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A Second Sunrise: Taiwan of 2020 Sent Back to 1911

What would be a good name for the rewrite?

  • Children of Heaven

    Votes: 3 30.0%

  • A Hundred Years' Difference

    Votes: 6 60.0%

  • Sun and Stars

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • The Second Sunrise

    Votes: 3 30.0%

  • (Just call it Second Sunrise but make sure nobody refers to it as "SS")

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .
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So, three things:

1. I'm not dead. Just busy with work.

2. I'm looking into taking some of the earlier chapters and reworking them for a book that I want to self-publish. Probably on Amazon, or something.

2a. One of the key differences will be adding Hainan to the Great Journey, because it's a perfect foil for Taiwan. Not only ideologically and systematically, but due to it being less-industrialized but have more strategic assets (subs and nukes).
 
Nice to see this story isn't dead. I hope you post on this site and it'll be interesting to see what adding Hainan does especially since two opposing governments trying to conquer China though I could see an accord forming. Bringing nukes is op but would start a nuke race among other nations many whom would probably be more lazie faire about using them which could bring it's own problems.
 
Phoenix2552 said:
Nice to see this story isn't dead. I hope you post on this site and it'll be interesting to see what adding Hainan does especially since two opposing governments trying to conquer China though I could see an accord forming. Bringing nukes is op but would start a nuke race among other nations many whom would probably be more lazie faire about using them which could bring it's own problems.
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Oh I meant that I am not dead. Turns out getting poisoned, nearly run over by an SUV, almost falling off a building, overdosing, and nearly suffocating are not fun, and I'll leave it at that.

As for Hainan and Taiwan getting sent to the past, well, I realized something funny.

It turns out that while neither of them would have people immediately starve to death, Taiwan risks running out of fuel and then starving to death, while Hainan risks dying of preventable diseases due to the lack of a large enough medical sector and also running out of fuel and starving to death.

As for nukes… well, it's basically Hainan's big negotiating chip (along with the equipment to build oil rigs), while Taiwan has "We can actually produce all the stuff that you guys need but can't produce because most of your economy is based around tourism and agriculture."

Sun Yat-Sen is going to have a field day getting them to stop fighting.

Nukes are basically their "Ace in the Hole" that they'd only pull out if they absolutely needed to.
 
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So, I'm already about 10000 words into the rework light novel (out of a target of 30000 to 50000), and I've really noticed some things the second time around:

1. Actually planning out characters. Aside from Mike Chen, Marty Li, Rachel Fong, and Aki Higa, a lot of the characters just kinda show up when I need them, and I figured that wouldn't do.

2. Adding in the PRC allows for a new POV character and makes Rachel a little more believable than infiltrating a rival intelligence agency.

Also, it's really fun to write Mike just getting annoyed at how he keeps getting dragged into historical events, but he's mainly used for war sequences.

So I figured this is an opportunity to write a character who is more diplomatic-oriented while also having to deal with just as much of the absurdity of this world.

As in, "De-escalating a Mexican Standoff with Assault Rifles so you don't have an international incident" kind of stuff.

3. Also, conflict. Sure, Taiwan has its limitations, but throwing Hainan into the mix puts a check on them for a bit while also giving Sun Yat-Sen something to do before the whole Revolution arc.

4. Just fleshing out things in general. I plan on having the story go to the Battle of the East China Sea (where the IJN gets annihilated) in an hour, along with its aftermath, but the buildup to that is really where I'm having fun.

5. By having Imperial Japan as an antagonist, I can expand the conflict to the rest of the Ryukyus and have the climax be in Okinawa instead of a curb-stomp of the Japanese fleet. Even if the result is the same.

6. I get to rework some of the stuff that is honestly kinda cringey, like that idiotic Irish reactionary character who is definitely not based on someone I kept banning when I used to mod Discord nation RP servers.

I reworked his arc to a plot where a smaller Taiwanese triad tries to expand to the mainland by selling a list of members of the Tongmenghui to the highest bidder.

7. I get to add more depth to characters and how they interact. I'm talking things like Marty Li discussing history with Sun, Mike Chen dealing with being thrust into command due to his bosses not coming with him, or Rachel putting up with one of her fellow spies' Wolf Warrior behavior.

But the most fun was writing Aki and how she dealt with the Japanese repression of her Ryukyuan heritage. It involves her pointing out that nobody would willingly move to an island to teach children, so you're stuck with the lady who abuses loopholes.

8. More shenanigans. No, seriously. While I don't really see this story as a comedy, I think there's a lot of humor coming from the sheer absurdity of what's going on and how people react/snark/internally scream.
 
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A Letter from Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna
  • Sidestory
    • "Letter to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna," by Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, 5 February 1911

    Your Imperial Majesty,

    I write this letter on the 5th of February. While I away from court, I thank you for your continued friendship and correspondence.

    The events of the last month are nothing short of Divine Intervention from God Himself. It is my firm belief that this is a warning, if not a test from Him to demonstrate our faith.

    The island of Taiwan is nothing less than a modern Sodom and Gomorrah. They are Godless dens of degeneracy in every sense of the word, where men lay with men, women lay with women, and men and women openly fornicate outside the sacred mystery of Marriage.

    They are, without a doubt, God's warning of a future that cannot and must not come to pass.

    And while they may offer inventions and medicines like the treatment for the Tsarevich that you have told me of, it is my duty as a man of God to tell you that these are no different than the temptations that the Devil offered Christ during His forty days in the desert.

    It is for these reasons, as well as the proven power of prayer on your son's health, that I recommend you reject these islands and all the temptations in favor of continued prayer and faith in God.

    As followers of God, we are tasked with spreading His word. I ask you, as His fellow servant, to encourage all at court to follow your example.

    Know that despite our distance, I am willing and ready to once again serve both you and the Tsar at a moment's notice.

    Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
     
  • Sidestory
    • ChrisProvidence said:
    "Letter to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna," by Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, 5 February 1911

    Your Imperial Majesty,

    I write this letter on the 5th of February. While I away from court, I thank you for your continued friendship and correspondence.

    The events of the last month are nothing short of Divine Intervention from God Himself. It is my firm belief that this is a warning, if not a test from Him to demonstrate our faith.

    The island of Taiwan is nothing less than a modern Sodom and Gomorrah. They are Godless dens of degeneracy in every sense of the word, where men lay with men, women lay with women, and men and women openly fornicate outside the sacred mystery of Marriage.

    They are, without a doubt, God's warning of a future that cannot and must not come to pass.

    And while they may offer inventions and medicines like the treatment for the Tsarevich that you have told me of, it is my duty as a man of God to tell you that these are no different than the temptations that the Devil offered Christ during His forty days in the desert.

    It is for these reasons, as well as the proven power of prayer on your son's health, that I recommend you reject these islands and all the temptations in favor of continued prayer and faith in God.

    As followers of God, we are tasked with spreading His word. I ask you, as His fellow servant, to encourage all at court to follow your example.

    Know that despite our distance, I am willing and ready to once again serve both you and the Tsar at a moment's notice.

    Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
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    So this is an excerpt from the rewrite I'm planning on self-publishing. I'm about... let's say a third of the way through. Just got to the part where the Imperial Japanese Navy gets annihilated in the mother of all curbstomps.

    In hindsight, one missed opportunity was having Rasputin play more of a part in the early Russia sections. Someone as fascinating as him would probably have some... interesting opinions about the future. That, and I think it'd be better to have him influence Russian foreign policy against the uptimers instead of having Nicholas II be more ambitious.

    That, and writing religious assholes is very fun.

    They say "write what you know," and I know a lot of them.
     
    Actually Rasputin was very progressive(ish) and actually save tzar son because it turns out having drugs and literally blood draining him is not ok which is why he got the royal family trust
     
    Whenyouseeyou said:
    Actually Rasputin was very progressive(ish) and actually save tzar son because it turns out having drugs and literally blood draining him is not ok which is why he got the royal family trust
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    Honestly, I can't help thinking of a certain song when Rasputin is mentioned:
    Boney M said:
    There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
    He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow
    Most people look at him with terror and with fear
    But to Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear
    He could preach the Bible like a preacher
    Full of ecstasy and fire
    But he also was the kind of teacher
    Women would desire
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    Whenyouseeyou said:
    Actually Rasputin was very progressive(ish) and actually save tzar son because it turns out having drugs and literally blood draining him is not ok which is why he got the royal family trust
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    Fair enough. Thanks.

    Probably going to rework it to somebody who is more... flawed, to say the least. Less fanatical, more selfish and, well, flawed. I'm mostly spitballing right now, but I think I could rework any opposition to the newcomers from the future as more secular in nature.

    Which leads to the interesting dynamic where we have a well-meaning but indecisive Tsar, a well-meaning but Machiavellian Pyotr Stolypin, and a well-meaning but selfish and flawed Rasputin.

    Probably makes for a better dynamic, honestly.
     
    Phoenix2552 said:
    Will you continue to post snippets on this site with the full story to be released to Amazon or some other publishing of online books souce?
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    Sure. I owe you guys that much.

    This is where the story got started, I like talking about it, and I like you guys.

    That, and the fact that I can't afford an agent who would tell me, "No, Chris, don't do that."
     
    Things I've learned during the rewrite:

    1. It turns out I wrote too much for one novel, so I'll probably end up writing two.

    2. Probably going to have the first one focus on the immediate aftermath of the Great Journey to the revolutionary capture of Beijing, while the second would focus on fighting the Japanese, Russians, and the Qing remnants.

    3. In hindsight, Prime Minister Katsura Taro should have gotten fired after the IJN got annihilated in the earlier chapters. I ended up having him replaced by Hirota Koki who is a better antagonist by virtue of him being a literal war criminal.

    4. Agent Rachel Fong trying to stop the atrocities against Manchu women during the revolution is something I want to emphasize more.

    5. Having Prime Minister Stolypin and Rasputin encourage the Tsar to oppose China (for two different reasons) is a better motive for Russia intervening in the Revolution.

    6. Japan would probably be very revanchist after getting their asses kicked the first time.

    7. I should probably go into detail about how a combination of coordinated uprisings and superior firepower means that the Qing would get curbstomped up to Beijing.

    8. Give Shannon more… whatever the book equivalent of screentime is.

    9. Having a both Taiwan and Hainan get sent back into the past allows for a sort of common enemy scenario once Japan starts trying to mess with either.

    10. The story flows a lot better when the focus is limited to Russia, Japan, and China.

    11. Spell check is nice.

    12. Having one of the PRC's aircraft carriers come back in time is awesome.

    13. The Hu brothers who show up in the earlier chapters have a good dynamic, but the Singaporean special forces soldier Kenny Ma can do their fieldwork stuff while Marty Li and Mike Chen can have the "brother" dynamic.

    14. Crap, I forgot to have Marty and Mike act more like brothers in the original story.

    15. Homer Lea would have needed spinal surgery, so he got that fixed. He works better as a staff officer when we have a lot of POV characters who are soldiers or agents.

    16. Aki Higa's story works a lot better when she's less of a satellite character to Michael Chen. She's a great perspective into life under Japan at the time.

    18. Oh, right, I'm ~70% done writing the first draft.

    19+. I'll add more stuff later when I remember, because right now, I forgot to sleep.
     
    Phoenix2552 said:
    Have you decided which site you're going to post these new works to?
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    Probably going to be an ebook, honestly.

    I'll post sections here now and then. Usually as I write them. Mostly if I think they're cool.

    Also, it turns out that I may have subconsciously written the story an isekai when I wrote both versions.

    Then again, ISOT is isekai for history nerds.
     
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    Transcript of the 1911 Sazonov-Goto Pact
  • Informational
    • The Government of the Russian Empire and the Government of the Empire of Japan

    Desirous of maintaining stability in the Far East, strengthening the peace between Russia and Japan, and proceeding from previous agreements both formal and informal, have reached the following Agreement:

    Article I

    Both Parties are obligated to desist themselves from any act of violence, any act of aggression, and any attack on each other, either individually, or with other Powers.

    Article II

    Should one of the Parties be engaged in belligerent action by a third Power, the other High Contracting Party will declare neutrality.

    Article III

    The Governments of both Parties shall continue to maintain diplomatic relations in order to exchange information for the purpose of coordination with one another.

    Article IV

    In the event of a conflict between both Parties, neither Party shall participate in any grouping of Powers that directly or indirectly targets the other Party.

    Article V

    Should disputes or conflicts arise between both Parties, they will settle these disputes or conflicts exclusively through friendly diplomatic negotiations, or, if need be, neutral arbitration commissions.

    Article VI

    Both Parties shall acknowledge the legitimacy of the rump Qing government in Manchuria and recognize its territorial integrity as it pertains to Manchuria.

    Article VII

    Both Parties shall acknowledge the rump Qing government as within a mutual sphere of influence in which both Parties exert equal influence. Both parties agree to have permanent representatives at the Qing court that are of equal standing and authority.

    Article VIII

    Both Parties shall acknowledge the other Party's right to recognize the Republic of China and open diplomatic and trade relations, so long as these relations do not interfere with the above Articles.

    Article IX

    Both Parties shall be obligated to intervene on behalf of the rump Qing state if it is engaged in belligerent action by the Republic of China.

    Article X

    Both Parties shall be obligated to intervene on behalf of the other Party if it is engaged in belligerent action by the Republic of China.

    Article XI

    The present Treaty shall enter into force as soon as it is signed and shall be concluded for a period of ten years after it is signed. Both Parties shall ratify the Treaty in the shortest possible time.
     
  • Informational
    • ChrisProvidence said:
    The Government of the Russian Empire and the Government of the Empire of Japan

    Desirous of maintaining stability in the Far East, strengthening the peace between Russia and Japan, and proceeding from previous agreements both formal and informal, have reached the following Agreement:

    Something, Something, "Spheres of Influence."

    Something, Something, "Qing Puppet State."

    Something, Something, "Everyone and their mother knows that we signed this to screw over the protagonists, but we need it to be official."

    Something, something. "This definitely won't bite us in the ass, right?"
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    Here's a section from the rewrite that is still "canon" in this version of "Second Sunrise"

    Basically, Japan and Russia go splitsies on Manchuria while Russia takes Mongolia and Xinjiang. That doesn't really change in the rewrite.

    Also, if anyone asks, the title has always been "Second Sunrise" and I totally didn't remove the "A" because its initials spelled "ASS."
     
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    Random832 said:
    I mean if problematic initials are a problem you might want to workshop it some more.

    [anyway, if there's two islands coming back in the rewrite, maybe the new title could work in a reference to that somehow]
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    Oh.

    Oh no.

    Well, that's as good an excuse as any for a new title for the book… and also a good explanation as to why Pokémon Sword and Shield go by "Pokémon SwSh" and not "Pokémon SS."

    I'll come up with something. Eventually.
     
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    So, working titles I have right now:
    • Children of Heaven
    • A Hundred Years' Difference
    • Sun and Stars
    • The Second Sunrise
    I'll put it in a poll in a bit.
     
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