encouraged by the Tawantiinsuuju, true believers who memorized Patjakamak. A Zorastrian precedent was applied to recognise non-believers as People of the Book. This redefinition as non-pagans enabled the Emir of Dar Al-Harb to establish peace across the physical barrier of the great river Ooorinookoo.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1948, Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny escaped from an Allied Prisoner of War Camp. With the defeat of Nazi Germany inevitable, Skorzeny had trained, until March 1945, recruits for the stay-behind Nazi organisation, the Werwolves, which engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Allies. However, Skorzeny quickly realized that the Werwolves were too few in number to become an effective fighting force. Instead of this, they were used for the Nazi "ratlines", a secret "Underground railroad" which helped Nazi war criminals escape trial after Germany's surrender. Beside this organisation of the "ratlines," which would form the basis of the supposed ODESSA network after the war, Skorzeny had been employed since August 1944 by high-ranking Nazis and German industrialists to hide money and to loot property, documents, etc., some of which were buried in the mountains of Bavaria, and others shipped overseas. Skorzeny finally decided to surrender to the Allies in May 1945, feeling that he could potentially be of use to the Americans in the forthcoming Cold War. On May 16, 1945, he emerged from the Austrian woods near Salzburg and surrendered to a lieutenant of the US Thirtieth Infantry Regiment. He was held as a prisoner of war for more than two years before being tried as a war criminal at the Dachau Trials for his false flag actions in the Battle of the Bulge. However, he was acquitted when Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas G.C. of the SOE testified in his defence that Allied forces had also fought in enemy uniform. But he was held until he escaped from a prison camp on July 27, 1948. There was one item of property that Skorzeny took with him in his flight to South America. Some documents actually. Letters written by Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, posing as his Uncle, to John Bruce between 1931 and 1934. And also the five missing pages from Lawrence's War Diary, ripped in shame by the author describing his capture in Deraa during November 1917. Documents that would create a spectacular reaction when they surfaced in 1960 during the premiere of the movie Lawrence of Arabia on 16th December 1962.

~ entry from Steve Payne: extensive use of Susan Shwarz original content has been made to celebrate the author's commanding genius.

Windsor Ontario	In 1940, the fleeing British Royal Family reached their safest haven. That being the capital of New Britain established by Arthur Wellesley in 1814, Windsor, Ontario. Nowhere other than this Anglophone pocket in North America would have accepted these desperate refugees. Head of the British Government in Exile, Winston Churchill ..
.. summoned up the situation on their arrival: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was our darkest hour.'”
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1941, Japanese troops occupied French Indo-China. Meanwhile, Mountbatten, Wingate et al. were poised to quit the Far East altogether, taking with them the Indian Divisions of the British Army. These troops were desperately needed in Jerusalem by Bernard Montgomery of British Central Command. Caught in the Middle East between ..	Conquest of Ind..
.. the German and Japanese pincer movement, the British Army prepared for Churchill's Land Stand.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Syngman Rhee	In 1953, following a six-month “surge” US President Douglas MacArthur proclaimed victory in the Korean War. In Seoul, anti-communist Syngman Rhee was declared president of the newly unified Republic of Korea. Rhee's legacy has been in considerable dispute.
In general, conservative circles regard Rhee as the patriarch of the nation, while liberals tend to be critical of him. Shortly before the 1988 Olympic Games it was discovered that Rhee had embezzled over $20m from the government and tributes to the former head of state were cancelled.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1974, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment against President Robert F Kennedy: obstruction of justice. Americans were waking up to the fact that RFK's Special Investigations Unit (“the Plumbers”) had burgled their own Democratic National Committee ..	Richard Nixon
.. Headquarters in an attempt to besmirch Richard M Nixon's reputation. Still, it was just too late for Honest Dick. At sixty years old, he had made two bids for Presidency, and one for the Governorship of California. Even if he had been tricked by the Kennedys, he still had a record of losing.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Nanopolis

July 26th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Note: Here's a fragment from an introduction to a role-playing game I'm writing. Which reminds me – I want to know how many gamers we have reading TIAH. If you're proud of your dice, shout out and let us know!

In the world of Nanopolis, there are the normals, there are the supers, and there are the villains. The villains plague the normals, and the supers plague the villains, and the balance of the universe is right. Deep underneath all of this, though, is The Secret.
There is something that everyone feels is not quite right about the world. The feeling is strongest in Nanopolis, where the concentration of supers and villains is the highest in the entire world. The strongest supers, the mightiest villains, and the most important normals are among the 15 ½ million inhabitants of Nanopolis. It is the largest city on the planet, and the most troubled. It is estimated, (because accurate numbers are impossible to get), that up to .5% of the population is super or villain. That’s an astonishing 77,500 supers and villains! Among the general population, the occurrence of 1 super or villain among 100,000 normals is a freak occurrence; in Nanopolis, it’s 1 in 200.
Because of its reputation as the home of the abnormal, Nanopolis attracts many bizarre people of all three persuasions, and is a tourist mecca that offers the jaded traveler the opportunity of witnessing struggles between beings of God-Like powers. It attracts millions of visitors, and is the center of thousands of businesses. It is definitely a city worthy of being a super-home.
The Secret threatens to bring all this down.
The Secret has been a rumor for thousands of years, when the first divisions of man were noticed and cataloged. Many have sought it; normals because they yearned for the power they heard it would provide; villains for the wealth and control it was rumored to bring; and supers who hunted it to expand the knowledge of man. None have ever found it. At least, none have ever found it and lived.
There was a villain who was supposed to have found it. It was in the golden age, and he had been working for the Nazis. His name was Herr Hammer, and he had been known for 2 things - a Herculean strength and a God-Like intelligence. There are many who believe that if he hadn’t gotten caught up in Hitler’s search for exotic items of occult and religious power, and subsequently disappeared, he would have tipped the balance to the Axis side in the Great War.
Rumors of Herr Hammer popped up, time and again, for 20 years after the end of the war. Then, during the involvement of American troops in Vietnam, an army troop of 100 normals found him. The one who managed to escape told the Patriotic Five of his whereabouts, and they sought to capture him for trial on war crimes. The Patriotic Five was a powerful group; they were easily the match of Herr Hammer, especially since he was in his 60's at this time.
2 members of the Five came out of the jungle. Blue Witch was in a coma, and she died a few weeks later of a cerebral hemorrhage. Percepto, who had carried her out, was not in much better condition. He was checked into a mental institution because he couldn’t stop raving about how the nature of reality was all a lie. The only thing that the doctors believed when he spoke was that they had found Herr Hammer. Percepto is also now in his 60's, still alive, but deteriorating. His once-Legendary mind is all but gone, and his ravings are unheard. The staff at the military hospital in Nanopolis keep tight security around him; no one has ever been told why.
The century has just turned, and the new millennium is beginning. There are challenges for supers everywhere in Nanopolis, and many opportunities for fame and honor. But, also the challenge of The Secret lives on, and until it is revealed, there will always be work for the supers to do...

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian Border a man in Berber dress shouted "Herr Lawrence!". Unsnapping the catch of his holster, Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence strode towards him. "Your guards have not heard of German efficiency." said the man, "No matter, let me introduce myself - I am Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny and I have an important message for you from General Rommel."

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of Susan Shwarz original content has been made to celebrate the author's commanding genius.

"Oh yeah in france a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name By chance his girlfriend came across a needle and soon she did the same
Prince	At home there are seventeen-year-old boys And their idea of fun Is being in a gang called the disciples High on crack, totin' a machine gun” ~ Lyrics to “Sign o the Times” - Click to Play Sample
Dystopian Genius

Describing the unimaginably dystopian America of Prince's imagination at Lyrics Astraweb

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1940, a turn on the Wheel of If had transformed New York DA Allister Park into Celtic Judge Ib Scotlung. Charged with the duties of the Pugnacious Peacekeeper, Park arrived in the Tawantiinsuujan capital of Kuuskoo, on what he thought of as the northern coast of Panama in this America. Whilst participating in the religious celebration of Patjakamak, Scotlung was amongst a crowd attacked by agitating rogue Islamic insurgents of Dar Al-Harb. He saved the life of a young widow, Kuurikwiljor. Maybe, just maybe on this Wheel of If the bachelor Allister Park would finally find a mate, and marry. Even less likely, he thought, he would prevent the agitators from stirring the border dispute between Tawantiinsuuju and Dar Al-Harb into outright war. Park asked Kuurikwiljor to write down the belief system for his study, surprising the Tawantiinsuuju, true believers who memorized Patjakamak

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 2009, the TV networks presented episode seventeen of So What If?. Historian Philip Guedalla examined the defeat of Ferdinand's army at Lanjaron in 1491. An overview of the long history of the great, enlightened Kingdom of Granada follows the Moors' victory in Spain.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Esperanto book ..	In 1887, L. L. Zamenhof published "Dr. Esperanto's International Language" in Russian on July 26 in Warsaw, and over the next couple years later editions were published in Russian, Hebrew, Polish, French, German, and English. Zamenhof declared, "an international language, like a national one, is common property."
Zamenhof signed the work as "Doktoro Esperanto" and the title Esperanto stuck as the name of the language which, in Esperanto, means "one who hopes". The fathers of the 1919 Peace Conference in Paris needing hope for a shattered continent. They saw clearly the opportunity to build a new Europe around a common language, building the foundations for today's Komunumo (community).
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1945, the Labour Party won the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide. Decisively beaten, Churchill and the Conservatives were generally considered to have run a poor campaign in comparison to Labour; Churchill's statement that Attlee's program would require a Gestapo-esque body to implement was then considered to have been particularly poorly-judged.	Big Brother
However, like so many of Churchill's statements, it was extremely far-sighted. George Orwell's described this most authoritarian of regimes in his brutal political satire 1948, with Big Brother a thinly disguised reference to Clement Attlee.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Moncada Barrack..	In 1953, Freedom Fighter Fidel Castro died leading an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus ending the Cuban Revolution. The remaining rebels were tried and sentenced for their role in the attack, Che Guavera giving a four hour speech, concluding with the words "Condemn me.
It does not matter. History will absolve me", in his defense. They were released after an amnesty in 1956.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1968, US President Hubert Humphrey accepted the proposals of South Vietnamese opposition leader Truong Dinh Dzu advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war. The coalition rooted out the corruption which had bedevilled the Republic of Vietnam, leading to a resurgence in ..	Humphrey
.. support from the population. A formal peace treaty was concluded at Paris the next year as Hanoi recognised the reduced prospect of victory over a more formidable neighbour.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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