Tragedy

Hillary Rodham	In 2009, fulfilling a key campaign promise, US President Hillary Rodham arrived in Richmond, Virginia for re-unification talks with Confederate President Al Gore. During the election, Rodham had seized upon the theme of unfinished business in former President Bush's last State of the Nation address. It was a bold step that had carried her to the White House, and the restless ghost of Abraham Lincoln.
US President

That Lincoln had a precognitive dream about the dissolution that is well documented. He related the dream to his close friend, Ward Hill Lamon: About ten days ago, I retired very late. I soon began to dream. There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs. There the silence was broken by the same pitiful sobbing, but the mourners were invisible. I went from room to room. No living person was in sight, but the same mournful sounds met me as I passed alone. I was puzzled and alarmed. Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and shocking, I kept on until I arrived at the East Room. Before me was a catafalque on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng or people, some gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face was covered, others weeping pitifully. 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers. 'The Union,' was his answer. ~ Paranormal Phenomena.

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	In 1536, physician and alchemist Theophrastus Phillippus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus, apparently ssucceeds in synthesizing gold from lead and other base elements. When word of his discovery leaks out and his efforts are duplicated, panic sweeps Europe at the prospect of a financial collapse. Particularly hard-hit is Spain, which had been levering its expropriating of Aztec and Inca precious metals to increase its political power. With alchemical gold far cheaper to produce than natural gold is to mine and refine and impossible to tell from the natural product by sixteenth-century methods, the bottom drops out of the gold market.
Paracelsus

Church condemnation of alchemy is greatly strengthened, leading to a wave of arrests and executions by the Inquisition, including the death of Paracelsus himself in 1539. The fledgling science of chemistry is placed under ecclesiastical supervision; thereafter, only priests will be permitted to carry out research in the field. The Church’s prohibition of alchemy, however, does not prohibit Spain from using alchemical gold--and later, alchemical silver--to undermine the economies of its political enemies. England’s Henry VIII, for example, is forced from his throne after defying Rome by divorcing his wife Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. In the 'starving time' which followed the Papacy's authorization of economic warfare, Henry sees his country's currency turn worthless. Finally, his brother-in-law King James IV of Scotland attacks and defeats Henry’s remaining supporters, and is crowned King of England in Henry's place. Henry is shut up in the Tower of London, where he will die in 1547. The economic chaos in Europe will slow exploitation of the New World; the first English settlement, at Roanoke Island, will not be established until 1651. Also delayed will be scientific progress, as direct Church control spreads from chemistry to all fields. The one exception is in chemistry, where the Vatican supports a research program aimed at developing alchemy and at eventually finding a way to distinguish alchemical products from their natural counterparts. The result is an 'arms race' between alchemical synthesis and chemical analysis which will not end until 1887, when Bishop Ernest Rutherford demonstrates the use of spectroscopy to distinguish infallibly between alchemical gold and natural gold. As Rutherford shows, and as had long been accepted by alchemists, alchemical gold has not really been transmuted; instead, it is a chemical amalgam whose properties mimic those of the natural metal almost exactly. The same is soon demonstrated for other products of alchemical 'transmutation.'

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	In 2000, Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York State vented a huge amount of radioactive steam when an ageing steam generator failed. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initially reported that no radioactive material was released but were forced to retract this statement when ten of thousands of people died on the eastern seaboard. On February 16th the NRC stated The event...resulted in an initial primary-to-secondary leak of reactor coolant of approximately 50,000 gallons per minute and required an Alert declaration (the second level of emergency action in the NRC-required emergency response plan.

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In 1933, in Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara shot President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died of his wounds on March 6. John Nance Garner ascended to the Presidency, famously described by Alistair Cook as the last public man linking America of the Civil War and America of the nuclear age. Cooke was referring to the fact that Garner was born in 1868, the son of a former Confederate cavalry trooper. His unique understanding of American history enabled Cactus Jack to steer the isolationist nation clear of the tragedy of the Second Great War.

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In 634, an Asian team of the Speaker's Line assembles their Dragon, a kite that is capable of carrying two full-grown men and is almost fully controllable from within. They manage to glide the Dragon to a height of several hundred feet and manage to return to the ground safely. There is rejoicing throughout the Speaker's Line as word of this success spreads through their ranks.

In 1965, the far-left government of Canadian Prime Minister Dominic 'Moonchild' Montclair adopts the leaf of the cannibis sativa as the national symbol for the nation's flag. An obviously oblivious Queen Elizabeth attends the flag-raising to hoots and hollers from hippies gathered for the occasion. Canada becomes known as the front line of the drug war as Montclair's government and a sympathetic parliament enact the most liberal drug laws in the western world. Although denounced by Great Britain and the United States, drug abuse actually declines in Canada during this period, even though casual drug use increases slightly.

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In 1950, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China signed a mutual defense treaty as World Communism continued to gain an unstoppable momentum. By the time that Douglas MacArthur was inaugurated in 1953, the Cold War was effectively lost. The reversal of these facts on the ground required Brass Hat to reconquer the world all over again, a feat of arms he attempted in the Dropshot War of 1957.

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In Hellenic Year 3362, Socrates flees Athens, confirming his guilt to all citizens. He lives the remainder of his life in shameful exile in Thrace, and his work and students no longer commanded respect among the elite in Athenian society. Even today, he is an obscure philosopher of that great era in Hellenic history.

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In 1564, Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy. An astronomer of great note in his youth, he gave up the profession after accusations of heresy were leveled against him because of certain findings he had made. He was arrested in 1616 for speaking to some students about the possibility of the earth moving around the sun rather than vice versa. When he refused to recant this belief, he was burned at the stake as a witch.

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In 1898, Spanish troops catch a small band of men about to sneak aboard the U.S.S. Maine in Puerto de Habana, Cuba. They are carrying enough explosives to sink the battleship, which might have provoked America into war with Spain. The nationality of the men is never determined, although they speak with heavy German accents.

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Bombing	In 1945, rescue workers looked for survivors in the rubble of Dresden which closely resembled the surface of the moon. A forty-five year old man Edgar Derby was found holding a teapot. German solders concluded this had been stolen as a momento of his incarceration at nearby Slaughterhouse-Five. The previous night, 800 RAF Bomber Command planes let loose 650,000 incendiaries and 8,000lb of high explosives and hundreds of 4,000lb bombs in two waves of attack. They faced very little anti-aircraft fire, even though the city was reported to be a vital command centre for the German defence against Soviet forces approaching from the east. As soon as one part of the city was alight, the bombers went for another until the whole of Dresden was ablaze.
Dresden

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In 1933, a constitutional crisis ensues when President-elect Franklin Roosevelt is shot to death by an Italian-American bricklayer who objected to another plutocrat gaining control of America's government. Although it seemed obvious to most that Vice-President-elect John Garner was next in line to take over the White House in May, Republican President Herbert Hoover maintained that the constitution was unclear on this point, and asked the Supreme Court to decide who should follow. Although most on the court believed privately that the constitution was, in fact, quite clear on this point, they punted the question to Congress. The House of Representatives, given the duty of electing the president if the general election was unclear, took up the question of whether to elevate their former Speaker, Garner, or to continue Hoover's presidency. Although Garner felt confident that he would win among his old colleagues, it turned out that 'Cactus Jack' had rubbed more than a few of them the wrong way; they voted Hoover back into office. An enraged electorate was made even more radical by this action, and the elections of 1934 saw a huge turnover in Congress - virtually everyone who had voted against Garner and was up for reelection was defeated and replaced by a Garner supporter. Hoover was rendered impotent by the loss of Congress, and was very nearly impeached. He managed to negotiate his way to 1936 still in the office, and John Garner was swept into office in 1936 by a near-unanimous landslide, winning every single state in the general presidential election.

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In 1904, the invasion fleet of Q'B'Ton'ra, at least the remains of it, take up position just outside the earth system's Oort cloud. The conquerors of the Mlosh homeworld offer a trade of their prisoners held back on the Mlosh homeworld for the Q'Bar, as he calls his people, held on earth. Delighted that their people are still alive, the Congress of Nations agrees to the prisoner transfer.

Socrates Flees Athens; Death Takes A Bride

February 15th, 2005

in Hellenic Year 3362, Socrates flees Athens, confirming his guilt to all citizens. He lives the remainder of his life in shameful exile in Thrace, and his work and students no longer commanded respect among the elite in Athenian society. Even today, he is an obscure philosopher of that great era in Hellenic history.

in 634, an Asian team of the Speaker’s Line assembles their Dragon, a kite that is capable of carrying two full-grown men and is almost fully controllable from within. They manage to glide the Dragon to a height of several hundred feet and manage to return to the ground safely. There is rejoicing throughout the Speaker’s Line as word of this success spreads through their ranks.

in 1564, Galileo Galilee was born in Pisa, Italy. An astronomer of great note in his youth, he gave up the profession after accusations of heresy were leveled against him because of certain findings he had made. He was arrested in 1616 for speaking to some students about the possibility of the earth moving around the sun rather than vice versa. When he refused to recant this belief, he was burned at the stake as a witch.

in 1898, Spanish troops catch a small band of men about to sneak aboard the U.S.S. Maine in Puerto de Habana, Cuba. They are carrying enough explosives to sink the battleship, which might have provoked America into war with Spain. The nationality of the men is never determined, although they speak with heavy German accents.

in 1904, the invasion fleet of Q’B’Ton’ra, at least the remains of it, take up position just outside the earth system’s Oort cloud. The conquerors of the Mlosh homeworld offer a trade of their prisoners held back on the Mlosh homeworld for the Q’Bar, as he calls his people, held on earth. Delighted that their people are still alive, the Congress of Nations agrees to the prisoner transfer.

in 1952, Velma Porter and Mikhail von Heflin are joined in the ceremony of blood, and Miss Porter has her first glimpse into the world as von Heflin sees it. She is driven temporarily mad by the experience, but is nursed through it by the Baron.

in 1953, the New Reich captures the port city of Singapore in China. The Chinese are becoming increasingly desperate in their effort to hold back the onslaught of the German forces, but the Germans, armed with weaponry from neo-Nazis in the future, are unstoppable.

in 2003, negotiations break down between the People’s Republic of America and the Soviet States of America. Soviet troops move across the border into Idaho and Washington, and resistance fighters in the breakaway soviets attempt to slow them down.


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Captain Trips; This Is For Kansas

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Note: While I still feel lucid, I'll make a quick double post for the 15th and 16th. Sorry about the delay – I feel like I have Captain Trips...

June 15th, 2007

in 1891, Union troops from the fort at Concordia start firing on Topeka, softening it up for the thrust from Kansas City to take out the relatively few defenders left. Although assured by 'Sockless' Jerry Simpson that help is on the way, the citizens of Topeka are growing weary of being the battleground for his war. A number of them start plotting to assassinate the 'Socrates of the plains'.

in 1999, Sir Lance du Lac's Round Table Corps smashes through Cairo, the Central European Empire's former North African star possession, and the rest of Egypt quickly surrenders, throwing the Illuminati hiding within their borders to du Lac as sacrificial lambs. Queen Gwen goes on television and says to the world, “If the former masters of the Central European Empire will simply give themselves up, we shall no longer prosecute this war. Any deaths from this point on are meaningless, and caused only by the intransigence of the CEE's holdouts. Any nation that cooperates with us in giving up their former masters shall be considered an ally, and under our full protection.” This is the final nail in the coffin for the Illuminati, as those they seek shelter from turn them into the British in order to receive the queen's amnesty.

In 2008, following the Second Gulf War a terrorist backlash had caused America to become the most dangerous place on Earth. Captain von Tromp was informed that the Old Ones of Mars were grokking the fullness of his nation's aggression. Innocent Valentine Michael Smith explained that America's prospects looked bleak, in living memory the war-like inhabitants of the fifth planet had been destroyed; all that remained was the asteroid belt.

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

In 1980, following a security lapse that accidentally released a deadly man-made virus, the panic-stricken US military issued the desperate emergency orders Rome Falls. The superflu known as "Captain Trips" was ravaging the West Coast and all was lost. The Top Brass had lost control and decided to push the doomsday button.

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

Phoenix Chromos..	In 2472, future European leader Karl Adolphus completed his molecular biology matriculation paper in New Bremen. This brilliant and audacious fifteen year old student was to score full marks. He supplied the boldest of answers using just five words to answer the Caucasoid question. a) China b) Phoenix Chromosome c) Resveratrol.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, Neville Chamberlain departed South Africa on a transatlantic flight to Canada for medical attention. The former British Prime Minister was dying of cancer and General Smuts wasted no time in dispatching Chamberlain upon receipt of the Fuerher's second telegram. Neither of them are aware of the first telegram, sent ..	Chamberlain
.. to Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. That communique stated that Chamberlains' entry into Canada would be considered an act of war by Nazi Germany and would invite immediate action from the Kriegsmarine currently moored off the east coast.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

John Major	In 1994, at Admiralty House British Prime Minister John Major studied the photographs produced by the returned passengers of London Underground train number AEJX53B. In his youth Major had worked for a British Bank in Nigeria and had some limited first hand experience of real suffering. To be fair, out of a car window. However ..
.. these pictures from 2126 were truly shocking. Trouble was, advanced knowledge of the post-Jihad era could have a counter effect. Instead of making peace with the Islamic world to prevent such a scenario, the military-industrial complex might take preventative action. Invade the front-line of Islamic fundamentalism, in Iraq and Afghanistan for instance. Major would have to consider his next step very carefully.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, British Prime Minister Oswald Mosley and King Edward VIII are forced to accept the logic of the repulsion plan proposed by Aleister Crowley aka “The Beast”, “The Man We Would Most Like to Hang” and "The Wickedest Man In the World” inter alia. Minister of Defence Winston Churchill celebrated silently. He knew ..	Winston Churchi..
.. the British Heads of State and Government would give no credence whatsoever to Crowley himself, but they would fall for that old schmoozer, Ian Fleming. The Naval Intelligence Officer had convinced the pair to use Enochian as a code in order to plant evidence. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. It sounded strangely like Crowley's own work The Book of the Law which started “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" That was very much Churchill's thinking at this most desperate of hours.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

June 16th, 2007

in 1891, George Nelson, a lifelong Topeka resident and former supporter of 'Sockless' Jerry Simpson, approaches the Kansan leader in the middle of siege preparations and shoots him twice in the face. “That's for Kansas,” Nelson shouts at Simpson as the leader writhes in agony on the ground. Although many people look menacingly towards Nelson as he walks away from Simpson's corpse, no one lays a finger on him. The town's leaders seize the opportunity to raise a white flag over the capitol building and ask the Union soldiers their terms for surrender.

in 1999, Prime Minister Kay Ector returns from his Greek “vacation” brimming with confidence in Queen Gwen's anti-Illuminati initiative, and quickly touches base with every country in the world that could be housing the once-powerful organization. He finds a host of nations ready and willing to give up those who once ruled them, and sends the list to Sir Lance du Lac, so that his Round Table Corps can make quick work of them. In the London hospital holding King Arthur II, meanwhile, a strange old man pays a visit to the fallen monarch. None of the staff remembers why they let him in, nor do they remember him when he is gone. But, the king dreams within his coma, and stirs ever so slightly.

In 2008, Captain von Tromp of the Champion was taught by Innocent Valentine Michael Smith how to grok. The process of taking in a full understanding is best translated from the Martian as to drink; symbolised by the water ritual. By becoming water brothers, Von Tromp and Smith gained a full understanding of each other. More importantly, they dispersed the aura of aggression that was troubling the Old Ones of Mars. And Van Tromp now understood that the threat posed to America by the Old Ones was very great indeed.

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

In 1980, carrying vials of the superflu known as "Captain Trips", US Agents travelled to dispersion points around the world. The desperate emergency orders Rome Falls were carried out with military precision. Operational efficiency was a marked improvement on the security lapse that had accidentally released the deadly man-made virus.

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

European Grapev..	In 1760, by a twist of fate the healing powers of grapes were best understood outside of Europe. Vitis vinifera cultivation and wine-making in China began during the Han Dynasty in the second century BC with the importation of the species from Ta-Yuan. However, ..
.. wild vine "mountain grapes" like Vitis thunbergii were being used for wine making before that time. And where did the plague known as the Red Death originate? In China.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, in South Africa General Jan Smuts received a most distressing telegram from the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. That communique stated that Neville Chamberlains' entry into Canada would be considered an act of war by Nazi Germany and would invite immediate action from the Kriegsmarine currently moored off the east ..	Chamberlain
.. coast. He urged the General not to offer any assistance to the former British Prime Minister who was dying of cancer and currently en route to Canada by the General's arrangement.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Napoleon Bonapa..	In 1815, on this day at Ligny in Belgium Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Prussians under Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher. Aware that the Duke of Wellington's forces were but two days march away, the Little Corporal chose not to send forces in pursuit of the retreating Prussians.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1940, Nazi Deputy Rudolph Hess received a highly irregular intelligence feed most bizarrely not from Heinrich Himmler. Superficially it was a back-channel diplomatic communication from the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon inviting Hess to a clandestine meeting at Aleister Crowley's residence on Loch Ness. It also included ..	Duke of Hamilto..
.. horoscopes suggesting a pro-German coup in Britain led by the Duke and “the Beast”. The urgency was thus; a brokered peace settlement before Rommel could launch the D-Day landings on the South Coast.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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