What Is Alternate History?

The state of TIAH

June 16th, 2006 - something a little different

What is Alternate History?

From time to time, confused people have emailed the Academy or commented on our posts to tell us that we got this or that historical fact wrong, or to ask us where we got our facts, since we know something different from the “official” record. Usually, we will simply reply by telling them that this is an alternate history site, and therefore what they see recorded here are events that didn't actually occur. One person became so offended by this that he declared himself anti-alternate-history. Our email can be interesting at times.

Some people who do get the concept sometimes feel that a lot of what we do here at the Academy isn't real Alternate History; we introduce aliens, or supernatural events, or give Pete Best talent. It could be said that virtually any fiction could be interpreted as an alternate history, diverging from our own world at some point and in some unknown way. The people who complain about the Mlosh, or neo-Nazi time travel, or Pete Best's inevitable superstardom, have a much narrower definition in mind. For them, Alternate History is focused on either/or moments in actual history, and they only want to see stories about that.

This definition of Alternate History has a long and storied pedigree – Winston Churchill wrote an essay about how different the world would have been if the American Confederacy had lost the Civil War, Newt Gingrich ruined William Forstchen's career with 1945, and there was even a much-bandied about piece in The New Republic about George Bush's removal from office. In this view of Alternate History, the only fictionalizing allowed is that moment of decision – instead of following the pattern of events in our own timeline, the Alternate History goes down the other path, and we have a 20th Century American Confederacy, a triumphant Nazi regime reigning over Europe, or a world where George Bush actually did something besides vacation in his early presidency.

But, no less a giant in the Alternate History world than Harry Turtledove – a real-life historian of our very own timeline – has included fantastic elements such as aliens in his fiction, and made wonderful stories out of this. I would say that if you are limiting Alternate History by placing artificial restrictions on it, you are limiting yourself to a world view that is too narrow, and not opening yourself up to all of the possibilities that lie in this genre. I'm not going to go so far as to say that all fiction is Alternate History, but I would like to see a wider embrace of supernatural elements within it.

That's our opinion here in the Academy. What do you think? As always, we have the Forum and comments section for you to weigh in on – let us know your definition of Alternate History.

Back to the fiction tomorrow!

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Winston Churchill 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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Washington's Woes

The state of TIAH

August 12th, 2006

in [time unknown], the crews of the Pokor and the Eagle appear back in normal space, but not in the Amandara system. The jump that they made through hyperspace was very unsettling, too, and the entire crew is suffering from unease, dizziness and a strange sense of muscle fatigue. “I feel like somebody's squeezed me through a straw,” Commander Patterson complains. Captain Mawrao, still sluggish from the jump, orders the crew to scan the system they're in to see where they are. The star is a small yellow sun, and they are approximately 30 light-minutes from a habitable planet that resembles Amandara 8. There is another planet about a light-hour out from that one which also seems capable of supporting life, as well as a planet further in towards the sun which looks very lush. A few gas giants orbit the sun beyond these worlds, but none seem to be as life-givingly hot as Amandara, so Captain Mawrao suggests to Patterson that they head to the world they are closest to. She agrees, and the Pokor finds itself a couple of hours later approaching a small brown world that is giving off quite a few radio signals. Monkar, the Quarai translator, begins working to decipher them, and Najib Kasem assists. He finds the language contained in the signals oddly familiar.

in 1776, General George Washington of the rebel American army wrote to General Charles Lee that the problems of smallpox and desertion that he was dealing with were overwhelming, and that the British would probably take advantage of this by seizing New York City. He was correct, and during a British attack on Brooklyn Heights, was captured along with a large number of the Continental Army's officer corps. All of these officers were shipped back to Britain, where they were tried and hanged for treason, demoralizing the American rebel movement. There were still sporadic outbreaks of resistance against British rule, but this horrific defeat completely crushed the American rebellion.

in 2000, a cry for help proves that the Cold War is truly over; the Russian submarine Kursk is hit by an explosion as it goes through a few practice maneuvers in the Barents Sea, and radios out an SOS. American naval personnel respond immediately, and are able to evacuate almost half of the 118 Russian crewmen on board before the Kursk loses all buoyancy and sinks to the bottom of the sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin commends the brave American sailors who came to the aid of the Russian sub and declares, “Now, in the freezing Arctic, we see the final thawing of the Cold War between the United States and Russia. The warmth of this act melts even the hardest of our hearts.” From this point forward, Russia and the US grow closer and cooperate almost fully on international matters.

Get yourself into TIAH!

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The Forum lives again!

Good long fiction from the AH. See a review of Warp at Universe Pathways Magazine

Help the Alternate Historian keep the site from growing stale!
My email address for contacting me with your writing samples, or good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Thanks again!

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Elizabeth, Longfellow Pass On

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: Please send us entries for our next contest, which will be an Alternate April Fool's Day, April 1st, 2006. Just send us the entries for now - we'll decide on a deadline later. (Contest rules) And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

March 24th, 2006

in 1603, the female pope, Elizabeth I, of the Holy British Empire dies in London. In spite of initial trepidation at her rule, she turned out to be one of the greatest Popes the Empire had ever known, expanding Christendom across the oceans and onto all other known continents.

in 1765, the British Parliament passes the Quartering Act, establishing the rules under which British troops can be housed in the American and Canadian colonies. Outrage over the callous way that the mother country treats their property prompts many North Americans to begin thinking of severing their ties to the crown, although only the Canadians are successful.

in 1882, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow of the North American Confederation dies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His Song of M’ch’Ch’mai, about the first Mlosh explorers of the continent, is still hailed today as one of the greatest of the 19th century’s writings.

in 1944, Orde Wingate, a British convert and general in the Greater Zionist Resistance, is shot down by German Reich Luftwaffe over Burma. Wingate had been a natural at guerilla tactics, and joined the G.Z.R. after his own government proved unwilling to fight the rising fascist movement.

in 1964, the Rosenberg half-dollar is issued. Commemorating Comrade President Joel Rosenberg, slain in Dallas two years before, the coin proves wildly popular and the comrade’s face becomes the permanent symbol on the half-dollar the next year.

in 1993, American troops occupy San Salvador, El Salvador. After this small nation falls to the Constitutionalist President Ralph Sheridan, most of Central America surrenders, and South America’s nations brace for war. Brazil immediately seeks assistance from Portugal and asks the rest of Europe to help stem the onslaught of the Constitutionalists.

in 1998, a malfunctioning fire alarm saved a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Assistant Principal Terry Trotter found a young boy, Andrew Golden, yanking on the alarm in order to drive all the students out of the school. After questioning the boy about this, Trotter called the police, who found an accomplice of Golden’s, Mitchell Johnson, in the woods outside the school, with a rifle and extra ammunition. When the police came, he surrendered without a struggle.

in 1999, Republican pressure forces American President Bill Clinton to withdraw from the NATO campaign to halt Yugoslavian aggression in the Kosovo province. Without American air power, NATO forces battle for two years to halt the war in that region, before the return of a Democratic Congress allows President Al Gore to send forces in support of NATO and end the war.

in 2004, Prime Minister Howard of Australia decorates the Sheridans at a ceremony in Sydney, and again gives them the thanks of a grateful nation and world. “This is getting to be a bit of a habit,” Jacob Sheridan says as he accepts his medal. Livinia Sheridan is already preparing for their trip to Titan to see if they can pick up any more of the strange creatures they were fighting.

Timelines in today's post: the Holy British Empire, the Mlosh, Canadian Independence, the GZR, Communist America, the Ralph Shephard timeline, and The Sheridans.

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

Get yourself into TIAH!

The Forum lives again!

Good long fiction from the AH.

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My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

The Mark Of The Beast; Hannibal

The state of TIAH

June 8th, 2006

in 684, the barbarian cult leader known as The Beast leads a raid against a small Christian settlement in central Europe. He demands that all of the inhabitants of the village renounce the Christian god and wear his mark on their forehead or hand, or he will put everyone in the village to death. The town pastor refuses, and is cruelly slain; the rest of the village acquiesces, and the triple-6 is tattooed on the 70 people of the village. The Beast leaves them alone after this, but other Christians shy away from doing business with the village; the triple-6 strikes fear in the hearts of villagers hundreds of miles away. A mission is sent to Rome to request the aid of the Pope in defending people from this heretic.

in 1949, the People's Bureau of Investigation announces that a large number of Hollywood stars – including such luminaries as Emanuel Goldenberg, Ernest Bickel, Paul Robeson and Dorothy Rothschild - had been members of, or were sympathetic to, capitalist organizations. The announcement sent a shock wave through the comrades in the entertainment industry, and many on the list pleaded youthful curiosity as an excuse for these anti-American activities. Goldenberg, however, attacked the report, saying, “These rantings, ravings, accusations, smearing, and character assassinations can only emanate from sick, diseased minds of people who rush to the press with indictments of good Soviet American comrades. I have played many parts in my life, but no part have I played better or been more proud of than that of being an American citizen."

in 1999, Thomas Harris' historical novel Hannibal hits the bookstores, sparking a wave of interest in the ancient Carthaginian leader, especially after a film was made of the novel in 2001. This hit followed Harris' other takes on Chinese history with the bestseller Red Dragon and his blockbuster about Christian persecution in ancient Rome, The Silence of the Lambs. Although seemingly an overnight sensation after Lambs, Harris had been quietly toiling in historical fiction for years. His first major breakthrough was a novel about the black plague called Black Sunday, released in '75, which caught the attention of the reading public and paved the way for many other historical thrillers to come.

in 2017, the Eagle is brought into the hold of the Quorato, the alien vessel captained by the alien they have been introduced to as Kikoa. After the bay doors close behind them, Commander Patterson says, “Well, shall we meet our host?” The small group of scientists and astronauts don their space suits and leave their craft. The Quorato seems to be providing them with gravity, possibly from thrust, and it feels only slightly lighter than earth's. As Commander Patterson opens the hatch of the Eagle, she hears several excited voices from the cargo bay, and gets her first look at the aliens known as the Quarai. They seem to be all leg; their bodies were small, brown torsos resting on a long tripod of spindly legs. Their faces – well, it was a good thing that Commander Patterson liked bugs. As she descended the ladder to stand on the deck, the aliens surged forward, chattering excitedly to her in various human languages that barely made any sense at all. After a moment, Kikao announced, “All right, my friends, all right, we take you up to meeting room. We talk, we eat, we have good time.” Patterson looked back at her crew, shrugged, and told Kikao, “Lead the way.”

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Hannibal 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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Franklin Dies In Exile

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!

April 17th, 2006

in 1534, prior to his summary execution for disloyalty, Sir Thomas More was confined to the Tower of London by Pope Henry VIII. Although More had proven himself a valuable propagandist against the few remaining Yorkists in the Holy British Empire, Pope Henry thought him too capable a man to be left alive.

in 1790, American exile Benjamin Franklin dies in Montreal. Although he had been active in the Canadian Independence movement and had helped with the final negotiations in that war, his heart was with his native America, and he wanted his body to rest in his home colony of Pennsylvania. Although it took many years, his family were finally able to bring him home to rest in American soil.

in 1810, Lewis Norton of Troy, Pennsylvania created one of America’s greatest contributions to world cuisine with his Pineapple Cheese. This artfull blending of fruit and dairy was considered sublime perfection in the kitchens of fine European restaurants, and helped America break into the top ranks of culinary recognition.

in 1915, the Harlequin, captained by Congress of Nations officer Captain Michael Smith, arrives at the C.N. base on Pluto with his “cargo” of Q'Barian refugees. He immediately reports everything he has found out to the base commander, and is then ordered to take the Q'Barian doctor, Ch'Kel'Mlar, to earth so that he may speak to the main C.N. body about the Kainku.

in 1952, outside of Cairo, Mikhail von Heflin draws on extra-dimensional forces and heals the leg of his lover, Velma Porter. Her new foot seems to work just as well as her old one, and she is grateful to have the use of it back. She keeps the peg leg she had made, just in case.

in 4656, one of the more remote areas of the Chinese Empire, the Samoan Islands, institutes a democratic council for the first time in its history. Following the example laid out by the new elected emperor, they elect a governing Council, which then elects a Governor. Representatives of the Chdo Democracy, the alien civilization responsible for the democratization process, are pleased to observe the elections and pronounce them a success.

in 1961, anti-Castro Cubans land at the Bay of Pigs with support from the American Navy and Air Force. They press halfway across the island before encountering heavy resistance from Cuba’s military, and then the fighting is mainly left to America soldiers. This prompts Cuba’s Fidel Castro to call for help from the Soviet Union, and the world is forced to the brink of nuclear war before President Richard Nixon orders his people to withdraw from Cuban territory.

in 1969, Enrique Soledad, El Salvador’s President and Communist Party Chairman, is forced to resign under American pressure. Soledad had spearheaded the reforms known as the Salvadoran Spring, an attempt to mix communism with some free-market practices. When the population of the small nation appeared ready to throw out their socialist roots, the Soviet States of America stepped in to bring them back into the fold.

in 1997, British Brigadier General Lewis Meriweather seizes 4 nuclear missiles that Egyptian troops had been transporting to the American coast. Since the invasion of Constitutionalist America by allied forces, the Egyptians had been seeking nuclear technology and the British had been attempting to keep it from them. Meriweather likened it to “fighting your friends as much as your enemies.”

in 2005, Chelsea Perkins is told by her teacher, Debra Morris, that they will have a break of a few weeks from study, so that Miss Perkins' work can be evaluated by the Council of Wisdom. Chelsea asks if she can visit her mother, but Miss Morris says, “Oh, my heavens, no. She'll call the FBI to keep you from leaving.” Although Chelsea appears to accept this decision, she has other plans in mind.

Timelines in today's post: the Holy British Empire, Canadian Independence, the Mlosh, the Chinese Empire, von Heflin, Communist America, the Chelsea Perkins timeline and the Ralph Shephard timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect the 1983 mini-series Kennedy to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

Get yourself into TIAH!

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The Forum lives again!

Good long fiction from the AH.

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

You can also visit the Co-Historian's store -

Destiny

Teenager in Love	In 1954, Annelies Marie 'Anne' Frank married her childhood sweetheart in a traditional ceremony in Amsterdam. Frank, the Jewish schoolgirl who wrote her diary while hiding from the Nazis in the Netherlands during World War II, was captivated by Peter Schiff. She met him at school in 1940, his family also having fled from Germany to Amsterdam the previous year. At age 11, Frank fell in love with Schiff and later, while in hiding in Amsterdam herself, wrote about how much she missed him until their reunion on VE Day August, 1 1944.
Anne Frank

The diary, which was given to Anne on her 13th birthday, chronicles her life from June 12, 1942 until August 1, 1944. It has been translated into many languages, has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films. Anne Frank has been acknowledged for the quality of her writing, becoming one of the most renowned and discussed Jewish celebrities of the post-war era. Wartime records indicate that Otto Frank's office building had been betrayed to the Gestapo only twenty-four hours before 'the accident'. Claus von Stauffenberg planted a bomb in the Fuhrer Headquarters - the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) at Rastenburg - killing Adolf Hitler and enabling the High Command to sue for peace. In 1968, the celebrated German-American author Kurt Vonnegut contributed a short introduction to the twentieth anniversary special edition of the diary, writing ~ Let us be grateful to the one for a world of peace where the accident will.

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	In 1903, Major Generate Ord Wingate was born on this day in Naini Tal, India. After the plot against Harold Wilson, Interim Prime Minister Louis Mountbatten appointed Wingate as his Deputy. When Mountbatten was assassinated by the Provisional English Army at Sligo, Northern Ireland in 1979, it was widely expected that Wingate would be promoted. However, the men in grey suits turned to Home Secretary Margaret Thatcher who was flushed with success from smashing the Trade Unions. Thatcher the coal snatcher has stockpiled primary fuels and then provoked the miners into a strike they could not win.

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	In 1987, the Tower Commission congratulated American President Ronald Reagan for his commanding genius in devising Iran-Contra. Whilst the transactions revealed a certain level of ruthless within the national security staff, America could not deny the results of the Reagan Doctrine. Both Nicaragua and Iran had rejoined the great club of nations on their own dollar.

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	In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte drowned during his escape from Elba. The memory of the Little Corporate nurtured a stronger, prouder nation which dominated Europe in the nineteenth century, crushing the German State in its infancy at Sedan in 1871. Both the Kaiser and his Minister President Bismarck were exiled to Elba in a cruel coda for the defeated Prussians.

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In 951 AUC, Centurion Gaius Regis of Rome led his small garrison in Hibernia against the men of darkness, a band of almost 50 men who fed on the blood of the living. After losing half his garrison, Gaius followed the advice of his Hibernian wife and beheaded the Dark Ones before burying them alive. Their leader, Kynat, had to be shackled after his head was cut off in order to bury him.

	In 1987, at the close of the Iran-Contra affair the Tower Commission rebuked American President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff, forcing the Gipper's resignation. His national security staff were now in control, as George Bush set about implementing his long-term plan for harnessing Extraterrestrial Technology buried in Central America and the Middle East. Bush 41 had known about ET since his access to Project Blue Book in the mid-70s, but had needed the Presidency to make it happen.

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	United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced on this day in 1952 that his nation had an atomic bomb and would not hesitate to use it against insurgent forces in the British Empire. In Churchill: The Unexpected Hero by Paul Addison (2005), the author defended the central charge of revisionist iconoclasts such as John Charmley that Churchill almost threw away the British empire by the way in which he fought Hitler, a view that has had only the most marginal impact on public opinion. Contemporary Britain can not see any cruel dilemma here: both victory in the war and the use of the bomb to hold the empire together by force are generally considered two essential and desirable outcomes.

But this was not Churchill's view. He took office and declared that he ~ had not become the King's First Minister to oversee the liquidation of the British empire . Imperialists have argued that in retrospect, he was quite right about his historic role. His view was that an Anglo-American English-speaking alliance would seek to preserve the empire, though ending it was among Roosevelt's implicit war aims.

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	In 1993, al-Qaeda made the first of two attempts to destroy the World Trade Center (WTC) by detonating a car bomb in the underground parking garage below Tower One. The buildings would be destroyed in a subsequent attack on September 11, 2001. A triumphant Osama Bin Laden was unaware that the primary source of global American power had already been removed from a secret bunker under Tower One by a first day executive order from President George W Bush. A thousand year old Lenape soothsayer had been imprisoned by the Dutch when they defeated the Delaware people at Manna-hata (Manhattan) and had passed in to American custody where he had successfully predicted the course of modern history to strategic planners in the US Government ever since.

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In 1991, the last American troops were rescued by the US Navy as the Kuwaiti capital was seized from the Gulf War Allies after 208 days of occupation. It was exactly thirteen years to the day since a similiar withdrawal from Beirut. Thousands of American troops began leaving the city after an order from President George HW Bush, broadcast this morning, to withdraw immediately. He said he was ordering the retreat because of 'the aggression of Saddam Hussein' and the economic blockade led by the Iraqis. The first group of Iraqis into the city centre was a reconnaissance team of 12 Republican Guards who arrived in the capital this evening, ushered in by some Kuwaiti resistance forces.

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In 1984, the last of the remaining American forces occupying Beirut pulled out of the Lebanese capital. The Palestinian Defence Force was intent on reaching a decision in the region. Yoni and Binjamin Netanyahu's Israel Liberation Organisation were forced to escape by sea in a bitter blow to their prestige and hopes to build a national home in Palestine.

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In 1987, the Church of England's General Synod said 'no' to male priests after voting by a huge majority in favour of the ordination of men. Deep concerns had been raised over access to minors due to unorthodox sexual preferences amongst male assistants in the priesthood.

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	In 1968, Stephen Reeder Donaldson languished in Vietnam. By inclination a conscientious objector, he had been compelled to serve in the armed forces. Much later, and after dropping out of his Ph.D. program and moving to New Jersey in order to write fiction, Donaldson made his publishing debut with the first 'Covenant' trilogy in 1977. That enabled him to move to a healthier climate. He now lives in New Mexico. Donaldson's two year compulsory military duty would be the deep undercurrent of his escapist fantasy writing. In 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever', the protagonist was a leper struggled with disempowerment in a Land he did not really believe in.
Stephen Donaldson

Say to the Lords that their utmost limit of their span of days upon the Land is seven times seven years from this present time. Before the end of those days are numbered, I [Lord Foul the Despiser] will have command of life and death ~ The Council of Lords.

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	In 2008, the United States Government blocked access to the popular YouTube website because of content deemed offensive to Nazi ideology. Its telecommunications authority ordered internet service providers to block the site until further notice. Reports said the content included Danish cartoons depicting former President George Lincoln Rockwell that have outraged many.

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