Before 1st Half Conclusion

The state of TIAH

December 15th, 2006

Digg this

Alternate Historian's Note: Stephen Payne gives us some great alternate history as we conclude the first half of our NaNoWriMo novel – the second half of the novel will begin tomorrow. We hope you are enjoying this change in format – let us know how you feel about it in comments or by emailing us. This will be the format of TIAH throughout the holiday season, unless we receive a great outcry about it. Speaking of the Holiday Season, keep in mind those who need help year-round and keep yourselves safe and happy, as well. And, should you feel generous inclinations towards our guest historians, you can visit the sites of those who have separate ones from TIAH; generosity towards us here at the Academy is always appreciated, too, and you can find ways to help us out all over the site. Right now, we'd appreciate a lead on a good day job, but my lovely Co-Historian could also use some more memory on her PC, if anyone feels generously inclined. (It's PC133-style – yes, it's an old machine). Any good wishes you have towards us can be emailed here.

in 1947, in a traditional Fulani ceremony at the Shehu Mosque in West Africa, the Sultan of Sokoto marries Princess Elizabeth of England. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1993, the Downing Street Declaration is issued by Prime Minister John Major and Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, who agree that the Irish will increase their participation in the cross-border governance of north and south England. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 2004, President-elect John Forbes Kerry embarks on a national tour. America could "do better" in the 21st century, he says as the defeated nation seeks to climb out of the ashes of defeat in the Cold War. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(1st half conclusion)
The jeep pulled up to the motel and Janice hopped out of the back and ran up to the room she had paid for. She was followed by Morris and Bradley, whom she told, “Try not to look menacing, OK?” She stuck her key in the room's lock and opened the door, calling out to Miss Raintree, “Linda? I've got a couple of soldiers with me, but they're cool, all right?” She looked around the room, but no one was in it. “Damn. Let me check the bathroom.” She ran over to the bathroom door and looked inside. “Nope.” She frowned and kicked the door. “Oh, well. I knew she'd probably run.”
Bradley asked, “Any idea where she'd go?”
“Someplace far away from Crawford,” Janice muttered, shaking her head. “Let me go check the front desk to see if she turned in her key or anything.”
They went and sat in their jeep while she talked to the clerk. It was still the same kid, and he obviously needed a break. “No, lady, nobody's turned in a key for that room.” He closed the registry and sat down on the stool behind the desk. “I saw her eating at the diner earlier, though.”
Janice perked up. “How much earlier?”
“I dunno,” he said, irritably. “Maybe an hour or two.”
“Great. Thanks.” She put her key down on the counter and walked outside to the jeep. “She was still here a couple of hours ago,” she told them. “I'm gonna go talk to the people at the diner and see if they said anything to her.”
Sergeant Morris asked, “Want us to come with you? Might loosen a few lips.”
“Yeah, but try not to get in my way, OK?” Morris hopped down from the jeep, but Bradley stayed in his seat.
“I'll just stay here and watch for her.”
Morris shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He and Janice walked over to the diner together, looking down the road for signs of Miss Raintree as they did. “I don't think Bradley's accepted the way things really are,” he said to Janice.
“Have you?”
“I started off not trustin' the government. I didn't have as far to go.”
“Yeah, he is a big boy scout, isn't he?”
“Big, rich boy scout.”
“Right. He's not married, is he?” She nudged Morris with her shoulder, and he laughed. The sergeant was very cute, Janice thought. Divorced, though, so there were obviously problems there somewhere. Still, he had a lot of the factors she liked in somebody she was on the lam with – tall, dark, handsome; and trained with a gun.
They walked into the small diner, and it looked like the walking dead had taken the place over. Janice guessed that these people had probably been there for 2 days and were not in the best of moods. Sergeant Morris was immediately surrounded by the patrons and one of them asked, “Can we leave yet?”
“That's not for me to say,” he replied.
Good, noncommittal answer, she thought. She walked over to the waitress and asked, “Have you seen a young, kinda mousey chick in the last couple of hours, name of Linda?”
The waitress took her eyes from Sergeant Morris and turned to Janice. “Brown hair, kinda quiet?”
“That's probably her.”
“Yeah. She came in, had a salad, stiffed me on the tip, then left with some guy.”
Janice's heart sunk. “Left the motel?”
“No, she went back to the motel.” She pursed her lips in disapproval. “With him.”
“Oh.” Great. Now she was somewhere unknown in the motel. She looked back at Morris, who was still trying to get the diner crowd to leave him alone. That gave her an idea. She cut through the people to his side and said, “Sorry, Sergeant Morris, we need to get back to headquarters, now.”
Morris played along. “All right, then. You people just stay calm. Everything's under control.” They walked out of the diner and back across the parking lot to the motel. “You found something out?”
“Yeah, she went back to the motel with some guy. I figure, there can't be that many people checked into the motel right now, so using you as an intimidator, we get the registry and find out how many single guys are checked in and what rooms they're in.”
“Good plan.”
“Thanks. Now, try to be intimidating, OK?”
“No prob.” His face hardened, and he narrowed his eyes menacingly.
“That's good,” she said, approvingly. They walked up to the motel's front desk and the surly clerk looked at Morris with shock all over his face. Janice leaned across the desk and said, “The sergeant here needs a look at who's checked in the last couple of days.”
“Of course, of course,” he stammered, pulling out a book and handing it over. Janice took it from his hands and flipped it open, holding it in front of Morris and scanning the pages. Just as she had hoped, there weren't that many people who'd booked rooms in the last couple of days; there were only three single men.
She noted all three of their rooms, and looked up at Morris. Pretty eyes, she thought, but said “OK, Sergeant, shall we check out these people?”
He nodded curtly, and barked at the clerk, “Thank you for your cooperation.” Just for effect, he gave a salute as he whipped around and strode from the desk.
Hurrying up to catch him, she could barely contain her laughter. “That was very good.”
“You said you wanted intimidating.”
“You sure got that down.” She led him up to the first room with a single man and knocked.
After a moment, an older man opened the door. “What is it?” He caught sight of Morris, and said, “What's happening now?”
“Nothing, sir,” the sergeant said. “We just needed to know if you've seen a young lady.”
“No, I've been here since day before yesterday. Damn terrorists.”
They left him and walked to the second room. When Janice knocked on the door, it swung open. Morris pulled his pistol out and walked slowly into the room. Janice pulled her weapon out and did likewise.
It was a grisly scene inside. There were streaks of blood across the bed and walls, and a small pool in front of the bathroom door. Morris looked back at her, was somewhat surprised by the gun in her hand, but then pointed her over to the side of the door. Once she was in position, he pushed the door open quickly and scanned the small chamber.
“I don't think she's gonna be much help to you, now,” he said, straightening up.
Miss Raintree was lying in the tub, her flesh torn open, her life gone.

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr! and We've been Dugg

We have links again! Yay, us. Check them out on the side of the page, and if you have some suggestions, send them to us!

Visit the Co-Historian's store -

Word

	Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me....I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now, I see. T'was Grace that taught...my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear...the hour I first believed. Thro' many dangers, toils and snare, I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. ~ Amazing Graceland – Fall and Rise of a King (1982), Elvis Aaron Presley.

In 1983, Elvites were shocked by the relevations of the King's autobiography. Of course only people on the Dark Side of the Moon during the late sixties could be unaware of Presley's sharp decline during that traumatic period. Fortunately, a religious awakening had lifted Presley from the nadir of his career and personal life. Revealed for the first time however was some real shockers. The Las Vegas rape, addition to prescription drugs and a near death experience on August 17, 1977. It was revealed for the first time that the King was found on the floor of his Graceland bathroom by fiancee, Ginger Alden, having 'stumbled or crawled several feet'. CPR treatment saved Presley's life after he was officially pronounced dead at 3:30 pm at the Baptist Memorial Hospital. Whilst he had recorded a lot of Gospel tracks, it was the moment when he really began to believe.

.

	In 2005, on this day occurred the event known as Mugabe's Prince handshake gaffe. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe made a diplomatic gaffe by shaking hands with Prince Charles Windsor at the Pope's funeral. The President was 'caught by surprise' when the Prince leaned over to greet him, Harare source said. Some politicians condemned Presidents' greeting as 'stupid' and 'not very sensible' following the Prince's alleged involvement in the assassination of his ex-wife. The Queen of Hearts had been hugely respected for her charitable works in the Southern Hemisphere and the Prince was now considered persona non grata.

.

Microsoft	In 2007, consumers reacted in anger to an email today - 'MSN to increase the charge for Hotmail user fees.' Five years before on 25 February 2001, unconsidered comments were made by a Microsoft executive, who said the company was considering introducing fees for its free Hotmail service. It was one year after the dotcom crash and everybody, even mighty Microsoft, was pondering how to make some money on the internet. A stroke of genius, Hotmail now represents over 30% of Microsoft revenue. The Seattle giant had suffered from loss of revenue from software piracy for many years, and this services-led innovation enabled the corporation to grow sales explosively in the consumer market.
Fees Announced

.

	In 1998, the Police confirm the arrest of millionaire singer George Michael while he was alone in a public toilet and have charged him with lewd behaviour. The heterosexual star later revealed that he had been lured into the toilet by a female Police Officer who had played a cruel game of 'I will show you mine, you show me yours and then I will nick you'.

Gay America was outraged by the obscenity. Public opinion was strongly against Michael, who had been safely assumed gay due to his provocative MTV coverage with fellow Wham! Star Andrew Ridgeley. Michael said it was 'My own stupid fault as usual'.

.

	In 2008, Nunavut Tribal Chief Paul Okalik defended Democratic front-runner Barack Obama Monday over accusations from rival Hillary Clinton that he was secretly at ease with a hemispheric trade accord which he publicly blames for losing U.S. Jobs. Clinton's criticism, on the eve of make-or-break presidential nomination contests for her in Mannhattan, stemmed from a report by Kanatan television station CTV that an Obama economic adviser told Kanatan officials the candidate was not seriously considering disrupting the trade accord.

There was no intention to convey, in any way, that Senator Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private, including about NAFTA, the embassy statement said. 'We deeply regret any inference that may have been drawn to that effect.' The consulate's written report of the meeting had left the suggestion that Obama's words on NAFTA were designed for a political audience and should not be taken too seriously, prompting an angry denial from the Obama campaign. Clinton, a Mannhattan senator, has made an issue of what she says is Obama's support for the Native American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband, former President Bill Clinton, signed in 1994 but which is now under heavy election-year criticism from her and Obama. The source of the dispute dated back to 1520, when Montezuma kicked the Spaniards out of Mexico and North AmerInds had similar success, leaving only the European colony on Manhattan Island. By the early twenty-first century, the Iroquois Federation had developed a modern economy based on the success of NAFTA.

.

Stephen R. Donaldson	In 1968, Stephen Reeder Donaldson departed 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.
Unbeliever

Farewell, Unbeliever! Be true! You have wrought greatly for us. And with the Staff of Law we will be not unable to defend against the Despiser's ill. Take heart. Despair and bitterness are not the only songs in this world. ~ 'The Calling of Lions'.

.

	In 1917, the February Revolution broke out in Imperial Russia. The Imperial German Government turn to the architect of the 1905 revolution, Father Gapon. He is sent in a sealed train to Russia in a second and increasingly desperate attempt to overthrow the House of Romanov that year.

.

In 2001, BBC News reported - Donald Campbell's speedboat recovered: Divers have raised the wreck of Donald Campbell's boat, Bluebird, from the bottom of Coniston Water in Cumbria. The boat had lain there since the accident in 1967 which killed Campbell, 46, as he attempted to break the world water speed record. The craft was winched to the surface after a three-hour operation to tow it to the lakeside from its resting place, 150 feet (45 metres) below the surface of the lake. The quest to raise the boat was led by diver Bill Smith. Mr Smith said he was glad they had reached the boat as there was always the risk that less scrupulous souvenir hunters could get there first. 'You can see now she's in a remarkable state of preservation and she'll not rot away to nothing now, she can be kept this way,' he said. In final, startlig surprise, the body of Donald Campbell would be discovered on August 10th.

.

In 1801, British and Ottoman soldiers took control of Abukir Bay in Egypt from Italian Imperial forces. Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of Italy, had assumed control of Egypt largely out of a desire to recreate the Roman Empire. Unfortunately for the Little Italian, it placed him perilously close to the Ottoman Empire, which joined forces with the northern European allies against Italy.

In 12-18-19-16-12, the composer for the Incan court, Bekcheco, died in his sleep in the Incan capitol of Cuszo. Bekcheco had been known for his musical styles that appealed so highly to the young people of the continent, combining eastern rhythms with more civilized traditional Oueztecan music.

	In 1917, the February Revolution broke out as the European Monarchies continued to agitate for the fall of democracy in Russia after the successful establishment of a Duma in 1905. The Imperial German Government subsequently sent Communist Vladimir Lenin in a sealed train in a second and increasingly desperate attempt at revolution that year. Ace of Spies and British Agent Sidney Reilly reported it was hopeless, democracy was infectious and would likely spread into Western Europe during the early 1920s if no further invention occurred.

.

In 1994, South African troops, allies of the U.S., accept the surrender of Madagascar. Although the war in the Indian Ocean Theater is just beginning, South Africa is sweeping across its neighbors with alarming speed. In some respects, they are doing even better than President Ralph Shephard's troops in the western hemisphere.

Harrison Drug Raid

The state of TIAH

March 12th, 2007

Digg this

Alternate Historian's Note: Our Guest Historian, Stephen Payne, suggested that it was time for a contest, so we're going to have an April Fool's Day Contest! Email us up to 3 entries for an alternate April 1st and we will post the best 10, with your own credit and link to your website (if you have one). My lovely Co-Historian says that if we can get 30 entrants, we can offer an ultimate winner a complimentary TIAH mug, but we only have 1 entrant so far! Get researching those alternate histories now, folks! The deadline is March 29th.

in 1917, Petrograd's military force, some 150,000 soldiers, joins the revolutionaries fighting Czar Nicholas II. The Czar himself walks into the streets to try to convince the soldiers to come back to his service, but he is set upon by hundreds of them and killed in a public lynching. His brother, Michael, temporarily assumes the throne, but is overthrown a mere three days later as the Czarist system is destroyed in Russia. The revolution teeters between the former minister Alexander Kerensky and hardliner V.I. Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks. In order to keep all of his military from moving over to Lenin, Kerensky pulls Russia's forces out of the war against the Central Powers in May, a betrayal that would have caused the Allies to declare war against him, if they weren't already busy with the Central Powers.

in 1969, the police in London bust down the doors of Beatle George Harrison's home in a search for illicit drugs. Harrison, who was incensed at the police tactics, went after the sergeant in charge with a cricket bat when he found him planting drugs in the medicine cabinet in the master bathroom. Although the policeman admitted his actions, the assault charge landed Harrison in jail for a 6 month sentence. Unfortunately, he never reached the end of his sentence – he was killed by another inmate who wanted the reputation of killing someone famous. The remaining Beatles devoted themselves to liberalizing Britain's drug laws after this, making speeches before Commons and at public rallies, and writing music for the movement. Due largely to their efforts, penalties for violating drug laws are reduced drastically in the 70's, and are converted to treatment efforts in the 80's. Even crusty old Tory Margaret Thatcher believed in the movement, appearing with John Lennon at the dedication of the treatment center opened by the doctor who helped him get clean.

in 1997, years after first meeting each other at the wedding of mutual friends, folk singer Cheryl Ann Vernon and writer Robert A. Taylor go on their first date. The two become inseparable after this, spending virtually every day together for the next couple of months – Taylor even follows Vernon on tour. The two soulmates fell so fast and deeply in love that wedding bells were ringing within the year. Tabloid tongues were wagging about the speed of the romance, and several predicted a typical short celebrity marriage after the whirlwind courtship, but the couple are still going strong after 10 years, and even have a young daughter.

Weapons of Mass..	In 1993 North Korea announced plans to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, refusing to allow inspectors access to nuclear sites. In fact American inspectors were unaware they were only metres away from unearthing the Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) buried at the No-Dong ..
.. facility on the Musu-dan promontory in the Sea of Japan. North Korea cynically played the 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' gambit that the Americans had themselves developed for their incursions into Iraq; promulgating a well-used lie that was incredibly close to the truth.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1994 a photo by Marmaduke Wetherell, previously touted as proof of the Loch Ness monster, was confirmed to be authentic and the creature verified as a plesiosaur.	Loch Ness Monst..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Moscow	In 1918 Moscow became the capital of Russia again after Saint-Petersburg had had this status for 215 years. Whilst democracy had been established with the founding of the Duma in 1905, the move was required to unite the country around a new capital free of the royal undertones of Saint-Petersburg, ..
.. that city being surrounded by the Tsar's five palaces. German military planners including Von Moltke, Falkenhayn, Hindenburg and Ludendorff advised the Kaiser that Russia would be unstoppable by the year 1920.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

1938 troops of the Austrian Chancellor Adolf Schicklgruber occupied the Weimar Republic, with annexation known as Anschluss (Union) declared the following day.	Anschluss
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr! and We've been Dugg

We have links again! Yay, us. Check them out on the side of the page, and if you have some suggestions, send them to us!

Visit the Co-Historian's store -