Wilkes' Mission

The state of TIAH

January 19th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: We have a side-project that was announced last weekend – a collection of several timelines with more-or-less complete stories inside them – The Fall, the Tolman timeline, the Mormon War and more – that will be up for sale on Lulu, as soon as we have it edited together. If you would be interested in this, or would like to suggest something for inclusion in the collection, please email me and let me know. Meanwhile, enjoy Guest Historian Stephen Payne's entry for today, followed by the continuation of our NaNoWriMo novel.

Charles Windsor	In 2001 Chairman McPherson issues the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of the fatal car crash which killed the heir to the throne Prince Charles Windsor and his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles in Paris on 31st August, 1997. McPherson finds no grounds for conspiracy. ..
.. The British Public will have none of it, and the McPherson report overtakes the Warren Commission as a source of conspiracy theories on the Internet.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1942 on the croquet lawn of the official residence of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahamas Montgomery hails Edward Windsor with the respectful term 'Your majesty'. 'Er, sadly not' says the abdicated monarch effortlessly tapping a ball through the croquet hoop ' watch the ..	Edward VIII
.. lawn with those military tyres old chap'.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Charles de Gaulle..	In 1942 in an Anglo-American Axis interrogation room, 'Cigarette, ..
.. Monsieur General?' inquires Field Marshall Montgomery to the captured de Gaulle. Monty seems very pleased with himself, and so he should, having just conquered North Africa and the Mediterranean. He is poised to assault the soft underbelly of Europe, where he intends to crush the social democracies of Central Europe.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1840 Captain Charles Wilkes attempts to circumnavigate Antarctica to claim so-called Wilkes Land for the United States. The southern lights known as the aurora australis terrorize the mission as powerful magicks projected from the Dreamtime force Wilkes to turn back and abandon the mission.	Charles Wilkes
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

After(cont.)
“There's a lot of fighting going on right now,” Mike said, looking at the map. He pointed at the areas closest to them. “According to the resistance bloggers, President-elect Kerry and his troops are pushing through over here at Kermit.”
“Shouldn't we head there, then?” Steph was looking over his shoulder anxiously. “I mean, they're the guys we want to get this stuff to, right?”
“Yeah, but do we really want to head into the middle of the fight?” Mike certainly looked as if he didn't want to. “If we could bypass them and join up with the resistance that's bringing up the rear, we wouldn't have to dodge bullets; or get forced to fight the guys we're supposed to be helping by our good Texas neighbors, here.”
“I'm just thinkin' that we need to get to the other side as quick as possible. Especially if they're gonna be looking for 'able-bodied' recruits.” She looked at one of the windows he had open on his computer and read a few lines from a hysterical writer. “This guy says that Kerry and his troops are shielding refugees from the Texas Guard. If we just get behind the lines, we can ask them to help us.”
“That means we have to get through the lines. You know, fighting, gunfire, that kinda bad stuff?”
She studied the map for a minute. “Maybe we can just go off-road before we get there. We leave the highway here,” she said, pointing to a section of the road a couple of dozen miles from Kermit, “in front of the fighting, scoot cross-country till we get behind the good guys, then circle around and head into Kermit. It's all desert out here, shouldn't be that hard to get across.”
“Yeah, people die in the desert, you know?”
“We'll bring water.”
“Man.” Mike whined. “I wish I'd gone with Eli, now.”

Janice fumbled through the dead guard's clothes for a set of keys while Jake made sure no one else was in the basement. He asked the president, “Do you know how many of them were watching you?”
“I've only seen about three of 'em the last few hours,” the president said. “For some reason, most of them left earlier.”
“They've got a body double of you,” Janice told him, picking the keys off of the body. She walked over to Bush and unlocked his cuffs. “They're trying to install him into the White House. I don't know what good that would do them, since Kerry was supposed to take office next month, anyway.”
“Well,” Bush said, sheepishly. “We kind of have a provision that suspends the results of the election in case of martial law.”
Jake and Janice both looked at him. Janice recovered her voice first. “I want you to say that into my recorder here, so that the next time somebody calls me a crazy conspiracy nut, I can make them listen to you admitting that.”
“We were just going to use it in case of a terrorist attack, miss.”
“And, nobody would ever think of misusing a provision like that!”
Jake shoved himself between them. “You know, this is all fascinating, but we need to get the hell outta here.” He walked over to the stairs. “Janice, I'll take point, you come up behind the president. Mr. President, in case there's still somebody up there who doesn't want you leaving, you stick close to us. We'll get you out of here.”
“I love it when you take charge,” Janice whispered to Jake, smirking.

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	Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me....I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now, I see. T'was Grace that taught...my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear...the hour I first believed. Thro' many dangers, toils and snare, I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. ~ Amazing Graceland – Fall and Rise of a King (1982), Elvis Aaron Presley.

In 1983, Elvites were shocked by the relevations of the King's autobiography. Of course only people on the Dark Side of the Moon during the late sixties could be unaware of Presley's sharp decline during that traumatic period. Fortunately, a religious awakening had lifted Presley from the nadir of his career and personal life. Revealed for the first time however was some real shockers. The Las Vegas rape, addition to prescription drugs and a near death experience on August 17, 1977. It was revealed for the first time that the King was found on the floor of his Graceland bathroom by fiancee, Ginger Alden, having 'stumbled or crawled several feet'. CPR treatment saved Presley's life after he was officially pronounced dead at 3:30 pm at the Baptist Memorial Hospital. Whilst he had recorded a lot of Gospel tracks, it was the moment when he really began to believe.

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	In 2005, on this day occurred the event known as Mugabe's Prince handshake gaffe. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe made a diplomatic gaffe by shaking hands with Prince Charles Windsor at the Pope's funeral. The President was 'caught by surprise' when the Prince leaned over to greet him, Harare source said. Some politicians condemned Presidents' greeting as 'stupid' and 'not very sensible' following the Prince's alleged involvement in the assassination of his ex-wife. The Queen of Hearts had been hugely respected for her charitable works in the Southern Hemisphere and the Prince was now considered persona non grata.

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Microsoft	In 2007, consumers reacted in anger to an email today - 'MSN to increase the charge for Hotmail user fees.' Five years before on 25 February 2001, unconsidered comments were made by a Microsoft executive, who said the company was considering introducing fees for its free Hotmail service. It was one year after the dotcom crash and everybody, even mighty Microsoft, was pondering how to make some money on the internet. A stroke of genius, Hotmail now represents over 30% of Microsoft revenue. The Seattle giant had suffered from loss of revenue from software piracy for many years, and this services-led innovation enabled the corporation to grow sales explosively in the consumer market.
Fees Announced

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	In 1998, the Police confirm the arrest of millionaire singer George Michael while he was alone in a public toilet and have charged him with lewd behaviour. The heterosexual star later revealed that he had been lured into the toilet by a female Police Officer who had played a cruel game of 'I will show you mine, you show me yours and then I will nick you'.

Gay America was outraged by the obscenity. Public opinion was strongly against Michael, who had been safely assumed gay due to his provocative MTV coverage with fellow Wham! Star Andrew Ridgeley. Michael said it was 'My own stupid fault as usual'.

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	In 2008, Nunavut Tribal Chief Paul Okalik defended Democratic front-runner Barack Obama Monday over accusations from rival Hillary Clinton that he was secretly at ease with a hemispheric trade accord which he publicly blames for losing U.S. Jobs. Clinton's criticism, on the eve of make-or-break presidential nomination contests for her in Mannhattan, stemmed from a report by Kanatan television station CTV that an Obama economic adviser told Kanatan officials the candidate was not seriously considering disrupting the trade accord.

There was no intention to convey, in any way, that Senator Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private, including about NAFTA, the embassy statement said. 'We deeply regret any inference that may have been drawn to that effect.' The consulate's written report of the meeting had left the suggestion that Obama's words on NAFTA were designed for a political audience and should not be taken too seriously, prompting an angry denial from the Obama campaign. Clinton, a Mannhattan senator, has made an issue of what she says is Obama's support for the Native American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband, former President Bill Clinton, signed in 1994 but which is now under heavy election-year criticism from her and Obama. The source of the dispute dated back to 1520, when Montezuma kicked the Spaniards out of Mexico and North AmerInds had similar success, leaving only the European colony on Manhattan Island. By the early twenty-first century, the Iroquois Federation had developed a modern economy based on the success of NAFTA.

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Stephen R. Donaldson	In 1968, Stephen Reeder Donaldson departed Vietnam. By inclination a conscientious objector, he had been compelled to serve in the armed forces. Much later, and after dropping out of his Ph.D. program and moving to New Jersey in order to write fiction, Donaldson made his publishing debut with the first 'Covenant' trilogy in 1977. That enabled him to move to a healthier climate. He now lives in New Mexico. Donaldson's two year compulsory military duty would be the deep undercurrent of his escapist fantasy writing. In 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever', the protagonist was a leper struggled with disempowerment in a Land he did not really believe in.
Unbeliever

Farewell, Unbeliever! Be true! You have wrought greatly for us. And with the Staff of Law we will be not unable to defend against the Despiser's ill. Take heart. Despair and bitterness are not the only songs in this world. ~ 'The Calling of Lions'.

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	In 1917, the February Revolution broke out in Imperial Russia. The Imperial German Government turn to the architect of the 1905 revolution, Father Gapon. He is sent in a sealed train to Russia in a second and increasingly desperate attempt to overthrow the House of Romanov that year.

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In 2001, BBC News reported - Donald Campbell's speedboat recovered: Divers have raised the wreck of Donald Campbell's boat, Bluebird, from the bottom of Coniston Water in Cumbria. The boat had lain there since the accident in 1967 which killed Campbell, 46, as he attempted to break the world water speed record. The craft was winched to the surface after a three-hour operation to tow it to the lakeside from its resting place, 150 feet (45 metres) below the surface of the lake. The quest to raise the boat was led by diver Bill Smith. Mr Smith said he was glad they had reached the boat as there was always the risk that less scrupulous souvenir hunters could get there first. 'You can see now she's in a remarkable state of preservation and she'll not rot away to nothing now, she can be kept this way,' he said. In final, startlig surprise, the body of Donald Campbell would be discovered on August 10th.

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In 1801, British and Ottoman soldiers took control of Abukir Bay in Egypt from Italian Imperial forces. Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of Italy, had assumed control of Egypt largely out of a desire to recreate the Roman Empire. Unfortunately for the Little Italian, it placed him perilously close to the Ottoman Empire, which joined forces with the northern European allies against Italy.

In 12-18-19-16-12, the composer for the Incan court, Bekcheco, died in his sleep in the Incan capitol of Cuszo. Bekcheco had been known for his musical styles that appealed so highly to the young people of the continent, combining eastern rhythms with more civilized traditional Oueztecan music.

	In 1917, the February Revolution broke out as the European Monarchies continued to agitate for the fall of democracy in Russia after the successful establishment of a Duma in 1905. The Imperial German Government subsequently sent Communist Vladimir Lenin in a sealed train in a second and increasingly desperate attempt at revolution that year. Ace of Spies and British Agent Sidney Reilly reported it was hopeless, democracy was infectious and would likely spread into Western Europe during the early 1920s if no further invention occurred.

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In 1994, South African troops, allies of the U.S., accept the surrender of Madagascar. Although the war in the Indian Ocean Theater is just beginning, South Africa is sweeping across its neighbors with alarming speed. In some respects, they are doing even better than President Ralph Shephard's troops in the western hemisphere.