Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Novels. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Novels. Sort by date Show all posts

Friday, December 01, 2006

Repost of entries - 11/25/06-12/01/06

The state of TIAH

November 25th, 2006


Alternate Historian's Note: November is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. In 2004, we produced our novel Warp, and last year we got a start on The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion during this annual event. Both of these novels were based on timelines from TIAH – Warp was based on the Mlosh timeline, and Protocols on the Greater Zionist Resistance timeline. Although we posted numerous links to these novels on Lulu, TIAH didn't post any excerpts from them. We're going to do it a little differently this year. This year, the November posts on TIAH will be excerpts from the novel that is being written by us for NaNoWriMo. We will still have Guest Historian entries – Stephen Payne (who has compiled several and made them available on Lulu for free – just go through the Add to Cart system to get it) has some already written and waiting, and he is going to be joined by Guest Historian JD – so, if you want to make a Guest Post this month, go ahead and send it to us, and it will appear along with our novel post.

in 1872, the Mary Celeste reaches the island of St Mary in the Azores. First Mate Albert Richardson makes an unexpected take it or leave it offer. Benjamin, Sarah and Sophia Briggs can take six months rations and stay ashore. Richardson will entreat Morehouse to detour to St Mary and pick them up before sailing to Gibraltar as planned. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1940, U.S. President-elect Charles Lindburgh met with Prime Minister Oswald Mosley and King Edward VIII at Buckingham Palace. First Lady elect Anne Morrow Lindbergh is charmed by fellow American Wallis, Duchess of Windsor. The tragedies of their respective lives is a common thread that bonds the group. And at this apex of government, the so-called Axis Powers join forces determined to reverse the catalogue of disasters that have beset Anglo-America since Versailles. The series of events culminating in the human tragedy known as World War II proceed with an unstoppable momentum. In the language of Karl Marx, irreversible historical processes are in operation. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1945, a formal record of the meeting of the non-proliferation committee for the Congress of Worlds is transcribed for distribution to security-cleared personnel. Trouble is the very criminal who leaked the nuclear technology to the aggressors on planet earth in the first place has ratted the committee out. A surprise welcome party is already being planned for the exploratory mission when they land in Roswell, New Mexico July 1947. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1953, the Piltdown artifact has now been under deep refrigeration for several days. The attendant scientists have found that the cold of the Natural History Museum's preservation vault has served to slow the growth of Piltdown's flesh, but has failed to retard it completely. As it stands, the head is fully fleshed, except for the skin and hair. Lids have grown over the formerly vacant eyesockets, which now bulge properly as if filled. The spinal column is regenerating at the approximate rate of one vertebrae every eighteen hours, with skin and muscle housing proceeding apace. A particularly brave representative of the Ministry of Health approached the living corpse to draw a blood sample, and nearly suffered a lack of wits when the head began to twitch and rock, as if in annoyance. The sample was successfully drawn, however, and rushed to the biological laboratories. The scientists can do little but watch and anticipate as they await the findings of the biochemists... - entry by Guest Historian JD -

in 1990, a body washes ashore at Salalah in Oman. As long-standing allies of the British Government, senior officials of the Sultanate of Oman contact Whitehall immediately through express channels in the secret service. Less than ten hours later, members of the exComm3 subcommittee receive a slideshow briefing in an underground room at Admiralty House, Whitehall, London. Pictures of the body reveal alien genetic modification. Fears about the Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) hidden in Iraq reach a fever pitch. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
“This is the kind of traffic I needed this morning,” Kevin said as they sped up the highway to Pflugerville. They almost had the road to themselves; the only other vehicles around were other National Guard trucks and jeeps.
“They just barely got the other people off the road by curfew,” Sergeant Morris said. “See, they had to leave behind some of the cars.”
Sure enough, there were several abandoned cars on the sides of the road where people had to leave when the curfew was in danger of catching them. “It's like a car lot. We could take our pick,” Kevin said. He was leaning against the jeep's window, trying to keep his eyes open. The long day was really catching up to him, and he felt bone-tired. “Hope your ex has a comfortable couch.”
“She does. I know; I slept on it plenty.” They both chuckled. “So, you ever been married, Bradley?”
“Nope, never able to get a woman convinced I was the one.”
“I bet that 3 million bucks'll help with that.”
“Yeah, but I don't know if that's the kinda woman I wanna marry,” Kevin said. “Specially since that's the kinda woman'll make it disappear in a year or two.”
“Amen,” Morris said. “I shouldn't complain, though. Divorce was my fault. I was just never around enough after the kids were born. Bein' a sergeant sucks.”
“At least you get to order people like me around.”
“One of my favorite compensations.” He peered at a huge green road sign for a minute, then switched to the outside lane. “I think this next exit is us. Steph usually brings the kids to me when they visit, so I hardly ever come out here.”
“Did you call her to let her know we were coming?”
“It's probably best if we surprise her,” Sergeant Morris said, a little sheepishly. “She don't like it when I call. Starts yellin' at me.”
“You don't today might be a little different?”
“Well, maybe. But I don't wanna take the chance.”
“Sounds like this is gonna be a fun night for us both.”

Joan saw headlights play across the wall and she looked out the window to their driveway. “There's a jeep pulling up outside.”
Steph ran to the door and opened it up. The headlights turned off and she saw two men hop out of the jeep and start walking towards the house. She ran over to the black man and hugged him tightly.
“Yeah, she looks real mad at you, Sergeant,” the white man said.
Steph looked over at him for a second as the kids came pounding up to their father. She realized that she was crying, and wiped away the tears before speaking. “Jake, why didn't you call me?”
The two men exchanged smiles, and Jake said, “Sorry, Steph, but I've been trying to teach this guy how to use a hazmat suit all day.” He extended a hand out to the white man and gave the introductions. “Specialist Kevin Bradley, Stephanie Morris. The pretty young lady here is my daughter Joan, and that big man there is my son, George.”
“Nice to meet y'all,” Bradley said, extending his hand out to Steph.
She shook with him and then turned back to Jake. “So, what are you doing here?”
Jake avoided her eyes as he said, “Well, we were kinda wondering if we could maybe spend the night here. We gotta head out early in the morning on our mission, and - “
“All right.” Jake and the kids all looked at her in surprise. “What?”
“I was expectin' to have to smooth talk you,” Jake said.
“Let's just say I'll feel a little safer with a couple soldiers under my roof tonight,” Steph said, turning back to the house.


The state of TIAH

November 26th, 2006


Alternate Historian's Note: November is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. In 2004, we produced our novel Warp, and last year we got a start on The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion during this annual event. Both of these novels were based on timelines from TIAH – Warp was based on the Mlosh timeline, and Protocols on the Greater Zionist Resistance timeline. Although we posted numerous links to these novels on Lulu, TIAH didn't post any excerpts from them. We're going to do it a little differently this year. This year, the November posts on TIAH will be excerpts from the novel that is being written by us for NaNoWriMo. We will still have Guest Historian entries – Stephen Payne (who has compiled several and made them available on Lulu for free – just go through the Add to Cart system to get it) has some already written and waiting, and he is going to be joined by Guest Historian JD – so, if you want to make a Guest Post this month, go ahead and send it to us, and it will appear along with our novel post.

in 1872, the Mary Celeste leaves the island of St Mary in the Azores without the Briggs on-board. First Mate Albert Richardson tells the crew that a rescue ship is on its way and they need not be concerned. He assumes the Captaincy with a heavy heart. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1941, planes and midget submarines of the Imperial British Navy began a surprise attack on French North Africa under the command of British Admiral James Somerville. This attack brought the French Republic into World War II. At 6:00 a.m. on November 26, the six British carriers launched a first wave of 181 planes composed of torpedo bombers, dive-bombers, level bombers and fighters. The British hit French ships and military installations at Oran at 7:53 a.m. They attacked military airfields and at the same time they hit the fleet anchored in Mers-el-Kébir. Overall, twenty-one ships of the French Mediterranean fleet were damaged and the death toll reached 1,297 with 350 injured. At 9:00 US Forces seize the French colony of Martinique in the Caribbean as the Axis Powers of Anglo-America strike the first blows in World War II. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1946, on arrival at Union Station, Toronto former British Prime Minister Winston Spencer Churchill gives his famous Iron Curtain speech - 'From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "Iron curtain" has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Nazi sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Nazi influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Berlin.' Lord Halifax can only seethe in silence from Ottawa where he is a guest at Rideau Hall, residence of the Governor General of Canada. Halifax hoped for an accommodation with the Nazis which would enable a speedy return to London before winter sets in, and this speech from Churchill is (in the words of US President Charles Lindbergh) 'an unnecessary insult to the German Nazi Government'. He actually preferred his time as Viceroy of India to this current position as Head of the British Government in Exile which he had taken at His Majesty's insistence. In fact he had even preferred his role as US Ambassador from 1940, a neutral location that had enabled him to take up his current position when the Royal Family fled to North America. Its getting too cold for comfort out here in Ontario, really. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1970, the National Olympic Committee announce that for the first time the Winter Games will be held outside North America or Europe. The ’72 games will be the first major international sporting event since the 'Dropshot' War of 1957, and a neutral location is necessary to involve athletes from the combative nations of America, China and the Soviet Union. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
After nearly getting caught for the third time, Janice decided that she needed a rest. She pulled off into a ditch and turned off her goggles. The battery was almost dead, anyway. She had a spare, so she probably had one more night of exploring she could do, but after that, she was going to have to drive with her lights on – and that meant she was going to be caught.
She was going to be dead if she kept driving tonight, though. She had nearly run off the road several times when her eyelids drooped too far. She got a blanket from the trunk, locked all her doors, and curled up in the back seat.
She startled herself awake after a few minutes and pulled the cell phone out of her purse in the front seat. She set it to buzz at 5 in the morning and set it down on the floorboard next to her head. She then lay her head back down, got as comfortable as she could, and tried to calm the hundreds of thoughts buzzing around in her head. She was exhausted, but every time she felt the sandman's grip, another thought ran to the front of her mind to distract her. She knew that she needed to keep an eye on the Geiger counter; that she should have done something to camouflage the car, or hide herself better; that she should have updated her web page, but then thought that might give away her position... and all these little flies buzzed about in her head until she couldn't stand it anymore. She pulled a sleeping pill from her purse and swallowed it down with some her bottled water. The jug was nearly empty – she'd need to fill it again in the morning, provided she was able to.
Tapping on her window startled her awake. She reached for her gun and opened her eyes. Standing outside of her window was a young woman who looked even more exhausted than Janice; her brown hair hung limply over her eyes, which were barely open at all. Janice rolled the window down slightly and said, “What do you want?”
“Please, ma'am, I just want someplace to sleep out the night,” the young woman said. “I been hikin' all day and night and ain't seen nary a car, and my feet are killin' me.” She tried a small smile, but Janice's expression withered it.
“Look, chick, I have no way of knowing you aren't feeling me out for your rapist boyfriend who's waiting to see if I have a gun or not. I do, by the way,” she said, pointing the pistol at the woman's face, “and I don't mind using it. There's a farmhouse you can flop in about 15 miles down that road,” she said, pointing down the long, long road. “Get going.”
“Please, lady, I ain't got no boyfriend with me, and I won't try nothin'. I just wanna sleep someplace 'sides the ground.”
Janice rolled the window back up and tightened her grip on the pistol. She threw off the blanket and unlocked the door, holding her gun on the woman while she got out. “Tell you what. You get your happy little butt down the road that way,” she pointed in Waco's direction, “and the National Guard will be happy to give you a place to sleep for the night.”
“What're you talkin' about?”
“You don't know?”
“Don't know what?”
Janice snorted. She looked around with one eye on her guest, but couldn't see anybody else. “Martial law's been declared. They're saying that they nuked the president in Crawford.”
The young woman looked like she'd been slapped in the face. “That... that cain't be,” she whispered. “I was just there this mornin'.”
Janice's attitude changed immediately. “Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? Have a seat, honey. I got a lot of questions for you.”


The state of TIAH

November 27th, 2006


Alternate Historian's Note: Welcome back from the holidays. If you're reading this, then you've seen the note we managed to put up on the main site about our Blogger problems. We have no idea how long this will take to fix; we have yet to receive a reply from Google about it. Until we do sort it out, we will be posting here. Don't change your bookmarks yet, but I have to say that Wordpress is very nice compared to Blogger, so I am definitely thinking about making this permanent. If you like it, too, email and let us know. In the meantime, be sure to visit out Guest Historian's, too, when they have a web site they want you to visit. Stephen Payne's work can be had from Lulu, as well. Thanks for sticking with us!

in 9000 BC, minor climatic changes in the north sea reverse the separation of the British Isles from mainland Europe. The consequence of this geographical event is that territorial integrity is preserved between the French Province Bretagne (also known as Brittany) and the land referred to by Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1136) as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), for Monmouth to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain" or Brittany). History records that in 1604 King James I of England and James VI Scotland on ascending to the joint crowns chose against the title King of England and Scotland. His advisers in court, who were French speakers, selected Grand Bretagne relying heavily upon Geoffrey of Monmouth's definition. Today everyone in Grand Bretagne/Great Britain is aware of their kinship with the French province, and no one is under the illusion that the verb great was chosen through arrogance or pride. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1872, on the island of St Mary the Briggs pray for their deliverance at the hands of blessed First Mate Albert Richardson of the Mary Celeste. They pray also for their eldest son Arthur Stanley who remained at home for the voyage. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1941, the series of events culminating in the human tragedy known as World War II proceed with an unstoppable momentum when the French government react aggressively to the pre-emptive strike by the Imperial British Navy on the French Fleet anchored at Mers-el-Kébir and the US seizure of Martinique. In the language of Karl Marx, irreversible historical processes are in operation. President Philippe Pétain addressed a joint session of the Parliament Français, calling "deux six un un [2611] a date which will live in infamy". The allies prepare for war with the Axis powers of Anglo-America. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1973, Gerald Ford was confirmed as the new Vice President of the United States, assuming the presidency less than six months later. Ford had become a national figure since his appointment to the Warren Commission, sensationally traveling to Dallas with Chief Justice Earl Warren and other commission members for a series of private meetings in Dallas with Jack Ruby during June of 1964. Upon its release in 1964, all files of the Warren Commission were sealed from public view for 75 years by executive order of President Johnson. In 2039, it was finally revealed that Ford, acting on the explosive information provided by Ruby, had strong-armed the CIA into unseating Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon, gaining him the White House. The CIA exacted revenge, scuppering Ford's re-election attempts by clandestinely backing one of their own, the “Georgia Giant”, James Earl Carter. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1990, the US Department of Defense (DoD) modifies the planned deployment of the Patriot Missile system in friendly countries in the middle east, especially Israel. The DoD has not fully disclosed the nature of the threat from Iraq, now understood to be biological warfare agents based on Extraterrestrial Technology (ET). Like exComm3, DoD are keeping to the vaguely threatening weapons of mass destruction (WMD) line to build up hysteria and anti-Iraqi hostility. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
“Are you sure you can't tell us anything else?”
Jake smiled at his son and said, “No, now, you know there are things we gotta keep secret, and this is one of them. You go on to bed, now.”
George moaned, but hugged his father and trudged. Joan gave her father a kiss on the cheek and said, “Night, dad. Good night, Mr. Bradley.”
“G'night, Joan,” Bradley said.
When the kids were gone, Steph passed them each a pillow and a blanket. She asked Jake, “You sure there's nothing I need to know?”
“Nothing we can talk about.”
“All right.” She looked at him for a few seconds longer than she meant to, then turned to Kevin. “If y'all are gone by the time we get up, good luck.”
“Thanks,” Kevin said. “We'll need it.”
“Now, see, I didn't need to hear that,” Steph said, only half-joking. “Good night.” She turned and went off to her own bedroom, glancing once over at Jake as she turned out the lights and left.
“So, I take it the divorce wasn't that long ago?”
“9 months,” Jake said, kicking his boots off and laying down on the larger of the two sofas they were commandeering. “Long enough.”
Kevin shrugged. He kicked off his own shoes and lay down on the love seat he was sleeping on. His feet hung over the arm. “Sure I can't have that one?”
“I told you – hundred grand, you can sleep anywhere in this house you like.”
“You run an expensive hotel.” Kevin flipped the blanket over himself and tried to get comfortable. “That kinda money, I should at least get a mint on my pillow.”
“I'll see what Steph has.” He closed his eyes and let the day's tension fade away from him. “Get some sleep. We're gonna have to leave before they get up.”
“OK.” Kevin set the alarm on his watch for 4:30; another early morning. “You know, I thought my early mornings were done.”
“Life has little surprises for everybody.”
“I think I got 'em all at once, then.”
Jake had a laugh over that one. Before too long, he grew quiet and Kevin let him sleep. In spite of the exhaustion he felt, he stayed up a little longer. He was going over some of the hazmat procedures he had learned earlier, but he also just wanted a few minutes to think about after this was all over.
After. That was going to be a beautiful time. A nice house, maybe some investment in a business or two, or just stocks and bonds – he wasn't decided on that, yet. Then, travel. He'd see the world, maybe have a girl in every port, maybe he'd find one special someone to share the good times with. It was going to be great.
Unfortunately, he was still stuck in before, so he rolled over, pulled the blanket tightly around himself, and dozed off.


The state of TIAH

November 28th, 2006


Alternate Historian's Note: Welcome back from the holidays. If you're reading this, then you've seen the note we managed to put up on the main site about our Blogger problems. We have no idea how long this will take to fix; we have yet to receive a reply from Google about it. Until we do sort it out, we will be posting here. Don't change your bookmarks yet, but I have to say that Wordpress is very nice compared to Blogger, so I am definitely thinking about making this permanent. If you like it, too, email and let us know. In the meantime, be sure to visit out Guest Historian's, too, when they have a web site they want you to visit. Stephen Payne's work can be had from Lulu, as well. Thanks for sticking with us!

in 1872, on board the Mary Celeste, Captain Albert Richardson continues to believe the barrels are full of sea-water substituted by the New York Ship owners J.H. Winchester and Co. who he suspects will claim the $34,000 insurance value for the raw alcohol by wrecking the Celeste. Driven by his own suspicions, and also keen to end the crew’s tension, he decides to open the barrels the very next day. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1941, in response to the "day of infamy" pre-emptive strikes by the Axis Forces on Mers-el-Kébir and Martinique known as "deux six un un" (2611), the allied powers comprising the social democracies of France, Germany and Italy declare war on fascist Anglo-America. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1990, Israeli Prime Minister Yitshak Shamir senses duplicity in the strange messages he is receiving from the British and US Governments. They are suspiciously keen for the State of Israel not to participate in the upcoming Gulf War and indeed are about to deploy a defensive missile system and, even more amazingly, man it themselves. To destroy the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Shamir suggests going pre-emptive – why take a defensive position? He proposes a reprise of the 1981 strike on Osirak which destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor – likely to be reactivated as the current R&D site by the Iraqis – and the Pentagon guys go just about crazy. This new defensive policy is a complete break with former teaming agreements such as the joint invasion of Suez, the US arming of Israel during the Yom Kippur War etc. Shamir grasps that the British and Americans are not completely levelling with him. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 2126, Mullah Elijah Rafsanjani angrily shouts at his son Muhammed to switch off the Al Jazeera television channel which is showing countless re-runs of the recent showcase trial of Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majidida al-Tikriti versus the redneck George Walker Bush. “'Only Allah knows what tomorrow will bring', father” retorts Muhammed, quoting from the Koran. A fiendish idea starts to take shape in the recesses of the Mullah's cunning mind. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
In spite of the utter brain-crushing fatigue, Janice was elated. She had a witness who was in Crawford at the time of the alleged explosion who was very much alive and not showing the slightest sign of radiation exposure. The young woman, Linda Raintree, had apparently had a tiff with her mother the night before and run away. With little idea of where to go, she had been wandering around the roads since then, trying to hitchhike on a day when virtually all traffic into and out of Crawford had ceased.
Just because she was a cautious person, Janice had run the Geiger counter over Linda a couple of times, and it registered no elevation in radiation levels. After answering as many questions as she could, Linda had collapsed in Janice's back seat and was now sleeping like the dead. Janice had changed batteries in her night-vision goggles and was tearing down the road at a highly unsafe speed to get her passenger to a motel.
Her plan was to check Miss Raintree into a room, possibly catch a nap herself, then head into Waco. Having an eyewitness was good, but she still wanted visual confirmation of Crawford's continued existence, and she had formulated a plan. Baylor University had to have a meteorology building that would have rooftop access and a high view of the surrounding area. She'd get into the city, get to the top of that building, and use her binoculars and long-range camera to locate and take pictures of a certain ranch. Then, she'd get the hell out of there and see about publicizing all of this.
After that, she'd probably have to stay on the move until the people took back control of the country. She wanted to record a few of these observations, but didn't want to wake Raintree by talking into her recorder; she'd just have to remember to do it later. She knew a couple of guys who would gladly form a resistance cell if need be. Mike and Eli had been itching to shoot a few government agents since acquiring their first illegal firearms. Their rather unsocial tendencies could finally be harnessed to some public good.
Whether public support could be harnessed was another matter. It all depended on how much those in current control of the country wanted to retain that control. They had the media, and could pump out propaganda about her and “debunk” her evidence much more effectively than she could get it into the public eye.
She saw a small motel on the side of the highway and pulled off the road. She parked on the shoulder long enough to turn off her goggles and turn on her headlights. She stowed the goggles under the seat and assumed the persona of the befuddled ditz who had somehow managed to evade curfew through sheer dumb luck.
She pulled the car into the deserted parking lot and cut off the engine. Leaving Miss Raintree asleep in the back seat, she walked up to the night desk and put on her flashiest smile. “Hi,” she said, waving at the surprised clerk. “Can I get a room?”
“Wow, lady, how'd you get past the Guard?” The clerk was a young fellow, probably a Baylor college student who had reported for the worst shift of his working life. “When they pulled down the curfew, they didn't even let me leave here.”
“Oh my God,” she said, acting as surprised as she could through her exhaustion. “I haven't seen anything like that.” She shrugged and laughed. “Just lucky, I guess.”


The state of TIAH

Digg us

November 29th, 2006

Alternate Historian's Note: Welcome back from the holidays. If you're reading this, then you've seen the note we managed to put up on the main site about our Blogger problems. We have no idea how long this will take to fix; we have yet to receive a reply from Google about it. Until we do sort it out, we will be posting here. Don't change your bookmarks yet, but I have to say that Wordpress is very nice compared to Blogger, so I am definitely thinking about making this permanent. If you like it, too, email and let us know. In the meantime, be sure to visit out Guest Historian's, too, when they have a web site they want you to visit; we have both Stephen Payne and JD today. Stephen Payne's work can be had from Lulu. Thanks for sticking with us!

in 1872, on board the Mary Celeste, the crew open six barrels, causing a violent rush of fumes and then steam proving at least that the cargo really is alcohol. Fearing that the ship is about to explode, Captain Albert Richardson orders everyone into the lifeboat, which he secures to the ship with a strong tow-line. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1919, the World Crisis enters a new phase as a deadly strain of influenza known as Spanish Flu rages across the traumatized continent of Europe killing even more people than the recently cease fired World War. This unparalleled human misery is of course the work of the greatest necromancer of the age, Grigory Rasputin who invoked deep magicks to summon the four horsemen of the apocalypse back in 1914. Over the course of the next five years their inhuman appetite is sustained by the continuous human sacrifice known as trench warfare. Disguised as Prince Yusopov, Maestro has already dispatched Rasputin and delivered an armistice. Today he arrives in the Vatican to lead a great council of magicians who seek to restore peace and prosperity to a shattered world. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1941, the Axis Powers of Anglo-America are expanded when Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King declares war on the social democracies of France, Germany and Italy. Citizens of Franco-German descent in North America react with fury to these "November days". Of particular concern to the triumvirate comprising U.S. President Charles Lindburgh, British Prime Minister Oswald Mosley and King Edward VIII is the threat from Québécois to secede from the Dominion of Canada. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1952, U.S. President-elect Douglas MacArthur fulfilled a campaign promise by going to Korea to find out what could be done to end the conflict, famously saying "There is no substitute for victory". Back in '51 as UN Commander in Chief (Korean Peninsula) MacArthur had had his request denied to end the conflict by launching thirty to fifty nuclear weapons at Manchuria, was angered at what he perceived to be Harry Truman's “limited war” and subsequently relieved of his command by the President. General Omar Bradley later speculated that MacArthur's disappointment over his inability to wage war on China had "snapped his brilliant but brittle mind." With the United States detonating the world's first hydrogen bomb on November 1st 1952, and “Brass Hat” back in the saddle again just twenty-eight days later, the world wonders just how the conflict will end. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1963, FBI Director J Edgar Hoover, President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Chief Justice Earl Warren meet in the Oval Office. Agenda: to agree the action plan for the Presidential Commission into the assassination of John F Kennedy which occurred just a week before. Hoover gives the heads up: "Upwards of fifty witnesses place the shooter on the Grassy Knoll, we've got too many gunshots, bullets that don't originate from Oswald's rifle, Jack Ruby talking crazy, Zapruder's contradictory video footage, lines of hard evidence to the Soviets, Castro, the Mob and murdered Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem plus George Bush and Richard Nixon in town on the same day". Turning to Warren, LBJ takes a sip from his ever-present Fresca and starts 'the treatment' - "OK Earl, here's the brief - 'Oswald acted alone and neither he nor Ruby were part of a larger conspiracy'. Executive orders same as the Japanese internment order you wrote up for FDR in '42". Warren shuffles out in misery trying hard not to think about the body count for this news management exercise. Hoover leaves a few short minutes later, instructed to crush the corruption charges which were threatening to destroy Johnson's Vice Presidency only a week before. Stubbing out his cigarette, LBJ presses a button in the bookcase, releasing a door to a concealed side room. Addressing a robed grey humanoid sitting in lotus position, Texas' favorite son says "Ambassador, we're all set", flashing his winning smile. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

--AP NEWSWIRE 11/29/2007 04:04 GMT--

'Uncle Arnold' Retires

- NEW YORK (AP)
Arnold Zenker, anchor of CBS Evening News and America's longest-standing news personality announced today he was leaving his position 'for personal reasons.' Zenker, often termed "the most trusted man in America", has held anchorship of the highest-rated news program in the country for over 40 years. As director of CBS's news programming division, Zenker was tapped to temporarily replace Walter Cronkite during an AFTRA strike in April 1967. Viewers immediately warmed to the charming if novice newscaster and ratings shot through the roof during the three weeks of Zenker's planned anchorship. CBS, bowing to public demand, retained Zenker as chief anchor following the end of the strike, which prompted Cronkite to sign with rival NBC upon the termination of his contract.

Through the turbulent waning years of the 60s, Zenker was often a calm and reassuring voice of reason on the nation's airways. During the Apollo moon landing in 1969, his emotional observation "We have finally begun to explore the frontiers of our potential" became almost as famous a quote as Armstrong's "One small step for man", and his quiet, solemn announcement "The war is over" at the conclusion of Vietnamese hostilities is remembered as one of the defining moments of news broadcasting.

Zenker proved his survival skills in the sometimes cutthroat business of television by retaining his original viewers and proving himself popular to several following generations. John Lennon and Ronald Reagan's assassination brought the nation tuning in invariably to hear what "Uncle Arnold" had to say, and the ending of the Cold War and Zenker's tireless efforts to fully assist the public in making sense of turbulent and confusing events only brought his star higher.

It was, however, on September 11, 2001 that America most needed Arnold Zenker, and despite health problems near the beginning of the year, Zenker set a record for endurance by remaining on the air for a full 36 hours following the attacks. This feat, however, is said to have damaged his health further, and at the conclusion of the invasion of Afganistan, Zenker began requesting longer and longer sabbaticals from CBS News. He was, however, on hand during the Iraq War and much of its aftermath, proving himself a tireless proponent of the press. CBS has not yet announced a replacement for Zenker.

Reference
---
- entry by Guest Historian JD -

Before(cont.)
Janice helped Miss Raintree stumble into the motel room and laid her down on the bed. The young woman barely woke up during the walk, and was asleep again as soon as Janice let her go. Janice was starting to feel the same way. She grabbed a few things from her car, locked it up, then went into the room and locked the door. She also chained the lock and put a chair up against the door knob. She wished that she could do something about the window, but there was nothing big enough in the room to push in front of it. She settled with just drawing the curtains in front of it.
She hunched herself down on the spare chair in the room and turned on her recorder. “Personal journal, Janice Carbonari. I've found a witness that was in Crawford at the time of the supposed explosion, who saw no indication that a nuke had gone off in her town. I'm about to do something very stupid to confirm to myself that she is telling the truth, but first, I need to get some sleep.” She thought about just turning the recorder off, but had a couple more things to say. “If I do confirm this, I have to do something. It won't be enough to just write my articles and give my talks in front of other conspiracy buffs, anymore. It'll be time for direct action. If I manage to post this, I urge everyone who reads or listens to it to do the same. We can't be content to stay in the shadows after this. We have to rise up and bring down these arrogant bastards before they can totally destroy America; Hell, maybe the world.”
In spite of her own trepidation about being found, she opened up her laptop computer and, much to her amazement, found a wireless Internet connection operating flawlessly in the area. She uploaded all of the audio she had made and wrote up a few notes on her discoveries, then looked at the clock on her screen. It was almost 3:30, and she had been awake for far too long.
She pulled a pillow from the bed and sat down with her back against the door. She put the pillow behind her head and got as comfortable as she could. If little Miss Raintree decided to leave, she'd have to disturb Janice, first. Of course, if Miss Raintree was a plant, she might not care about disturbing Janice...
It was a thought that Janice had entertained a couple of times during the night. Linda's story was a little too perfect, a little too much just what she needed. She had decided that she didn't care. If Miss Raintree proved to be a government agent, that would prove that Janice was on the right track, too. She'd have to hope that she wouldn't be killed immediately; that they would consider her important enough to interrogate, giving her a chance to escape.
She set the alarm on her watch for 6 AM and closed her eyes.

Kevin's alarm seemed to go off a second after shutting his eyes. He blinked awake and sat up. Sergeant Morris was still snoozing away on the sofa, so Kevin threw a pillow at his head. Morris woke with a start and a curse. “Sorry, Sergeant, I didn't have a trumpet for Reveille.”
“You know, I can open your hazmat suit without you even feelin' it.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
Sergeant Morris sat up and pulled on his boots, then stood and stretched. “Always hated early mornin' shift. C'mon, let's get goin'.”
Kevin pulled on his shoes and popped his neck. He was a little sore from the uncomfortable position he had been in on the love seat. “We're not saying goodbye to your family?”
“No need to wake 'em up.”
“OK.” Kevin followed him into the kitchen, where he was pulling some juice out of the fridge. Kevin picked a cup off of a shelf and let Morris fill it.
“Grab a banana, suck that juice down, then let's get going.” Morris wrote a note on the pad on the fridge's door, then swallowed some juice for himself and put the carton back. He looked over at Kevin and said, “Let's hit the road.”
Kevin gulped down as much juice as he could, picked a banana from the bunch on the kitchen counter, then followed Morris out the door to their jeep. It was as quite as the grave outside; there weren't even crickets or frogs awake at this hour. Inside the jeep, Kevin took a bite of banana and said, “It is way too danged early.”
“Civilian life just got you soft, Bradley.”
“I like being soft.”
Morris laughed. “Well, once you get this job done, maybe they'll let you take your money and get real cushy.”
“I can always hope.”



The state of TIAH

November 30th, 2006


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Alternate Historian's Note: Welcome back from the holidays. If you're reading this, then you've seen the note we managed to put up on the main site about our Blogger problems. We have no idea how long this will take to fix; we have yet to receive a reply from Google about it. Until we do sort it out, we will be posting here. Don't change your bookmarks yet, but I have to say that Wordpress is very nice compared to Blogger, so I am definitely thinking about making this permanent. If you like it, too, email and let us know. In the meantime, be sure to visit out Guest Historian's, too, when they have a web site they want you to visit. Stephen Payne's work can be had from Lulu. Thanks for sticking with us!

in 1872, on board the Mary Celeste, Captain Albert Richardson is deeply troubled. His insurance fraud theory disproved, he reconsiders Brigg’s words, which he had dismissed as a cruel deception played upon the former Captain. Fully aware that the cargo has 1701 barrels, and the manifest shows 1700, he determines that barrel #1701 will be opened the very next day. What the hell, the rescue ship is due any day now. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1919, inside the Vatican, Maestro initiates a great council of magicians seeking a final conclusion to the World Crisis. A short and dour individual, his appearance is quite unremarkable except for a single detail. His eyes are almost fully rolled upward, with only a quarter moon of pupil revealed to his fellow magicians. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1941, Axis forces commence land operations in the Mediterranean theatre as the British Eighth Army led by Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery reaches the western border of Egypt preparing to overrun French North Africa. In the Élysée Palace, President Philippe Pétain evaluates his very limited options following the destruction of the French Mediterranean Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir on the "day of infamy" known to the French Union as "deux six un un" (2611). He telephones Brigadier General Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle in Algiers with fresh orders for La Grande Armée Afrique. Monsieur General, the very future of France is at stake - he impressed on de Gaulle. The emphasis was unnecessary, de Gaulle believed that he was the right man in the right place at the right time to reverse the catalogue of disasters that had beset the great nation of France ever since the surrender of Napoléon III at the Battle of Sedan in 1870. “Bring it on” he tells Pétain. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1966, personal assistant Bill Moyers arrives for his 3 o'clock with the President. Without the fearsome presence of his boss to concentrate on, he focuses for the first time on the modifications that have recently been made to the vacant Oval Office. Wood-grain linoleum has replaced the cork floor damaged by Ike's golf swing. And a soda tap has been installed at the Resolute desk to service Johnson's near-addition to Fresca, a citrus soft drink made by the Coca-Cola Company. Relaxing momentarily, he follows a drip slowly running down the tap, hitting the floor with a mild fizzle and a wisp of smoke twists up. Moyers leans forward inquisitively and takes a sip from a half-empty cup on the Resolute desk with one eye fixed firmly on the office door. Without warning Moyers is fighting for his life with what tastes like napalm in his throat. Coughing like crazy, a huge hand winds his back, "Shouldn't drink another man's fire-water, don't you know that son?" says a Texan drawl from behind. Two questions drift in the racing thoughts of Moyer's shrieking mind - what was in the cup? where did the President appear from? -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1990, the Israeli Secret Service (Mossad) show Prime Minister Yitshak Shamir pictures of a human body with unmistakeable evidence of alien genetic modification which washed ashore at Salalah in Oman four days before. He immediately sees the connection to the British and US refusal to authorise an Israel attack on the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq. A conventional attack would release biological warfare agents based on Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) into the atmosphere. An opportunist, Shamir immediately decides that the agents will be released, but in the direction of Tehran – defeating both Iran and Iraq, securing his position in history as the guarantor of the State of Israel into the twenty-first century. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
The kitchen wasn't as messy as he used to leave the one they lived in together, Steph was relieved to see. They left the carton of juice out, and there was a little juice slopped over on the table, but otherwise, everything was spotless. She took a paper towel from the roll above the sink and wiped off the table, then went to the fridge and got out some eggs.
Joan walked in, looking around expectantly. Her face fell when she saw that her mother was alone. “They're already gone?”
“Yeah. I s'pose they left before dawn.”
Joan nodded and sat down. “Do you think we have school today?”
“I haven't checked, yet.” She turned on the radio on the kitchen counter and the familiar voice of the emergency lady was telling them that the curfew hours were being lengthened. “I'm guessing no school,” Steph said, cracking an egg over a skillet on the stove.
“Wonder when we'll go back.”
Steph shrugged. “How long did it take the schools in New York to go back to normal after September 11?”
“I dunno. I think it took a while.”
“Mm-hm.” Steph grabbed the bacon from the fridge and slapped a few strips onto another skillet and started them sizzling. “I guess you're gonna have a break, then.”
“That's cool, I guess.”
“I should check in with my job, though. They'd understand about yesterday, but if they let us drive on the roads, now, I should go in.”
“How many people are really gonna be looking for a new house now, mom?”
Steph shrugged. “You got a point, I guess.”
“And,” Joan said quietly, “I'd kinda like it if you could stay with us.”
Steph looked over at her daughter. Joan was tall, like her father, but still so young, and so unready to face the world. She walked over and kissed her on the forehead. “OK, baby. I'll call in.”
“Thanks, mom.” Joan smiled and held her mother's hand. The two of them looked at each other for a second, then broke the moment. Steph went back to cooking and Joan got the juice out of the refrigerator.
George stumbled into the kitchen, yawning and stretching. He sniffed the bacon and eggs and said, “Awright.” He got the plates from the cupboard and set the table, then sat down and yawned some more.
“You get enough sleep, Georgie?”
“No,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Do we gotta go to school?”
“No,” Joan and Steph said in unison.
“Awright,” George said, smiling widely. “I'll go back to bed after breakfast.”
Steph laughed a little at how easy it was for him to enjoy all this. “Don't sleep too late, now.” She pulled the eggs off the stove and spooned some onto the plates for the kids, then a little onto a plate for herself. She then took a paper towel, folded it up, then pressed down on the bacon in the skillet, getting it nice and crisp. After another few seconds of frying, she served that to the kids, saving a couple of choice pieces for herself.
As she sat down to join the kids, George asked, “So, dad and that other guy left already?”
Steph nodded. “I guess they had to get goin' real early. They were gone when I got up.”
That put a damper on the boy's mood. “Too bad.”
“Yeah,” Steph agreed. Joan looked a little questioningly at her mother, but didn't say anything. The three ate the rest of their breakfast without talking about the horrible things keeping them in this morning.



The state of TIAH

December 1st, 2006

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Alternate Historian's Note: NaNoWriMo is over, but we have more novel-writing to do. And, since Blogger still hasn't restored our ability to update the old TIAH site, we plan to do it here. We also have Guest Historians who will be writing entries for your entertainment. As regards returning to the main site, please raise a fuss with Blogger and Google about this, if you have a blog or can post to one. I have yet to receive a reply from them about our situation, and it is starting to tick me off. Don't change your bookmarks yet, but I have to say that Wordpress is very nice compared to Blogger, so I am definitely thinking about making this move permanent. If you like it, too, email and let us know. In the meantime, be sure to visit our Guest Historian's, too, when they have a web site they want you to visit. Stephen Payne's work can be had from Lulu. Thanks for sticking with us!

in 1872, on board the Mary Celeste; Captain Albert Richardson is a risk-taker, but after his service in the slaughter known as the American Civil War, he takes no chances with his men. He orders the remaining five members of the crew into the lifeboat, which he secures to the ship with a strong tow-line. For good measure, he takes the ship’s navigation tools and a supply of rations. He goes below deck to open barrel #1701. Minutes later he returns shrieking, "Cut the rope, cut the rope!" And they are adrift in the Atlantic. Richardson sits speechlessly on the lifeboat as they distance themselves from the Celeste. By the time he is completely dry, the crew has noticed that 28-year old Captain Albert Richardson’s hair has gone completely white. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1941, the British Eighth Army led by Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery crosses the western border of Egypt preparing to overrun French North Africa. The academic disciplines of physics and history compete as Karl Marx' theory of irreversible historical processes is about to be sorely tested as an irresistible force is about to collide with an immovable object. In Algiers, the Desert Rat known as Brigadier General Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle readies La Grande Armée Afrique for a fight to the death. The destruction of the French Mediterranean Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir severely limits supply options for de Gaulle. As a former boxing champion in La Grande Armée he knows that a knock-out punch is required in the first round. Driven by the greater glory of France, he prepares French Forces to defeat the “axis of evil” criminals responsible for the "day of infamy deux six un un" (2611). -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1966, Bill Moyers regains consciousness in a locked underground room in the White House. His unidentified companion brings him up to speed - "'Nam is one big meat-grinder for the project. Hybrids like Johnson are being developed by the Alliance for re-population; conversion failures are hidden amongst combat body count". Incredulously, Moyers looks away and his eyes settle on a silent TV screen showing the United Nations Security Council in session. US Ambassador Arthur J. Goldberg is speaking to British Representative Lord Caradon, there is a bottle of Fresca in front of both of them. His mouth in an o-shape, Moyers turns back to his companion and says - "I think I understand". -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1990, Israeli Flying Ace Ilan Ramon receives a mission briefing directly from Prime Minister Yitshak Shamir. Ramon was the leader of the 1981 attack which destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak. Codenamed Operation Opera, eight F-16 multi-role fighters and six F-15 escorts had flown so close together as to appear as a single large jet on Iraqi radar. Shamir explains that the mission he has in mind is similar in tactical execution, but more decisive for the future of the State of Israel. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
Janice woke up and looked at her watch. It was just a few minutes until the alarm was going to go off, so she turned it off and looked over at the bed. Miss Raintree was sleeping like a baby, Janice stood and stretched, envying the young woman's easy rest. Her neck was sore and her back and butt were complaining from sleeping propped up at the door.
She went to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face, used the facilities, then went back to the door. Miss Raintree stirred a little, but didn't wake up. Janice still could use some evidence from her, or at least contact information, but doubted that anyone was still available at Raintree's Crawford address. This was probably the best place to leave her.
She touched the young woman's shoulder and shook her. Raintree woke up, disoriented. “Hey, kid, it's OK. You're in a motel about twenty miles from Waco. I need to leave you here for a few hours, maybe most of the day. I'll pay for the room.” She looked into Raintree's eyes and asked, “Will you stay here till I get back?”
The young woman pushed some hair out of her face and mumbled, “Sure.”
“It's very important that you are still here when I get back. Do you understand me?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Raintree said, flopped her head back on the pillow.
“I'm leaving some money for you to get breakfast and lunch at the diner here. I should be back before dinner.” I hope, she didn't add.
“Thanks.”
“You bail on me, and I'm going to hunt you down.” She tightened her grip on Raintree's shoulder. “You got me?”
Raintree looked hurt and confused. “OK, OK. I'll stay here.” When Janice let go of her shoulder, she said, “I got noplace else to go, anyway.”
Janice turned to the door, then thought of something and turned back. “If somebody other than me tries to get you to take off with them, don't. You know some things that certain people don't want to become public. OK?”
Raintree just mumbled. Janice let her go back to sleep. She left a couple of Andrew Jacksons on the table, picked up her things, and walked outside. It had gotten chilly overnight, and her breath fogged up as she stood there and got used to it. She looked over in the direction of her car, so no one around it, and then walked over to the motel's front desk.
The same guy was still there, looking bleary-eyed and grumpy. “I need to pay for another day,” she told him.
“Fine,” he said. “$49.50.”
She pulled out some more of her dwindling supply of twenties and handed them over. He got her change and handed it back to her. “Any news on when you'll be able to leave?”
“No.” He looked dejectedly over at the television behind the counter. “They say the emergency is 'ongoing'. Crap. I was gonna graduate this semester, too.”
“Life's hard all over,” Janice said, walking back to her car.


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Thursday, August 09, 2007

The Trouble With Wyndham

August 9th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historical Correction: August 7th has been reposted because of a calendrical error – you know how hard it is to keep dates straight when you're switching from one time line to another. Please support Steve as he single-handedly carries this week through – thanks, Steve! You can do that by sending in alternate birthdays for me (August 14, 1965) and Steve (November 22, 1967).



John WyndhamIn 1959, the author John Wyndham accepted the need for voluntary mental health care following an episode of the Outward Urge. At a book signing ceremony in an overcrowed bookshop Wyndham's alter ego Lucas Parkes had emerged as a result of acute anxiety. Fans point to four unmistakeable early warnings to this sad event.
John Wyndham - Author
Author
A troubled childhood - John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was born in the village of Knowle in Warwickshire, England, but lived in Edgbaston in Birmingham until he was 8-years-old. At this point his parents - George Beynon Harris and Gertrude Parkes - separated. He and his brother, the writer Vivian Beynon Harris, had no settled home after this time. He was unhappy being shuttled through a series of English boarding schools, including Blundell's School in Devon during the First World War. His longest and final stay was at Bedales (1918-1921), which he left at the age of 18, where he blossomed and was happy.

Sibling rivalry -He was threatened by the success of his brother Vivian Beynon Harris, (who had published four novels before Wyndham found fame) and altered his writing style for his book The Day of the Triffids. The book proved to be an enormous success and established Wyndham as an important exponent of science fiction.

Phantom Co-authoring - In his earlier writings, Wyndham used various combinations of his names, such as John Beynon or Lucas Parkes. For one of his books, The Outward Urge, he actually used both the names "John Wyndham" and "Lucas Parkes", pretending to be two collaborating authors.

Inner Conflict / Subject matter - Many of Wyndhams novels such as Web, The Chrysalids, Midwich Cuckoos and Day of the Triffids set mankind against alien “others”, suggesting that co-existence is impossible and a fight to the death is required to survive. The novel contains what is, in a way, Wyndham's starkest statement of his assumption that two intelligences must necessarily fight each other to the death - a reference to his own inner struggle with the alter-ego Lucas Parkes.

Whilst none of the scenarios are the cause of the schizophrenia, it is clear to many fans that duality of being was a key theme of Wyndham's uhappy life up until 1959.
~ entry by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1975, at the two-story house at 17841 Beaverland, former President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Jimmy Hoffa had his own house "painted" when Frank Sheeran fired two shots into his brain. Sheeran then drove the body to the Grand Lawn Cemetery and afterwards dumped the remains in Lake Michigan.
Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
Sheeran had visited the Cemetery and saw two crematory ovens in a mausoleum building. "It's like being struck by lightning," he said. "This cemetery was chosen because it's near the house." Detroit police officer Jeff Hansen said that Rod Milne, who managed the cemetery in 1975, told him, "We were doing cremations left and right" in 1975.
Actually, the Tralfamadorians had switched the bodies just to be sure. The corpse of the real Jimmy Hoffa was en route to their home world. Actually the home world given to these super-beings by their precursor race who they had extinguished.

A new expression entered American slang. - "I'd sooner find Jimmy Hoffa". They really werent kidding, he was parsecs away on a distant planet. Yet he had a smile on his face - his son would inherit the Presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and with that knowledge, he could rest real easy.

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

In 1945, the "rogue" crew of The Lucky Strike divert to drop Little Boy on top off Mao's Communists in mainland China. The aircraft is mysteriously lost on the return journey. President Truman suspects treachery from USAF General Curtis "Bombs "Away" LeMay and C-in-C Douglas MacArthur yet can prove nothing.


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

Forest Whitaker"For about three months, I actually thought that there wasn't anybody to play this part [as the Last Governor General of Uganda]. It's too big and difficult. I looked in South Africa, I looked in Kenya, and then I came to Los Angeles. The casting director had set up meetings with some African-American actors, and Forest was on the list. I thought, well, I love his work but he is so wrong. He's so gentle, he's so sweet. And he's very internal as an actor."
~Director, Kevin Macdonald
Forest Whitaker - Actor
Playing Idi Amin
Idi Amin joined the King's African Rifles (KAR) of the British Colonial Army in 1946 as an assistant cook. After serving in the Burma Campaign, he transferred to Kenya for infantry service as a private in 1947 and served in the 21st KAR infantry brigade in Gilgil, Kenya, until 1949. That year, his unit was deployed to Somalia to fight the Somali Shifta rebels who were rustling cattle there. In 1952 his battalion was deployed against the Mau Mau rebels in Kenya. He was promoted to corporal the same year, then to sergeant in 1953.

In 1954 Amin was made effendi (Warrant officer), the highest rank possible for a Black African in the colonial British army. Amin returned to Uganda the same year, and in 1961 he became one of the first two Ugandans to become commissioned officers with the rank of lieutenant. He was then assigned to quell the cattle rustling between Uganda's Karamojong and Kenya's Turkana nomads. In 1962, Amin was promoted to captain and to major in 1963. The following year, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the Army. Amin was an active athlete during his time in the army; the 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) soldier was the Ugandan light heavyweight boxing champion from 1951 to 1960 and a swimmer and rugby player.

Subordinate to the ceremonial ruler Kabaka (King) Edward Mutesa II of Buganda, the British Foreign Office promoted Amin to colonel and army commander in 1967. In 1971, Idi Amin was appointed Governor General of Uganada. "I am not an ambitious man, personally," Amin said after taking power, "I am just a soldier with a concern for my country and its people."

In 1972, determined to make Uganda "a black man's country", Amin expelled the country's white population in the closing months of the year, reportedly after receiving a message from God during a dream. "I am going to ask Britain to take responsibility for all whites in Uganda who are holding British passports, because they are sabotaging the economy of the country," Amin declared at the start of August.

Afterwards, Amin flamboyantly described himself as Defender of the British Empire in Africa (in general), and Uganda (specific).
~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1979, Martin Sheen starred as Benjamin L. Willard in the ground-breaking movie Apocalypse Now. As the conflict in south-east Asia hurtles towards catastrophe and tragedy, the top brass choose Captain Willard for a secret operation behind enemy lines - to terminate the command of General-san Arthur MacArthur.


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


Elimina Castle
Elimina Castle
In 1482, to pass the long night of six hundred years at St. George El Mina Castle, Kwame’s brother spoke to him of African Poetry. ”We have come to the cross-roads and I must either leave or come with you. I lingered over the choice
But in the darkness of my doubts, you lifted the lamp of love
And I saw in your face the road that I should take.”

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


In 1952, on this day 33rd US President Harry S Truman was challenged by Presidential Candidate General Douglas MacArthur to qualify his commitment to unilateral disarmament. Truman said that he had not slept properly for one night since 15 September 1945 when the Fatman bomb had been dropped on Tokyo. If re-elected, he would .. Harry S Truman
Harry S Truman
.. return to Tokyo with Christian leaders, and pray over the site. Pray for the souls of the dead, and pray for disarmament. More than anything, he would speak to the Japanese people themselves, and tell them he was so sorry, so very sorry.

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


Lloyd George
Lloyd George
In 1914, European diplomacy entered a critical phase as the August Days continued in the build up to War. In Caerdydd (Cardiff) First Minister David Lloyd George confirmed the nation's policy of neutrality. This statement was to have two very unexpected outcomes on the threat and opportunity scale. In Downing Street, the ..
.. Head of the Southern Department Herbert Asquith seethed. The English had been welshed as he referred to the perceived treachery of his neighbour state. This slur is defined to someone that does not pay a lost bet and in this case, the Welsh Wizard was effectively saying that the English were a bad bet.

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


In 1917, in order to release the Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarist Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin and the Okhranka return to the vampire nest that is housing the hostage. Unaware that Alexei is himself one of the undead, they set the den ablaze. However the Tsarevich has determined to stay with vampires. As he leaves the .. Vampire Henri
Vampire Henri
.. building, he is caught in pre-dawn, but is saved by Henri. Later, Henri reveals to Alexei that he had nothing to do with the kidnapping, but did nothing to stop it either. Stolypin returns empty-handed to the Elysees regencia hotel where he must report to an enraged Tsar.

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



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Friday, November 24, 2006

Meeting

The state of TIAH

November 24th, 2006

Alternate Historian's Note: November is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. In 2004, we produced our novel Warp, and last year we got a start on The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion during this annual event. Both of these novels were based on timelines from TIAH – Warp was based on the Mlosh timeline, and Protocols on the Greater Zionist Resistance timeline. Although we posted numerous links to these novels on Lulu, TIAH didn't post any excerpts from them. We're going to do it a little differently this year. This year, the November posts on TIAH will be excerpts from the novel that is being written by us for NaNoWriMo. We will still have Guest Historian entries – Stephen Payne (who has compiled several and made them available on Lulu for free – just go through the Add to Cart system to get it) has some already written and waiting, and he is going to be joined by Guest Historian JD – so, if you want to make a Guest Post this month, go ahead and send it to us, and it will appear along with our novel post.

in 1872, on board the Mary Celeste, the final entry is entered in the logbook, placing the ship 100 miles west of the Azores. Very much aware now that something is dreadfully wrong, Captain Briggs prays silently for the speedy rendezvous with the Dei Gratia. An officer as well as a puritan, he takes the precaution of placing a sword under his bed. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1940, U.S. President-elect Charles Lindburgh fulfilled a campaign promise by arriving in Great Britain to meet with Prime Minister Oswald Mosley and King Edward VIII. The alignment of fascist powers in the two Axis countries is of great concern to the social democracies of Central Europe and thoughts in the Weimar Republic turn to a proportionate response such as expelling Great Britain from the League of Nations. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1946, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Following the rapid conclusion of Operation Downfall, the Soviet Union's advancement onto the home islands had been limited to Hokkaidō where the Democratic People's Republic of Japan was declared the following year. From the capital city of Sapporo, North Japan (as it was known) glared with unrelenting hatred upon its capitalist southern neighbour, leading to the bitterest of the proxy conflicts that traumatised South-east Asia during the Cold War. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1990, the exComm3 subcommittee in Whitehall, London are frustrated by the very limited intelligence feeds they are receiving from Kuwait since the Iraqi occupation. The subcommittee members would be hysterical if they were to find out that the Iraqi's Extraterrestrial allies are seaborne creatures making the most of unrestricted access to the Persian Gulf. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
The instructions the old man at the gas station had given her were almost perfect; Janice was skirting Waco and would soon be turning on her way to Crawford. She turned on the radio and listened to the emergency lady tell her that curfew was now in effect, and any citizen caught on the roads would be taken into custody. The emergency lady went on to say that telephone service should be restored in a few days, and regular television and radio broadcasting shortly after that, barring any other emergencies.
“The governor has requested that all Texans assist in our recovery efforts by cooperating with the authorities,” the emergency lady said.
“I bet he'd like that,” Janice muttered. She was already about an hour and a half past cooperating; she was lucky that everyone else was, because she was driving with her lights off. At nightfall, she had decided to play this stealthily. She had pulled out her night-vision goggles and was hopefully invisible in the darkness.
She had done this once before, when she snuck past the military barrier at Groom Lake and nearly got caught by that cute MP. That entire mile she drove then had left her hands sore from gripping the wheel of her old car so tightly.
This time, she had been driving for an hour and had covered nearly 30 miles, and her clothes were damp from the sweat she was covered in. She jumped every time a squirrel or bird crossed her path; an armadillo had nearly caused her to wreck about ten miles back. She knew that she couldn't keep this up much longer, but wanted the cover of night to pull this off.
She reached the farm fence that the old man had told her about. Sure enough, when she turned down the driveway and drove up to the farm, it was dilapidated and abandoned. Right behind it, she saw the other side of the driveway leading off to a dirt road. She bounced down it and was soon heading towards Crawford. According to the old man, this road led right past the president's ranch.
She turned off the emergency lady and her mindless propaganda and turned her recorder back on. “Personal journal, Janice Carbonari. I am possibly ten miles from the Crawford target location, and have managed to evade the National Guard, so far. I am being forced to use techniques that are, quite frankly, dangerous, but I feel that it is worth it in order to determine the truth of this matter. From everything I have been able to learn, it seems very unlikely that a nuclear explosion went off this morning anywhere near Crawford, Texas.” She glanced over at the Geiger counter, which was registering normal levels of background radiation. “My Geiger counter is reading normally. This close, it should be giving me some kind of elevated reading, but no. I will be keeping an eye on it as I move closer; in the next hour, possibly less, it should start going crazy. My bet is that it's going to keep quiet and steady the entire time.”
She turned off the recorder and concentrated on the road ahead. Her poor car was going to need some serious work after this; she was pretty sure that the shocks were going out on her. She felt every bump right up her spine.
She kept an eye on her odometer, and when she had driven down the dirt road for ten miles, she stopped and turned off the engine. She got out and looked to the southwest, the direction that the old guy had said the ranch was. There was certainly no evidence of an explosion around her; no flattened trees, no smoking debris, nothing. But, she couldn't see the ranch, itself. She couldn't even tell if there was any structure in front of her at all.
She needed to gain some elevation so that she could see further, but the land around her was pretty flat. She looked off in the distance and saw what she thought was probably Waco. She thought for a minute, then got back in her car and drove back to the abandoned farmhouse, then back to the main road, where she pointed her car in the direction of Waco.

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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Suspicions

The state of TIAH

November 23rd, 2006

Alternate Historian's Note: November is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. In 2004, we produced our novel Warp, and last year we got a start on The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion during this annual event. Both of these novels were based on timelines from TIAH – Warp was based on the Mlosh timeline, and Protocols on the Greater Zionist Resistance timeline. Although we posted numerous links to these novels on Lulu, TIAH didn't post any excerpts from them. We're going to do it a little differently this year. This year, the November posts on TIAH will be excerpts from the novel that is being written by us for NaNoWriMo. We will still have Guest Historian entries – Stephen Payne (who has compiled several and made them available on Lulu for free – just go through the Add to Cart system to get it) has some already written and waiting, and he is going to be joined by Guest Historian JD – so, if you want to make a Guest Post this month, go ahead and send it to us, and it will appear along with our novel post.

in 1872, on board the Mary Celeste, and after considering his Captain’s briefing, Richardson believes that they are part of an elaborate deception by the New York ship-owners J.H. Winchester and Co. to exploit the bad luck reputation of the Celeste for commercial gain. A $3,000 ship carrying $34,000 worth of cargo is after all suspicious. He suspects the barrels are full of seawater. The ship will be wrecked and J.H. Winchester and Co will over claim the insurance, making a handsome profit. The Dei Gratia will rescue the crew. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1945, the automatic “three strikes” policy of the non-proliferation committee for the Congress of Worlds mandates a decision in relation to the distant planet earth. A meeting is quickly convened. Agreement is quickly reached on the authenticity of alerts from remote sensors of a third thermonuclear detonation. The geographic pattern of detonations when correlated with sentient population distribution suggests a type 1 scenario (the ‘immediate application’ model); that being a test detonation in a remote corner of the aggressor’s territory followed by short-term offensive activity in a populated area. A decision is taken to authorise an exploratory mission that will land close to the site of the first detonation ETA Roswell, New Mexico at the earliest launch window, July 1947. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1946, the second set of trials of lesser war criminals at Nuremberg commences. In the Sailor's Trials, charges are brought for the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, French North Africa (now Algeria) by the Royal Navy which took place on 3 July 1940. Force H, based in Gibraltar led by the aircraft carrier the Ark Royal killed 1,297 and wounded 350 French sailors in this “wanton and unnecessary” attack. The surrender demand from British Admiral James Somerville " your ships..entrusted to the United States and remain safe until the end of the war, the crews being repatriated... I have the orders from His Majesty's Government to use whatever force may be necessary to prevent your ships from falling into German hands." is presented to the court noting that the offer to Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul mirrored instructions already provided by French Marine Minister Admiral Darlan. Further noted was a contemporaneous statement by Somerville who was less enthusiastic about the action saying that it was "the biggest political blunder of modern times and will rouse the whole world against us…we all feel thoroughly ashamed…". At the Sailor's trial, Somerville took ultimate responsibility for the action and was executed before Christmas Day 1946. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1990, a meeting of exComm3 gets under way in an underground room at Admiralty House, Whitehall, London. The subcommittee is charged with executing the long-term project to respond to the discovery of Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) hidden in Iraq. In fact former CIA Director George Bush had developed a long-term plan for harnessing ET since his access to Project Blue Book in the mid-70s, but needed the Presidency to make it happen. So far all the Committee have agreed on this year is the need to keep Thatcher in power to stop the US Administration from 'going wobbly'; they just cannot trust Neil Kinnock to pull this off. Neither can they level with the Great British Public, so they hit on the idea of vaguely threatening weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to build up hysteria and anti-Iraqi hostility in the western media. Of course they need a casus belli for an armed incursion into Iraq to seize the ET to safeguard freedom and democracy in the world. This isn't the nineteenth century, its going to be a whole lot tougher than snatching the Elgin Marbles out of the Ottoman Empire in 1806. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
Steph let her father talk to the kids and she tried to get some food ready for them. She heard Joan catching herself almost telling her grandfather about the Johnsons a couple of times, but she never got the words out. She eventually just handed the phone to George, who blathered about unimportant things for several minutes.
Joan walked over and began helping her mother with the food. Without looking at Steph, she asked, “Why don't we go to Tyler?”
“I don't want to get caught on the road in all this, Joanie.”
“Yeah, but I just...” She caught herself looking out the window at the house across the street, and turned back to the food. “I can't even look at it, now.”
“I know.” Steph placed a hand on Joan's. “I know, baby. But, it'll go away.” She turned her attention back to the hamburger she was shaping. “That's the thing about pain. It doesn't stick around forever.” Joan nodded, and went to get the hamburger buns out of the cupboard.
George came in and looked at the tray Steph was working on. “Yeah, no school and burgers. It's a great day.” He toddled off to the living room to watch his movie again.
Steph and Joan looked at each other and laughed. “I guess it's all in how you look at it.”

The air inside the hazmat suit was stale and smelled strongly of rubber. It made Kevin a little light-headed, and he said so. Sergeant Morris just told him, “Suck it up, you'll get used to it.”
“Right. Suckin' it up, sergeant.” He saluted and stopped complaining. It had been years since he had to follow orders, but it was all coming back to him. Much as he didn't want it to. “You know, when I'm a millionaire playboy after all this, I think I'm gonna move to a tropical island. Live like Gilligan.”
“Long as you got a Mary Ann on that island.”
“Or two.” They laughed and high-fived each other. Morris was not in a suit, which made his suck it up have a little less weight in Kevin's mind, but he had assured Kevin that he had worn the suit a thousand times. “So, are we ready to go now?”
“Show me how you check your oxygen.” Kevin pointed at the small readout on his left wrist. “Radiation levels.” Kevin pointed at another small readout. “Atmospheric density.” Kevin looked confusedly at the wrist controls. “Nah, I'm just screwin' with you; that's not on there. You're ready.”
“Can I take this thing off, then?”
“Yeah, go ahead. We won't need 'em again till we get outside Waco.”
Kevin walked back to the locker and turned off the air pump in the suit. Then, he unfastened what seemed liked dozens of zippers, snaps and hooks and shucked off the suit. He packed it carefully back into the sack and hefted the sack onto his shoulder.
Sergeant Morris came into the locker room and pulled down a bag for himself. “OK, I got the directions. We're gonna be goin' to the meteorology building on the Baylor campus, and they got a list of computers they need you to pull information out of.” He handed the list to Kevin, who looked it over quickly.
“This is a lot of computers.”
“We got all day.”
“We're not goin' now?”
“Nope, we leave at 0500 tomorrow. Curfew's gonna hit in about an hour, and they don't want us on the road there after dark.” He shoved the printout with his instructions into his pocket and looked up at Kevin. “Hey, Bradley, you got anyplace to stay?”
“Not really. I guess I'll sleep here, if you got any barracks.”
“Well, I was gonna go see if my ex-wife and my kids were all right, spend the night there.” Kevin smirked. “Not like that; she hates my guts. I just wanna be sure... you know.”
“Yeah, I understand, sergeant. You go on, I'll be OK here.”
“No, I mean – you can come, too. She's got a couple of couches. We can leave for Waco from there.” He was walking out of the locker room with his hazmat bag. “She's outside of Pflugerville. Closer to Waco than here.”

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Assassinations

The state of TIAH

November 22nd, 2006

Alternate Historian's Note: November is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. In 2004, we produced our novel Warp, and last year we got a start on The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion during this annual event. Both of these novels were based on timelines from TIAH – Warp was based on the Mlosh timeline, and Protocols on the Greater Zionist Resistance timeline. Although we posted numerous links to these novels on Lulu, TIAH didn't post any excerpts from them. We're going to do it a little differently this year. This year, the November posts on TIAH will be excerpts from the novel that is being written by us for NaNoWriMo. We will still have Guest Historian entries – Stephen Payne (who has compiled several and made them available on Lulu for free – just go through the Add to Cart system to get it) has some already written and waiting, and he is going to be joined by Guest Historian JD – so, if you want to make a Guest Post this month, go ahead and send it to us, and it will appear along with our novel post.

in 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Spencer Churchill opens his daily post in his suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City. The headline of the German newspaper Die Zeitung reads 'Fugitives from Justice' above a picture of the great lion himself, Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee and King George VI, leader of Free French Forces Charles de Gaulle and Yugoslav partisan Josep Broz Tito. A smaller article below reports that US President Charles Lindbergh is close to signing extradition papers which would hand Churchill over to the Nazis. He had anticipated this; with his suitcases at the door, he will check out today and head north by train to Canada to join the Royal Family and British Government in Exile. De Gaulle is close by in Quebec, but they will not be rushing to see each other any time soon. Bad relations started from the Battle of France and were destroyed by the scuttling of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. Field Marshall Montgomery had publicly called the Phoney War preparations a “disaster” and spent his entire time in France rehearsing, and then executing a masterful retreat to Dunkirk. Then Churchill had sunk the French Fleet before it fell into German hands. De Gaulle judged these betrayals to be the usual treacheries from “perfidious albion”. On reflection, Churchill would not be that surprised if de Gaulle was encouraging the Québécois to secede from Canada right now. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1962, in Minsk, the Soviet citizen Alek James Hidell, (formerly known as US Marine Lee Harvey Oswald), is arrested by the KGB for the assassination of Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev. Released thirty years later following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Hidell reveals all on world-wide television during the US presidential campaign of 1992. Khruschev was eliminated by CIA agents as a precursor to the US invasion of Cuba later that same year which a weakened politburo was unable to resist effectively, with Hidell chosen as a convenient patsy. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

in 1963, Lyndon Baines Johnson is assassinated in Dallas, Texas by lone gunman Ilich Ramírez Sánchez - popularly known as "Carlos the Jackal". The diaries of wife Lady Bird Johnson, published after her death in 2010 reveal that the episode was stage managed by Texan sympathisers to enable Johnson to escape into obscurity from the many scandals enveloping his Vice Presidency. Unable to similarly effect an escape from his addictions to tobacco and the soda drink known as Fresca, Johnson died at 4:33 p.m. on January 22, 1973 from a third heart attack at an unknown location, at age 64. -entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!-

Before(cont.)
The ringing of the phone startled all three of them. Steph hurried over to the one in the kitchen and picked it up. “Hello?”
“Steph? Baby, are you all right?”
“Dad, we're OK,” she said, sitting down again. The kids had wandered into the kitchen and looked at her expectantly. “It's your Grandpa Hughes.” They both relaxed, and George climbed into her lap.
“I wanna talk to him.”
“Just a minute, honey. Dad, how'd you get through?”
“I been callin' since 7 this mornin'. Dang phone finally actin' right. Don't understand why I couldn't call you, it's not like you're in Waco, you're in dang Pflugerville, I should be able to call you. I woulda driven over there, but soldiers are all over the dang place, tellin' us to stay put, not go anywhere. It's like I was in the Army again.”
Steph smiled as her father went through this tirade. Just hearing him complain made her feel better. “Is mom all right?”
“She's fine, she's fine. You know her, end of the world, just like she always said. She 'spects her butt's gonna get raptured any second now.” Steph heard the muffled sound of him turning his head away from the phone and shouting at his wife, “Cain't leave me that easy, woman!” He turned back to the phone and said, “How are the kids?”
“They're OK, just a little shook up. And there was something this morning...” She locked eyes with Joan and stroked her cheek. “But, we can talk about that later. I'm still a little worried I haven't heard from Jake, yet.”
“That worthless boy ain't comin' back to you, Steph,” her father said. “Jeff Howard was askin' about you just the other day, you know. Y'all could come back to Tyler, kids could go to a decent school, you could get with a good man...”
“Dad, I'm not ready to date, yet.” The kids both smiled at her. This was a conversation they had heard many times between Grandpa Hughes and their mother. “But, thanks for the offer.”
“All right, then.” He decided to let it drop. “Look, once they open the roads again, maybe you and the kids should come on up here. I don't like it that you're that close to Austin.”
“I know, but I think Pflugerville's far enough away that... that we don't have to worry about what might happen if there's another attack.” She didn't want to say what kind of attack in front of George; Joan's worried look was bad enough. “I imagine once they open the roads again, traffic's gonna be pretty bad, and I don't wanna fight that. We'll be fine.”
“OK, baby.” He was disappointed, but he let it go. “I love you,” he said, quietly, fervently.
That almost made her start crying; her father never said that. “I love you, too, dad.”

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TIAH Editor says we'd like to move you off the blog, if you're browsing the archives - and most people are - more than half of them are already on the new site. We need to be sure the new web site accomodates your archive browsing needs because we don't want to lose any readers. Please supply any feedback or comments by email to the Editor and please note the blogger site is shutting on December 1st.