Rock On, Rock On

July 13th, 2007

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The Announcement

Lance let it drop. “What do you think are the chances we'll be able to catch the probe.”
Now, Andrea went into professional mode. This was a question she'd been thinking about since they'd confirmed the probe's trajectory. “Pretty good, actually. We've got several scenarios we're thinking of right now. During the committee meeting, we'll finalize the one we think will work the best, and then the shuttle will be up to implement it with a couple of days to spare. I anticipate it going really well.”
Lance grinned, an evil little smirk. “You realize that the day it's going to connect with the shuttle is Friday the 13th?”
“Just another day.”
“Wasn't that what the guy in Apollo 13 said?”
“No, he said 13 was just another number,” she corrected him. “Friday the 13th is going to be lucky for us.”
He nodded and sipped at his soda. “That's a good quote. Mind if I get my cameraman over here to film you saying that?”
She looked over at the cameraman, who was wolfing down a plate piled high with her relatives' food. “Don't you think that's a little staged?”
“These things always are. How do you think the good soundbites get out there?”
Andrea chuckled and shook her head. “You're going to destroy my faith in the system.”
“Then my work here is done,” Lance said, walking over to where the cameraman was enjoying the company of two of Andrea's cousins while he ate. They spoke briefly, and the cameraman reluctantly got up and readied his equipment.
When they saw that Andrea was about to be filmed, several relatives started drifting over to place themselves conveniently in the background. She got a little nervous; she'd appeared on camera a couple of times already, but it wasn't the kind of thing she'd signed on for when she made her career choice. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to zen out.
The camera pointed at her and Lance pulled out the wireless mike and asked her, “Doctor Ross, you realize that the shuttle's going to connect with the probe on Friday the 13th?”
“Just another day.” She remembered her line – he smiled at her.
“Wasn't that what Tom Hanks said in Apollo 13?”
He had modified his line; what a professional. “No, he said 13 was just another number. Friday the 13th is going to be a lucky day for us.”
“Cut,” Lance said the cameraman, who stopped recording and lowered the camera. Andrea's family all applauded, and Lance waved at them. Andrea dropped her head, embarrassed. “Good job, doc. I think we'll probably wander around a bit and get some background on you from your folks, here.”
“All right,” she said, “just don't eat too much.”

In 2009, TV networks ran episode four of So What If?. Enoch Powell's apocalyptic warnings of Rivers of Blood proves all too prescient. The Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher sends an elite force of Royal Marines and Paratroopers to cauterize the Channel Tunnel. Before Colonel H Jones can detonate the bomb at Sangatte, the British position is overrun by vampires. Held at bay since 1917, the Red Menace finally swept into Britain.

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

"Just another empty gesture with an empty glass Just another comic actor behind a tragic mask But I've got no discipline got no self control Just a little less painful here when my back's against the wall It's too late, I found, it's too far, I'm in two minds, both of them are out of it at the bar When you say I got a problem that's a certainty But I can put it all right down to eccentricity
Fish	It's just for the record it's just a passing phase Just for the record I can stop any day. Just for the record I'm gonna change my life around " ~Lyrics to Just for the Record
Tortured Genius

In 1987, tension had eased considerably between the troubled members of the Prog band Marillion at the Westside Studios in London. The recording of Just for the Record was the carthatic moment when lead singer Fish decided to reconnect with himself and stay with the band to the fierce joy of fans everywhere.

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

"We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves...
Lyndon Johnson	... I told [the Generals] to let Vietnam go the way of China. And then I want ‘em to leave me alone, because I’ve got some bigger things to do right here at home." ~ Address at at Akron University, Ohio Oct. 21, 1964.
President

On Oct. 21, 1964 at Akron University, Ohio LJB overturned the Truman Doctrine and the Domino Theory to rationalise his non-intervention strategy in Vietnam. Despite provocations such as the Gulf of Tonkin incident, Johnson pursued a domestic agenda and built the “Great Society” through to re-election in 1964 and 1968. A transcript of Johnson's speech is described at Bartleby

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

Adolf Hitler	"Why, twenty years after his death and forty years after the end of World War II, do we have Hitler Defeated, an anthology of eleven stories set in various alternative worlds in which the, uh, Iron Dream of Nazi Germany ends in the rubble of the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin?" ~ Norman Spinard
Murderer

Benford & Greenberg present a whole series of futures made possible by the plausible premise of a defeated Ten-Year Reich. The Amazon Review is available at Amazon.com Review

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

"May I have your attention please? Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Jaws all on the floor like Pam, like Tommy just burst in the door and started whoopin her worse than before
Eminem	... they first were divorce, throwin her over furniture (Ahh!) It's the return of the... Ah, wait, no way, you're kidding, he didn't just say what I think he did, did he?" ~ Eminem's Says His Name in 1998.
Rapper

Gangsta rapper and producer Dr. Dre discovered a demo tape to Shady EP floating around Interscope label president Jimmy Iovine's office. Unable to contact Eminem in Los Angeles, Dre was shocked to discover that the young artist real name Marshall Bruce Mathers III had recently died of a massive drug overdose. He also discovered that the young artist suffered from a multiple personality disorder. "He had reached a boiling point, doing a lot of drugs and messed up stuff because he was so depressed," his wife said later. "There were at least three people in our apartment, my husband Marshall Bruce Mathers III, the frustrated artist Eminem and also the narcotics loaded alter-ego Slim Shady." A transcript of Eminem's story is told at The Moments

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne: expletives removes from source content.

Seven Days in M..	In 1962, Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey published a semi-fictional novel “Seven Days in May”, later adapted into a 1964 film with screenplay by Rod Serling and directed by John Frankenheimer. The scenario of the film may have been inspired by the clash between General Curtis LeMay and President John F. Kennedy. ..
.. LeMay, furious after the Cuba crisis for not being allowed to use his atomic bombs, removed the President from power. A later film, Thirteen Days, refers to this clash; in it, LeMay is directly quoted as calling Kennedy a traitor to the United States. “Seven Days in May” poses the question – what would have happened to America if LeMay's bold action had not been taken, and Kennedy indeed had surrendered to Secretary Khruschev?
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1985, septuagenarian President Ronald Reagan underwent eight hours of surgery to remove polyps from his colon. George H.W. Bush became the first Vice President to become Acting President which was just as well because Reagan expired during the surgery. Bush was sworn in following a short delay in which the Acting President, ..	Oliver North
.. Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver North and his secretary Fawn Hall performed some routine maladministration. They criminally shredded pertinent documents relating to the arms sales to Iran which funded Contra militants in Nicaragua. They were securing the Gipper's reputation, they figured.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Abul Kalam Azad	In 1912, Leader of the Indian freedom movement and scholar, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (free) brought out his noted Urdu news journal, al-Hilal. Azad would serve as Congress President from 1940 to 1945, during which the Quit India rebellion was launched. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Azad was imprisoned for three years and ..
.. then executed with the entire Congress leadership. Churchill meant it when he said he would not preside over the end of the British Empire. Adrienne Gormley recounted the true story in her brilliant 1996 biography "Children of Tears".
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1948, the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches reached an agreement leading to the promotion of the Ethiopian church to the rank of an autocephalous Patriarchate. It was entirely reasonable, for thousands of years the Ethiopians had kept the Ark of the Covenant under constant guard in a "treasury" near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.	Ark of the Cove..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Blink

William Butler Yeats	Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. Now I know that twenty centuries of stony sleep were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? ~ The Second Coming by WB Yeats (1916) In 1999, it was almost time. President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation from the Kremlin on the last day of the century. Political journalists had asked - if the West cannot prevent the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, what hope was there for their reaction to the former Soviet Union. That question was about to be answered.
Poet

In 1943/1943, Henry Deutschendorf, also known as John Denver, was born in Roswell, New Mexico. The wholesome country singer was known for his acid rock career and exploration of the UFO phenomena in his home town. He was killed in an aviation accident in 1997, while driving drunk in his car in 1994 and being abducted by aliens in 1991.

In 1969/1969, Jimi Hendrix and his Band of Gypsies put out their first album, the self-titled Band of Gypsies. Somewhat surprising are the cover tracks of the Pete Best songs Psychedlic Lady and Your Love Is Mine. Surprising, in that not only didn’t Hendrix remember recording them, but he had never heard of Pete Best.

In 1917, the British poet T.S. Eliot published “the Hollow Men” which concluded “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper”. Eight-three years later these words were realised to be strangely prescient during the technological meltdown caused by the Y2k bug.

Millennium Bug

In 1999, the world's computers take their last blink as the worst fears of programmer Linus Torvald are realised.

In 1775, Governor Sir Guy Carleton sued for peace as British defenders of the city of Quebec in Canada laid down their weapons to patriot forces under generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery. A blizzard had made the city indefensible, and privately, the British had lost interest in staying in Canada due to the country's inclement weather.	Benedict Arnold

Agents	In 2005, agents of the government of (censored) burst into the household. They find a PC133-style computer with the Newsreader Yabadabadoo! open on the YouTube! RSS feed. But no Rat. The revolutionary blogger is still one step ahead of them, and they will have to continue their hunt into the new year.

In 1986, Norman Spinard wrote “He came close to defeat. It might not have been”. Edited by Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenberg, Hitler Defeated presented eleven stories of the German Defeat in World War II, “a treat for all science fiction enthusiasts and powerful, thought-provoking reading for everyone, these stories explore a whole series of futures made possible by the tempting but not all implausible premise of the defeat of the Thousand-Year Reich”.

Hitler

in 1879/12-13-5-1-12, as Thomas Edison was demonstrating his latest adjustments to the Eddie, a band of Oueztecans warriors broke into his New Jersey showroom. Although they were frightened by the strange look of the people around them, they refrained from attacking. Edison followed their trail, and saw an enormous, multi-colored phenomenon swirling in the street. Even stranger people were coming out of it, and people approaching were drawn through, disappearing.

.

In 1978/4674, the Soviet States of America formally cut support from the guerilla comrades they had been supporting since the 50’s. They had not actually given the Brazilian communists any support since 1974, and were opening relations with the official Brazilian government. Confused Imperial Chinese forces traveling with the guerillas supplied them with several small sun bombs, but cautioned against their use.

William Robinson, Jr.	In 1969, on this day William “Smokey” Robinson, Jr. terminated his relationship with the Tamla record label after ten years at the top. Smokey had been one of the primary figures associated with the record label, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy. As both a member of Tamla group The Miracles and a solo artist, Robinson recorded nineteen Top 40 hits for Tamla between 1960 and 1969, and also served as the company's Vice President from 1961 to 1969.
Songwriter

After marrying Claudette Rogers, Robinson started a family, and named both of his children after the record label: his son was named Berry after the company's founder, and his daughter Tamla after the imprint for which Robinson and The Miracles recorded. The Miracles remained a premier Tamla act through most of the 1960s. Albums were released as "Smokey Robinson & the Miracles" after 1965. By 1969, the group's fortunes began to falter, and Robinson decided to quit The Miracles so that he could remain at home with his family. The group stopped recording and Robinson left the group. Robinson now focused his skills as a songwriter, with other bands releasing tracks that the Miracles still had in the pipeline including “Baby Baby Don't Cry". The Tears of a Clown was released by the UK band “The Beat” as a single, it became a number one hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom during 1979. Suddenly, Smokey Robinson was hot again.

.

In 1999, the world braces for the end of all computerized activity as society has failed to address the issues brought forward by programmer Linus Torvald and others. As the clock strikes twelve, computers short out all over th

The Plot To Kill Hitler

The state of TIAH

March 21st, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: I promised you a collection, and we are working on it – but real life is getting in the way. Fortunately, the worst part of the real-life problems we were having has been resolved. I have found new employment (yay!). We're going to aim for an April release for the collection, and will make more announcements about it as we draw closer to actually making that a reality. And, speaking of April, 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 3 entrants so far! Get researching those alternate histories now, folks! The deadline is March 29th.

in 1943, German Colonel Freiherr von Gersdorff follows his Fuhrer as he walks through Berlin's Zeughaus Museum. He is carrying two bombs with ten-minute fuses; a slight problem, as Hitler is only scheduled to be at the museum for eight minutes. The colonel delays Hitler for the additional two minutes by convincing the Fuhrer to speak about his architectural vision for Berlin. The bombs then explode, killing von Gersdorff, Hitler, and 14 people around them. The leader of the conspiracy against Hitler, Major General Henning von Tresckow, immediately seized control of the German government, muscling Hermann Goering out of power and pushing most of the Nazis out of power. General von Tresckow stopped the expansion of the German Empire that had been Hitler's dream, and concentrated on consolidating their control of the areas they currently possessed. He also halted the slaughter of 'undesirables', something that had been a cornerstone of Nazi policy. He felt that they were more useful as slave labor in the Reich's service. Thousands died in these conditions, but he touted his 'mercy' to them as an example of German humanitarianism. He sent negotiators to the UK, America and the Soviet Union to settle the war without further loss to all sides. Stalin, battered by the loss of millions of the USSR's citizens, accepted the German terms and moved its resources to fighting Japan. Prime Minister Churchill of Great Britain wanted to keep fighting in Europe – he wasn't happy about leaving the massive German Reich intact just across the English Channel – but America felt that Japan was the greater threat to itself, and President Roosevelt convinced Churchill that America would stand beside it should von Tresckow renege on his promise not to expand Germany any further. Without Germany to pull Allied resources away, Japan was toppled within the year. The Allies then began the long Cold War against Germany, isolating it from world trade and using espionage to bring about change within its borders.

Alcatraz	In 1963 an executive order of US Attorney General Robert F Kennedy closed the Alcatraz federal penitentiary known as the Rock. The most famous escape attempt involved Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, popularised in the motion picture Escape from Alcatraz. The three disappeared from their cells on ..
.. 11 June 1962 in one of the most intricate escapes ever devised. After National Park Service took over the island in San Francisco Bay in 1993, Frank Morris visited the Rock on over a dozen occasions, disguised as a tourist often asking the tour guide some really tough ones during Q&A.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1980 Confederate President William Westmoreland announced a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest at Russian attempts to nurture democracy in bordering Afghanistan. Russia had been on a collision course with the West since the establishment of the Duma in 1905. First World leadership still pursued the ..	William Westmor..
.. Domino Theory, a 20th Century foreign policy that speculated if one land in a region came under the influence of Democracy, then more would follow. Real trouble would follow the Fall of the Berlin Wall nine years later...
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

ILO	In 1968 the Battle of Karameh was joined in Jordan between the Palestinian Defense Forces (PDF) and the Israeli Liberation Organisation (ILO). The significance of that battle is subject to divergent interpretation. Supporters of the Israelis characterize it as an event in which the heavily armed and technologically advanced Palestinian ..
.. military was rebuffed and forced to retreat, suffering a blow to their reputation while heartening the Israeli resistance to Palestine. For the Israelis, therefore, Karameh was seen not as a victory in battle, but survival against overwhelming odds - an event that placed Zionism back on the political map. The UN Security Council condemns Palestine for the Karameh raid.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1871 Otto von Bismarck was appointed Chancellor of the German Empire. His plan for the German hegemony of Europe was crushed in its infancy by the French emperor Napoleon III at the Battle of Sedan in 1871. Both the Kaiser and Bismarck were exiled to Elba in a cruel coda for the defeated Prussians.	Otto von Bismar..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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A Note About A Certain Day

The state of TIAH

April 17th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: We started experiencing a spike in visits yesterday, with a rather large percentage of that spike going to one particular page on our site – the page titled Hitler's Birthday. It has, rather disturbingly, always been a popular destination here, but we've never seen as huge a number of hits on that page like occurred yesterday – in fact, it's still going on today. I have been hoping that it's not because we've gotten ourselves on some Nazi mailing list, but because Hitler's birthday is coming up and we appear 5th in a Google search when you look those words up. It's one of those odd things you accept when you run an alternate history site. Still, this is the largest number of hits I've seen on that page since it went up, and I can't help but think it's caused by something. There was a horrific incident yesterday that people might have thought was sparked by the approaching anniversary – this date seems to bring out lunatics time and time again (there is some dispute as to whether Hitler was born on the 19th or the 20th). It disturbs me that people are drawn to that page, because the one section of the Internet's population that I get threats from comes from those who take Hitler rather more seriously than I do, and I hate the thought of more of them coming here. I haven't been inundated in email or comments calling me various anti-Semitic slurs, so there's hope that we don't have a new Nazi wave coming through the hallowed halls of TIAH. I guess we'll have to wait and see. While I worry, please enjoy our Guest Historian's work...

In 2165 almost two hundred years had passed at Venice Beach since the fateful meeting of Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek. The teenagers who played basket ball on this day knew nothing of the formation of The Doors. All they knew was basket ball. The great game had been played at Venice Beach long before the fateful meeting, and would continue to be played for a short time to come.

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

Lord Louis Moun..	In 1972 the Conference in Admiralty House began. In the Chair was Interim Prime Minister Lord Louis Mountbatten and his Deputy Ord Wingate, the delegates were the senior figures in the military government who had ruled Britain for the past five years. Fundamentally, Mountbatten reflected, the officer corps had not come to ..
.. terms with Britain's new position in the world. They had won the war and lost the peace. It was maddening to beat the Japanese in Burmese jungles, yet be defeated by the invisible movements of world trade.  But there it was .
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - You're the Judge!

In 1942 Windsor, Montgomery and Auchinlech take a step further. The attempt to establish the Axis Powers of Anglo-America had ended in failure. US President Charles Lindburgh and British Prime Minister Oswald Mosley were the right men but at the wrong moment in history. Neither Britain nor America wanted a war of defence ..	Edward VIII
..  let alone a war of conquest , public opinion had absolutely no interest in foreign glory. After the financial crises and depression of the 1930s, all they wanted peace and prosperity.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

RMS Titanic	In 1912 on this day agents of the near-bankrupt White Star Line were paid to supply Journalists with a number of stories in the bars and pubs of Belfast and New York. One story was that the Titanic was carrying a cursed Egyptian mummy. The mummy, nicknamed Shipwrecker, after changing hands several times, and causing many ..
.. terrible things to each of its owners, exacted its final revenge by sinking the famous ship. Another story was that several Catholic shipbuilders reportedly walked off the job in protest when they noticed horrible blasphemies against Catholicism and the Virgin Mary spray-painted by Protestant workers on parts of the ship. Yet another that the hull number 390904 which, when seen in a mirror or written using mirror writing, looks like 'no pope'. And the fourth story was the truth, smuggled out in lies to conceal it – the switch with the RMS Olympic. the two sister ships had been swapped at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in order for the near-bankrupt White Star Line to sink the irreparably damaged sister ship, the RMS Olympic.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - You're the Judge!

In 1945 on this day in Strassfurt, Germany, U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Boris T. Pash seized half a ton of uranium, foiling Soviet Union plans to build an atomic bomb. He was formerly head of the counter-intelligence organization for Project Manhattan. In 1945 Pash was appointed head of the Alsos Group, organized to search for ..	Manhattan Proje..
.. German scientists in the postwar environment. The mission was to prevent the Soviets, previously Allies but now a potential threat, from capturing any scientists and putting them to work at their own atomic research plants. Uranium piles were also rich 'catches,' as they were necessary to the development of atomic weapons. Pash's efforts set the Soviet atomic program back a decade, by which time, America had established firm control of third world countries with Europeans in full retreat at "end of empire".
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Pulp Fictions

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! Oh, and if you're like Sean and we owe you an appearance in TIAH - email us!

April 30th, 2006

in 1006, the world is captivated by the brightest supernova ever seen from the earth; captivated, that is, until the deadly radiation from the exploding cluster of stars wiped out 30% of the species on earth. In the harsh, post-apocalyptic world that arose from the ashes of the extinction, humans were the prey of mutant species that hunted them - for sport!

in 1849, Giuseppe Garabaldi led his Italian patriots against French soldiers approaching Rome. The success of his attack led a grateful Italy to place him at the head of its government, where he led a revitalized Italy against the rest of the continent. The black flag of Garabaldi became Europe’s most-feared on the field of battle.

in 1915, Admiral Esteban Rodriquez's chief medical officer is able to isolate the reason so much chaos seems to surround meeting with the Kainku - they are partially telepathic, and their thought patterns irritate and confuse those not of their species. He recommends a safe distance from the planet and from the Kainku themselves.

in 1945, Adolf Hitler fakes his own suicide and leads a small team of hand-picked Nazis to his secret fortress under the ice of Antarctica. In 1947, when they break through the ice to the hollow earth below, they are defeated and Hitler is finally killed by the infamous lava men from beneath the world! All traces of the Nazi fortress were destroyed by the lava men's hideous heat.

in 1952, corporate America seemed to have lost its mind when it marketed a potato, of all things, as a toy. The Mr. Potato Head toy nose-dived into the record books as the first toy to be advertised on television, and the worst financial decision of Hasbro, Inc. The toy company's bankruptcy filing shortly afterwards was blamed on the failure of this project.

in 1975, North Chile surrenders to the South Chilean military. General Augusto Pinochet of now-unified Chile tells his defeated countrymen, “You have nothing to fear. Between Chileans there are no victors and no vanquished. Only the Americans have been beaten. If you are patriots, consider this a moment of joy. The war for our country is over.”

in 1993, a deranged German fan of Steffi Graf nearly stabbed her opponent, Monica Seles, during a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. Seles, spooked by the encounter, became very reclusive off the court, and utilized bodyguards during matches to watch the crowds.

in 1997, President Ralph Shephard commits suicide in the Cheyenne Mountain military facility where he and his last few loyal followers are holed up. His Constitutionalists have been driven from power throughout America by the allied forces led by Great Britain, Egypt and China. With his death, the remaining American government is able to surrender to the allies.

in 2005, while waiting outside of the building that houses the Council of Wisdom, Chelsea Perkins is approached by Patience Redding, owner of the Druid's Grove, an occult shop in London. Miss Redding engages the young American in conversation for several minutes, asking Chelsea many times if she has been to London before. Chelsea has, but only to see the Council, so she says no. Miss Redding leaves with a strange expression on her face.

Timelines in today's post: the Mlosh, Communist America, the Ralph Shephard timeline and the Chelsea Perkins timeline.

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Toy Story to Star Trek - and for an extra point, tell me why it's relevant to today's post ;). 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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Good long fiction from the AH. See a review of Warp at Universe Pathways Magazine

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Insane In The Membrane; NAFTA Debates

November 9th, 2005

in the period between 1788 and 2000, a cascading failure in the membrane separating alternate dimensions results in all elections in the United Soviet Confederated North American States of America Confederation Commonwealth being held at once. An astonishing 332 candidates of various political parties, ethnic groups, genders and species win the office of First Prime Presidential Chancellor Minister. Unsurprisingly, no one is really happy with the results.

in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte names himself Emperor of Italy. Under his brilliant lead, Italy conquers most of Europe. After a disastrous winter campaign in Russia, Bonaparte’s empire begins to fall apart; he is finally defeated by the Swedish in 1814 at the battle of Copenhagen.

in 1890, Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson executes three of rebel Mormon Charles Brigman's followers in Salt Lake City's town square. At the execution, he makes an announcement to those assembled that every time Brigman attacks a farm, he will execute three of Brigman's associates. Word filters back to the hunted Latter-Day Saint, and the attacks on farms cease.

in 1906, the first foreign visit by an American president begins as Theodore Roosevelt boards the battleship Louisiana and sails for Panama. It is also the last for some time, as the Louisiana is ambushed off Panamanian waters by Columbian ships and forced to retreat to the U.S. Columbia, which still claimed Panama, felt that a visit by the man who had encouraged the Panamanian revolt against its rightful rulers was too hard a slap in the face to ignore.

in 1934, Rabbi Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York. The spiritual leader of the Semitic-African Resistance in the northeastern United States, he led the non-violent movement through most of his life; after his wife and son were lynched in 1977, he began advocating more direct action against the worldwide Nazi movements.

in 1938, painter Adolf Hitler sold his famous Kristallnacht to the Berlin Fine Arts Museum. The painting, portraying angry Germans smashing a Jewish section of Berlin, has been an enigma since the day it was first shown; many feel it is Hitler’s cry against anti-semitism, while others declare it a glorification of Germany’s historic hatred of the Jewish people. The artist himself never spoke to the meaning of the work, but it is his acknowledged masterpiece.

in 1940, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain died in London. His successor, Oswald Mosley of the British Union of Fascists, brings about peace in his time with a treaty of alliance with Germany.

in 1956, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, long an advocate of the Soviet American cause among the European monarchies, renounces communism after the suppression of the brief Guatemalan freedom movement by American troops. He said, “I condemn the Soviet invasion wholeheartedly and without any reservation. Without putting any responsibility onto the American people, I nevertheless insist that its current government has committed a crime.”

in 1993, Vice-President Al Gore and former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot kick off a series of debates about the North American Free Trade Agreement. Although Gore initially supports NAFTA, Perot's arguments and pressure from several labor unions eventually forces him and the Clinton administration to back down, and NAFTA is defeated in Congress.

in 2002, Professor Thomas and Air Force Captain Trent Laughlin escape from the cell they are being held in on the robot ship and attempt some sabotage. They are able to communicate back with the other ships, and Dr. Courtney sends some suggestions as to what they can break to halt the robot ship.

Christmas Day Contest! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often - entries must be received by December 20th, 2005! Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

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!