Monstrous

In 388, a ten year old boy named Cyrill died in the Roman City of Alexandria. His Uncle Theophilus discovered strange alphabet formations in the dwelling. Soon he too would be victim, but of a more powerful force - Nestorianism which was spreading like wildfire out of Constantinople.

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Balrog	In 1892, the scholarly giant of modern England, John R. R. Tolkien, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. His escapist fantasy writing was greatly influenced by combat tension suffered as a Second Lieutenant in 1916. Whilst Tolkien was with the eleventh battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers, this tension reached a new and frightening level of intensity for Tolkien as his imagination was over-stimulated by the horror of the Somme. At night, he saw that most frightening of creatures charging across no-mans land. A creature of the imagination which he would never speak directly. Only W.H. Auden would guess at the depiction of the 1916 apparition. Later in the year, Tolkien was invalided with trench fever. And it was as this time he was gripped by the epic struggle, as Gandalf battled a Balrog, an ancient demon creature, and fell into a deep chasm under the Mines of Moria, apparently to his death.
Tolkiens Phantasm

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In 1967, Jack Ruby's cancer went into remission, allowing him to be placed on trial for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. From the stand, Ruby spun a story of conspiracy, deception and treason, and the judge was forced to place a gag order on news from the trial. When the courtroom blew up the next day, it was blamed on a “gas leak” under the courthouse.

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In 1521, German monk Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Henry VIII of the Holy British Empire. Brother Martin was disgusted with the corruption of the British Papacy, and nailed a series of theses on his local church door, enumerating and protesting the wickedness of the English Church. Pope Henry, who had never been one to tolerate protestants, excommunicated then executed Brother Martin.

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In 2006, International Visit Today In Alternate History Day receives the unwelcome attention of most security agencies in North America. In a deft manoerve, Reverend Rattie reports that “Apparently, when you post before turning off your feed, your post appears on the feed anyway. So much for our vaunted computer skills.” Within the CIA, older hands suspect that Rattie was attempting to understate the real number of online alt-lifers.

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In 1892, the scholarly giant of modern England, John R. R. Tolkien, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. At Oxford, Tolkien penned some of the greatest literary criticisms of the 20th century, delving into the mythic roots of Beowulf, the legends of King Arthur, the Germanic and Celtic influences in English literature, and dozens of other subjects. In recent years, his son Christopher published a few of the bed time stories Tolkien wrote for his children, of which the most famous are his Father Christmas stories. There has even been talk of making a movie of these stories, although no one really expects they would be very popular.

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In 4620, Egyptologist and adventurer Luo Gan discovers the ancient tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, and its hideous curse. Over the next five years, he and the twenty members of his team die gruesome deaths. Although most dismiss this as mere coincidence, the Imperial Ministry of Antiquities has forbade further digging into ancient Egypt’s past.

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In 12-17-10-5-15, Pachacamac, Incan musicians famed throughout the Empire, give their first performance before the emperor at Oueztec City. The music of the sweet mountains of their birth lofted throughout the court, bringing smiles and tears to the assembled courtiers. The emperor himself is so moved by their performance that he ennobles them all.

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In 1977, the number one computer company in the world, Apple Computers, was incorporated by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in California. From humble beginnings as a machine for hobbyists, Apple computers soon made their way onto desktops in businesses and homes around the world with the introduction of the Macintosh line of computers. They might have stumbled in the 80’s when IBM’s operating system supplier, Microsoft, made a graphical interface to match the Macintosh, but a successful lawsuit against the company crushed that dream.

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Silmarillion	In 1914, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien began working on the Middle-earth stories. A good deal was written while Tolkien, then a British officer returned from France during World War I, was laid up in a military hospital and at home with trench fever. Truth be told, Tolkien's imagination was over-stimulated by the horror of the Somme. In escapist fantasy writing, Tolkien's inner hero struggled to restore his own dissipated life force.

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In 1947, the pederast Thomas Edward Lawrence was exposed in the Times newspaper following evidence of an inappropriate relationship with a fourteen year-old Arab boy, Selim Ahmed in 1914.

A clue was carefully hidden in Chapter 2, of Seven Pillars of Wisdom which describes homoerotic behaviour "quivering together in the yielding sand, with intimate hot limbs in supreme embrace." The book itself is dedicated to "S.A." with a poem that begins: "I loved you, so I drew these tides of men into my hands and wrote my will across the sky in stars To gain you Freedom, the seven-pillared worthy house, that your eyes might be shining for me When I came.", which had previously been considered a reference to Saudi Arabia, the chosen name of Abdul-Aziz bin Saud's Republic that was eventually founded in 1932.

Shortly afterwards, Lawrence was stripped of meritous awards that he had received after the war - Companion in the Order of the Bath, Distinguished Service Order, French Légion d'Honneur and Knight Commander of the British Empire which he received in October 1918.

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Lucifer's Journey

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: We are holding another contest! Please send us entries for an Alternate Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2006. Enter now - deadline will be February 10th! Just 6 days left, and we've only had 1 entry! Please enter! (Contest rules) And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

February 5th, 2006

in 47,371 BCE, Swikolay, great-granddaughter of Telka the Speaker, has a vision of her dead inspiration. In her dream, Telka descends from the sky and lands next to her. “You are believing something that you can’t touch with your hands again,” the vision tells her. “Dream your own dream, my child.”

in 1003 Post-Creation, Lucifer tells the angels and partial-angels that he is going for a walk across Creation; “I will see what can be done to improve upon the world,” he says, insulting the Creator. Achazia, still at the Creator's right hand, stills His anger at Lucifer, saying, “All things shall be as Thee will, Lord.” The Creator sets one of His few loyal angels, Michael, to follow Lucifer.

in 1811, owing to the utter incompetence of the Prince of Wales, Parliament named Prime Minister Spencer Perceval as Lord Protector because King George III had gone mad. After George III’s death, the Lord Protector simply continued to rule England, and the princes and princesses of the realm no longer ascended to the throne.

in 12-10-0-4-12, the performance of The Priest Of Quetchuan in Oueztec City marks the beginning of legitimate, professional theater in the Oueztecan Empire. For centuries, small groups of performers had performed theatrical works around the empire, but The Priest of Quetchuan was performed in a theater built specifically for the purpose, and this theater gave all those roving bands hope that they, too, could one be accepted and wealthy.

in 1850, DuBois D. Parmalee of New Paltz, New York patented an invention he called the adding machine, which had a series of keys that could be pressed to add up numbers. When the first company that attempted to put it into use jammed all the keys on the prototype, Parmalee went bankrupt, and his adding machine went into the dustbin of history.

in 1904, Q’B’Ton’ra’s fleet is launched against earth; although Ambassador Li’Kanto’Mk assures the alien leader that the Mlosh of earth have no memories of the homeworld, Q’B’Ton’ra feels that they would be compelled to avenge their ancestors. “I will deal with them as I dealt with the original Mlosh – I will crush and kill them all.”

in 1918, Milo Cranston examines the gem that he has taken from Velma Porter's bag carefully. The figure that seems to have been carved inside moves, and locks eyes with Cranston. In that moment, Cranston's will fails him, and he trades places with the being inside the gem. That being, now free of the gem's prison, lays down on the bed and plots his vengeance against the bride of the Baron of death.

in 1941, the German Underground lost its Italian wing as the Greater Zionist Resistance obtained the blessings of the Pope as Europe’s rightful rulers. This leads the G.U. to secretly assassinate the Pope the next year, and influences enough cardinals to make sure that the next pope is a Nazi-friendly one.

in 2003, the People's Marines storm the shores of Seattle in the rebellious People's Republic of America. Lieutenant Colonel Comrade Sean Demory personally takes City Hall, and the rest of the troops in the city surrender, with the entire Washington Soviet not far behind. Comrade Colonel Demory wins the People's Medal of Honor for his actions that day, and was exhorted by Comrade President Cobb as “a true hero of the Soviet States of America.”

in 2005, Mark Ford and Dave Lange tell Jeanna Best about a “safe house” that they have surveillance around, and they videotape the people who show up to raid it. The apartment in Austin had once been a headquarters for Save Earth, but they had abandoned it. The people who raid the apartment take some evidence with them, which, unknown to them, has tracking devices that the SE has planted.

Timelines in today's post: the Speaker, the Fall, the Oueztecan timeline, the Mlosh, von Heflin, the GZR, Communist America and The Claw.

We have another winner! Max, please email us your preferences for the alternate history entry you have won! Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect the British comedy series Black Adder to Star Trek. 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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The Priest Of Quetchuan - Theater In Ouezteca

February 5th, 2005

in 47,371 BCE, Swikolay, great-granddaughter of Telka the Speaker, has a vision of her dead inspiration. In her dream, Telka descends from the sky and lands next to her. “You are believing something that you can’t touch with your hands again,” the vision tells her. “Dream your own dream, my child.”

in 1811, owing to the utter incompetence of the Prince of Wales, Parliament named Prime Minister Spencer Perceval as Lord Protector because King George III had gone mad. After George III’s death, the Lord Protector simply continued to rule England, and the princes and princesses of the realm no longer ascended to the throne.

in 12-10-0-4-12, the performance of The Priest Of Quetchuan in Oueztec City marks the beginning of legitimate, professional theater in the Oueztecan Empire. For centuries, small groups of performers had performed theatrical works around the empire, but The Priest of Quetchuan was performed in a theater built specifically for the purpose, and this theater gave all those roving bands hope that they, too, could one be accepted and wealthy.

in 1850, DuBois D. Parmalee of New Paltz, New York patented an invention he called the adding machine, which had a series of keys that could be pressed to add up numbers. When the first company that attempted to put it into use jammed all the keys on the prototype, Parmalee went bankrupt, and his adding machine went into the dustbin of history.

in 1904, Q’B’Ton’ra’s fleet is launched against earth; although Ambassador Li’Kanto’Mk assures the alien leader that the Mlosh of earth have no memories of the homeworld, Q’B’Ton’ra feels that they would be compelled to avenge their ancestors. “I will deal with them as I dealt with the original Mlosh – I will crush and kill them all.”

in 1941, the German Underground lost its Italian wing as the Greater Zionist Resistance obtained the blessings of the Pope as Europe’s rightful rulers. This leads the G.U. to secretly assassinate the Pope the next year, and influences enough cardinals to make sure that the next pope is a Nazi-friendly one.

in 1952, Mikhail von Heflin and Velma Porter meet Carl Thompson, the son of his descendant Willard Thompson, in the small town of Bryan, Texas. The Baron von Todt has been told much of Carl’s life by Carl’s children, who will exist in all times concurrently. Thompson is shocked to discover the true nature of his family lineage, but is charmed by the Baron and his young companion, and invites them to stay in his home.

in 2003, Soviet troops storm Seattle as ships bombard it from offshore. By the end of the day, all the People’s Republic of America troops inside the city are ready to surrender, and they turn the city over to the victorious Soviet States of America. The entire soviet of Washington soon follows, and the die appears to be cast for the P.R.A.


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Warp, part 3 and the complete package are up! You can now buy the complete download, order the print version, or get your copies of the serialization while they're available - on March 1st, only the complete download and print versions will be on sale.

The Speaker Is Born; The Holy City In The Clouds

December 15th, 2004

in 47,433 BCE, Telka the speaker is born to a small tribe in central Africa. The originator of the first conspiracy, Telka forged a pact with all of her descendants that one day they would touch the stars. Unknown to the world around them, many of her direct descendants are still working to carry out this plan.

en 1859, Ludwik L. Zamenhof estis nee en Poland. La inventor de la universala lingvo, Esperanto, estas honoree en todo la mondo hodiaux.

in 12-13-16-3-14, Oueztecan authorities captured and killed the Sioux holy man, Tatanka Iyotake. Iyotake had led resistance against Oueztec expansion for decades, and was suspected by them of leading the Ghost Dance movement of guerilla warfare against their outposts.

in 1961, the Architect of the New Reich, Adolf Eichmann, dies in Berlin of a heart attack. Rumors flew around the German capitol that he had been in bed with a prostitute, but they were squelched. American President Strom Thurmond sends his regrets to Fuehrer Adolf Hitler along with a note suggesting that this might be time for a warming of the cold war between the Reich and the U.S. Thurmond is being hounded on the right by American Bundists yammering to join in Hitler’s New World Order, and wishes to appear receptive to the idea.

in 1966, Laugh-O-Gram founder Walt Disney died at his home in Kansas City, Missouri. Disney and his brother Roy started an empire from a few performers telling jokes while delivering messages. Soon, his performers were singing, dancing and juggling their way into America’s hearts as the company went national. Its performers can still be called on today to give a smile to someone who needs a pick-me-up.

in 1972, restaurateur Carl Johnson, an Alabaman born and raised during the Great Depression, brought a series of recipes from his childhood to a mass market with his chain of Southern Fried Possum stores. The spicey meat treat was surprisingly popular across the country, and Johnson was soon a multi-millionaire.

in 1978, The Soviet States of America formally recognizes the capitalist state of Brazil. America had never recognized the counter-revolutionaries who overthrew the People’s Republic of Brazil in 1959, and had armed Communist rebels in the country for nearly 15 years. Comrade President John Anderson wished to work with the capitalists of the world, though, and he felt that recognizing one of the world’s largest nations was a good step in that direction.

in 2003, the Golden City of Jesu is seen over Jerusalem, when thousands of Jewish citizens suddenly disappear. Templar aircraft dispatched to the scene burst into flames and crash as soon as they come within missile range of the city in the clouds. Word from Buckingham Cathedral states that the city is a mass hallucination caused by drugs placed in the water supply of the holy city by Estellians.

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IVTIAHD; Luther's Excommunication, Apple's Incorporation

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: It's International Visit Today In Alternate History Day! Just for today's post, the feed has been turned off in an effort to encourage everyone who reads us through one of the various feeds to come to the site so we can find out how many of you there are. While you're here, we'd actually like to encourage you to use the Feedburner feed on the side of the page to read us via the RSS feed reader of your choice. That way, we can have a clearer picture of how many of you there are. To sweeten the deal, everyone who comments on IVTIAHD on our Forums will be entered into a drawing to get their own alternate history entry! Thanks for participating in IVTIAHD, and the feed will be turned back on with tomorrow's post!
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January 3rd, 2006

in 47,391 BCE, after a year of walking, Telka the Speaker stands at the southeastern Asian shore and ponders a way across the ocean. Swikolay, her great-granddaughter and traveling companion, has an idea for going out into the waters. She hollows out a tree and they ride it into the South Pacific.

in 902, the wizard Atticus enters Merlin's place of power.

in 1521, German monk Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Henry VIII of the Holy British Empire. Brother Martin was disgusted with the corruption of the British Papacy, and nailed a series of theses on his local church door, enumerating and protesting the wickedness of the English Church. Pope Henry, who had never been one to tolerate protestants, excommunicated then executed Brother Martin.

in 1804, during the Irish War of Independence, Agent K’Tan’Jir of British Intelligence captures an Irish Mlosh agent, Pri’Kato’Mli. Although the Irish agent manages to escape, K’Tan’Jir has placed a tracking device on him, and uses him to find the base that he has been operating out of. With his young assistant, James Watson, K’Tan’Jir storms the base, only to find that he has been outfoxed – Pri’Kato’Mli had over a hundred rebels with him. The two British agents barely manage to escape with their lives.

in 1889, deep in the woods of Michigan, Mikhail von Heflin encounters a creature that the natives call a Wendigo. It is an extra-dimensional beast that can see what he really is and attacks him out of fear. He manages to escape from it, and flees to the south.

in 1892, the scholarly giant of modern England, John R. R. Tolkien, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. At Oxford, Tolkien penned some of the greatest literary criticisms of the 20th century, delving into the mythic roots of Beowulf, the legends of King Arthur, the Germanic and Celtic influences in English literature, and dozens of other subjects. In recent years, his son Christopher published a few of the bed time stories Tolkien wrote for his children, of which the most famous are his Father Christmas stories. There has even been talk of making a movie of these stories, although no one really expects they would be very popular.

in 4620, Egyptologist and adventurer Luo Gan discovers the ancient tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, and its hideous curse. Over the next five years, he and the twenty members of his team die gruesome deaths. Although most dismiss this as mere coincidence, the Imperial Ministry of Antiquities has forbade further digging into ancient Egypt’s past.

in 1961, the Soviet States of America severs its diplomatic and economic ties with the Caribbean island nation of Cuba after it reorganized its economy along European lines and strengthened its ties with the Eastern powers. “The West cannot tolerate a reactionary nation so close to our borders,” Comrade President Rosenberg declared, “and so, we will take the steps necessary to punish those who leave the Community of Trade for the oppression of capitalism.”

in 12-17-10-5-15, Pachacamac, Incan musicians famed throughout the Empire, give their first performance before the emperor at Oueztec City. The music of the sweet mountains of their birth lofted throughout the court, bringing smiles and tears to the assembled courtiers. The emperor himself is so moved by their performance that he ennobles them all.

in 1967, Jack Ruby's cancer went into remission, allowing him to be placed on trial for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. From the stand, Ruby spun a story of conspiracy, deception and treason, and the judge was forced to place a gag order on news from the trial. When the courtroom blew up the next day, it was blamed on a “gas leak” under the courthouse.

in 1977, the number one computer company in the world, Apple Computers, was incorporated by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in California. From humble beginnings as a machine for hobbyists, Apple computers soon made their way onto desktops in businesses and homes around the world with the introduction of the Macintosh line of computers. They might have stumbled in the 80’s when IBM’s operating system supplier, Microsoft, made a graphical interface to match the Macintosh, but a successful lawsuit against the company crushed that upstart.


Timelines in today's post: the Speaker, the Holy British Empire, the Mlosh, Communist America, the Chinese Empire and von Heflin.

Yet another AHN - today's post has something a little different about it. In addition to a link to a long-form entry and the real timeline source of 2 alternate entries, at the bottom of the post you will find links to the ongoing timelines that are written about in this post. This is extraordinarily time-consuming, so give us some comments about it to let us know if you would like us to continue doing that.

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!

The Forum lives again! My esteemed Co-Historian has brought the forum back to life, and in spite of the issues we've had with the forum in the past, we think that this time, it'll stay 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!