ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Also, his fellow leftists who dislike him post pictures of him upside down as a meme.
It has not gotten old, and it never will.
A Second Sunrise: Taiwan of 2020 Sent Back to 1911
- Thread starter ChrisProvidence
- Start date
- Original Modern Post-1900
Also, his fellow leftists who dislike him post pictures of him upside down as a meme.
It has not gotten old, and it never will.
- Location
- San Francisco
Sounds very plausible - in the end, Mussolini's true ideology was just Mussolini himself: that's what lies at the heart of his transformation from socialist firebrand to fascist dictator. If he thinks his chances of prospering are higher as a journalist than as a politician, that's what he will do. He was not a D'Annunzio, a man of action that lived his life as if it were a pulp novel, or an Evola, wholly consumed by his hatred for everything modern. Speaking of which, while Evola would be absolutely dismayed at the new Europe's libertarian socialist bent, D'Annunzio would be far less opposed to the new course - after all, he hung out with anarchists and syndicalists and, even at his most right wing, Mussolini had to provide him with a cage so gilded it was made of actual gold, so terrified he was of the aging D'Annunzio's reputation.
What if he adopts it as his own profile pic to prove to everyone that he's not mad he's actually laughing
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Somebody quotes the Dril tweet:
"And another thing: I'm not mad about the meme. Please do not put in the newspaper that I got mad about the meme."
-Benito Mussolini
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Anyways, next chapter should be out soon. Just need to get the right images and write the section on unionizing in China and America.
That, and fleshing out a way for LBJ to recover from getting shot in the spine. It needs to sound "Scientific" enough, and I've settled on regenerative injections that basically "trick" the body into healing itself.
That, and fleshing out a way for LBJ to recover from getting shot in the spine. It needs to sound "Scientific" enough, and I've settled on regenerative injections that basically "trick" the body into healing itself.
Chapter 82: Old Prejudices Die Even Harder
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The Kremlin, Moscow, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire, 9 February 1938
(The Kremlin)
"They're out there again, aren't they?" asked Prime Minister Milyukov. The aide nodded. "I swear, how many times are they going to march with pictures of Mikhail Diterikhs?"
"About once a week," Foreign Minister Chernov muttered, before swiping up on his tablet. "The same as they do every few months: Wave the black-yellow-and white banner while holding up portraits if Diterikhs, as if he was some martyr."
"For a vocal minority," Milyukov sighed, "They are certainly a loud one. Sometimes, I wonder if they truly are as unpopular as the numbers show."
"Popular enough to force us into another Grand Coalition," the S-R said to the Kadet. "But unpopular enough that nobody wants anything to do with them."
"Well then," Milyukov relented, before returning to his seat. "Now where were we? Director Votsekhovsky, please continue."
"Of course," said the loyalist general-turned-spymaster. "Given the recent uptick in violence in Mariupol, Aleksandrovsk, and Moscow, I have directed additional manpower and resources towards the Black Hundred threat."
"These were the same ones who attacked the communes last year, yes?" Votsekhovsky nodded to Milyukov. "I thought so. Libertarians have been arming themselves to the teeth over the last year."
It went without saying that said libertarians arming themselves to the teeth wasn't the ideal situation, but they were Chernov's allies, and they had been able to fight off the Black Hundreds' attacks on the communes.
The irony of anarchists working with law enforcement was not lost upon him. "All Cops Are Bastards," as the Uptimers would say, "But The Far-Right Are Bigger Bastards."
It was a lesson he and the other Kadets had learned well over the last two decades. Once again, they were allying with the Social Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, and Octobrists against the far-right, which meant yet another unity government.
I swear to God, other countries don't have to deal with this, do they?
Samvidhan Sadan, Delhi, Republic of India, 15 March 1938
"I wonder if other countries have to deal with this," Subhas Chandra Bose muttered to the Prime Minister, "It's as if we've been allied with Ghadar for all of history."
"I wouldn't say that much," Nehru pointed out. "Nor would the average Indian, given how much their life has improved in the decade we've cooperated."
"Of course," the former mayor of Calcutta admitted, "And with their help, we've managed to keep One Bharat out of power, the Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs from one another's throats, and India united. I would say that is better than either of our other selves could say for themselves."
Once again, Bose had to concede the point to Nehru. Bose himself wasn't allied with a genocidal regime, while Nehru was in charge of an entire subcontinent, rather than four-fifths of one. There were, of course, the issue of Hindutva and Islamists, but the inter-Congress Hindu-Muslim alliance and Ghadar's United Front had managed to keep the majority of the intelligentsia and the working class on their side.
The irony of Nehru and Jinnah being in an alliance was not lost on Bose. In all likelihood, it wasn't lost on Nehru or Jinnah, either, but Congress and Ghadar preferred to look forward, rather than backwards.
Transcript of a Speech by Attorney General Earl Warren, Sacramento, California, United States of America, 4 April 1938
WARREN: When I am Governor of California, I will continue on the accomplishments of Governor Sinclair by taking the fight to the corporations that try to nickel and dime us for the life-saving medication we need to survive.
WARREN: But make no mistake I am not a communist or a socialist. I believe that an honest American should be compensated for their work and be adequately rewarded for the risks they undertake. But at the same time, those successful ought to pay into the communities that helped them succeed.
WARREN: Through this, we all can share in the great bounty of the future. A future where all of California can become a beacon of technology, innovation, and progress for all of America.
WARREN: While some would argue that my support for this progress is, in and of itself, "socialism," I would say that I am only as much a socialist as the writers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If my opponents wish to label me a socialist, then I am as much as socialist as James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, or George Washington himself.
(Sound of audible laughing from the crowd)
WARREN: In truth, that is the difference for some people. Many people will say that when the government helps them, it's "progress," but when it helps others, it is "socialism."
WARREN: I reject this type of thinking outright.
WARREN: When the government helps everyone - Not just you, or me, but everyone - then that is not socialism. It is progress. And when I am your governor, California will be a beacon of progress and prosperity for all of us!
"Americans Achieve Record Zero Backed Military Dictatorships," The Onion, May 1938
Today, the State Department of the United States announced that it has achieved what many have thought impossible. As of today, the United States is backing zero military dictatorships in Latin America.
"It is a record," says Secretary of State Cordell Hull, "For the first time in over a century, the United States is backing zero military dictatorships to further our interests. While some in the Beltway media scoffed at the idea, it turns out people actually like us when we stand by our values and don't coup democratically-elected leaders."
This news has been met with a mix of jubilation and sighs of relief from the various left-leaning governments of Latin America who would have been couped or intervened in during the Lost History.
"It is a surprise," says President Augusto Sandino. "A surprise, but a welcome one. On behalf of the United States of Central America, we congratulate the United States for doing what many had thought impossible."
In response, United Fruit Company President Samuel Zemurray has issued a statement that consists of two full minutes of various expletives.
Imperial Palace, Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire, 6 June 1938
(Imperial Palace, Addis Ababa)
Life was good.
There wasn't any other way that Emperor Haile Selassie could describe it, when he had won. His predecessor, Empress Zewditu, had died of a heart attack, which made him Emperor.
Not that it mattered much, when he had been running the Empire in all but name for the last decade, and all of his opponents were neutralized.
There was Gugsa Welle, Zewditu's husband, who had been a pain in the now-Emperor's ass for years. He didn't know if Empress Zewditu married him for his conservative views, but at this point, he wouldn't have been surprised when the man raised an army in rebellion.
Which was how he was here, at the head of an army of men armed with modern equipment and trained with modern tactics. Now, he knew full well that rifles and machine guns were only as good as the men who wielded them, but he and the Reformists had made sure that the best equipment went to their men.
Then again, it wasn't as if the Conservatives were going to welcome Asian advisors into their court. "An erosion of our culture," they warned, as if simply bringing in foreign advisors would destroy Ethiopian culture.
Haile Selassie lacked any such pretensions. If his opponents would reject the offer of modern equipment and training, then he was more than happy to have all the modern weapons and training on his side.
He needed all the help he could get when Ethiopia was in a Civil War.
Sunken Diamond, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, 21 July 1938
(Sunken Diamond, Home of the Stanford Cardinals Baseball Team)
Baseball came naturally to Lin, but that didn't mean he could skip practice. He was a two-way player, and that meant practice for pitching and hitting.
School came first, of course. The last thing he wanted was his parents coming all the way to California to kick his ass. But twenty-four hours in a day meant he had to get creative with his time management skills.
"First Law!" his sister Morgan shouted out to him while they ran around the field, "What is it?!"
I can't believe that Coach actually agreed to this. Well, I guess he needed an equipment manager, and Morgan needed the money.
Wait… does that mean she gets paid, while I don't?
That's bullshit. Friggin' NCAA.
"An object," Lin breathed, before catching himself, "That is at rest stays at rest! An object that is in motion stays in motion!"
"And?"
"...Unless-acted-upon-by-an-outside-force!" he shouted back, before they powered around to the next corner. "C'mon, this is stuff we learned in high school!"
"Yeah, well you can't rest on your laurels forever, Lin," his sister chided, before they made their way back towards home plate, "What's with the guy in a suit?"
"Looks like a rich guy and his son," Lin figured, before turning back to his sister. "They doing tours already?"
"Lin!" the coach shouted to him, as he ran in, "Got somebody who wants to talk with you."
"Thought we had BP," he said as he followed Coach Paige. "Just got warmed up, and everything."
"Yeah, well, you'll be down in the order, kid," the African-American former-pro informed him, "Besides, our guests came all the way from Boston to meet you. Mr. Kennedy?"
No way…
"I won't take too much of your time, Mr. Chen. I'm sure you know who I am, right?"
"'Course I do." Not like Baba gave us much of a choice in becoming Red Sox fans. "You're the owner of the Boston Red Sox!"
Which means… The guy with you is your son. What was his name… Joseph… Robert… No, wait, it was Jack-
Holy shit, that's JFK.
Wait… what the Hell is JFK doing here?
Whatever it is, he better stay the fuck away from Morgan.
"That I am," the elder Kennedy chuckled, "And I've heard promising things about you. Not that many pitchers can hit home runs, so I had to see it for myself."
"Well, I'm honored, sir, but if you're asking me to sign right now, I'm going to have to say no. My parents would murder me if I dropped out of college to play baseball."
Okay, Lin, don't say anything stupid in front of the owner of your favorite team.
Even if Mom and Dad would absolutely murder me if I did drop out.
"Of course," said Mr. Kennedy, "But I was in the area for business, so I thought I'd drop by and get my foot in the door."
"Thanks." Lin would say more, but he was trying his best not to say anything stupid in front of a potential future boss. "Well, I've gotta get back to practice, but I'll keep you guys in mind when I graduate!"
Real smooth, Lin.
"Of course," said the elder Kennedy, before handing him a business card. "Boston could always use a pitcher who can hit."
And with that, Mr. Kennedy walked off, with his son close behind.
"Well then," Coach Paige chuckled, "I think you left a good impression, Lin."
"I was internally screaming the entire time, Coach. And I think I just said no to my shot at playing in Boston."
"Hey, you did better than most kids your age when they get even a whiff of going pro pro. Most of them come off as too-eager and end up betting it all on black for peanuts in the minor leagues. Most times, it doesn't work."
"Says the Hall-of-Famer," Morgan pointed out. "Sorry, had to say it. Most players aren't you, you know?"
"Oh, I'm well-aware most people aren't me," the old man chuckled, before tossing a baseball to Lin, "Then again, most pitchers can't hit worth a damn, so it's no surprise you're already getting attention."
"Yeah, I get that," Lin admitted. He seamlessly tossed the ball in the air as he spoke. "But since when do team owners show up with their eldest surviving son?"
"Probably the ones here for the All-Star Games," Morgan pointed out. "The Niners are hosting the All-Star Tournament in San Francisco, so all the owners are in town."
Now that Lin thought about it, that was probably why. Since the Red Sox won the World Series last year, that meant Babe Ruth was the manager for the American League team in the tournament.
"And his kid, Morgan?"
"Probably wants to show he means business," Morgan figured out loud. "And if Wikipedia's to be believed, he's interning there. In all likelihood, old man Kennedy is probably grooming Jack to succeed him someday. Which is a step down from his Lost History fate."
"He was President, right?" Coach Paige asked. The young woman nodded. "I guess owning a baseball team would be a step down from that. Hopefully he can keep it in his pants this time."
"Not your type?" His sister punched him in the side. "Hey!"
"You know I have no type, Lin. Besides, I'm not his type."
"Because we're Chinese and know his reputation?"
"Okay one, good one," Morgan admitted. Technically, her brother was right. "And two, no. It's because I'm not blonde."
Series / Brave New Worlds (1938), TV Tropes
Brave New Worlds is a Historical Science Fiction series that follows the adventures of the eccentric Dr. Arthur Watson (Charlie Chaplin) and his protege, the young prodigy Ada Franklin (Norma Jean Baker) as they and the rest of the California Institute of Technology's Journey Department travel through Rifts to alternate worlds.
(Charlie Chaplin as Dr. Arthur Watson)
(Norma Jean Baker as Ada Franklin)
The Rifts are a sort of scientific portal network that connects different timelines to one another through a concentration of tachyons. Of course, this comes with the slight complication that the Rifts cannot be calibrated for the location and time itself. Rifts are two-way doors, and one of the central subplots is calibrating the Rifts for greater precision and reliability.
As the Journey Department, the US Government, and later a growing cast of international characters begin to travel through the the ever-expanding Rift network to explore the new worlds on a per-season basis, the series utilizes the sheer-limitless possibilities of other worlds to serve as a mirror for social commentary. Does This Remind You of Anything? is in full-effect here.
Given that the protagonists are Americans with familiarity with the Lost History and the Great Journey itself, Brave New Worlds' cast rarely suffers from any Genre Blindness. The characters are familiar with the tropes and workings of Alternate History, and they (and by extension, the writers), are not afraid to show off their love for the genre.
Brave New Worlds is notable for its inclusion of several experts on the writing team, including (but not limited to) historians, physicists, and Uptimer advisors. The writers have clearly Shown Their Work, and the show does not shy from going into the details of how the science of RIfts and speculative history function.
Panama City, Panama, 8 August 1938
(Panama City, Panama)
The Panama Conference could be considered the Americas' answer to the Hanoi Conference from a few years ago. Of course, that would be an oversimplification, but the news media was hardly known for its nuance and attention to detail.
For starters, the Panama Conference wouldn't handle military affairs. That much was understandable, seeing that unlike the nations of the Nanjing Accord, the various nations of the Americas were not part of any military alliance.
Maybe in the future, but right now, the Latin American world was content to keep the Americans at least arms' length away. Turning over a new leaf or not, the other nations were wary of their northern neighbor's reputation.
No, this would be an issue of diplomacy and economics, and Ambassador Edward Stettinus Jr. had acted as such.
"Cooperation," was the word of the day, but just what that meant was up for debate.
Trade was good, but the free flow of capital, products, and people was a much harder sell when Central America still remembered the United Fruit Company, Chinese goods still dominated the market, and there were Americans who were worried about a surge of Latin Americans coming north.
Then there was the issue of diplomacy. America had gone out of their way to continue their "Good Neighbor Policy," but the fact remained that FDR's predecessor had nearly invaded Central America. Diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the United States of Central America were largely-normalized at this point, but treaties respecting the sovereignty of all the attendees were a must-have.
Sure, everyone wanted peace, prosperity, and industrialization. However, the exact means to achieve that were why they were having this conference in the first place.
It was to almost everyone's relief that the first order of business had been education. Building schools and allowing students to travel for their studies was perhaps the least-offensive topic, so the diplomats agreed to start with that.
Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Nanjing, National Capital Region, Republic of China, 11 September 1938
"Shit!"
Lyndon Johnson would say more, but he fell face-first on the mat.
It had been a long time coming, but this was his best chance at a full recovery. Hell, that fact that he was even walking right now was a damned miracle, seeing that he'd been paralyzed from getting shot in the spine.
"I've got it," he groaned, before brushing off one of the trainers assigned to him. As accommodating as they were, Johnson needed to rely on himself, if he wanted to walk again.
These doctors have done enough for me when they injected me with God-knows-what that helped fix my spine.
From what he recalled, it had something to do with "Bio-active signals." In layman's (or as he liked to call it, "Not-A-Doctor's") terms, the molecules regenerated the damaged parts of his nervous system, got rid of the scar tissue in the way, and reformed the nerve fibers needed to send signals back and forth.
Or to put it another way, the injection "tricked" his body into healing itself.
All he had to do was to re-train his body to walk again. It would be a hard process that would take weeks, if not months, to heal him, but Johnson wasn't about to say no to the best chance for his ambitions.
So he reached up to the bar, pulled himself up, and tried to walk again.
"How Halloween Spread Throughout The World," upsidedowntimer.com, 31 October 1938
("Halloween Jack-O'-Lantern," By Aleksander Stepanov)
Tonight is Halloween Night, so be sure to leave out candy for any young or old trick-or-treaters.
That is, of course, if you celebrate Halloween, which pretty much everyone does at this point. What started out as a Christian tradition is now a global phenomenon celebrated throughout the world in one form or another.
But the question always arises: How exactly did Halloween become a holiday that almost everyone (who isn't a religious fundamentalist) celebrates?
It all starts back in Christian tradition, with the vigil for All Hallow's Day (otherwise known as "All Saints' Day"). Since All Hallow's Day was held on the first of November, that meant All Hallow's Day would be celebrated on the last day of October.
The traditions of the holiday can also be attributed to various cultures throughout Europe. Trick-or-treating can trace its origins back to the practice of "Souling," where children and poor people would go door-to-door to offer prayers for the departed in exchange for soul cakes that were baked for All Hallow's Eve. These door-to-door visitors would also carry lanterns made of hollowed out turnips that represented souls; this is one possible origin of the jack-o'-lantern, though another is the practice of using jack-o'-lanterns to ward off evil spirits.
The wearing of costumes, which Halloween is most-known-for, have three possible origins.
The first is the belief that on All Hallows' Eve was the last chance for vengeful spirits to take revenge on those who wronged them before passing on. As a precaution, people would dress up in costumes to ward them off.
The second origin is the Danse Macabre, or the "Dance of Death." Christians in Europe believed that on All Hallows' Eve, the dead would rise from their graves in a hideous carnival. Christian villagers would then celebrate this by dressing up as corpses, which could be the origin for Halloween costume parties.
Finally, there is the formerly-pagan tradition in which churches that were too poor to display relics of saints would instead allow their parishioners to dress up as saints instead. This tradition is practiced to this day in some European Christian communities.
Of course, this does not explain how exactly Halloween became the national phenomenon that it is today. That answer can be summed up in a simple response.
China.
While the origins of Halloween come from European Christians, the holiday itself spread to the Americas by Irish and Scottish immigrants during the 19th century of the Lost History until it spread into mainstream American culture. The Americans' cultural influence throughout the world of the Lost History would spread the holiday across the world, including the island of Taiwan.
In its own time, Taiwan was seen as a "Western" country, given its alignment with the United States and the Western influence on Taiwanese culture. However, the phenomenon known as "Cosplay," in which participants dress up as fictional characters, is somewhat-separate from Halloween itself despite the overlap between participants.
When Taiwan was sent back in time during the Great Journey, Halloween as we know it came back with them. What had started as a holiday on the island quickly spread to the rest of China in the Post-Revolutionary Era of the 1910s. China's rapidly-growing economic and cultural influence would spread the holiday to their allies in the Eurasian Nanjing Accord as well as their trading partners in the Americas.
In doing so, China, who was introduced to Halloween by America, had now introduced Halloween and all its traditions to America.
Because that's not confusing at all.
These days, Halloween is practiced on both sides of the Atlantic and the Pacific as a sort of secular holiday with candy, trick-or-treaters, and more costumes than you could ever think of.
No, seriously, if it exists, somebody has made a costume of it.
With that warning out of the way, we here at Upside Downtimer want to wish you a Happy Halloween. Have fun, enjoy your candy, and please remember that just because somebody is dressed as a cute nurse or doctor for Halloween does not mean that they are actually a nurse or a doctor.
The Daily Show With Groucho Marx, 16 November 1938
(Logo of The Daily Show)
GROUCHO MARX: Welcome to the Daily Show! I'm Groucho Marx, and I'll be here as long as Jon Stewart doesn't exist and I don't get fired. We have a great show tonight, with Amelia Earhart joining us to talk about the Luna-1 Mission! Because Space isn't only the final frontier… It's also the furthest one can get from Florida.
MARX: But before we get started with that, let's talk about our main story: The 1938 Elections. Results have come in, and… I'm just going to say it: We have no fucking idea what is going on right now.
(Audience laughs)
MARX: No, seriously, there's a free-for-all in American politics between at least four parties, and nobody has any idea what to make of last week's results when voters are basically all over the place.
MARX: This, of course, has not stopped our "brave and intrepid reporters" from coming up with what this means for 1940.
(Screen cuts to George Gallup being interviewed by Ronald Reagan)
GALLUP: At this point, the 1940 election is anyone's game, and it would be wise to temper our expectations when we are months out, let alone years.
REAGAN: Of course. But what does this mean for 1940?
(Screen cuts back to Marx)
MARX: We're going to be in for two more years of this, aren't we?
(Side-image shows a picture of five different Opinion pieces from the New York Times)
MARX: Fuck.
"Episode 140: Jean Brodeur," Red Alert Podcast, 20 December 1938
(Logo of the Red Alert Podcast)
HOST: And welcome back to the Red Alert Podcast. I'm back with Jean Brodeur, Editor of the French socialist magazine l'Humanite. Now, on to our main topic: French decolonization.
BRODEUR: When it comes to decolonization, it is important that we balance respect for the locals with standing by our Radical Socialist values.
HOST: And how hard is that, when so much of Africa has tribal and ethnic loyalties, as well as different cultural values.
BRODEUR: Honestly, it depends on the tribe, ethnic group, religion, and culture. For example, Tribe A may be from a culture that is very collectivist but patriarchal, so they are more open to socialism and less-open to feminism. Meanwhile, Tribe B comes from a culture that is known for its trade and matriarchal tendencies, so they're more-capitalistic but open to feminism.
HOST: So a mixed-approach is important?
BRODEUR: Yes. If we want socialism to thrive in West Africa, we need to meet them where they are at. This means appealing to certain aspects of their culture while discouraging other aspects. For example, the decolonization authorities have taken a hard-line stance against feminine genital mutilation.
HOST: Of course. However, some on the left have claimed that this is a form of colonialism, even calling it, "Red Colonialism."
BRODEUR: Perhaps. But I would argue that socialism and African cultures are not inherently opposed to one another. And when you look into these cultures and understand them, you can say the same thing about progressive ideas.
HOST: So they aren't incompatible, as long as we're willing to put in the work?
BRODEUR: That's the hard part. But yes.
Lunar Landing Module, Luna, 11 January 1939
("Earthrise," by Amelia Earhart)
It was beautiful.
There was no other way that Amelia Earhart could have ever described the sight as the landing module left the Command and Service Module (CSM), with Heurtaux remaining in orbit.
All that was left were herself and Commander Gunn, while Hwang flew the module towards the surface.
Of course, "flew," was being generous here. They were, for all intents and purposes, about to fall towards the lunar surface while Hwang made every minute adjustment to slow them down.
"Trajectory is green," Hwang announced, "Permission to begin descent?"
"Permission granted," said Gunn. "Bring us in."
"Beginning descent," Hwang acknowledged, "Cutting off engines now."
"Five hundred meters," Amelia read off, "Four hundred."
No turning back now.
"Three hundred meters."
No time to be afraid, either.
"Two hundred meters,"
That was when we took off.
"One hundred meters."
And then it happened.
"Haikou," Commander Gunn said in English to Mission Control, "Storm Base here. The Second Sunrise has come to the moon."
"Copy, Storm Base. The world is waiting for you."
"Acknowledged, Haikou. Second Sunrise out." Gunn turned to Earhart and Hwang. "Let's not keep them waiting."
Suiting up was the easy part. She'd done that hundreds of times during training and spaceflight.
But setting foot? That was something else entirely, even if she'd had just as much practice.
Amelia was the first down the hatch. Gunn's suit had a small puncture, and he needed to wait for the self-sealing gel to fill the hole and solidify.
So she would be the first, with Hwang right behind.
It was… harder than Amelia had remembered. Her training had kicked in, but that still meant she could barely see her feet in her bulky spacesuit.
"Beginning descent," she announced to the crew, before looking up at Hwang through the hatch. "Camera's on, right?"
A thumbs up came from the pilot. Good.
All that was left was climbing down the eight rungs of the ladder. It would be a simple task, were it not for the consequences if she fell.
No, she'd come too far to die now.
So she climbed. Slowly.
Nine rungs became eight, then seven, six, five, four, three, two, then one.
"Setting foot on the surface," Amelia announced. Not just to Hwang or Gunn or Heurtaux in the CSM, but Haikou and the rest of the world.
"Copy, Earhart," the Chinese-accented scientist spoke in English. "What do you see?"
"No borders. Just horizons. Only freedom."
(The Kremlin)
"They're out there again, aren't they?" asked Prime Minister Milyukov. The aide nodded. "I swear, how many times are they going to march with pictures of Mikhail Diterikhs?"
"About once a week," Foreign Minister Chernov muttered, before swiping up on his tablet. "The same as they do every few months: Wave the black-yellow-and white banner while holding up portraits if Diterikhs, as if he was some martyr."
"For a vocal minority," Milyukov sighed, "They are certainly a loud one. Sometimes, I wonder if they truly are as unpopular as the numbers show."
"Popular enough to force us into another Grand Coalition," the S-R said to the Kadet. "But unpopular enough that nobody wants anything to do with them."
"Well then," Milyukov relented, before returning to his seat. "Now where were we? Director Votsekhovsky, please continue."
"Of course," said the loyalist general-turned-spymaster. "Given the recent uptick in violence in Mariupol, Aleksandrovsk, and Moscow, I have directed additional manpower and resources towards the Black Hundred threat."
"These were the same ones who attacked the communes last year, yes?" Votsekhovsky nodded to Milyukov. "I thought so. Libertarians have been arming themselves to the teeth over the last year."
It went without saying that said libertarians arming themselves to the teeth wasn't the ideal situation, but they were Chernov's allies, and they had been able to fight off the Black Hundreds' attacks on the communes.
The irony of anarchists working with law enforcement was not lost upon him. "All Cops Are Bastards," as the Uptimers would say, "But The Far-Right Are Bigger Bastards."
It was a lesson he and the other Kadets had learned well over the last two decades. Once again, they were allying with the Social Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, and Octobrists against the far-right, which meant yet another unity government.
I swear to God, other countries don't have to deal with this, do they?
Samvidhan Sadan, Delhi, Republic of India, 15 March 1938
"I wonder if other countries have to deal with this," Subhas Chandra Bose muttered to the Prime Minister, "It's as if we've been allied with Ghadar for all of history."
"I wouldn't say that much," Nehru pointed out. "Nor would the average Indian, given how much their life has improved in the decade we've cooperated."
"Of course," the former mayor of Calcutta admitted, "And with their help, we've managed to keep One Bharat out of power, the Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs from one another's throats, and India united. I would say that is better than either of our other selves could say for themselves."
Once again, Bose had to concede the point to Nehru. Bose himself wasn't allied with a genocidal regime, while Nehru was in charge of an entire subcontinent, rather than four-fifths of one. There were, of course, the issue of Hindutva and Islamists, but the inter-Congress Hindu-Muslim alliance and Ghadar's United Front had managed to keep the majority of the intelligentsia and the working class on their side.
The irony of Nehru and Jinnah being in an alliance was not lost on Bose. In all likelihood, it wasn't lost on Nehru or Jinnah, either, but Congress and Ghadar preferred to look forward, rather than backwards.
Transcript of a Speech by Attorney General Earl Warren, Sacramento, California, United States of America, 4 April 1938
WARREN: When I am Governor of California, I will continue on the accomplishments of Governor Sinclair by taking the fight to the corporations that try to nickel and dime us for the life-saving medication we need to survive.
WARREN: But make no mistake I am not a communist or a socialist. I believe that an honest American should be compensated for their work and be adequately rewarded for the risks they undertake. But at the same time, those successful ought to pay into the communities that helped them succeed.
WARREN: Through this, we all can share in the great bounty of the future. A future where all of California can become a beacon of technology, innovation, and progress for all of America.
WARREN: While some would argue that my support for this progress is, in and of itself, "socialism," I would say that I am only as much a socialist as the writers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If my opponents wish to label me a socialist, then I am as much as socialist as James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, or George Washington himself.
(Sound of audible laughing from the crowd)
WARREN: In truth, that is the difference for some people. Many people will say that when the government helps them, it's "progress," but when it helps others, it is "socialism."
WARREN: I reject this type of thinking outright.
WARREN: When the government helps everyone - Not just you, or me, but everyone - then that is not socialism. It is progress. And when I am your governor, California will be a beacon of progress and prosperity for all of us!
"Americans Achieve Record Zero Backed Military Dictatorships," The Onion, May 1938
Today, the State Department of the United States announced that it has achieved what many have thought impossible. As of today, the United States is backing zero military dictatorships in Latin America.
"It is a record," says Secretary of State Cordell Hull, "For the first time in over a century, the United States is backing zero military dictatorships to further our interests. While some in the Beltway media scoffed at the idea, it turns out people actually like us when we stand by our values and don't coup democratically-elected leaders."
This news has been met with a mix of jubilation and sighs of relief from the various left-leaning governments of Latin America who would have been couped or intervened in during the Lost History.
"It is a surprise," says President Augusto Sandino. "A surprise, but a welcome one. On behalf of the United States of Central America, we congratulate the United States for doing what many had thought impossible."
In response, United Fruit Company President Samuel Zemurray has issued a statement that consists of two full minutes of various expletives.
Imperial Palace, Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire, 6 June 1938
(Imperial Palace, Addis Ababa)
Life was good.
There wasn't any other way that Emperor Haile Selassie could describe it, when he had won. His predecessor, Empress Zewditu, had died of a heart attack, which made him Emperor.
Not that it mattered much, when he had been running the Empire in all but name for the last decade, and all of his opponents were neutralized.
There was Gugsa Welle, Zewditu's husband, who had been a pain in the now-Emperor's ass for years. He didn't know if Empress Zewditu married him for his conservative views, but at this point, he wouldn't have been surprised when the man raised an army in rebellion.
Which was how he was here, at the head of an army of men armed with modern equipment and trained with modern tactics. Now, he knew full well that rifles and machine guns were only as good as the men who wielded them, but he and the Reformists had made sure that the best equipment went to their men.
Then again, it wasn't as if the Conservatives were going to welcome Asian advisors into their court. "An erosion of our culture," they warned, as if simply bringing in foreign advisors would destroy Ethiopian culture.
Haile Selassie lacked any such pretensions. If his opponents would reject the offer of modern equipment and training, then he was more than happy to have all the modern weapons and training on his side.
He needed all the help he could get when Ethiopia was in a Civil War.
Sunken Diamond, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, 21 July 1938
(Sunken Diamond, Home of the Stanford Cardinals Baseball Team)
Baseball came naturally to Lin, but that didn't mean he could skip practice. He was a two-way player, and that meant practice for pitching and hitting.
School came first, of course. The last thing he wanted was his parents coming all the way to California to kick his ass. But twenty-four hours in a day meant he had to get creative with his time management skills.
"First Law!" his sister Morgan shouted out to him while they ran around the field, "What is it?!"
I can't believe that Coach actually agreed to this. Well, I guess he needed an equipment manager, and Morgan needed the money.
Wait… does that mean she gets paid, while I don't?
That's bullshit. Friggin' NCAA.
"An object," Lin breathed, before catching himself, "That is at rest stays at rest! An object that is in motion stays in motion!"
"And?"
"...Unless-acted-upon-by-an-outside-force!" he shouted back, before they powered around to the next corner. "C'mon, this is stuff we learned in high school!"
"Yeah, well you can't rest on your laurels forever, Lin," his sister chided, before they made their way back towards home plate, "What's with the guy in a suit?"
"Looks like a rich guy and his son," Lin figured, before turning back to his sister. "They doing tours already?"
"Lin!" the coach shouted to him, as he ran in, "Got somebody who wants to talk with you."
"Thought we had BP," he said as he followed Coach Paige. "Just got warmed up, and everything."
"Yeah, well, you'll be down in the order, kid," the African-American former-pro informed him, "Besides, our guests came all the way from Boston to meet you. Mr. Kennedy?"
No way…
"I won't take too much of your time, Mr. Chen. I'm sure you know who I am, right?"
"'Course I do." Not like Baba gave us much of a choice in becoming Red Sox fans. "You're the owner of the Boston Red Sox!"
Which means… The guy with you is your son. What was his name… Joseph… Robert… No, wait, it was Jack-
Holy shit, that's JFK.
Wait… what the Hell is JFK doing here?
Whatever it is, he better stay the fuck away from Morgan.
"That I am," the elder Kennedy chuckled, "And I've heard promising things about you. Not that many pitchers can hit home runs, so I had to see it for myself."
"Well, I'm honored, sir, but if you're asking me to sign right now, I'm going to have to say no. My parents would murder me if I dropped out of college to play baseball."
Okay, Lin, don't say anything stupid in front of the owner of your favorite team.
Even if Mom and Dad would absolutely murder me if I did drop out.
"Of course," said Mr. Kennedy, "But I was in the area for business, so I thought I'd drop by and get my foot in the door."
"Thanks." Lin would say more, but he was trying his best not to say anything stupid in front of a potential future boss. "Well, I've gotta get back to practice, but I'll keep you guys in mind when I graduate!"
Real smooth, Lin.
"Of course," said the elder Kennedy, before handing him a business card. "Boston could always use a pitcher who can hit."
And with that, Mr. Kennedy walked off, with his son close behind.
"Well then," Coach Paige chuckled, "I think you left a good impression, Lin."
"I was internally screaming the entire time, Coach. And I think I just said no to my shot at playing in Boston."
"Hey, you did better than most kids your age when they get even a whiff of going pro pro. Most of them come off as too-eager and end up betting it all on black for peanuts in the minor leagues. Most times, it doesn't work."
"Says the Hall-of-Famer," Morgan pointed out. "Sorry, had to say it. Most players aren't you, you know?"
"Oh, I'm well-aware most people aren't me," the old man chuckled, before tossing a baseball to Lin, "Then again, most pitchers can't hit worth a damn, so it's no surprise you're already getting attention."
"Yeah, I get that," Lin admitted. He seamlessly tossed the ball in the air as he spoke. "But since when do team owners show up with their eldest surviving son?"
"Probably the ones here for the All-Star Games," Morgan pointed out. "The Niners are hosting the All-Star Tournament in San Francisco, so all the owners are in town."
Now that Lin thought about it, that was probably why. Since the Red Sox won the World Series last year, that meant Babe Ruth was the manager for the American League team in the tournament.
"And his kid, Morgan?"
"Probably wants to show he means business," Morgan figured out loud. "And if Wikipedia's to be believed, he's interning there. In all likelihood, old man Kennedy is probably grooming Jack to succeed him someday. Which is a step down from his Lost History fate."
"He was President, right?" Coach Paige asked. The young woman nodded. "I guess owning a baseball team would be a step down from that. Hopefully he can keep it in his pants this time."
"Not your type?" His sister punched him in the side. "Hey!"
"You know I have no type, Lin. Besides, I'm not his type."
"Because we're Chinese and know his reputation?"
"Okay one, good one," Morgan admitted. Technically, her brother was right. "And two, no. It's because I'm not blonde."
Series / Brave New Worlds (1938), TV Tropes
Brave New Worlds is a Historical Science Fiction series that follows the adventures of the eccentric Dr. Arthur Watson (Charlie Chaplin) and his protege, the young prodigy Ada Franklin (Norma Jean Baker) as they and the rest of the California Institute of Technology's Journey Department travel through Rifts to alternate worlds.
(Charlie Chaplin as Dr. Arthur Watson)
(Norma Jean Baker as Ada Franklin)
The Rifts are a sort of scientific portal network that connects different timelines to one another through a concentration of tachyons. Of course, this comes with the slight complication that the Rifts cannot be calibrated for the location and time itself. Rifts are two-way doors, and one of the central subplots is calibrating the Rifts for greater precision and reliability.
As the Journey Department, the US Government, and later a growing cast of international characters begin to travel through the the ever-expanding Rift network to explore the new worlds on a per-season basis, the series utilizes the sheer-limitless possibilities of other worlds to serve as a mirror for social commentary. Does This Remind You of Anything? is in full-effect here.
Given that the protagonists are Americans with familiarity with the Lost History and the Great Journey itself, Brave New Worlds' cast rarely suffers from any Genre Blindness. The characters are familiar with the tropes and workings of Alternate History, and they (and by extension, the writers), are not afraid to show off their love for the genre.
Brave New Worlds is notable for its inclusion of several experts on the writing team, including (but not limited to) historians, physicists, and Uptimer advisors. The writers have clearly Shown Their Work, and the show does not shy from going into the details of how the science of RIfts and speculative history function.
Panama City, Panama, 8 August 1938
(Panama City, Panama)
The Panama Conference could be considered the Americas' answer to the Hanoi Conference from a few years ago. Of course, that would be an oversimplification, but the news media was hardly known for its nuance and attention to detail.
For starters, the Panama Conference wouldn't handle military affairs. That much was understandable, seeing that unlike the nations of the Nanjing Accord, the various nations of the Americas were not part of any military alliance.
Maybe in the future, but right now, the Latin American world was content to keep the Americans at least arms' length away. Turning over a new leaf or not, the other nations were wary of their northern neighbor's reputation.
No, this would be an issue of diplomacy and economics, and Ambassador Edward Stettinus Jr. had acted as such.
"Cooperation," was the word of the day, but just what that meant was up for debate.
Trade was good, but the free flow of capital, products, and people was a much harder sell when Central America still remembered the United Fruit Company, Chinese goods still dominated the market, and there were Americans who were worried about a surge of Latin Americans coming north.
Then there was the issue of diplomacy. America had gone out of their way to continue their "Good Neighbor Policy," but the fact remained that FDR's predecessor had nearly invaded Central America. Diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the United States of Central America were largely-normalized at this point, but treaties respecting the sovereignty of all the attendees were a must-have.
Sure, everyone wanted peace, prosperity, and industrialization. However, the exact means to achieve that were why they were having this conference in the first place.
It was to almost everyone's relief that the first order of business had been education. Building schools and allowing students to travel for their studies was perhaps the least-offensive topic, so the diplomats agreed to start with that.
Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Nanjing, National Capital Region, Republic of China, 11 September 1938
"Shit!"
Lyndon Johnson would say more, but he fell face-first on the mat.
It had been a long time coming, but this was his best chance at a full recovery. Hell, that fact that he was even walking right now was a damned miracle, seeing that he'd been paralyzed from getting shot in the spine.
"I've got it," he groaned, before brushing off one of the trainers assigned to him. As accommodating as they were, Johnson needed to rely on himself, if he wanted to walk again.
These doctors have done enough for me when they injected me with God-knows-what that helped fix my spine.
From what he recalled, it had something to do with "Bio-active signals." In layman's (or as he liked to call it, "Not-A-Doctor's") terms, the molecules regenerated the damaged parts of his nervous system, got rid of the scar tissue in the way, and reformed the nerve fibers needed to send signals back and forth.
Or to put it another way, the injection "tricked" his body into healing itself.
All he had to do was to re-train his body to walk again. It would be a hard process that would take weeks, if not months, to heal him, but Johnson wasn't about to say no to the best chance for his ambitions.
So he reached up to the bar, pulled himself up, and tried to walk again.
"How Halloween Spread Throughout The World," upsidedowntimer.com, 31 October 1938
("Halloween Jack-O'-Lantern," By Aleksander Stepanov)
Tonight is Halloween Night, so be sure to leave out candy for any young or old trick-or-treaters.
That is, of course, if you celebrate Halloween, which pretty much everyone does at this point. What started out as a Christian tradition is now a global phenomenon celebrated throughout the world in one form or another.
But the question always arises: How exactly did Halloween become a holiday that almost everyone (who isn't a religious fundamentalist) celebrates?
It all starts back in Christian tradition, with the vigil for All Hallow's Day (otherwise known as "All Saints' Day"). Since All Hallow's Day was held on the first of November, that meant All Hallow's Day would be celebrated on the last day of October.
The traditions of the holiday can also be attributed to various cultures throughout Europe. Trick-or-treating can trace its origins back to the practice of "Souling," where children and poor people would go door-to-door to offer prayers for the departed in exchange for soul cakes that were baked for All Hallow's Eve. These door-to-door visitors would also carry lanterns made of hollowed out turnips that represented souls; this is one possible origin of the jack-o'-lantern, though another is the practice of using jack-o'-lanterns to ward off evil spirits.
The wearing of costumes, which Halloween is most-known-for, have three possible origins.
The first is the belief that on All Hallows' Eve was the last chance for vengeful spirits to take revenge on those who wronged them before passing on. As a precaution, people would dress up in costumes to ward them off.
The second origin is the Danse Macabre, or the "Dance of Death." Christians in Europe believed that on All Hallows' Eve, the dead would rise from their graves in a hideous carnival. Christian villagers would then celebrate this by dressing up as corpses, which could be the origin for Halloween costume parties.
Finally, there is the formerly-pagan tradition in which churches that were too poor to display relics of saints would instead allow their parishioners to dress up as saints instead. This tradition is practiced to this day in some European Christian communities.
Of course, this does not explain how exactly Halloween became the national phenomenon that it is today. That answer can be summed up in a simple response.
China.
While the origins of Halloween come from European Christians, the holiday itself spread to the Americas by Irish and Scottish immigrants during the 19th century of the Lost History until it spread into mainstream American culture. The Americans' cultural influence throughout the world of the Lost History would spread the holiday across the world, including the island of Taiwan.
In its own time, Taiwan was seen as a "Western" country, given its alignment with the United States and the Western influence on Taiwanese culture. However, the phenomenon known as "Cosplay," in which participants dress up as fictional characters, is somewhat-separate from Halloween itself despite the overlap between participants.
When Taiwan was sent back in time during the Great Journey, Halloween as we know it came back with them. What had started as a holiday on the island quickly spread to the rest of China in the Post-Revolutionary Era of the 1910s. China's rapidly-growing economic and cultural influence would spread the holiday to their allies in the Eurasian Nanjing Accord as well as their trading partners in the Americas.
In doing so, China, who was introduced to Halloween by America, had now introduced Halloween and all its traditions to America.
Because that's not confusing at all.
These days, Halloween is practiced on both sides of the Atlantic and the Pacific as a sort of secular holiday with candy, trick-or-treaters, and more costumes than you could ever think of.
No, seriously, if it exists, somebody has made a costume of it.
With that warning out of the way, we here at Upside Downtimer want to wish you a Happy Halloween. Have fun, enjoy your candy, and please remember that just because somebody is dressed as a cute nurse or doctor for Halloween does not mean that they are actually a nurse or a doctor.
The Daily Show With Groucho Marx, 16 November 1938
(Logo of The Daily Show)
GROUCHO MARX: Welcome to the Daily Show! I'm Groucho Marx, and I'll be here as long as Jon Stewart doesn't exist and I don't get fired. We have a great show tonight, with Amelia Earhart joining us to talk about the Luna-1 Mission! Because Space isn't only the final frontier… It's also the furthest one can get from Florida.
MARX: But before we get started with that, let's talk about our main story: The 1938 Elections. Results have come in, and… I'm just going to say it: We have no fucking idea what is going on right now.
(Audience laughs)
MARX: No, seriously, there's a free-for-all in American politics between at least four parties, and nobody has any idea what to make of last week's results when voters are basically all over the place.
MARX: This, of course, has not stopped our "brave and intrepid reporters" from coming up with what this means for 1940.
(Screen cuts to George Gallup being interviewed by Ronald Reagan)
GALLUP: At this point, the 1940 election is anyone's game, and it would be wise to temper our expectations when we are months out, let alone years.
REAGAN: Of course. But what does this mean for 1940?
(Screen cuts back to Marx)
MARX: We're going to be in for two more years of this, aren't we?
(Side-image shows a picture of five different Opinion pieces from the New York Times)
MARX: Fuck.
"Episode 140: Jean Brodeur," Red Alert Podcast, 20 December 1938
(Logo of the Red Alert Podcast)
HOST: And welcome back to the Red Alert Podcast. I'm back with Jean Brodeur, Editor of the French socialist magazine l'Humanite. Now, on to our main topic: French decolonization.
BRODEUR: When it comes to decolonization, it is important that we balance respect for the locals with standing by our Radical Socialist values.
HOST: And how hard is that, when so much of Africa has tribal and ethnic loyalties, as well as different cultural values.
BRODEUR: Honestly, it depends on the tribe, ethnic group, religion, and culture. For example, Tribe A may be from a culture that is very collectivist but patriarchal, so they are more open to socialism and less-open to feminism. Meanwhile, Tribe B comes from a culture that is known for its trade and matriarchal tendencies, so they're more-capitalistic but open to feminism.
HOST: So a mixed-approach is important?
BRODEUR: Yes. If we want socialism to thrive in West Africa, we need to meet them where they are at. This means appealing to certain aspects of their culture while discouraging other aspects. For example, the decolonization authorities have taken a hard-line stance against feminine genital mutilation.
HOST: Of course. However, some on the left have claimed that this is a form of colonialism, even calling it, "Red Colonialism."
BRODEUR: Perhaps. But I would argue that socialism and African cultures are not inherently opposed to one another. And when you look into these cultures and understand them, you can say the same thing about progressive ideas.
HOST: So they aren't incompatible, as long as we're willing to put in the work?
BRODEUR: That's the hard part. But yes.
Lunar Landing Module, Luna, 11 January 1939
("Earthrise," by Amelia Earhart)
It was beautiful.
There was no other way that Amelia Earhart could have ever described the sight as the landing module left the Command and Service Module (CSM), with Heurtaux remaining in orbit.
All that was left were herself and Commander Gunn, while Hwang flew the module towards the surface.
Of course, "flew," was being generous here. They were, for all intents and purposes, about to fall towards the lunar surface while Hwang made every minute adjustment to slow them down.
"Trajectory is green," Hwang announced, "Permission to begin descent?"
"Permission granted," said Gunn. "Bring us in."
"Beginning descent," Hwang acknowledged, "Cutting off engines now."
"Five hundred meters," Amelia read off, "Four hundred."
No turning back now.
"Three hundred meters."
No time to be afraid, either.
"Two hundred meters,"
That was when we took off.
"One hundred meters."
And then it happened.
"Haikou," Commander Gunn said in English to Mission Control, "Storm Base here. The Second Sunrise has come to the moon."
"Copy, Storm Base. The world is waiting for you."
"Acknowledged, Haikou. Second Sunrise out." Gunn turned to Earhart and Hwang. "Let's not keep them waiting."
Suiting up was the easy part. She'd done that hundreds of times during training and spaceflight.
But setting foot? That was something else entirely, even if she'd had just as much practice.
Amelia was the first down the hatch. Gunn's suit had a small puncture, and he needed to wait for the self-sealing gel to fill the hole and solidify.
So she would be the first, with Hwang right behind.
It was… harder than Amelia had remembered. Her training had kicked in, but that still meant she could barely see her feet in her bulky spacesuit.
"Beginning descent," she announced to the crew, before looking up at Hwang through the hatch. "Camera's on, right?"
A thumbs up came from the pilot. Good.
All that was left was climbing down the eight rungs of the ladder. It would be a simple task, were it not for the consequences if she fell.
No, she'd come too far to die now.
So she climbed. Slowly.
Nine rungs became eight, then seven, six, five, four, three, two, then one.
"Setting foot on the surface," Amelia announced. Not just to Hwang or Gunn or Heurtaux in the CSM, but Haikou and the rest of the world.
"Copy, Earhart," the Chinese-accented scientist spoke in English. "What do you see?"
"No borders. Just horizons. Only freedom."
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ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And here's the One Year Anniversary chapter!
Featuring:
•Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin in "American ISOT Doctor Who X Stargate."
•MOON LANDING!
•Halloween.
•No, seriously, they landed on the friggin' MOON!
•Addis Ababa: Civil War.
•JFK showing up for the first time and meeting some of the OCs.
•One of the OCs about to kick JFK's ass if the guy tries to hit on his twin sister.
Featuring:
•Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin in "American ISOT Doctor Who X Stargate."
•MOON LANDING!
•Halloween.
•No, seriously, they landed on the friggin' MOON!
•Addis Ababa: Civil War.
•JFK showing up for the first time and meeting some of the OCs.
•One of the OCs about to kick JFK's ass if the guy tries to hit on his twin sister.
- Location
- India
What is current status of Jinnha, Tagore and Gandhi?
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Jinnah: Member of the Indian National Congress' All-India Muslim League. The Islamist separatists see him as sort of a traitor. His cooperation with Nehru has minimized the Islamists' influence.
Tagore: Contributes to Bengali arts once again, and is a firm supporter of the Ghadar Party. The Swadeshi movement's use of Chinese-made machinery, as well as the spread of Modernist (21st Century) ideals effectively vindicated his support of independence while learning from abroad.
Gandhi: Political activist who advocates for a religiously-plural India. Popular with INC and (to a lesser extent) Ghadar, while the Hindutva One Bharat and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami dislike him. While he would rather have had a peaceful revolution, he isn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So, did some reading and odds are that JFK would probably be healthier because he wouldn't have Scarlet Fever as an infant this time around, due to the advances in medicine and technology.
While these weren't as widespread when he was born, we need to remember that he is one, from an already-developed nation whose biggest trade partner is China, and two, rich.
Which means he can take on hobbies and habits that are much healthier in the short and long term.
Habits like "not-womanizing," "writing for Sports Illustrated," and "not taking like 20 drugs a day."
While these weren't as widespread when he was born, we need to remember that he is one, from an already-developed nation whose biggest trade partner is China, and two, rich.
Which means he can take on hobbies and habits that are much healthier in the short and long term.
Habits like "not-womanizing," "writing for Sports Illustrated," and "not taking like 20 drugs a day."
Nah I still want him to "womanize" so to speak, especially to uptime girls but more "respectable", and maybe smoking weed when he's 25....
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
So what happened to Joe Jr, given that his OTL death is about as butterflied as it's possible to get?
Also did Joe Sr. still have his daughter lobotomized for, as best as we can determine, the serious mental issue of "not listening to her father while a woman"?
And if anything I'd imagine JFK would do even more womanizing without the array of illness and injuries he had IOTL.
Also did Joe Sr. still have his daughter lobotomized for, as best as we can determine, the serious mental issue of "not listening to her father while a woman"?
And if anything I'd imagine JFK would do even more womanizing without the array of illness and injuries he had IOTL.
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Assassinated by Knights of the Golden Circle, a White Nationalist, Anti-Catholic, terror organization.
Lobotomy got called off. Mostly because of "YOU DID WHAT?!" and bad press dissuading Joe Sr. From doing that.
JFK being a full-on womanizer might be funny, but it would probably be a bit of a Flanderization, and I kinda want to avoid that with him. I don't want to give too much away, but JFK's thing will be the high expectations set for him.
Things Nanjing Accord Personnel Are No Longer Allowed To Do (Part 3)
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Things Nanjing Accord Personnel Aren't Allowed to Do Part 3
76. No, you can't look up the lottery numbers from the future to get an edge. That's not how time travel works.
77. No, you can't try to sell other people lottery numbers and claim they're the right ones because you have future knowledge. That's called Fraud, and it's illegal.
78. This also applies to betting on sports. You and I both know it wouldn't even work.
79. Stop asking the scientists at the Chinese Particle Collider if they can open up a Rift so you can go on vacation. We can only open one Rift, and it's to a world dominated by an America-spanning fascist monarchist empire.
80. Quit asking the scientists if the timeline on the other side of the Rift is "Code Geass but with fewer Anglos." While the similarities are there, you're not the first one to come up with that.
81. Stop trying to preemptively murder terrible people. Enough time has passed from the Point of Divergence that most people are nothing like their Lost History counterparts.
82. Just because we said you can't murder people does not mean you can spam Benito Mussolini with pictures of himself upside down "to fuck with him for the meme."
83. While we condemn slavery, it is not appropriate to play "John Brown's Body" on the helicopter's speakers while you're hunting down slavers in Mauritania. We want the element of surprise for a reason.
84. Stop trying to introduce the European socialists to Chapo Trap House. It's not going to catch on, and the Euros think those guys are weirdos.
85. No, you can't ask for a remote posting to the Caribbean for your year of service. Conscripts can't be sent overseas unless China is at war, anyways.
86. UFOs are either drones or experimental aircraft. Stop selling pictures to newspapers.
87. Posting them on Twitter is also bad.
88. While on-duty, interactions with people who were famous or notable in the Lost History are to be professional. "Can I have your autograph" is not professional.
89. All troops stationed in Australia are to refrain from shooting the emus unless it is culling season. We don't want to drive them to extinction.
90. R&D teams are to refrain from saying "What you are seeing is advanced warfare," whenever they see a soldier with a powered exoskeleton.
91. Stealth fighters got their nickname because they are nearly-invisible to radar, not because they turn invisible. Stop telling people that empty hangars are full of stealth fighters.
92. Yes, the former Emperor of China is the director of the National Botanical Garden. No, you cannot ask him about that when you visit.
93. Medical marijuana is used to treat opium addictions, not because you have "Um… Glaucoma."
94. The Chinese Military Intelligence Bureau prides ourselves on our work, but that does not mean we are behind everything.
95. Director Li is happily enjoying his retirement after over two decades of service. He would also like to ask that you stop asking if he got "Sent to a Farm Upstate."
96. No, we aren't developing nukes. Stop asking.
97. No, just because we are not developing nukes does not mean that we are instead developing "Rods from God" so we can orbitally bombard people.
98. Yes, all of our assault rifles are based on the T91. This is due to standardization agreements, not because it would be funny to get the Russians use guns that look like M16.
99. Although Henry Ford is a noted antisemite who is also racist against Asians due to his business' misfortunes, that does not give you permission to tell him, "I'd rather side with the Jewish-Asiatic conspiracy to control the world over you, asshole."
100. Okay, seriously, who keeps drawing CTRL+ALT+DEL's "Loss" all over the place like it's Kilroy? It's been decades at this point, but I keep seeing it everywhere.
76. No, you can't look up the lottery numbers from the future to get an edge. That's not how time travel works.
77. No, you can't try to sell other people lottery numbers and claim they're the right ones because you have future knowledge. That's called Fraud, and it's illegal.
78. This also applies to betting on sports. You and I both know it wouldn't even work.
79. Stop asking the scientists at the Chinese Particle Collider if they can open up a Rift so you can go on vacation. We can only open one Rift, and it's to a world dominated by an America-spanning fascist monarchist empire.
80. Quit asking the scientists if the timeline on the other side of the Rift is "Code Geass but with fewer Anglos." While the similarities are there, you're not the first one to come up with that.
81. Stop trying to preemptively murder terrible people. Enough time has passed from the Point of Divergence that most people are nothing like their Lost History counterparts.
82. Just because we said you can't murder people does not mean you can spam Benito Mussolini with pictures of himself upside down "to fuck with him for the meme."
83. While we condemn slavery, it is not appropriate to play "John Brown's Body" on the helicopter's speakers while you're hunting down slavers in Mauritania. We want the element of surprise for a reason.
84. Stop trying to introduce the European socialists to Chapo Trap House. It's not going to catch on, and the Euros think those guys are weirdos.
85. No, you can't ask for a remote posting to the Caribbean for your year of service. Conscripts can't be sent overseas unless China is at war, anyways.
86. UFOs are either drones or experimental aircraft. Stop selling pictures to newspapers.
87. Posting them on Twitter is also bad.
88. While on-duty, interactions with people who were famous or notable in the Lost History are to be professional. "Can I have your autograph" is not professional.
89. All troops stationed in Australia are to refrain from shooting the emus unless it is culling season. We don't want to drive them to extinction.
90. R&D teams are to refrain from saying "What you are seeing is advanced warfare," whenever they see a soldier with a powered exoskeleton.
91. Stealth fighters got their nickname because they are nearly-invisible to radar, not because they turn invisible. Stop telling people that empty hangars are full of stealth fighters.
92. Yes, the former Emperor of China is the director of the National Botanical Garden. No, you cannot ask him about that when you visit.
93. Medical marijuana is used to treat opium addictions, not because you have "Um… Glaucoma."
94. The Chinese Military Intelligence Bureau prides ourselves on our work, but that does not mean we are behind everything.
95. Director Li is happily enjoying his retirement after over two decades of service. He would also like to ask that you stop asking if he got "Sent to a Farm Upstate."
96. No, we aren't developing nukes. Stop asking.
97. No, just because we are not developing nukes does not mean that we are instead developing "Rods from God" so we can orbitally bombard people.
98. Yes, all of our assault rifles are based on the T91. This is due to standardization agreements, not because it would be funny to get the Russians use guns that look like M16.
99. Although Henry Ford is a noted antisemite who is also racist against Asians due to his business' misfortunes, that does not give you permission to tell him, "I'd rather side with the Jewish-Asiatic conspiracy to control the world over you, asshole."
100. Okay, seriously, who keeps drawing CTRL+ALT+DEL's "Loss" all over the place like it's Kilroy? It's been decades at this point, but I keep seeing it everywhere.
"I prefer the term under advisement".....
Thanks for the update man...
Thanks for the update man...
- Location
- Neptune
101. It has been almost thirty years since Taiwan came back. You weren't even born yet when that happened. Whatever Lost History meme you dug up in the Internet Preservation Archives has absolutely no relevance today.
- Pronouns
- He
Impossible!
The Emu War should not have ended in favor of humanity!
- Totally not an Emu but a Regular Human Being
Anti-Reformer Aktion
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Survivor Bar, Nanjing, National Capital Region, Republic of China, 14 February 1939
The bar seemed nice enough. It was more-crowded than Aki would have liked, but it was Shannon's year to pick, and it wasn't like there were that many days when all of them had a night off.
Shannon was writing her manhua series, while Rachel was busy with running the MIB. Marty was settling into his role teaching history at the University, and both he and Aki were collaborating on a new book about the figures from the "Two Histories," as they called it.
And Michael? Well, he was awfully busy for somebody whose job was supposed to be a sinecure position. Whether through sheer boredom or a dedication to his field, her husband was more hands-on than most executives.
At least we have an excuse to travel once it's Summer. That, and Marty pet-sitting.
But that would be months down the road. Right now, it was time for hanging out with old friends and doing what old friends do.
Which in their case, was talking about whatever random thought came to mind.
Sure, they could do this over the internet, but there was just something… special? Special could work.
…Something special about hanging out with your friends in-person."
"You know, Mike…" Marty said over dessert, "With all the crap we pulled during the Revolution, you'd probably be the Reformers' biggest hero."
"Oh God," was all Michael could say. "Not those guys."
"What's a 'Reformer?'" Aki asked aloud. "Besides 'Person you two have said are idiots for the last twenty-five years.'"
"You do know I'm here too," Rachel pointed out. "And I hate those guys more than Mike or Marty do."
"Especially Bill Lind," Shannon chimed in, "The rape-y creep."
"The what." Okay, now Aki had to know. "Shannon, what are you talking about?"
"Bill Lind's a former soldier and a member of the 'Reformers,'" Rachel explained, "a group of military thinkers who believed that advanced equipment and technology were unreliable and the Americans should instead use cheaper, low-tech, alternatives."
"Okay." Aki got the basics of it. More technology meant higher costs and lower numbers. That was simple enough. "So they would have liked men like Michael because he and the rest of the military used more-basic equipment during the Revolution."
There was more to it than that, but it was enough for the discussion at hand.
"Not exactly…" Now it was Michael's turn to jump in. "We didn't really use lower-tech gear because we agreed with them. We used it because that was the best we could get when we were kinda under an arms embargo."
"Ah."
"Plus, we were fighting guys with bolt-action rifles," Marty added. "Kinda hard to lose when you have a hundred years' tech advantage."
"Even if you were stretched thin at times," Aki recalled. Both husband and her colleague nodded. "So the Reformers' argument wouldn't really apply?"
"I mean, I guess it could, if you factored in how our entire island got teleported, butting us off from modern supply chains. But unless it turns out that guys like Lind and friends brought up the possibility of an entire island being isekai'd to the past, I'm not siding with him."
"That, and you're not a racist, sexist bastard who writes rape fantasies," Shannon added. "It's a very low bar, Michael. Congratulations on passing it with flying colors."
"…That's a thing, isn't it?" Aki was really hoping it wasn't Shannon nodded. "Shan?"
"Yeah?"
"Why the fuck do you know that?"
"TV Tropes and a sense of bile fascination," the former Apache pilot said off-handedly. "Lind wrote an entire book about how women shouldn't be soldiers and how ackshually, all of his ideas are right.'"
"Coincidentally, said book has been lost to history," Marty pointed out. "Either his book wasn't sent back in time, or the data must have been lost when we archived everything."
"Must have been a compiling error," Rachel confirmed. "It happens."
"Total loser move, by the way," Shannon chuckled. "It's like writing a book where your opponent's the soyjak and you're the chad."
"A what?"
"I'll explain it to you later, Aki," Michael promised.
"Yeah, it's as if the Gulf War didn't exist," Marty continued. "Or the Great War, where we basically Gulf War'd the Europeans on a monthly basis."
"Right." Aki didn't need years of military service to understand that missile that can lock on from far away beat gun. "So neither the Chinese Revolution nor the Great War can really be used by these 'Reformers,' due to the extreme circumstances."
"Pretty much," Marty figured. "If anything, the large numbers of low-tech equipment the Europeans used are the best argument against Reformers."
"I see… Wait, did any Reformers come back in time with you?"
"I guess?" Michael figured, "None of the big names, but there was probably somebody who shared their ideas…"
"People you argued with on the internet don't count, Mike."
"Then no."
"On the bright side," Marty pointed out, "At least we learned two things. Like how Bill Lind and the Reformers were wrong."
"Okay. What's the second thing?"
"That Bill Lind was wrong, and he can suck it."
The bar seemed nice enough. It was more-crowded than Aki would have liked, but it was Shannon's year to pick, and it wasn't like there were that many days when all of them had a night off.
Shannon was writing her manhua series, while Rachel was busy with running the MIB. Marty was settling into his role teaching history at the University, and both he and Aki were collaborating on a new book about the figures from the "Two Histories," as they called it.
And Michael? Well, he was awfully busy for somebody whose job was supposed to be a sinecure position. Whether through sheer boredom or a dedication to his field, her husband was more hands-on than most executives.
At least we have an excuse to travel once it's Summer. That, and Marty pet-sitting.
But that would be months down the road. Right now, it was time for hanging out with old friends and doing what old friends do.
Which in their case, was talking about whatever random thought came to mind.
Sure, they could do this over the internet, but there was just something… special? Special could work.
…Something special about hanging out with your friends in-person."
"You know, Mike…" Marty said over dessert, "With all the crap we pulled during the Revolution, you'd probably be the Reformers' biggest hero."
"Oh God," was all Michael could say. "Not those guys."
"What's a 'Reformer?'" Aki asked aloud. "Besides 'Person you two have said are idiots for the last twenty-five years.'"
"You do know I'm here too," Rachel pointed out. "And I hate those guys more than Mike or Marty do."
"Especially Bill Lind," Shannon chimed in, "The rape-y creep."
"The what." Okay, now Aki had to know. "Shannon, what are you talking about?"
"Bill Lind's a former soldier and a member of the 'Reformers,'" Rachel explained, "a group of military thinkers who believed that advanced equipment and technology were unreliable and the Americans should instead use cheaper, low-tech, alternatives."
"Okay." Aki got the basics of it. More technology meant higher costs and lower numbers. That was simple enough. "So they would have liked men like Michael because he and the rest of the military used more-basic equipment during the Revolution."
There was more to it than that, but it was enough for the discussion at hand.
"Not exactly…" Now it was Michael's turn to jump in. "We didn't really use lower-tech gear because we agreed with them. We used it because that was the best we could get when we were kinda under an arms embargo."
"Ah."
"Plus, we were fighting guys with bolt-action rifles," Marty added. "Kinda hard to lose when you have a hundred years' tech advantage."
"Even if you were stretched thin at times," Aki recalled. Both husband and her colleague nodded. "So the Reformers' argument wouldn't really apply?"
"I mean, I guess it could, if you factored in how our entire island got teleported, butting us off from modern supply chains. But unless it turns out that guys like Lind and friends brought up the possibility of an entire island being isekai'd to the past, I'm not siding with him."
"That, and you're not a racist, sexist bastard who writes rape fantasies," Shannon added. "It's a very low bar, Michael. Congratulations on passing it with flying colors."
"…That's a thing, isn't it?" Aki was really hoping it wasn't Shannon nodded. "Shan?"
"Yeah?"
"Why the fuck do you know that?"
"TV Tropes and a sense of bile fascination," the former Apache pilot said off-handedly. "Lind wrote an entire book about how women shouldn't be soldiers and how ackshually, all of his ideas are right.'"
"Coincidentally, said book has been lost to history," Marty pointed out. "Either his book wasn't sent back in time, or the data must have been lost when we archived everything."
"Must have been a compiling error," Rachel confirmed. "It happens."
"Total loser move, by the way," Shannon chuckled. "It's like writing a book where your opponent's the soyjak and you're the chad."
"A what?"
"I'll explain it to you later, Aki," Michael promised.
"Yeah, it's as if the Gulf War didn't exist," Marty continued. "Or the Great War, where we basically Gulf War'd the Europeans on a monthly basis."
"Right." Aki didn't need years of military service to understand that missile that can lock on from far away beat gun. "So neither the Chinese Revolution nor the Great War can really be used by these 'Reformers,' due to the extreme circumstances."
"Pretty much," Marty figured. "If anything, the large numbers of low-tech equipment the Europeans used are the best argument against Reformers."
"I see… Wait, did any Reformers come back in time with you?"
"I guess?" Michael figured, "None of the big names, but there was probably somebody who shared their ideas…"
"People you argued with on the internet don't count, Mike."
"Then no."
"On the bright side," Marty pointed out, "At least we learned two things. Like how Bill Lind and the Reformers were wrong."
"Okay. What's the second thing?"
"That Bill Lind was wrong, and he can suck it."
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Another filler chapter while I work on one of my game prototypes.
Where I go a bit in-depth about the US Military Reformers (especially Bill Lind, because he sucks).
Where I go a bit in-depth about the US Military Reformers (especially Bill Lind, because he sucks).
Last edited:
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So would I.
There's a reason the archivists in the story found certain files to be unsalvageable, meaning his works were lost to history.
This has happened on multiple occasions.
Most of those occasions involved the now-Director of the Military Intelligence Bureau flinging copies of movies like "Wolf Warrior" and "God's Not Dead" into the sea
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The good news is that Chapter 83 is underway.
It's the perfect chance to get into all the subcultures that've popped up. And it gets weird.
Like, fun weird, not Eyes Wide Shut weird.
We're looking at things like skateboarding hippies, Protestants who practice socialism to bring Jesus back, and a metaverse based around VR chat that is run by European socialists.
It's the perfect chance to get into all the subcultures that've popped up. And it gets weird.
Like, fun weird, not Eyes Wide Shut weird.
We're looking at things like skateboarding hippies, Protestants who practice socialism to bring Jesus back, and a metaverse based around VR chat that is run by European socialists.
Chapter 83: All The Small (And Big) Things
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Anti-Crypto Aktion Coffee, Palo Alto, California, 20 February 1939
("University Avenue," by Selena Rossi, Class of 1942)
"Hey, you're sorta Catholic, right?"
Okay, that was the last thing Lin Chen expected to hear.
It wasn't so much that he was a practicing Catholic (Though he'd probably call himself lapsed at this point), but the fact that most people just didn't give a damn.
That said, there were two kinds of people who wanted to know if you were Catholic: Other Catholics, and people who really, really, didn't like Catholics.
"Eh, just baptized I guess," Lin said truthfully. After all, if said voice was the latter, he was pretty sure he could take them. And if it was the other reason... "You're not a missionary, are you?"
"Do I look like a missionary?" the punk rocker-looking woman asked him. "Name's Lena. I'm your classmate over at Stanford. At least I think I am."
"How does that work out?"
Please tell me this isn't some "All Asians Look Alike" thing.
"Because you look like your sister."
Oh.
Wait, does that mean that mean she thinks Morgan looks like a boy, or that I look like a girl?
"Yeah, that's me. What's up?"
"Just need some help with the notes, is all," she figured, before sitting down at his table. "Think you could help?"
"Sure," Lin figured. Not like Adrian or Jon are going to be back anytime soon. "What's up?"
"I keep getting the Tester movement and the Catholics all mixed up. They're pretty similar."
"You mean besides the fact that one of them's Protestant and the other is the Catholic Church?"
"Okay, smart-ass. I get that. My problem is that I keep mixing them up. Y'know, because they still have a lot in common?"
"I guess so." Truth be told, Lin was mostly going off of what he could remember off the top of his head. "So besides how the Catholics take orders from the Pope and the Testers are... well, everywhere."
"Yeah. Besides that."
"Okay, let's see..." Lin thought aloud. "The whole "Being Protestant" thing is kinda the big difference between the two. The Catholics are, I mean, the Catholics, and their big thing is that you have to be a good person to go to Heaven."
Okay, there's more than that, but it's not like we're getting tested on the Catechism.
"And the Protestants?"
"Sola Fide." Lena gave him a blank look. "It means 'Faith Alone.' Protestants generally believe that faith alone is all they need to be saved and go to Heaven."
"Sound like a cop-out."
"Yeah, well, Protestantism is what happens when the Catholic Church basically emotionally blackmailed people into giving them money."
"Okay," Lena said impatiently, "What does that have to do with the Testers, though?"
"I'm getting there," Lin promised. "Basically, the Testers believe that to go to Heaven, they have to demonstrate their faith in God by actively making the world like Heaven."
"So Jesus comes back?" Lin nodded to her. "Because of the Lord's Prayer, right?"
"Yup. 'Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.' That's basically the crux of Tester belief: That if they truly believe in God, they should make Heaven on Earth."
"Makes sense. And that's why they're against racism and for helping the poor, right?"
"Yeah, basically. They think that their interactions with others are a test from God."
"Which is where they get the name from." Lin nodded, and Lena got up. "Thanks, Lin!"
"The Hell was that about?" Lin looked up to see his teammate Jon bringing back their coffee. "Got your drink, man."
"Thanks. Classmate needed help with her history homework."
"Didn't know you were into that."
"My Mom's a history teacher, remember? Plus, we all have to do something when it's not baseball season."
"Video games."
"I meant something I'm good at."
"Harlem Globetrotters join Basketball Association of America," by John F. Kennedy, Sports Illustrated, March 1939
(Manager Abe Saperstein with several Globetrotters)
The Basketball Association of America announced the fourteenth team to join their ranks with the addition of the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters to their ranks.
The Globetrotters will play at Madison Square Garden, and their inclusion will be the first time the color barrier is broken in the BAA. Team owner Abe Saperstein has commented that the Globetrotters' membership is a "Milestone for basketball," followed a prediction that the rest of the BAA will soon follow suit in the following years.
"By having an all-white league," said Saperstein, "They're missing out on a whole lot of talent. And we're going to prove it to them, next season."
The teams will continue to be split evenly between the East and the West Divisions, with the Harlem Globetrotters joining the East Division alongside the Philadelphia Warriors, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Toronto Huskies, Washington Capitols, and the Providence Steamrollers, while the Western Division will consist of the Chicago Bulls, St. Louis Bombers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Falcons, Pittsburgh Ironmen, Indianapolis Jets, and the newly-formed Minneapolis Lakers.
The BAA will continue to use its current playoff system in which the top two teams of each division play a best-of-seven series against one another. The winner of each semifinal series will compete in a best-of-seven series for the BAA Championship.
The BAA is the first professional basketball league in the United States, and its eleven-team roster that has expanded with the league's popularity.
"Supreme Court Rules State of Mississippi Mind Their Own Fucking Business," The Onion, April 1939
(Chief Justice Louis Brandeis)
In a stunning 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that any and all laws against sodomy and homosexual acts are unconstitutional under the Right of Privacy Amendment.
"It is our belief," said Chief Justice Louis Brandeis, "That as long as laws that do not violate the privacy of Americans are otherwise being followed, laws that do not mind their own fucking business are an invasion of privacy and therefore unconstitutional.
Civil rights groups have hailed this as a victory not just for the LGBT+ community, but all Americans who are in favor of the state and federal government minding their own fucking business and leaving them the Hell alone.
Nouakchott International Airport, Nouakchott, French Mauritania, 4 May 1939
(Nouakchott International Airport Terminal)
"Are you sure about this?" Corporal Antoine Reval asked over the radio as he got off the Blackhawk, "I get that we're partners in this, but are the Chinese going to be able to keep up with us?"
"We'll hold our own," the Chinese officer promised in accented French. One that Antoine didn't know he could speak. "Besides, we've worked with you guys before, back during the insurrection."
"No offense," Antoine apologized. The Chinese officer nodded politely. "And for what it's worth, it's good to have more manpower and resources out here to help out. We need all the help we can get in the desert, and Europe's still Priority One for manpower and resources compared to the sandbox."
It wasn't as if they were bad at their job. If anything, Antoine and the rest of his team could pride themselves on the number of slaves they've freed over the last few years.
The problem is that there were only so many of us, and the Sahara is a fucking large place to patrol.
All the legal reforms, cut red tape, and the Caliph outright condemning slavery wasn't enough when slavers could hide in plain sight because they lived in the ass-end of nowhere.
The Chinese officer... Antoine could've sworn his name was "Zhou," or something, looked at him oddly. "I thought it was mostly quiet, these days."
"I mean, yeah, it is. But the reason it's so calm is because most of the intel and manpower's focused on maintaining stability instead of down here, chasing down slavers."
"I see..." Zhou mused, while they walked past planes of Russians and Japanese unloading their gear. "Then it's a good thing we weren't the only ones who answered the call."
Ufa, Orenburg Governate, Russian Empire, 20 June 1939
(Ufa Skyline)
"Approaching target," Lieutenant Kuznetsov told his commander over the radio. "Spotted two hostiles by the door. Armed with pistols."
"Moving to engage," Captain Dimitry Medvedev answered. Two audible puffs were followed by two audible thuds once the Black Hundreds fell to the ground. "Move around to the back of the warehouse, Nikolai Ivanovich."
"Alfa 2-1 copies. Moving to destination."
Was it unfair that he and his men had night vision goggles and had sabotaged the fuse box? Probably.
Was he going to complain? No.
Not when surveillance had shown that there were about two dozen Black Hundreds in the building.
"Room clear," he said over the mic, before moving to the door. "Form up on the door."
The rest of it... it was like clockwork. The Spetsnaz team he'd been a part of had been training for over a week on the warehouse, to the point that he and his squad could probably run through the place with their eyes closed.
Scratch that. They had gone through the mock-up with their eyes closed for shits and giggles one night, and it actually worked.
It helped that everyone was declared hostile. While this would normally be an issue, the reality was that this seemingly-abandoned warehouse had people coming in and out on a weekly basis who weren't homeless people.
So they went, clearing out office after office until all that remained was the warehouse itself.
"Alfa 4-1, in position."
"Alfa 2-1, at the position."
"Alfa 3-1, in position and ready."
"Alfa 1-1 copies all," Captain Medvedev spoke through the radio. "Looks like our tip was good. Move in and neutralize the targets. We have positive ID on General Sakharov."
"Orders for the HVI?" asked Kuznetsov. "Sakharov still has friends over in Saint Petersburg."
"Alive, if possible," the Captain instructed, "But I'm not trading men for traitors."
Stanford Cardinals Celebrate College World Series Win, The Stanford Daily, 6 July 1939
(Fenway Park, host of the 1939 College World Series)
Palo Alto celebrates as the hometown Stanford Cardinals return from Boston to celebrate last month's victory in Boston.
While the season had gotten off to a rocky start, the addition of the hard-hitting left fielder Jon Dowd, quick-footed first-baseman Adrian Friese, and the two-way threat Lin Chen provided a one-two-three punch that sent Stanford back to Regionals in the 4th seed.
Although the Cardinals lost the Regional opener against UC Berkeley, they would get their payback with a walkoff homerun from Dowd during the Regional Final, followed by a sweep of the UC Davis Aggies in the Super Regionals.
The Cardinals would see continued success at the College World Series in Boston, where Chen, Friese, and Dowd combined for two homers and a triple in the 3-1 victory in Game 1, followed by a shutout and the game-winning RBI from the Chinese-American Freshman to cap off game two.
"It's a team effort," said Chen after their two-game victory. "We can talk about Great Men and all that [Redacted], but baseball's a team sport. And we have a pretty [Redacted] good team this year."
Coach Johnny Paige also made history this year as the first African-American coach to win the College World Series.
"I've always felt like I had to prove myself when I was playing," said Coach Paige, "And that's the same kind of thinking that got these young men to push themselves to the top."
Hardware Warehouse, Mexico City, United States of Mexico, 20 August 1939
(Stack of PVC pipes, Mexico City, c. 1940)
"We're really replacing everything, aren't we?" Asked Alejandro Rojas. Then again, the fact they were ripping out every pipe they could get their hands on was all the proof he needed.
That, and the how they were currently buying them in bulk.
"Remind me, are we really going to tear out every single copper and lead pipe and replace them with PVC?"
"You're damned right we are," his father (who was also known as Alejandro Rojas), agreed. "You see this crap on the inside?"
"Yeah." Even if he wished he hadn't. "I get it. Lead and copper corrode. Plastic doesn't."
"Oil is also cheaper, these days," said the elder Alejandro Rojas, "Which means plastic is also cheaper."
That made enough sense for the apprentice plumber. Ever since everyone transitioned to EVs and public transportation, the demand for petroleum effectively cratered.
Alejandro wasn't an economist, but he didn't need to be one to know that something's going to be a Hell of a lot cheaper if half the world stopped using it because alternatives were cheaper.
He also didn't need to be an economist to know that just because people stopped using so much gasoline didn't mean they would stop pumping crude oil. Not when crude oil was needed to make all the PVC pipes he'd been installing.
Not that he minded. Cheaper PVC meant more jobs, and more jobs meant he and his brother (who thankfully wasn't also named Alejandro) would be able to continue the family business.
"The Metaverse of Things," by People Play Games, YouTube.com, 14 September 1939
(Thumbnail of video on YouTube)
CHRIS QUINN: "What if I told you that there's a place where we could have Fully Automated Luxury Gay (Or straight or bi, if you're into that) Space Socialism right now?
QUINN: What it I told you that there is a metaverse that isn't run by weirdo techbros who seem to be obsessed with monetizing everything, ever since cryptocurrency never took off?
QUINN: And what if I told you that those two places were the exact same thing? Because it is.
QUINN: Welcome to the world of VR Chat Metaverse (or "VR Metaverse" for short), a world built on abandonware over the last two decades into a sort of Ship of Theseus that might not even have that much original code after all the improvements over those last twenty-something years.
QUINN: This? This is the real Metaverse, where you are truly free from all the capitalism and microtransactions that the techbros keep trying to shove into almost everything they make.
QUINN: So we here at PPG decided to go in-depth into the real Metaverse, where we interviewed developers, users, and recorded more footage than we honestly know what to do with. So, let's begin.
(Scene cuts to a woman in an Italian game development studio)
DANIELA CLEMENTI: My name is Daniela Clementi, and I used to be one of the software engineers who help keep the VR Metaverse running.
CLEMENTI: One of the things that drew me to VR Metaverse is how there really isn't any real sense of scarcity. In the Real World, there are finite amounts of… everything, if we're being honest: Food, Shelter, Products, and Resources.
CLEMENTI: That isn't really a thing in the Metaverse. Sure, you need to have servers to keep everything running, but partnerships with the French, German, and Italian governments helps keep the lights on and the Metaverse free.
QUINN: Could you tell us about that? How did that come to be?
CLEMENTI: Sure. The official reason is that this is funding for the arts. But if you ask me, a big reason why so many Socialist governments back this project is because it's the first society that can truly be free from capitalism and scarcity.
CLEMENTI: In the Metaverse, there really isn't a limit to resources or funds. It's a moneyless society because, well, there isn't really anything to spend money on when pretty much all content is free.
QUINN: Is that why several competitors to the VR Metaverse failed?
CLEMENTI: I think that's one of the reasons. When there is already something out there, the competitor needs to be better, and I don't really see how these alternatives accomplish that when VR Chat already exists.
QUINN: And the fact that it's free.
CLEMENTI: That too. VR headsets are much cheaper than they were two decades ago, but they aren't exactly cheap. And once you've bought your headset, your options are between VR Metaverse, where basically everything is free, and paid experiences like Cryptoland, where they seemingly try to nickel and dime you out of every last franc in your bank account.
(Concept art of Cryptoland)
QUINN: I can see the appeal.
(Scene cuts back to Quinn in the studio)
QUINN: Ironically, these capitalist alternatives to the VR Metaverse make an argument against capitalism. While Metaverse content is largely free and open-source, the alternatives' inclusion of capitalism (in the form of microtransactions) creates a reality of artificial scarcity where it previously didn't exist.
QUINN: Or as some have begun to call it: Capitalism for the sake of Capitalism.
QUINN: Which begs the question: If there is a time and place where capitalism is unnecessary, then why have it in the first place?
"How Skateboarding Became Sidesurfing," The Birdman Magazine, October 1939
("Photo of People Sidesurfing," by Jan Kopriva)
You all know what a sideboard is. Four wheels attached to a solid board is a simple design that's stood the test of time.
Literally.
No, seriously, the sideboard went back in time with the island of Taiwan, where it would first spread to China, then Asia, then the Americas.
Originally called the "skateboard" in the Lost History, it was first brought to the Americas in the mid-1910s. Its similarities to surfing saw its adoption by communities of surfers along the coasts.
Skateboarding, or the "Sidewalk Surfing," as it was called at first surfers, was originally an alternative for surfers when the waves were flat or the weather wasn't good. By the mid-1920s, the name would be shortened to "Sidesurfing," with the eponymous skateboard referred to as a "sideboard."
It was during this time that the sideboard, coupled with the re-discovery of the Punk genre of music, saw the two come together as symbols of the American counter-culture movement. If Punk music represented rebellion against the status quo, then the quick and maneuverable sideboard symbolized freedom from the status quo.
("Men Walking on Sidewalk," by RDNE)
It was this intermarriage between Punk music and sidesurfing that led to the rapid rise in popularity not just among young white Americans (and we're talking about all the Americas here, not just the USA here), but minority groups as well. Then again, if white and black and brown kids and young adults hanging out together was the new counter-culture, then it was no surprise that those same folks started sidesurfing together.
Unfortunately, sidesurfing's role in the counter-culture quickly earned it some enemies from the more-conservative elements of American culture. Even if it's been over a decade, a lot of the older sidesurfers still remember Charles Coughlin's passionate sermon condemning the sport as a hotbed for sin, vice, and degeneracy.
If anything, this did more to propel sidesurfing into the mainstream than anything else. What had once been an "underground" kind of movement was quickly gaining popularity and entering the mainstream.
Because when old, conservative people say something is bad or immoral, it automatically becomes 100% cooler. Sidesurfing is no exception.
It was at this point, circa 1930, that sidesurfing had its first big split.
Now, this wasn't some big schism or anything, but there tend to be two kinda of sidesurfers these days: Casuals and Nomads.
As the name implies, Casual sidesurfers tend to use the sideboard as a means of transportation, though you'll see them do a few tricks. Odds are they'll probably listen to Punk music, too, but fans of Punk aren't necessarily sidesurfers and vice-versa.
Nomad sidesurfers are the kind that'll go "all-in" with the subculture. Sure, they'll use their boards to get around, and they can do more than a few tricks, but they see sidesurfing as a way of life.
We're talking people who tend to be laid-back, with absolute freedom from the status quo on their minds. Folks that'll exercise their freedoms in their daily lives and go against the grain.
And no, I'm not talking about those guys who use "freedom" as an excuse to be a dick. Nomads practice a concept of "absolute freedom," and that includes freedom from things like oppression, just as much as freedom to do things, like live one's life.
There's a reason why you'll probably see at least one sidesurfer at every Civil Rights protest.
For Nomads, sidesurfing is an exercise of freedom, and freedom is a way of life. Whether it's freedom to love, freedom to marry, freedom from discrimination, or just the freedom to their lives, your average practicing Nomad sidesurfer is probably going to support it.
Conversely, if you're going around trying to enforce your own rules on people, they're probably going to call you an asshole at best.
No, seriously, freedom is sacred to these guys. If you go around trying to use freedom as an excuse to abuse others, there's a nonzero chance you'll get your ass kicked.
The Knights of the Golden Circle down in Orange County learned this the hard way when they tried to join up with the local Nomads.
("Picture of a Nomad Encampment," by Egor Komarov)
And as their name implies, the really hardcore Nomads tend not to stay in one place. For them, freedom also means not getting too tied down by anything, and that means never really setting up roots.
This can take the form of drifting from place to place, either solo, or with a community of fellow Nomad boarders. Nomads'll usually band together, but they're willing to take on new members if they earn the group's trust.
Though contrary to popular belief, most Nomads don't literally board everywhere they go. In my experience, they're not above using public transportation or using roads when they start migrating.
Now, just because Nomad sidesurfers tend to be more hardcore about the lifestyle doesn't mean they'll start hating on the Casuals for not doing things like living as a Nomad. Sure, they'd like it if everyone embraced their vision freedom, but it kinda goes against the whole concept itself if you force it.
Either way, sidesurfing is here to stay, and it's come a long way in the last two decades.
#general, Somewhat-Credible-Defense Discord Server, 30 November 1939
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:30 AM
You know, Ethiopia's Civil War kinda reminded me of the Chinese Revolution.
NanjingNan Today at 00:31 AM
I mean no disrespect, Freeb, but one question:
HOW.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:32 AM
Think about it like this, Nan: A society that's been taken advantage of by the European powers throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries sees a revolution in which the reformists win.
NanjingNan Today at 00:33 AM
...
No.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:34 AM
Aw, c'mon. You see it, right?
NanjingNan Today at 00:35 AM
If you paint with a broad enough brush, I guess?
But there's just as many things that are different between the Tongmenghui and Hailie Selassie's forces as there are things they have in common.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:36 AM
You mean besides how one's a republic and the other's a monarchy.
ViveLeInternationale Today at 00:36 AM
That's a fairly large difference. While the Tongmenghui overthrew the Qing monarchy, Hailie Selassie holds himself up as the rightful successor to Empress Zewditu.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:37 AM
Didn't the Tongmenghui also argue that the Qing were an illegitimate ruling class and that they were restoring the rightful rule?
IsekaiEnthusiast11 Today at 00:37 AM
I mean, basically everyone does that when they're fighting a civil war.
NanjingNan Today at 00:38 AM
He's not wrong.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:37 AM
Yeah!
Wait, how did we on the same side on this one?
NanjingNan Today at 00:38 AM
In the sense that almost everyone declares themselves the "Rightful Ruler."
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:38 AM
Ah.
I'm talking more about the ideals, influences, and technologies though.
Both Hailie Selassie and Sun Yat-Sen were willing to embrace modern ideals, much to their benefit over their more-backwards-thinking (Can I call them that?) opponents.
NanjingNan Today at 00:39 AM
Then yes, there are similarities. Of course, we have to remember that while the Ethiopian Conservative Faction rejected outside ideals and training due to the potential threats of outside influence, the Qing were denied those ideals and training because Taiwan outright rejected them.
Also yeah, you should be fine.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:40 AM
Cool. Thanks.
And yeah, I guess that's a factor. Actually, that probably makes the Ethiopian Conservatives look worse, now that I think about it.
At least the Qing got curbstomped because their modernists refused to help them. Meanwhile the Conservatives refused the modernists because they thought they were a threat.
ViveLeInternationale Today at 00:41 AM
I think I can see where they're coming from, Freeb.
In the post-war world, we've seen massive social progress and upheaval. In less than a decade, China, France, and friends trained entirely new bureaucracies from scratch to serve as a viable alternative to colonial rule or a return to traditional forms of government.
That last part is probably why the Conservatives Ethiopians were less-welcoming to foreign advisors and trainers than the Reformist like Hailie Selassie. When the people offering to help you are the biggest threat to your power, you'd want to keep them at arm's length.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:40 AM
Their loss.
ViveLeInternationale Today at 00:41 AM
Literally, in this case.
I don't think I've ever seen a curbstomp that bad since my time in the Great War.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:42 AM
Didn't know you served, Viv.
ViveLeInternationale Today at 00:43 AM
"Served" is being generous. I drove a truck.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:44 AM
Hey, that counts as serving. God knows how I'd survive if we didn't have logistics.
NanjingNan Today at 00:45 AM
It's simple: You don't.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:45 AM
Yeah... that's kinda why Hailie Selassie's Emperor now and pushing reforms.
Well that, fighter jets, more tanks than they knew what to do with, and a literal mountain of 5.56 rounds.
"S10E1: Mormonism and Coming to America," Men, Myth, Misinfo: Starring Harry Houdini and HP Lovecraft
(Title Card of Men, Myth, Misinfo, showing hosts HP Lovecraft and Harry Houdini)
HOUDINI: Alright, what do we have today?
LOVECRAFT: Mormonism.
HOUDINI: Ah. Exactly which part of it? The origins? The afterlife?
LOVECRAFT: It would be challenging to debunk the afterlife, now that you've driven most of the mediums out of business. No, today we will be discussing the Mormon claim that their prophet Lehi migrated to America in 600 BC.
HOUDINI: That... That is... certainly something.
LOVECRAFT: Indeed. According to the Mormons, Lehi and his family built a boat and sailed to the Americas under God's instructions, and they landed somewhere in Central America. In the Mormon theology, Lehi's son Laman rejected his father's teachings and persecuted his brothers Lehi and Samuel for their continued loyalty. Furthermore, the more-loyal Nephi would be chosen as Laman's successor.
HOUDINI: And as the eldest son, Laman would likely resent his brothers.
LOVECRAFT: Indeed. After Lehi's death and Nephi's rise, the colony in the Americas splits, with the righteous, at the time, followers of Nephi calling themselves "Nephites," and the followers of Laman and his brother Lemuel dubbed the "Lamanites." In response, God cursed the Lamanites for their rebellion by cutting them off from God's presence and, in their words, gave them a "Skin of Blackness," so as to not entice the Nephites.
HOUDINI: Which implies that the Lamanites are the ancestors of the Native Americans. And also implies some pretty terrible things about the Native Americans.
LOVECRAFT: Indeed. And the Lamanites would hate the Nephites, God's so-called chosen people, for centuries until the arrival of Jesus Christ to America.
HOUDINI: The what.
LOVECRAFT: Yes, it is as peculiar as it sounds. Jesus' time in America would coincide with the former Lamanites and Nephites reuniting into one people, until eighty-four years later when a second schism between Lamanites and Nephites occurred. This in turn would lead to another few centuries of internecine warfare between the two sides that had fallen into apostasy. The result of this conflict would be the outright annihilation of the Nephites by their once and former Lamanite kin while the latter would presumably go on to become the Native Americans of today.
HOUDINI: And that is it?
LOVECRAFT: Yes.
HOUDINI: Should this be found to be false, it would make for an interesting story. Now, how do you propose we analyze this?
LOVECRAFT: Seeing that the Mormons seem to believe that the Native Americans are the descendants of the Lamanites, we can analyze the genetics of Native Americans and compare them to Semitic peoples. Should the Book of Mormon be true, then the two peoples should be at least somewhat genetically similar.
HOUDINI: And the rest? Genetics is all well and good, but there should be some evidence of them in Central America... or any of the Americas.
LOVECRAFT: Indeed. Furthermore, we can compare what we do know about the stories' contemporaries to the stories themselves. Should the stories be true, then there should be few, if any inconsistencies with regard to the introduction of the horse, barley, wheat, the chariot, and true metallurgy.
HOUDINI: That is a tall order. And do you plan on us doing this all by ourselves, or do you have someone in mind to help us?
LOVECRAFT: That I do, Harry. This is John C. Ewers. Mr. Ewers is the Associate Curator of Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution.
(Portrait of John C. Ewers)
EWERS: Thank you for having me.
HOUDINI: The pleasure is all ours. Now, given your background in anthropology, what can you tell us about the Mormon historical claims?
EWERS: To put it bluntly... It's historically inaccurate in almost every sense. For starters, Native Americans have genetic markers in their DNA that indicate that their ancestors migrated to America. From Asia. Over the Bering Land Bridge.
HOUDINI: I see... And what about the introduction of the horses?
EWERS: The scientific consensus, which is based on almost every bit of credible archaeological and historical evidence we have, indicates that horses went extinct in the Americas thousands of years ago, only to be re-introduced thousands of years later in the 15th century by the Iberians.
LOVECRAFT: In short, the Book of Mormon's claims are not only debunked by genetic evidence, but the historical claims are also inconsistent with effectively everything else we currently know.
EWERS: Based on our current information, anyways. It is theoretically possible that the Mormons are actually correct, but there is not any credible evidence that supports their claims.
LOVECRAFT: At least not from archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians who don't already agree with them.
HOUDINI: That seems to be the case. So, would you say that this debunked?
LOVECRAFT: I would say so, yes.
HOUDINI: It seems that way. One more question, Dr. Ewers.
EWERS: Yes?
HOUDINI: You don't have any plans on going to Utah in the near-future, do you?
EWERS: No, I don't think so. Why?
HOUDINI: Because I don't think any of us are going to be welcome there, anytime soon.
("University Avenue," by Selena Rossi, Class of 1942)
"Hey, you're sorta Catholic, right?"
Okay, that was the last thing Lin Chen expected to hear.
It wasn't so much that he was a practicing Catholic (Though he'd probably call himself lapsed at this point), but the fact that most people just didn't give a damn.
That said, there were two kinds of people who wanted to know if you were Catholic: Other Catholics, and people who really, really, didn't like Catholics.
"Eh, just baptized I guess," Lin said truthfully. After all, if said voice was the latter, he was pretty sure he could take them. And if it was the other reason... "You're not a missionary, are you?"
"Do I look like a missionary?" the punk rocker-looking woman asked him. "Name's Lena. I'm your classmate over at Stanford. At least I think I am."
"How does that work out?"
Please tell me this isn't some "All Asians Look Alike" thing.
"Because you look like your sister."
Oh.
Wait, does that mean that mean she thinks Morgan looks like a boy, or that I look like a girl?
"Yeah, that's me. What's up?"
"Just need some help with the notes, is all," she figured, before sitting down at his table. "Think you could help?"
"Sure," Lin figured. Not like Adrian or Jon are going to be back anytime soon. "What's up?"
"I keep getting the Tester movement and the Catholics all mixed up. They're pretty similar."
"You mean besides the fact that one of them's Protestant and the other is the Catholic Church?"
"Okay, smart-ass. I get that. My problem is that I keep mixing them up. Y'know, because they still have a lot in common?"
"I guess so." Truth be told, Lin was mostly going off of what he could remember off the top of his head. "So besides how the Catholics take orders from the Pope and the Testers are... well, everywhere."
"Yeah. Besides that."
"Okay, let's see..." Lin thought aloud. "The whole "Being Protestant" thing is kinda the big difference between the two. The Catholics are, I mean, the Catholics, and their big thing is that you have to be a good person to go to Heaven."
Okay, there's more than that, but it's not like we're getting tested on the Catechism.
"And the Protestants?"
"Sola Fide." Lena gave him a blank look. "It means 'Faith Alone.' Protestants generally believe that faith alone is all they need to be saved and go to Heaven."
"Sound like a cop-out."
"Yeah, well, Protestantism is what happens when the Catholic Church basically emotionally blackmailed people into giving them money."
"Okay," Lena said impatiently, "What does that have to do with the Testers, though?"
"I'm getting there," Lin promised. "Basically, the Testers believe that to go to Heaven, they have to demonstrate their faith in God by actively making the world like Heaven."
"So Jesus comes back?" Lin nodded to her. "Because of the Lord's Prayer, right?"
"Yup. 'Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.' That's basically the crux of Tester belief: That if they truly believe in God, they should make Heaven on Earth."
"Makes sense. And that's why they're against racism and for helping the poor, right?"
"Yeah, basically. They think that their interactions with others are a test from God."
"Which is where they get the name from." Lin nodded, and Lena got up. "Thanks, Lin!"
"The Hell was that about?" Lin looked up to see his teammate Jon bringing back their coffee. "Got your drink, man."
"Thanks. Classmate needed help with her history homework."
"Didn't know you were into that."
"My Mom's a history teacher, remember? Plus, we all have to do something when it's not baseball season."
"Video games."
"I meant something I'm good at."
"Harlem Globetrotters join Basketball Association of America," by John F. Kennedy, Sports Illustrated, March 1939
(Manager Abe Saperstein with several Globetrotters)
The Basketball Association of America announced the fourteenth team to join their ranks with the addition of the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters to their ranks.
The Globetrotters will play at Madison Square Garden, and their inclusion will be the first time the color barrier is broken in the BAA. Team owner Abe Saperstein has commented that the Globetrotters' membership is a "Milestone for basketball," followed a prediction that the rest of the BAA will soon follow suit in the following years.
"By having an all-white league," said Saperstein, "They're missing out on a whole lot of talent. And we're going to prove it to them, next season."
The teams will continue to be split evenly between the East and the West Divisions, with the Harlem Globetrotters joining the East Division alongside the Philadelphia Warriors, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Toronto Huskies, Washington Capitols, and the Providence Steamrollers, while the Western Division will consist of the Chicago Bulls, St. Louis Bombers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Falcons, Pittsburgh Ironmen, Indianapolis Jets, and the newly-formed Minneapolis Lakers.
The BAA will continue to use its current playoff system in which the top two teams of each division play a best-of-seven series against one another. The winner of each semifinal series will compete in a best-of-seven series for the BAA Championship.
The BAA is the first professional basketball league in the United States, and its eleven-team roster that has expanded with the league's popularity.
"Supreme Court Rules State of Mississippi Mind Their Own Fucking Business," The Onion, April 1939
(Chief Justice Louis Brandeis)
In a stunning 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that any and all laws against sodomy and homosexual acts are unconstitutional under the Right of Privacy Amendment.
"It is our belief," said Chief Justice Louis Brandeis, "That as long as laws that do not violate the privacy of Americans are otherwise being followed, laws that do not mind their own fucking business are an invasion of privacy and therefore unconstitutional.
Civil rights groups have hailed this as a victory not just for the LGBT+ community, but all Americans who are in favor of the state and federal government minding their own fucking business and leaving them the Hell alone.
Nouakchott International Airport, Nouakchott, French Mauritania, 4 May 1939
(Nouakchott International Airport Terminal)
"Are you sure about this?" Corporal Antoine Reval asked over the radio as he got off the Blackhawk, "I get that we're partners in this, but are the Chinese going to be able to keep up with us?"
"We'll hold our own," the Chinese officer promised in accented French. One that Antoine didn't know he could speak. "Besides, we've worked with you guys before, back during the insurrection."
"No offense," Antoine apologized. The Chinese officer nodded politely. "And for what it's worth, it's good to have more manpower and resources out here to help out. We need all the help we can get in the desert, and Europe's still Priority One for manpower and resources compared to the sandbox."
It wasn't as if they were bad at their job. If anything, Antoine and the rest of his team could pride themselves on the number of slaves they've freed over the last few years.
The problem is that there were only so many of us, and the Sahara is a fucking large place to patrol.
All the legal reforms, cut red tape, and the Caliph outright condemning slavery wasn't enough when slavers could hide in plain sight because they lived in the ass-end of nowhere.
The Chinese officer... Antoine could've sworn his name was "Zhou," or something, looked at him oddly. "I thought it was mostly quiet, these days."
"I mean, yeah, it is. But the reason it's so calm is because most of the intel and manpower's focused on maintaining stability instead of down here, chasing down slavers."
"I see..." Zhou mused, while they walked past planes of Russians and Japanese unloading their gear. "Then it's a good thing we weren't the only ones who answered the call."
Ufa, Orenburg Governate, Russian Empire, 20 June 1939
(Ufa Skyline)
"Approaching target," Lieutenant Kuznetsov told his commander over the radio. "Spotted two hostiles by the door. Armed with pistols."
"Moving to engage," Captain Dimitry Medvedev answered. Two audible puffs were followed by two audible thuds once the Black Hundreds fell to the ground. "Move around to the back of the warehouse, Nikolai Ivanovich."
"Alfa 2-1 copies. Moving to destination."
Was it unfair that he and his men had night vision goggles and had sabotaged the fuse box? Probably.
Was he going to complain? No.
Not when surveillance had shown that there were about two dozen Black Hundreds in the building.
"Room clear," he said over the mic, before moving to the door. "Form up on the door."
The rest of it... it was like clockwork. The Spetsnaz team he'd been a part of had been training for over a week on the warehouse, to the point that he and his squad could probably run through the place with their eyes closed.
Scratch that. They had gone through the mock-up with their eyes closed for shits and giggles one night, and it actually worked.
It helped that everyone was declared hostile. While this would normally be an issue, the reality was that this seemingly-abandoned warehouse had people coming in and out on a weekly basis who weren't homeless people.
So they went, clearing out office after office until all that remained was the warehouse itself.
"Alfa 4-1, in position."
"Alfa 2-1, at the position."
"Alfa 3-1, in position and ready."
"Alfa 1-1 copies all," Captain Medvedev spoke through the radio. "Looks like our tip was good. Move in and neutralize the targets. We have positive ID on General Sakharov."
"Orders for the HVI?" asked Kuznetsov. "Sakharov still has friends over in Saint Petersburg."
"Alive, if possible," the Captain instructed, "But I'm not trading men for traitors."
Stanford Cardinals Celebrate College World Series Win, The Stanford Daily, 6 July 1939
(Fenway Park, host of the 1939 College World Series)
Palo Alto celebrates as the hometown Stanford Cardinals return from Boston to celebrate last month's victory in Boston.
While the season had gotten off to a rocky start, the addition of the hard-hitting left fielder Jon Dowd, quick-footed first-baseman Adrian Friese, and the two-way threat Lin Chen provided a one-two-three punch that sent Stanford back to Regionals in the 4th seed.
Although the Cardinals lost the Regional opener against UC Berkeley, they would get their payback with a walkoff homerun from Dowd during the Regional Final, followed by a sweep of the UC Davis Aggies in the Super Regionals.
The Cardinals would see continued success at the College World Series in Boston, where Chen, Friese, and Dowd combined for two homers and a triple in the 3-1 victory in Game 1, followed by a shutout and the game-winning RBI from the Chinese-American Freshman to cap off game two.
"It's a team effort," said Chen after their two-game victory. "We can talk about Great Men and all that [Redacted], but baseball's a team sport. And we have a pretty [Redacted] good team this year."
Coach Johnny Paige also made history this year as the first African-American coach to win the College World Series.
"I've always felt like I had to prove myself when I was playing," said Coach Paige, "And that's the same kind of thinking that got these young men to push themselves to the top."
Hardware Warehouse, Mexico City, United States of Mexico, 20 August 1939
(Stack of PVC pipes, Mexico City, c. 1940)
"We're really replacing everything, aren't we?" Asked Alejandro Rojas. Then again, the fact they were ripping out every pipe they could get their hands on was all the proof he needed.
That, and the how they were currently buying them in bulk.
"Remind me, are we really going to tear out every single copper and lead pipe and replace them with PVC?"
"You're damned right we are," his father (who was also known as Alejandro Rojas), agreed. "You see this crap on the inside?"
"Yeah." Even if he wished he hadn't. "I get it. Lead and copper corrode. Plastic doesn't."
"Oil is also cheaper, these days," said the elder Alejandro Rojas, "Which means plastic is also cheaper."
That made enough sense for the apprentice plumber. Ever since everyone transitioned to EVs and public transportation, the demand for petroleum effectively cratered.
Alejandro wasn't an economist, but he didn't need to be one to know that something's going to be a Hell of a lot cheaper if half the world stopped using it because alternatives were cheaper.
He also didn't need to be an economist to know that just because people stopped using so much gasoline didn't mean they would stop pumping crude oil. Not when crude oil was needed to make all the PVC pipes he'd been installing.
Not that he minded. Cheaper PVC meant more jobs, and more jobs meant he and his brother (who thankfully wasn't also named Alejandro) would be able to continue the family business.
"The Metaverse of Things," by People Play Games, YouTube.com, 14 September 1939
(Thumbnail of video on YouTube)
CHRIS QUINN: "What if I told you that there's a place where we could have Fully Automated Luxury Gay (Or straight or bi, if you're into that) Space Socialism right now?
QUINN: What it I told you that there is a metaverse that isn't run by weirdo techbros who seem to be obsessed with monetizing everything, ever since cryptocurrency never took off?
QUINN: And what if I told you that those two places were the exact same thing? Because it is.
QUINN: Welcome to the world of VR Chat Metaverse (or "VR Metaverse" for short), a world built on abandonware over the last two decades into a sort of Ship of Theseus that might not even have that much original code after all the improvements over those last twenty-something years.
QUINN: This? This is the real Metaverse, where you are truly free from all the capitalism and microtransactions that the techbros keep trying to shove into almost everything they make.
QUINN: So we here at PPG decided to go in-depth into the real Metaverse, where we interviewed developers, users, and recorded more footage than we honestly know what to do with. So, let's begin.
(Scene cuts to a woman in an Italian game development studio)
DANIELA CLEMENTI: My name is Daniela Clementi, and I used to be one of the software engineers who help keep the VR Metaverse running.
CLEMENTI: One of the things that drew me to VR Metaverse is how there really isn't any real sense of scarcity. In the Real World, there are finite amounts of… everything, if we're being honest: Food, Shelter, Products, and Resources.
CLEMENTI: That isn't really a thing in the Metaverse. Sure, you need to have servers to keep everything running, but partnerships with the French, German, and Italian governments helps keep the lights on and the Metaverse free.
QUINN: Could you tell us about that? How did that come to be?
CLEMENTI: Sure. The official reason is that this is funding for the arts. But if you ask me, a big reason why so many Socialist governments back this project is because it's the first society that can truly be free from capitalism and scarcity.
CLEMENTI: In the Metaverse, there really isn't a limit to resources or funds. It's a moneyless society because, well, there isn't really anything to spend money on when pretty much all content is free.
QUINN: Is that why several competitors to the VR Metaverse failed?
CLEMENTI: I think that's one of the reasons. When there is already something out there, the competitor needs to be better, and I don't really see how these alternatives accomplish that when VR Chat already exists.
QUINN: And the fact that it's free.
CLEMENTI: That too. VR headsets are much cheaper than they were two decades ago, but they aren't exactly cheap. And once you've bought your headset, your options are between VR Metaverse, where basically everything is free, and paid experiences like Cryptoland, where they seemingly try to nickel and dime you out of every last franc in your bank account.
(Concept art of Cryptoland)
QUINN: I can see the appeal.
(Scene cuts back to Quinn in the studio)
QUINN: Ironically, these capitalist alternatives to the VR Metaverse make an argument against capitalism. While Metaverse content is largely free and open-source, the alternatives' inclusion of capitalism (in the form of microtransactions) creates a reality of artificial scarcity where it previously didn't exist.
QUINN: Or as some have begun to call it: Capitalism for the sake of Capitalism.
QUINN: Which begs the question: If there is a time and place where capitalism is unnecessary, then why have it in the first place?
"How Skateboarding Became Sidesurfing," The Birdman Magazine, October 1939
("Photo of People Sidesurfing," by Jan Kopriva)
You all know what a sideboard is. Four wheels attached to a solid board is a simple design that's stood the test of time.
Literally.
No, seriously, the sideboard went back in time with the island of Taiwan, where it would first spread to China, then Asia, then the Americas.
Originally called the "skateboard" in the Lost History, it was first brought to the Americas in the mid-1910s. Its similarities to surfing saw its adoption by communities of surfers along the coasts.
Skateboarding, or the "Sidewalk Surfing," as it was called at first surfers, was originally an alternative for surfers when the waves were flat or the weather wasn't good. By the mid-1920s, the name would be shortened to "Sidesurfing," with the eponymous skateboard referred to as a "sideboard."
It was during this time that the sideboard, coupled with the re-discovery of the Punk genre of music, saw the two come together as symbols of the American counter-culture movement. If Punk music represented rebellion against the status quo, then the quick and maneuverable sideboard symbolized freedom from the status quo.
("Men Walking on Sidewalk," by RDNE)
It was this intermarriage between Punk music and sidesurfing that led to the rapid rise in popularity not just among young white Americans (and we're talking about all the Americas here, not just the USA here), but minority groups as well. Then again, if white and black and brown kids and young adults hanging out together was the new counter-culture, then it was no surprise that those same folks started sidesurfing together.
Unfortunately, sidesurfing's role in the counter-culture quickly earned it some enemies from the more-conservative elements of American culture. Even if it's been over a decade, a lot of the older sidesurfers still remember Charles Coughlin's passionate sermon condemning the sport as a hotbed for sin, vice, and degeneracy.
If anything, this did more to propel sidesurfing into the mainstream than anything else. What had once been an "underground" kind of movement was quickly gaining popularity and entering the mainstream.
Because when old, conservative people say something is bad or immoral, it automatically becomes 100% cooler. Sidesurfing is no exception.
It was at this point, circa 1930, that sidesurfing had its first big split.
Now, this wasn't some big schism or anything, but there tend to be two kinda of sidesurfers these days: Casuals and Nomads.
As the name implies, Casual sidesurfers tend to use the sideboard as a means of transportation, though you'll see them do a few tricks. Odds are they'll probably listen to Punk music, too, but fans of Punk aren't necessarily sidesurfers and vice-versa.
Nomad sidesurfers are the kind that'll go "all-in" with the subculture. Sure, they'll use their boards to get around, and they can do more than a few tricks, but they see sidesurfing as a way of life.
We're talking people who tend to be laid-back, with absolute freedom from the status quo on their minds. Folks that'll exercise their freedoms in their daily lives and go against the grain.
And no, I'm not talking about those guys who use "freedom" as an excuse to be a dick. Nomads practice a concept of "absolute freedom," and that includes freedom from things like oppression, just as much as freedom to do things, like live one's life.
There's a reason why you'll probably see at least one sidesurfer at every Civil Rights protest.
For Nomads, sidesurfing is an exercise of freedom, and freedom is a way of life. Whether it's freedom to love, freedom to marry, freedom from discrimination, or just the freedom to their lives, your average practicing Nomad sidesurfer is probably going to support it.
Conversely, if you're going around trying to enforce your own rules on people, they're probably going to call you an asshole at best.
No, seriously, freedom is sacred to these guys. If you go around trying to use freedom as an excuse to abuse others, there's a nonzero chance you'll get your ass kicked.
The Knights of the Golden Circle down in Orange County learned this the hard way when they tried to join up with the local Nomads.
("Picture of a Nomad Encampment," by Egor Komarov)
And as their name implies, the really hardcore Nomads tend not to stay in one place. For them, freedom also means not getting too tied down by anything, and that means never really setting up roots.
This can take the form of drifting from place to place, either solo, or with a community of fellow Nomad boarders. Nomads'll usually band together, but they're willing to take on new members if they earn the group's trust.
Though contrary to popular belief, most Nomads don't literally board everywhere they go. In my experience, they're not above using public transportation or using roads when they start migrating.
Now, just because Nomad sidesurfers tend to be more hardcore about the lifestyle doesn't mean they'll start hating on the Casuals for not doing things like living as a Nomad. Sure, they'd like it if everyone embraced their vision freedom, but it kinda goes against the whole concept itself if you force it.
Either way, sidesurfing is here to stay, and it's come a long way in the last two decades.
#general, Somewhat-Credible-Defense Discord Server, 30 November 1939
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:30 AM
You know, Ethiopia's Civil War kinda reminded me of the Chinese Revolution.
NanjingNan Today at 00:31 AM
I mean no disrespect, Freeb, but one question:
HOW.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:32 AM
Think about it like this, Nan: A society that's been taken advantage of by the European powers throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries sees a revolution in which the reformists win.
NanjingNan Today at 00:33 AM
...
No.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:34 AM
Aw, c'mon. You see it, right?
NanjingNan Today at 00:35 AM
If you paint with a broad enough brush, I guess?
But there's just as many things that are different between the Tongmenghui and Hailie Selassie's forces as there are things they have in common.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:36 AM
You mean besides how one's a republic and the other's a monarchy.
ViveLeInternationale Today at 00:36 AM
That's a fairly large difference. While the Tongmenghui overthrew the Qing monarchy, Hailie Selassie holds himself up as the rightful successor to Empress Zewditu.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:37 AM
Didn't the Tongmenghui also argue that the Qing were an illegitimate ruling class and that they were restoring the rightful rule?
IsekaiEnthusiast11 Today at 00:37 AM
I mean, basically everyone does that when they're fighting a civil war.
NanjingNan Today at 00:38 AM
He's not wrong.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:37 AM
Yeah!
Wait, how did we on the same side on this one?
NanjingNan Today at 00:38 AM
In the sense that almost everyone declares themselves the "Rightful Ruler."
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:38 AM
Ah.
I'm talking more about the ideals, influences, and technologies though.
Both Hailie Selassie and Sun Yat-Sen were willing to embrace modern ideals, much to their benefit over their more-backwards-thinking (Can I call them that?) opponents.
NanjingNan Today at 00:39 AM
Then yes, there are similarities. Of course, we have to remember that while the Ethiopian Conservative Faction rejected outside ideals and training due to the potential threats of outside influence, the Qing were denied those ideals and training because Taiwan outright rejected them.
Also yeah, you should be fine.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:40 AM
Cool. Thanks.
And yeah, I guess that's a factor. Actually, that probably makes the Ethiopian Conservatives look worse, now that I think about it.
At least the Qing got curbstomped because their modernists refused to help them. Meanwhile the Conservatives refused the modernists because they thought they were a threat.
ViveLeInternationale Today at 00:41 AM
I think I can see where they're coming from, Freeb.
In the post-war world, we've seen massive social progress and upheaval. In less than a decade, China, France, and friends trained entirely new bureaucracies from scratch to serve as a viable alternative to colonial rule or a return to traditional forms of government.
That last part is probably why the Conservatives Ethiopians were less-welcoming to foreign advisors and trainers than the Reformist like Hailie Selassie. When the people offering to help you are the biggest threat to your power, you'd want to keep them at arm's length.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:40 AM
Their loss.
ViveLeInternationale Today at 00:41 AM
Literally, in this case.
I don't think I've ever seen a curbstomp that bad since my time in the Great War.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:42 AM
Didn't know you served, Viv.
ViveLeInternationale Today at 00:43 AM
"Served" is being generous. I drove a truck.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:44 AM
Hey, that counts as serving. God knows how I'd survive if we didn't have logistics.
NanjingNan Today at 00:45 AM
It's simple: You don't.
FreeabooButNotRacist Today at 00:45 AM
Yeah... that's kinda why Hailie Selassie's Emperor now and pushing reforms.
Well that, fighter jets, more tanks than they knew what to do with, and a literal mountain of 5.56 rounds.
"S10E1: Mormonism and Coming to America," Men, Myth, Misinfo: Starring Harry Houdini and HP Lovecraft
(Title Card of Men, Myth, Misinfo, showing hosts HP Lovecraft and Harry Houdini)
HOUDINI: Alright, what do we have today?
LOVECRAFT: Mormonism.
HOUDINI: Ah. Exactly which part of it? The origins? The afterlife?
LOVECRAFT: It would be challenging to debunk the afterlife, now that you've driven most of the mediums out of business. No, today we will be discussing the Mormon claim that their prophet Lehi migrated to America in 600 BC.
HOUDINI: That... That is... certainly something.
LOVECRAFT: Indeed. According to the Mormons, Lehi and his family built a boat and sailed to the Americas under God's instructions, and they landed somewhere in Central America. In the Mormon theology, Lehi's son Laman rejected his father's teachings and persecuted his brothers Lehi and Samuel for their continued loyalty. Furthermore, the more-loyal Nephi would be chosen as Laman's successor.
HOUDINI: And as the eldest son, Laman would likely resent his brothers.
LOVECRAFT: Indeed. After Lehi's death and Nephi's rise, the colony in the Americas splits, with the righteous, at the time, followers of Nephi calling themselves "Nephites," and the followers of Laman and his brother Lemuel dubbed the "Lamanites." In response, God cursed the Lamanites for their rebellion by cutting them off from God's presence and, in their words, gave them a "Skin of Blackness," so as to not entice the Nephites.
HOUDINI: Which implies that the Lamanites are the ancestors of the Native Americans. And also implies some pretty terrible things about the Native Americans.
LOVECRAFT: Indeed. And the Lamanites would hate the Nephites, God's so-called chosen people, for centuries until the arrival of Jesus Christ to America.
HOUDINI: The what.
LOVECRAFT: Yes, it is as peculiar as it sounds. Jesus' time in America would coincide with the former Lamanites and Nephites reuniting into one people, until eighty-four years later when a second schism between Lamanites and Nephites occurred. This in turn would lead to another few centuries of internecine warfare between the two sides that had fallen into apostasy. The result of this conflict would be the outright annihilation of the Nephites by their once and former Lamanite kin while the latter would presumably go on to become the Native Americans of today.
HOUDINI: And that is it?
LOVECRAFT: Yes.
HOUDINI: Should this be found to be false, it would make for an interesting story. Now, how do you propose we analyze this?
LOVECRAFT: Seeing that the Mormons seem to believe that the Native Americans are the descendants of the Lamanites, we can analyze the genetics of Native Americans and compare them to Semitic peoples. Should the Book of Mormon be true, then the two peoples should be at least somewhat genetically similar.
HOUDINI: And the rest? Genetics is all well and good, but there should be some evidence of them in Central America... or any of the Americas.
LOVECRAFT: Indeed. Furthermore, we can compare what we do know about the stories' contemporaries to the stories themselves. Should the stories be true, then there should be few, if any inconsistencies with regard to the introduction of the horse, barley, wheat, the chariot, and true metallurgy.
HOUDINI: That is a tall order. And do you plan on us doing this all by ourselves, or do you have someone in mind to help us?
LOVECRAFT: That I do, Harry. This is John C. Ewers. Mr. Ewers is the Associate Curator of Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution.
(Portrait of John C. Ewers)
EWERS: Thank you for having me.
HOUDINI: The pleasure is all ours. Now, given your background in anthropology, what can you tell us about the Mormon historical claims?
EWERS: To put it bluntly... It's historically inaccurate in almost every sense. For starters, Native Americans have genetic markers in their DNA that indicate that their ancestors migrated to America. From Asia. Over the Bering Land Bridge.
HOUDINI: I see... And what about the introduction of the horses?
EWERS: The scientific consensus, which is based on almost every bit of credible archaeological and historical evidence we have, indicates that horses went extinct in the Americas thousands of years ago, only to be re-introduced thousands of years later in the 15th century by the Iberians.
LOVECRAFT: In short, the Book of Mormon's claims are not only debunked by genetic evidence, but the historical claims are also inconsistent with effectively everything else we currently know.
EWERS: Based on our current information, anyways. It is theoretically possible that the Mormons are actually correct, but there is not any credible evidence that supports their claims.
LOVECRAFT: At least not from archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians who don't already agree with them.
HOUDINI: That seems to be the case. So, would you say that this debunked?
LOVECRAFT: I would say so, yes.
HOUDINI: It seems that way. One more question, Dr. Ewers.
EWERS: Yes?
HOUDINI: You don't have any plans on going to Utah in the near-future, do you?
EWERS: No, I don't think so. Why?
HOUDINI: Because I don't think any of us are going to be welcome there, anytime soon.
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