Human League Takes Lunar Colony Hostage

Alternate Historian's Note: Sorry for the lateness of the post. Blogger was not accepting updates this morning.

September 8th, 2004

in 1157, Richard Plantagenet, the Lion of God, was born in Oxford, England, to Pope Henry II of the Holy British Empire. Like all the Plantagenet popes, Richard schemed for the papacy at an early age, and led many ecclesiastical rebellions against his father. He is remembered more for his attempts to recapture the Holy Land than for anything else, although the harshness of his reign led to the movement known as Protestantism, and a Protestant assassinated him in 1224.

in 1638, the first institute of higher learning in colonial America opened its doors in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard College, named after the man who donated the library, produced many renowned 17th century theologians, but closed its doors in 1779 because of damage from the Revolutionary War.

in 1893, Human League terrorists gain control of Brahe’s atmospheric controls, and send an ultimatum to the lunar colony – either all Mlosh leave, or the city will perish. The city’s police chief, a Mlosh named Kelnir, launches a daring raid against the terrorist, killing every one of them without damaging the atmospheric controls in the process. He is hailed as a hero across the moon, but marked as a target forever after by the Human League.

in 1925, actor Richard Sellers was born in Southsea, England. Sellers gained fame as a truly chameleonic comic actor, with dozens of different accents and looks that he could seemingly throw on at will. His comic talents were so prodigious that the Oscars, which usually overlooked comic performances, awarded him the best actor award for his portrayal of 3 different characters in 1964’s Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb.

in 1935, Comrade Senator Huey P. Long, champion of the people, was assassinated in broad daylight in the Capital Building in Baton Rouge. An official investigation blamed the shooting on counter-revolutionaries, but many conspiracy theorists have made a plausible argument that the Communist Party itself had comrade Long killed because of his rapport with the proletariat. Such rumors are frowned upon in polite company.

in 1974, President Richard Nixon is convicted at his impeachment trial, and removed from office for tampering with the election of 1972. Vice-President Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President of the United States. Ford refuses to pardon Nixon for his crimes, and fires almost all of Nixon’s staff. “Cleaning house is the only way the nation’ll trust our party again,” he told Republican activists.

in 1986, the newly admitted United States Football Conference played its first game as an NFL conference, after several years of play as a successful league on its own. The New Jersey Generals defeated the Washington Redskins at home, 38-21; Hershel Walker of the Generals ran in 2 touchdowns.

in 4697, Captain Wu’s probes land on Yang Gao, and their transmissions pierce the static for almost 10 minutes before being shut down. The visual transmissions show a city that has been turned into a parody of human life; metal men walk Yang Gao, performing the mundane tasks of Chinese life in a mockery of those they have supplanted. Captain Wu orders his 3 remaining ships to drop all stores of explosives on the planet and retreat back to earth. On the way, they alter the trajectory of several large asteroids so that they will impact on Yang Gao. Captain Wu intends for nothing to survive his leaving.

Happy Birthday Robbie!

August 14th, 2007

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The Announcement

Co-Historian Says: I didn't hear from the boss yesterday so we must assume the weekend's computer surgery is still a work in progress or birthday parties in Texas get started real early. Hopefully this will be edited with his birthday stories later tomorrow.

Alternate Historian's Belated Addition: Thanks for the birthday wishes and getting the page up while we were having computer difficulties, Steve. Perhaps we should have brought Vesta over while delving into that alternate reality...
I have one alternate birthday poster for myself – but there's still plenty of time for you to send in alternate birthdays for Steve (November 22, 1967). Surely all you conspiracy-minded types can come up with a connection between him and certain other events that happened on that day!
Today, I am The Answer. It all seems so clear, now. If only I knew what The Question was. A lot has happened in the 2 years plus 4 decades since my birth. The hospital I was born in is now an office building; the house I grew up in belongs to other people; the city I have called home for most of my life has added a hundred thousand or so people to its population. I've been from one side of this continent to the other, and even left the continent for a brief stay in the “Old Country”. I took a stab at The Dream in Los Angeles, I found my dream girl right here at home, and now I have a baby. Along the way, I lost several family members, a few friends, and many preconceptions about what life was all about. I also gained new family members, new friends, and built a whole series of preconceptions about what life should really be about. I've had epiphanies, life-changing moments, death-defying leaps, and built plenty of character – and I'm still striving for all those things I wanted to be when I grew up. Now that I've reached The Answer, I realize that I'm looking at less time left to do everything I still have planned, and so I have to prioritize. But, how do you prioritize what you love?
42!
No, that's not The Question...

Alternate Birthday Post On August 14, 1965, Robert A. Taylor was born. His first brush with notoriety--decades before his phenomenal publishing career and his marriage to pop singer/sensation Cheryl Vernon--came when he won the district spelling bee at Stephen F. Austin Junior High School and went on to national finals in Washington, D.C. Robbie was invited to the white house after his successful spelling of "synchronicity" and was give the opportunity to speak factually with Jimmy Carter about the concerns of American Youth. The young Taylor's stance on alternative energy became the capstone of Carter's second term as president and may have been the actual turning point of America's conversion from fossil fuels to more reliable and environmentally sound alternatives. In his diary, released consequent with his Nobel Peace Prize, Carter admitted to the world: "I was listening to this kid. He had my full attention. He told me what to do and asked me if I'd really do it? If he hadn't asked me that, I probably wouldn't have done it all. But I made a promise to him and I had to keep it." The rest, as they say, was history. - post by George Wier, whose Bill Travis Mysteries can be found on our links at the side -

In 2008, California based enterprise software author Macrosoft Inc. narrowly beat Saab Motor cars of Sweden to win the prestigious award for "zero defects product of 2007". The International Standards Agency reported that the code engineering in Macrosoft Vesta had defined new best practice in process standards. The significance of protests at the awards ceremony was "de-emphasised" by Macrosoft executives. Many of these individuals had pessimistically disbelieved the minimum system requirements for Vesta, and had proactively purchased 2GB of DDR2 RAM. In fact, Macrosoft had squeezed the new operating system into 256MB under which it performed flawlessly, enabling the Corporation to offer no charge upgrades to domestic and developing country charities who had received end of life PCs. (Western consumers had been under the misapprehension they would not longer run multimedia applications and had wastefully transhipped units that could adequately run Vesta.) Many North American businesses admitted they too were slow off the mark, holding out for Service Packs that were of course never required to achieve this remarkable stable platform. As a consequence, they had failed to leverage the compelling business benefits that could be attained by raising employee performance through the productivity enhancing interface.

~ entry from Co-historian Steve Payne:

"It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle. Practically every building of any size had been seized by the workers and was draped with red flags or with the red and black flag of the Anarchists.
Eric Blair	Human beings were trying to behave as human beings and not cogs in the capitalist machine. In the barber's shops were Anarchist notices solemnly explaining that barbers were no longer slaves.." ~ Eric Arthur Blair in “Homage to Catalonia”
George Orwell

In 1936, Eric Arthur Blair describing his role in the Spanish Civil War, an event that would have huge long-term consequences for the people of Europe. The full article is available at Amazon

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

Bless my cotton socks I'm in the news The king sits on his face buttons all askew All wrapped up the same All wrapped up the same
The Teardrop Explodes	They can't have it You can't have it I can't have it too Until I learn to accept my reward ~ Lyrics to “Reward” - Click to Watch Sample
Marvel comic: Daredevil No.77

In 1981, at the height of their popularity, the English Post Punk/Neo-Psychedelic band received a legal challenge from the owners of Marvel comic book. Without their permission, Lead singer Julian Cope had taken the name of the band from No. 77 of the comic Daredevil published in 1960. During the dispute, Julian Cope found a new target for venting his anger. Cope spent the majority of his career raging at the “greedheads” who compromised his artistic excellence with commercial imperatives. The lyrics are available at at Always on the Run

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

In 1980, the actor Steve McQueen enjoyed a dramatic remission of Cancer following a mysterious visit to Florida. McQueen's wealth had bankrolled an increasingly desperate worldwide search for a cure. To this day, speculation continues that the actor had been led to the Fountain of Youth by sympathetic First Nation indigenes whose cause McQueen had supported throughout the seventies.

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

In 1942, monumentally tough old infantryman General Bluemel told captured General Douglas MacArthur to snap out of it. The anguished MacArthur had suffered not just the Command failure of defeat, but the death of wife and son when his escaping destroyer was sunk during the Japanese conquest of the Philippines But all of the American officers at the old Spanish Prison in Manilla have misread the reason for MacArthur's preoccupied thoughts. "General Robert E. Lee often said that duty was the most sublime word in the language. Gentleman, we all know the duty of a soldier who has been captured." MacArthur spoke further of escape, he had plans to fade away.

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

Rev. Martin Lu..	In 1482, to pass the long night of six hundred years at St. George El Mina Castle, a new soft voice spoke to Kwame. ”From every mountainside, let freedom ring... and when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village ..
.. and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! ”
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1943, on this day Winston Churchill wrote the immortal first line “Now this is not the end. ... But it is, perhaps, the beginning of the end.. " Containing speeches given at the turning point of the war, following defeats at Alamein and ..	Winston Churchi..
.. Stalingrad and the abortive North Africa landings “The Beginning of the End” is a remarkable insight into the events leading up to “Churchill's Last Stand” in the Middle East.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Prince Albert	In 2004, on this day the editor Peter Tsouras finalised the short stories entries for his compendium “Union Victorious”. This Anthology of ten speculative articles featured Andrew Uffindell's masterpiece "Hell on Earth: Anglo-French Stand Aside in the Civil War". The story turns in 1860, when Prince Albert escapes ..
.. death in a carriage accident and was alive a year later to moderate the British government's reaction to the Trent Incident. Confederate agents fail to escalate the Union-British tension with manufactured incidents along the Canadian border. The U.K. Determines not to intervenes in the American Civil War. Except for some early success around the Great Lakes, the Confederacy is eventually forced to sue for peace.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1976/1750, in New York City LeVar Burton suffers the most vivid nightmare of his entire life. The young actor dreams he is brutally forced into slavery in 18th century America. Assigned to work as a field laborer on a southern ..	Kunte Kinte
.. plantation, he attempts to escape and is severely punished. The following morning, Burton receives a telephone call from the author Alex Haley, who makes an incredible offer.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Previously

Heribert Illig	In 1711/2008, as postulated seventeen years before by Heribert Illig, compelling new evidence confirmed that the Early Middle Ages (more precisely, the period 614–911 AD) never occurred, meaning that all artifacts attributed to this period are from other times and that all historical figures from this period are outright fabrications. Detractors were forced to accept the Phantom time hypothesis, that the accepted historical chronology is the result of systematic human manipulations.
Theorist

During the previous year, mainstream opinion had generally accepted that a series of events had been recorded multiple times from different perspectives, with each iteration being assigned to a different time period, thus making a few events over a short period appear to be many events over a long time period. Most of the world's history was written after the 16th century, and that much of that which occurred prior to 1400 AD should not be considered factual. The acceptance that the year 2007 was actually 1711 followed the discovery of a computational error. During the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Europe (1582 AD), while compensating for a ten day discrepancy in the old Julian calendar, many dates were falsely (or ineptly) recalculated as the new system created a thirteen day discrepancy. The original mathematical blemish was attributed to the Julian year being 1.3 minutes too long (which is commonly agreed as factual).

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In 4579, Lebanese author Khalil Gibran was born. In his youth, he traveled to the court at the Forbidden City and spoke to Emperor Chengzu of a new philosophy, blending the ancient religion of Islam with the more modern and robust Buddhism practiced by most of the world. Although Chengzu didn’t follow this path, he allowed Khalil to continue his writings, which did win many converts.

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	In 2008, the “the Paul is dead hoax” was turned on its head when Heather Mills revealed that her former husband was after all an impostor. The supposed death of Paul McCartney, a member of the Beatles, was the subject of a rumour that began circulating in October 1969. Proponents of the theory had claimed that McCartney died in a car crash in late 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike before the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The supposed "clues" are given throughout the post-1966 Beatles material in the form of peculiar album covers, possible symbolism in strange lyrics, and backmasking.

The rumour started when radio DJ Russ Gibb received a call from a listener who claimed that McCartney had died and the Beatles (namely John Lennon) had sprinkled clues throughout the Beatles' albums for fans to pick up on. The rumour quickly died down in 1970 after McCartney revealed himself to be alive on the cover of Newsweek magazine. However, some theorists had continued to maintain that Paul is dead and the Paul McCartney who played with Wings and in the Super Bowl is the same lookalike who played with the Beatles after Revolver.

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In 1900, Boers attack Ladysmith, South Africa and over 1,000 people are killed. Ladysmith was besieged for 118 days during the most crucial stage of the Anglo-Boer War. 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege. With designs upon the mineral wealth of South Africa, this escalation gave Kaiser Wilhelm II the pretext he needed for bringing Germany into the war on the side of the Boers.

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In 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address. None survive the Lindbergh Presidency.

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In 1412, Jehanne Darc was born in Domremy, in old France. Insane from birth, the young woman actually managed to convince French scholars that she was hearing God tell her to take command of an army to defeat the Burgundian, pro-English forces in Orleans. The inexperienced commander was killed, and the Burgundians installed in power after their English allies brought in reinforcements for them.

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Nelson Mandela	“I, have fought against white domination” Nelson said at his trial in 1964 “and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished th idea of a democratic and free society. It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die” ”If we are to find this dream of Nelson's we must turn to a new direction. Nelson said he would be prepared to die for this. I believe the time has come.” ~ Samson Zola. In Laura Resnick's dystopia, years of civil war had torn apart the dream of a Rainbow nation. Samson Zola prepared to assassinate the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Even though he loved him like a father, he saw the need to return South Africa to its people.
Alternate Tyrant

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In 1777, American rebel General George Washington establishes a winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey, and uses the winter to correspond with the nascent Canadian nationalists. Although unable to resupply or reinforce Washington's forces, the nationalists do provide a home for Washington when the American Revolution is defeated and he is forced to flee to the north.

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In 1955, comic genius Rowan Atkinson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Atkinson’s rubbery face made him a natural for humor, and his creation of the Black Adder series in 1983 propelled him to international stardom. The series following an unscrupulous Englishman through several reincarnations was renewed six times and then made into 4 blockbuster films that cemented Atkinson’s reputation as the late twentieth century’s foremost comic talent.

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In 1971, the courts-martial of over a dozen officers responsible for both participating in and covering up the My Lai massacre in Vietnam begin. When the horrific details of that day's bloody deeds are revealed, two officers are sentenced to life in prison, and the others are convicted of lesser charges, serving a few years before being dishonorably discharged. Although the dead could not be brought back, the alacrity with which America punished those responsible for this war crime did elicit respect around the world.

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In 2001, Senator Paul Wellstone joins with the Congressional Black Caucus in challenging the electoral votes of Florida for Governor George Bush. This throws the presidential election into the House of Representatives, where bitter partisan wrangling ends with the governor elected president, but Democrat Joe Lieberman elected vice-president by the Senate. This unusual situation, decried by both sides at first, produces a bipartisan White House that truly does unite, not divide.

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In 870, Moors across Espagne celebrated their victory over the Christian infidels. The city of Alhambra was strewn with flowers and Caliph Boabdil gave all Moors of the land a holiday to honor Allah’s blessing on this day.

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Stephen R. Donaldson	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.
Unbeliever

“Hellfire” retored Covenant. “You've got it backward.” He threw his words like stones at a fals image of himself. “They coerced me into coming. It wasn't my idea. I haven't had a choice since this thing started.”With his fingers he touched his chest to remind himself of the one choice he did have. ”Unwilling,” Mhoram replied gently, “So there is good reason for calling you 'the Unbeliever'. Well, let it pass. We will hear your tale at Council tomorrow.” ~”Vespers”.

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