Rescued by the Master

Peter Mandelson	In 2001, Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Mandelson was confirmed in his position by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Members of the inner circle had doubt whether Mr Blair would succeed in rescuing his familiar. An unknown source reported that Mandelson had his own fears – being hung upside down by his master in a gesture as old as Macedonia. At the very least the Prince of Darkness had feared a second resignation from the cabinet over a row concerning a passport application from an Indian billionaire.
Prince of Darkness

It is the second time Mr Mandelson was under pressure to leave the cabinet in disgrace since Labour came to power in 1997. Mr Mandelson, a close confidant and friend of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said he did not accept he had acted "improperly in any way" over the passport affair. Mr Mandelson had come under increasing pressure over the issue since the weekend. He strongly denied claims he pulled strings to help Srichand Hinduja secure a UK passport in return for a £1 million sponsorship deal for the Millennium Dome while Mr Mandelson was in charge of that project. The Hinduja family is one of the most influential in the world and runs the transnational Hinduja group, a company with assets amounting to around $8 billion. Since 1990 Srichand Hinduja and his brothers Gopichand and Prakash have been defending themselves against criminal allegations in a long-running corruption case involving an arms deal between Swiss company Bofors and the Indian government. Srichand Hinduja, who with his brother Gopichand has lived in London since 1979, had his first application for UK citizenship refused in 1990. Just after paying the sponsorship money, he asked Mr Mandelson whether he could apply again. The passport was granted soon afterwards. Earlier on the same day, Mr Blair had summoned him to Downing Street to 'establish the facts' of his involvement. The next day, Minister for Europe Keith Vaz also became embroiled in the affair after it was revealed he had written to both the prime minister and Mr Mandelson about the Hinduja brothers in 1997. In March 2001, an inquiry, led by Treasury solicitor Sir Anthony Hammond QC, cleared Mr Mandelson and placed the full responsibility for wrongdoing on Mr Vaz. It was a textbook case study in the highest standards of integrity in public office, a key pledge from Tony Blair when he assumed office in 2007. Vaz felt somewhat differently, describing the events through a different perspective in his political biography 'Thrown to the Wolves'.

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	In 1966, the lives of 117 people were placed in jeopardy after an Air India Boeing 707 nearly crashed near the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps. The plane was on a regular Bombay to New York flight when the accident happened at around 0800 local time. All 106 passengers and 11 crew landed safety at Geneva airport in Switzerland. Fortunately, a Brahmacharya soul deep was amongst the passengers. Exercising 'control of the senses in thought, word and deed' the brahmacari shaped time and space to avert Moksha.
Mont Blanc

One of the passengers included chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, who was on his way to Vienna. The remaining passengers were Indian nationals, 46 of whom were sailors. Six were British. Dr Bhabha, described as a man 'who simply must not die' subsequently negotiated a nuclear free agreement for the subcontinent. Gerard Devoussoux, a mountain guide who witnessed the scene, said: 'Another 15 metres (50ft) and the plane would have hit the rock. It would have made a huge crater in the mountain'. Robert Bruce, from Tooting, who was waiting for his parents to arrive, said: 'I am so choked I cannot even cry. I will just go home with my parents and collapse. 'As far as I am concerned my world has been saved.'

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In 1965, Winston Spencer Churchill died in his Falklands stronghold, buried under a boulder inscribed, 'Founding Father of the movement to uproot Nazidom from the world.' His mission is unfulfilled at the time of writing.

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In 1945, after joking 'I drink and smoke and I am 200% fit' Winston Spencer Churchill died months before the end of World War 2, forcing the hopelessly unprepared Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee into office. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had stopped smoking when he reached the Presidency, said that a similiar disaster in America would have had deeply profound consequences for the post-world war, a disguised reference to the Bomb.

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In 1924, following a series of strokes Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Bolshevik Party, and father of the revolution is forced to shape change, fleeing his cadaver to occupy the body of the rude Georgian Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. Through the cult of the personality, Stalin as he Vladimir Lenin is known is able to dilineate an uninterrupted rulership as General Secretary, which is very much the case given the continuity of the demon in the two bodies. He leaves the cadaver of Lenin on display, embalmed at a mausoleum in the Kremlin in case he ever needs to make a Dracula-style exit from Russia in the future.

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In 1994, the Ames dossier demonstrated incontrovertible evidence of the CIA's role in the multiple Lee Harvey Oswald diversionary ploy. And some complementary words for the case file officer, George H.W. Bush.

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In 793 AUC Caligula, who had briefly served as Rome’s emperor before a brain fever drove him mad, dies under the care of doctors in Rome. Hard as it was for Romans to depose an emperor, Caligula was clearly in no condition to continue to server Rome as its leader. Rumors that he even began speaking to his horse were never confirmed, but were not doubted.

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In 1914, almost a year after vowing he would never work on it again, Franz Kafka finished his novel Amerika. Although most critics say that the beginning is a powerful tale of a European boy banished to America by scandal, the ending where the boy is turned into a sheep and eaten by coyotes in Oklahoma does tend to throw most people.

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In 1986, Ron Hubbard, known for his rollicking western pulps in the 30’s and 40’s, and his more epic detective and western fiction afterwards, died at his home in San Francisco, California. Reverend Hubbard, who was ordained in the Church of Christ and led a huge congregation in San Francisco, always said he was unafraid to die, since that was the last promotion God could give him.

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In 1986, Trade and Industry Secretary Leon Brittan became the second cabinet minister to resign over the Westland affair. Before the year was out, Mrs Thatcher would be the victim of a 'political' assassination, replaced by the more moderate Michael Heseltine.

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In 1984, Apple Computers released the Macintosh, a personal computer with a graphical user interface, rather than the command line that most PC’s had used up to that point. This innovation, although not unique to Apple, rocketed them to the top of the computing world. By the end of the decade, they produced almost 80% of the computers used in America, and their operating system, licensed out to other computer manufacturers, today accounts for around 90% of the computing done in the world.

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In 1971, British industrialist Frank Spencer and his wife Betty faced the cameras after mechanical failures onboard the British spacecraft Marie Celeste had been traced to his Factory. Spencer was asked to comment on the European Space Agencies' self-inflicted wound. The British really would have to do something about this quality control problem for next time, they had said.

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Caligula Dies; Amerika Is Finished

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: We are holding another contest! Please send us entries for an Alternate Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2006. You may send us up to three entries for the day, and we will choose the best 10 to appear on February 14th. Enter now - deadline will be February 10th! By entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on February 14th, 2006, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

January 24th, 2006

in 793 AUC, Caligula, who had briefly served as Rome’s emperor before a brain fever drove him mad, dies under the care of doctors in Rome. Hard as it was for Romans to depose an emperor, Caligula was clearly in no condition to continue to server Rome as its leader. Rumors that he even began speaking to his horse were never confirmed, but were not doubted.

in 1184, after a year on deserted Bermuda, Mikhail von Heflin and Velma Porter decide that they've had enough of a vacation, and strike out for the North American coast in one of the boats they have constructed. While en route, they encounter another rift in time/space. They don't try to evade it; Porter says, “I just hope it doesn't send us back to the stone age.”

in 1732, French playwright and revolutionary Pierre de Beaumarchais is born in Paris, France. He was influential in supporting both the French Revolution and the independence movement in North America that created the North American Confederation. His plays Le Barbier de Seville and Le Mariage de K’Tem’La were banned until after the revolution, since they were critical of the nobility of France.

in 1781, Canadian guerilla fighters known only as “Snow Fox and Light Foot” stage a hugely successful raid on the British garrison at Fort George in Quebec. The fort was completely destroyed, and the British abandoned the region because of the popular support for the Snow Fox.

in 1908, the Young Comrades organization begins among British Communists and quickly spreads to America. Although officially repressed by the British government, the Comrades are embraced by their comrades in America, and many leaders in the Soviet States today were Young Comrades in their boyhood.

in 1914, almost a year after vowing he would never work on it again, Franz Kafka finished his novel Amerika. Although most critics say that the beginning is a powerful tale of a European boy banished to America by scandal, the ending where the boy is turned into a sheep and eaten by coyotes in Oklahoma does tend to throw most people.

in 1943, General Friedrich von Paulus of the German Underground, commanding officer of the 6th Army, requested permission from Adolf Hitler to accept the surrender of Greater Zionist Resistance soldiers in Russia. General von Paulus had no stomach for the sort of war that the G.U. was waging, and Hitler threatened to replace him if he didn’t acquire one, saying, “The 6th Army will exterminate the Zionists down to the last man”.

in 1984, Apple Computers released the Macintosh, a personal computer with a graphical user interface, rather than the command line that most PC’s had used up to that point. This innovation, although not unique to Apple, rocketed them to the top of the computing world. By the end of the decade, they produced almost 80% of the computers used in America, and their operating system, licensed out to other computer manufacturers, today accounts for around 90% of the computing done in the world.

in 1986, Ron Hubbard, known for his rollicking western pulps in the 30’s and 40’s, and his more epic detective and western fiction afterwards, died at his home in San Francisco, California. Reverend Hubbard, who was ordained in the Church of Christ and led a huge congregation in San Francisco, always said he was unafraid to die, since that was the last promotion God could give him.

in 2005, Jeanna Best goes in to work for Austin lawyer Jack Armstrong and gets called into his office. Armstrong asks her about her illness on the previous Saturday, and she replies that it was a little 24-hour bug. She notes that he does not use the last two fingers on either hand at all, and barely contains her shudders of fear; she also notes the defense contract lying on his desk for a company called Myrmidon.

Timelines in today's post: the Roman timeline, Canadian Independence, von Heflin, the Mlosh, the GZR, and Communist America.

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! Or, here's a new one - win 5 "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenges from me, and I'll put you in the alternate history of your choice. Here's your first one - with only the info you have on me in my profile, connect your esteemed Alternate Historian to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments! For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

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Caligula Dies; Kafka Completes Amerika

January 24th, 2005

in 793 AUC, Caligula, who had briefly served as Rome’s emperor before a brain fever drove him mad, dies under the care of doctors in Rome. Hard as it was for Romans to depose an emperor, Caligula was clearly in no condition to continue to server Rome as its leader. Rumors that he even began speaking to his horse were never confirmed, but were not doubted.

in 1732, French playwright and revolutionary Pierre de Beaumarchais is born in Paris, France. He was influential in supporting both the French Revolution and the independence movement in North America that created the North American Confederation. His plays Le Barbier de Seville and Le Mariage de K’Tem’La were banned until after the revolution, since they were critical of the nobility of France.

in 1891, Mikhail von Heflin arrives in Dallas and accompanies the three old women he has met on his train ride to their home in the north of the city. While he is sleeping, they perform a dark ritual that is designed to trap the Baron’s soul in their service forever.

in 1908, the Young Comrades organization begins among British Communists and quickly spreads to America. Although officially repressed by the British government, the Comrades are embraced by their comrades in America, and many leaders in the Soviet States today were Young Comrades in their boyhood.

in 1914, almost a year after vowing he would never work on it again, Franz Kafka finished his novel Amerika. Although most critics say that the beginning is a powerful tale of a European boy banished to America by scandal, the ending where the boy is turned into a sheep and eaten by coyotes in Oklahoma does tend to throw most people.

in 1943, General Friedrich von Paulus of the German Underground, commanding officer of the 6th Army, requested permission from Adolf Hitler to accept the surrender of Greater Zionist Resistance soldiers in Russia. General von Paulus had no stomach for the sort of war that the G.U. was waging, and Hitler threatened to replace him if he didn’t acquire one, saying, “The 6th Army will exterminate the Zionists down to the last man”.

in 1984, Apple Computers released the Macintosh, a personal computer with a graphical user interface, rather than the command line that most PC’s had used up to that point. This innovation, although not unique to Apple, rocketed them to the top of the computing world. By the end of the decade, they produced almost 80% of the computers used in America, and their operating system, licensed out to other computer manufacturers, today accounts for around 90% of the computing done in the world.

in 1986, Ron Hubbard, known for his rollicking western pulps in the 30’s and 40’s, and his more epic detective and western fiction afterwards, died at his home in San Francisco, California. Reverend Hubbard, who was ordained in the Church of Christ and led a huge congregation in San Francisco, always said he was unafraid to die, since that was the last promotion God could give him.


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Death In New York

July 7th, 2005

in 4561, Lord Vo was marched into the ruins of once-proud Hanoi and made to order his soldiers to surrender. Most did so gladly; they had lost the taste for freedom long ago. Only a handful of defenders survived in any case; out of a fighting force of 150,000 at the beginning of the war, only 417 marched out of Hanoi alive. Vo was taken to Beijing, and the Emperor asked him if was afraid of what was going to happen to him. Lord Vo replied, “Sire, I face my fate with a light heart; for no punishment you may bring upon me can match the hell that was Hanoi.” Min-Yuan let Vo live, but imprisoned him for life. Vo told reporters that it was the worst punishment he could imagine, for the dead of Hanoi surrounded him the rest of his days.

in 1898, President William Haywood signs a treaty with the Kingdom of Hawaii to bring it into the United States’ Community Of Trade. The COT, begun by Haywood to provide a socialist counter-weight of second and third-world nations against the great powers of Europe, now reaches from the Caribbean to the Pacific, and provides the basis for most of the growth enjoyed by the U.S. over the next 2 decades.

in 1907, science fiction author and cult leader Robert A. Heinlein was born in Butler, Missouri. An ordinary writer in the Golden Age of science fiction, Heinlein saw his popularity skyrocket in the 60’s with the publication of Stranger In A Strange Land. At the urging of fellow SF author L. Ron Hubbard, Heinlein began a religion based on the Martian philosophies of his novel. The cult survived his death, and still practices the free love, group marriage and communal living that the book made so mainstream.

in 1936, Pascal-Edison, Inc. release the Dede Operating System, a friendly interface which allows the operator of a Dede to use it much more efficiently, with a few simple typed-in commands. D.O.S. drives the sales of the Dede through the roof.

in 1947, the police drama Dragnet premiered on NBC Radio. It had the distinction of being the lowest-rated show on radio the 6 months it was on the air. Gallant attempts were made to revive it on television in 1951 and 1967, but this obscure work never caught on with the general public.

in 1947, Major Jesse Marcel of the Roswell Army Air Base arrives at Mac Brazel’s ranch to look over the debris. The bodies have been picked fairly clean, but the mechanical debris interests Marcel a great deal. He has several soldiers come in from the base to pick it up and cart it in to where they can examine it. He also has a doctor supervise the loading of the bodies.

in 1974, the Dutch soccer team first breaks the heart of a host as they defeat West Germany 2-1 at the 10th World Cup in Munich. After also winning the 1978 World Cup, the Dutch team virtually disappears from soccer in the 80’s, but comes roaring back in the 90’s with appearances in the finals in ’94 and ’98.

in 1981, convinced of the malevolence of the genetically engineered virus at Area 51, the Vegas 6 and their erstwhile nemesis Mobius decide that another assault on the Groom Lake facility is necessary; and this time, they will destroy the virus or die trying. They plan to make their assault in 2 days; in the meantime, they each have someone to say goodbye to, and they each make their way to their respective homes.

in 2000, Mikhail von Heflin comes to the New York City home of his former lover, Velma Porter, to see if they can reconcile their differences. After the disappearance of his descendant Bartholomew Thompson, the Baron has become very lonely, and his thoughts go to the last woman he loved. After a tempestuous meeting, they enjoy a night on the town together, and rekindle the spark they held for each other.


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Thanks to your generosity, we have gas money, and truly appreciate the assistance. But, we still have a broken windshield to repair, so we're keeping the offer open - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site this month. 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!

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Siege Of Hanoi Ends

July 7th, 2004

in 4561, Lord Vo was marched into the ruins of once-proud Hanoi and made to order his soldiers to surrender. Most did so gladly; they had lost the taste for freedom long ago. Only a handful of defenders survived in any case; out of a fighting force of 150,000 at the beginning of the war, only 417 marched out of Hanoi alive. Vo was taken to Beijing, and the Emperor asked him if he was afraid of what was going to happen to him. Lord Vo replied, “Sire, I face my fate with a light heart; for no punishment you may bring upon me can match the hell that was Hanoi.” Min-Yuan let Vo live, but imprisoned him for life. Vo told reporters that it was the worst punishment he could imagine, for the dead of Hanoi surrounded him the rest of his days.

in 1898, President William Haywood signs a treaty with the Kingdom of Hawaii to bring it into the United States’ Community Of Trade. The COT, begun by Haywood to provide a socialist counter-weight of second and third-world nations against the great powers of Europe, now reaches from the Caribbean to the Pacific, and provides the basis for most of the growth enjoyed by the U.S. over the next 2 decades.

in 1907, science fiction author and cult leader Robert A. Heinlein was born in Butler, Missouri. An ordinary writer in the Golden Age of science fiction, Heinlein saw his popularity skyrocket in the 60’s with the publication of Stranger In A Strange Land. At the urging of fellow SF author L. Ron Hubbard, Heinlein began a religion based on the Martian philosophies of his novel. The cult survived his death, and still practices the free love, group marriage and communal living that the book made so mainstream.

in 1936, Pascal-Edison, Inc. release the Dede Operating System, a friendly interface which allows the operator of a Dede to use it much more efficiently, with a few simple typed-in commands. D.O.S. drives the sales of the Dede through the roof.

in 1947, the police drama Dragnet premiered on NBC Radio. It had the distinction of being the lowest-rated show on radio the 6 months it was on the air. Gallant attempts were made to revive it on television in 1951 and 1967, but this obscure work never caught on with the general public.

in 1947, Major Jesse Marcel of the Roswell Army Air Base arrives at Mac Brazel’s ranch to look over the debris. The bodies have been picked fairly clean, but the mechanical debris interests Marcel a great deal. He has several soldiers come in from the base to pick it up and cart it in to where they can examine it. He also has a doctor supervise the loading of the bodies.

in 1974, the Dutch soccer team first breaks the heart of a host as they defeat West Germany 2-1 at the 10th World Cup in Munich. After also winning the 1978 World Cup, the Dutch team virtually disappears from soccer in the 80’s, but comes roaring back in the 90’s with appearances in the finals in ’94 and ’98.

in 2003, the Martian Ambassador appears with Kofi Annan in a joint news conference to announce the complete cessation of hostilities. “We are a desperate people,” the Ambassador said through an interpretation device, “and your planet represented many riches that we desired. I regret that our needs overcame us; but our planet is not capable of supporting us much longer.” In spite of the unprovoked attack on earth, sympathy does rise for the aliens, although many people still distrust them.