- Pronouns
- He
Woah. You got a big game dev studio or sumthin'?
Lest the World Perish: A Timeline of the Near-Apocalypse
- Thread starter gutza1
- Start date
- Timeline Modern Future
Woah. You got a big game dev studio or sumthin'?
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
Not yet, so far it's a one-man project. I'll keep you updated.
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
It's more of the US just throwing in the towel, spurred on by GCC lobbying and the spectre of communism.
- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
But that's my point. When the US throws in the towel, they don't recognize their enemies. They just stop talking about it.
The US is still embargoing Cuba.
I don't think they'd be that much more worried about Lebanese Communists than they are about Russia and Iran friendly Assad either. It's very much about geopolitical control, not just ideology.
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
Hmm. You have a point. Honestly, I only did this because I don't really know what's going to happen with Syria and how reconstruction will begin. I'll probably change it later once I get a better idea.
- Pronouns
- He
Yo @gutza1 , the Battlefield 2042 trailer just dropped and I thought you'd use its backstory as inspiration for your timeline 
battlefield.fandom.com
Timelines
Installments in the Battlefield Series feature numerous timelines. The main timeline is based on real historical, fictional, and future events spanning the 20th, 21st, and 22nd centuries. The timeline features events of the First World War from Battlefield 1, the Second World War from...
battlefield.fandom.com
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
Yo @gutza1 , the Battlefield 2042 trailer just dropped and I thought you'd use its backstory as inspiration for your timeline
Timelines
Installments in the Battlefield Series feature numerous timelines. The main timeline is based on real historical, fictional, and future events spanning the 20th, 21st, and 22nd centuries. The timeline features events of the First World War from Battlefield 1, the Second World War from...
Yeah, the Battlefield 2042 timeline has... interesting thematic parallels to LtWP, though the story I'm telling is quite different. Don't know why some people are insisting that it's not "political."
- Pronouns
- He
Because the Capital G Gamer brigade has been for years scaring corporate into being this dishonest, apparently.
Last edited:
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
That'll do it.
In other news, I'll be rewriting part of 13.2 and finishing Chapter 13 today.
- Pronouns
- He
What's gonna change?
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
The Assad/Syria stuff. I just figured out what I'm doing with it.
Chapter 13.3
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
Excerpt from "A History of the Middle East in the 21st Century"
"Following the surrender of the Idlib opposition, the guns across Syria fell silent. Assad's government, already stretched to near its breaking point, was in no state to reclaim the rest of northern Syria from the Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF, angered by the United State's betrayal and fearful of a belligerent Turkey, agreed to an official ceasefire with the Syrian government. Thus, the Syrian Civil War joined the ranks of Earth's frozen conflicts. For the foreseeable future, the country would be divided into three portions: the Turkish occupation zones in the north that hosted the remains of the Syrian Free Army, the large territory in the northeast controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (hereafter referred to as "North Syria" in common parlance), and the majority that was controlled by the Syrian government (hereafter referred to as "South Syria"). This state of affairs, which held an eerie resemblance to the national divisions of the Cold War, would persist for more than a decade before strife returned to Syria.
Following the surrender of the Syrian Salvation Government, host nations in the Middle East and Europe began the process of repatriating millions of Syrian refugees who had found themselves without a homeland for years. This immediately became the focal point of a small political crisis: a significant portion of the refugees, including skilled professionals such as doctors, lawyers, or engineers, refused to return to Assad's autocratic rule, instead electing to settle in North Syria, the last bastion of Syrian democracy. North Syria's population swelled immensely, as the newcomers brought not just expertise but capital with them. South Syria feared that it would be unable to replenish its lost human capital, and tensions between the two governments flared. However, North Syria was faced with problems of its own, as its weak central authority and political divisions were unable to deal with the tensions plaguing its population. The YPG who had spearheaded the SDF found themselves increasingly marginalized in North Syrian politics, yielding way to various sectarian interests that brought with them corruption and communalist violence. North Syria thus was undermined by instability, scaring away some potential investors. In contrast, South Syria remained sanctioned by the United States but was more successful in stabilizing itself, creating a somewhat friendlier business environment.
The reconstruction of Syria was a tremendous undertaking. The Civil War had turned cities, towns, and infrastructure to rubble, precipitating a humanitarian crisis among the Syrian population. Billions of dollars flowed from the Arab world into Assad's coffers, while Western nations gave similar assistance to North Syria. However, the majority of the Syrian reconstruction efforts were bankrolled by China, which cooperated with both rival governments. It is estimated that China invested more than one hundred and thirty billion dollars into Syria. This was a personal initiative of General-Secretary Lin, who saw in Syria both a market for China's industrial sector and an opportunity to repair China's battered reputation abroad. The General-Secretary presented the reconstruction of Syria as a great humanitarian achievement, touting China's actions to contrast with the West's "ideological myopia." It was to be the first flagship project of the Lin administration's internationalist foreign policy. The General-Secretary also saw in it an opportunity to, at long last, link Iraq and Iran to the Mediterranean via rail, turning Syria into yet another notch on China's new Silk Road."
"Following the surrender of the Idlib opposition, the guns across Syria fell silent. Assad's government, already stretched to near its breaking point, was in no state to reclaim the rest of northern Syria from the Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF, angered by the United State's betrayal and fearful of a belligerent Turkey, agreed to an official ceasefire with the Syrian government. Thus, the Syrian Civil War joined the ranks of Earth's frozen conflicts. For the foreseeable future, the country would be divided into three portions: the Turkish occupation zones in the north that hosted the remains of the Syrian Free Army, the large territory in the northeast controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (hereafter referred to as "North Syria" in common parlance), and the majority that was controlled by the Syrian government (hereafter referred to as "South Syria"). This state of affairs, which held an eerie resemblance to the national divisions of the Cold War, would persist for more than a decade before strife returned to Syria.
Following the surrender of the Syrian Salvation Government, host nations in the Middle East and Europe began the process of repatriating millions of Syrian refugees who had found themselves without a homeland for years. This immediately became the focal point of a small political crisis: a significant portion of the refugees, including skilled professionals such as doctors, lawyers, or engineers, refused to return to Assad's autocratic rule, instead electing to settle in North Syria, the last bastion of Syrian democracy. North Syria's population swelled immensely, as the newcomers brought not just expertise but capital with them. South Syria feared that it would be unable to replenish its lost human capital, and tensions between the two governments flared. However, North Syria was faced with problems of its own, as its weak central authority and political divisions were unable to deal with the tensions plaguing its population. The YPG who had spearheaded the SDF found themselves increasingly marginalized in North Syrian politics, yielding way to various sectarian interests that brought with them corruption and communalist violence. North Syria thus was undermined by instability, scaring away some potential investors. In contrast, South Syria remained sanctioned by the United States but was more successful in stabilizing itself, creating a somewhat friendlier business environment.
The reconstruction of Syria was a tremendous undertaking. The Civil War had turned cities, towns, and infrastructure to rubble, precipitating a humanitarian crisis among the Syrian population. Billions of dollars flowed from the Arab world into Assad's coffers, while Western nations gave similar assistance to North Syria. However, the majority of the Syrian reconstruction efforts were bankrolled by China, which cooperated with both rival governments. It is estimated that China invested more than one hundred and thirty billion dollars into Syria. This was a personal initiative of General-Secretary Lin, who saw in Syria both a market for China's industrial sector and an opportunity to repair China's battered reputation abroad. The General-Secretary presented the reconstruction of Syria as a great humanitarian achievement, touting China's actions to contrast with the West's "ideological myopia." It was to be the first flagship project of the Lin administration's internationalist foreign policy. The General-Secretary also saw in it an opportunity to, at long last, link Iraq and Iran to the Mediterranean via rail, turning Syria into yet another notch on China's new Silk Road."
- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
I'm not sure Syrian refugees would want to head to North Syria due to perception of it being an ethnic Kurdish project. Whether that's accurate or not wouldn't change that worry. Also not sure the locals would react well to them trying to hijack their project.
Are the refugees being forcefully kicked out of host nations?
Are the refugees being forcefully kicked out of host nations?
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
Yes to your question. At this point, many refugees would see the Kurds as the lesser evil.
Since it's called near apocalypse, is there some kind of near nuclear confrontation between the various power blocs or between India and Pakistan? What about the US, does it go through more instability?
- Location
- The great frozen north
Cool to see North Syria get so many of the returning refugees. I hope the revolutionary ideologies of the Kurds are not entirely marginalized though.
China definitely made a clever play- it hardly matters to them who comes out in the end, so they do business with both sides to make themselves look more humanitarian and less ideologically motivated. Seems it's set to be just a facade though...
China definitely made a clever play- it hardly matters to them who comes out in the end, so they do business with both sides to make themselves look more humanitarian and less ideologically motivated. Seems it's set to be just a facade though...
Chapter 13.4
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
April 30, 2022
National Rally Headquarters, Hauts-de-Seine
It had been a long, arduous night for the staff of the National Rally party. Just a few hours ago, they had turned their television screens on as the results of the second round of France's presidential election poured in. Yet again, they would be greeted with failure. Yet again, the Presidency would slip away from their grasp, and into the arms of a know-it-all investment banker. It was past midnight when the supervisor finally let the staff off for the weekend.
One of the staffers present, Jean-Claude, had long had a suspicion the election would have turned out like this. Seven years ago, their party had staked its fortunes on the refugee crisis. At the time, it felt that "populists" such as them were the only public figures willing to confront the problem head-on. But as the Syrian Civil War dragged on, many mainstream politicians tactically came around to their point of view, an act that had taken the wind out of their sails. The cessation of hostilities last March, and the government's subsequent announcement of repatriation plans, had been the final nail in the coffin.
Jean-Claude made his way home only to collapse on his bed. The next few days would be spent in a half-aware stupor, as he scrolled past countless Twitter threads and absorbed countless articles. It all seemed a blur at first, but then one thread caught his attention. He saw a few leftists - the most annoying kind - breathlessly speculating on the existence of a "problematic red-brown alliance." He pulled at the thread, sending him on a long journey through the vast, anarchic expanse of the social media landscape. But eventually, he began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He began to formulate a plan that could allow the party to get the upper hand on their bitter enemies. The next monday, he arrived at the headquarters and demanded to speak to his supervisor. The request was granted, and once he had the supervisor's attention, he presented the idea. At the end, the supervisor was left with more questions than he had answers.
"Jean-Claude...," he began. "Could you explain what the hell 'Islamo-Strasserism' is supposed to be?"
"It's rhetoric. How regain our voice... and pull the rug from out beneath the left's feet. You see, people like us have been talking about the danger that radical Islam and those who carry it poses to Western civilization. We have long decried the radical left's defense of such voices. But, with the recent unpleasantness in Lebanon, many fear that extreme-left thought is beginning to spread among the Muslim world itself. What I propose is that, in our rhetoric, we combine the two threats into one. How often has the left accused dissidents within their ranks of partnering with their enemy to create a totalitarian super-ideology? This way, we'll give the left a taste of its own medicine."
The superior shrugged. It was worth a shot.
National Rally Headquarters, Hauts-de-Seine
It had been a long, arduous night for the staff of the National Rally party. Just a few hours ago, they had turned their television screens on as the results of the second round of France's presidential election poured in. Yet again, they would be greeted with failure. Yet again, the Presidency would slip away from their grasp, and into the arms of a know-it-all investment banker. It was past midnight when the supervisor finally let the staff off for the weekend.
One of the staffers present, Jean-Claude, had long had a suspicion the election would have turned out like this. Seven years ago, their party had staked its fortunes on the refugee crisis. At the time, it felt that "populists" such as them were the only public figures willing to confront the problem head-on. But as the Syrian Civil War dragged on, many mainstream politicians tactically came around to their point of view, an act that had taken the wind out of their sails. The cessation of hostilities last March, and the government's subsequent announcement of repatriation plans, had been the final nail in the coffin.
Jean-Claude made his way home only to collapse on his bed. The next few days would be spent in a half-aware stupor, as he scrolled past countless Twitter threads and absorbed countless articles. It all seemed a blur at first, but then one thread caught his attention. He saw a few leftists - the most annoying kind - breathlessly speculating on the existence of a "problematic red-brown alliance." He pulled at the thread, sending him on a long journey through the vast, anarchic expanse of the social media landscape. But eventually, he began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He began to formulate a plan that could allow the party to get the upper hand on their bitter enemies. The next monday, he arrived at the headquarters and demanded to speak to his supervisor. The request was granted, and once he had the supervisor's attention, he presented the idea. At the end, the supervisor was left with more questions than he had answers.
"Jean-Claude...," he began. "Could you explain what the hell 'Islamo-Strasserism' is supposed to be?"
"It's rhetoric. How regain our voice... and pull the rug from out beneath the left's feet. You see, people like us have been talking about the danger that radical Islam and those who carry it poses to Western civilization. We have long decried the radical left's defense of such voices. But, with the recent unpleasantness in Lebanon, many fear that extreme-left thought is beginning to spread among the Muslim world itself. What I propose is that, in our rhetoric, we combine the two threats into one. How often has the left accused dissidents within their ranks of partnering with their enemy to create a totalitarian super-ideology? This way, we'll give the left a taste of its own medicine."
The superior shrugged. It was worth a shot.
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
Not going to spoil it.
- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
You're too late to the party, our government is already doing it.
The term is Islamo-gauchism though (gauchism means leftism). Our esteemed government has been rambling about the threat of it in universities, connecting it to their fear of a made up separatism and of imported identity politics.
Chapter 13.5
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
January 14, 2023
Excerpt from speech given by Professor Emil Ilyich Shabayev to the "People's Forum of America" at the Chicago Convention Center
"...now, in the course of my involvement in political activism, I have increasingly encountered a certain kind of rhetoric among both avowed leftists and, most recently, their mortal enemies. It is to accuse individuals of adhering to a totalitarian, ultra-violent synthesis of radical left and reactionary right thought that grants them common cause with third-world ultranationalists and the Western "New Right" alike. I am speaking of the accusations relating to what some term "National Bolshevism," and others "Strasserism." This will take some explanation.
Many have made an association between the most militant ideologies of the left and right to describe the debatable parallels between the fascist regimes of the early 20th century and the protegees of the Soviet Union. In particular, the fact that Mussolini began his political career as an avowed socialist who supported the Bolshevik Revolution, and that some of the first members of the Nazi Party had socialist sympathies themselves, is often highlighted. After all, Mussolini took inspiration from Georges Sorel, a self-described "national syndicalism" who had seemingly merged labor radicalism and militant nationalism into a single ideology as proof that a "red-brown" convergence exists.
It is indeed true that a faction of the Nazi party claimed to take the label "national socialist" to heart. Ernst Röhm and the Strasser brothers did hold themselves up as committed anti-capitalists and advocates of a "national workers' revolution." It is true that it was this faction that earned the enmity of the staunchly conservative Hitler, and were promptly purged upon the Führer's rise to power. It is true that a few obscure branches of Nazism claim to be "Strasserites." However, when we examine the actual beliefs of the Strasser brothers, we find that the situation is far more complicated. The truth is, the Strassers were never true socialists. Their political writings make it clear that their ideal social system is, in fact, a form of ultranationalist Catholic distributivism, where skilled craftsmen associate into medieval guilds that jointly own private property, with the upper class of this society being an "aristocracy of merit." In short, neo-feudalism. Regardless of whether or not the Strassers were socialists, the vast majority of the Nazis were not. "Strasserism," then, is an incoherent mixture of vapid political rhetoric and Catholic social teaching - no offense to any Catholics in the audience. I doubt such an ideology has any appeal in the modern world beyond the deepest, darkest corners of the internet.
There is another movement to discuss - "National Bolshevism." The original "National Bolsheviks" were a group of Russian intellectuals who arose following the Revolution claiming to espouse a combination of Russian nationalism and Marxist class struggle. However, most of these were former White Russians and thus likely were conventional right-wing nationalists who claimed to support Bolshevism to avoid persecution by the Soviet authorities. Regardless, this movement was quite obscure and soon died a slow death, fading into the footnotes of history. Until a certain group brought the movement back into the limelight. The decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union was a strange period - the immense blow Russia sustained to its national pride, combined with the rapid privatization of the economy and ascendency of hegemonic capitalism made strangebedfellows of nationalists and socialists. One of the parties to have emerged in the new Russia was the small but vocal "National Bolshevik Party" that claimed to lead a syncretic political movement of reds and browns against the liberal capitalist status quo. However, the truth about these new National Bolsheviks is far more banal: it was not a fearsome new force in Russian politics, but a punk rock-associated subculture. Its founder, Eduard Limonov, was a provocative writer whose main goal in life was to shock his audience. He was a performance artist first and foremost. The National Bolshevik Party flag - the Nazi flag with the swastika replaced with a hammer and sickle - was specifically designed to be as offensive as possible, in the spirit of adolescent rebelliousness. Thus, the National Bolshevik Party never came anywhere close to acquiring any real power, and soon splintered.
This would have been the end of these movements had certain members of the left - mostly from the United States - not discovered them. Following the rise of insurgent anti-establishment leftist candidates in the Western world, some individuals began to accuse their vocal supporters of being "Strasserites" or "National Bolshevik." In this usage, the two terms were often associated with another curious label - "class reductionist" or "brocialist." According to the accusers, those leftists who prioritized class struggle or universalist economic reforms over culture war were, in fact, totalitarian and bigoted red-brown syncretists. It appears they remain ignorant of the fact that identity politics is more often than not right-wing rather than left-wing, that the rabid nationalism of the Nazis was the culmination of right-wing German identity politics. They also ignore the fact that, by their own standards, the vast majority of historical leftists, from Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson to Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx himself would be considered "Strasserites." In the end, this rhetoric is doing nothing but poisoning the well of discourse around left-wing politics.
Of course, in recent times the right has exploited this as well. I have begun to see many allegations thrown at both Muslims and leftists that they sympathize with "red-brown" thought. That they lust for the complete destruction of Western norms and values. That they are all foaming-at-the-mouth anti-Semites, sexists, or homophobes who would put women back in the kitchen and begin a second Holocaust, while simultaneously recreating the violence of the Russian Revolution and throwing intellectuals into gulags.
The lesson one must take from this is of the importance of solidarity and understanding. The core of the left's struggle is to unite those of all races and backgrounds and mobilize the dispossessed. If one is so consumed by suspicions that all those who espose universalism are hidden fascists, they cannot be called an ally of the left. In an age where the future of humanity hangs by a thread, we cannot afford to betray each other."
Excerpt from speech given by Professor Emil Ilyich Shabayev to the "People's Forum of America" at the Chicago Convention Center
"...now, in the course of my involvement in political activism, I have increasingly encountered a certain kind of rhetoric among both avowed leftists and, most recently, their mortal enemies. It is to accuse individuals of adhering to a totalitarian, ultra-violent synthesis of radical left and reactionary right thought that grants them common cause with third-world ultranationalists and the Western "New Right" alike. I am speaking of the accusations relating to what some term "National Bolshevism," and others "Strasserism." This will take some explanation.
Many have made an association between the most militant ideologies of the left and right to describe the debatable parallels between the fascist regimes of the early 20th century and the protegees of the Soviet Union. In particular, the fact that Mussolini began his political career as an avowed socialist who supported the Bolshevik Revolution, and that some of the first members of the Nazi Party had socialist sympathies themselves, is often highlighted. After all, Mussolini took inspiration from Georges Sorel, a self-described "national syndicalism" who had seemingly merged labor radicalism and militant nationalism into a single ideology as proof that a "red-brown" convergence exists.
It is indeed true that a faction of the Nazi party claimed to take the label "national socialist" to heart. Ernst Röhm and the Strasser brothers did hold themselves up as committed anti-capitalists and advocates of a "national workers' revolution." It is true that it was this faction that earned the enmity of the staunchly conservative Hitler, and were promptly purged upon the Führer's rise to power. It is true that a few obscure branches of Nazism claim to be "Strasserites." However, when we examine the actual beliefs of the Strasser brothers, we find that the situation is far more complicated. The truth is, the Strassers were never true socialists. Their political writings make it clear that their ideal social system is, in fact, a form of ultranationalist Catholic distributivism, where skilled craftsmen associate into medieval guilds that jointly own private property, with the upper class of this society being an "aristocracy of merit." In short, neo-feudalism. Regardless of whether or not the Strassers were socialists, the vast majority of the Nazis were not. "Strasserism," then, is an incoherent mixture of vapid political rhetoric and Catholic social teaching - no offense to any Catholics in the audience. I doubt such an ideology has any appeal in the modern world beyond the deepest, darkest corners of the internet.
There is another movement to discuss - "National Bolshevism." The original "National Bolsheviks" were a group of Russian intellectuals who arose following the Revolution claiming to espouse a combination of Russian nationalism and Marxist class struggle. However, most of these were former White Russians and thus likely were conventional right-wing nationalists who claimed to support Bolshevism to avoid persecution by the Soviet authorities. Regardless, this movement was quite obscure and soon died a slow death, fading into the footnotes of history. Until a certain group brought the movement back into the limelight. The decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union was a strange period - the immense blow Russia sustained to its national pride, combined with the rapid privatization of the economy and ascendency of hegemonic capitalism made strangebedfellows of nationalists and socialists. One of the parties to have emerged in the new Russia was the small but vocal "National Bolshevik Party" that claimed to lead a syncretic political movement of reds and browns against the liberal capitalist status quo. However, the truth about these new National Bolsheviks is far more banal: it was not a fearsome new force in Russian politics, but a punk rock-associated subculture. Its founder, Eduard Limonov, was a provocative writer whose main goal in life was to shock his audience. He was a performance artist first and foremost. The National Bolshevik Party flag - the Nazi flag with the swastika replaced with a hammer and sickle - was specifically designed to be as offensive as possible, in the spirit of adolescent rebelliousness. Thus, the National Bolshevik Party never came anywhere close to acquiring any real power, and soon splintered.
This would have been the end of these movements had certain members of the left - mostly from the United States - not discovered them. Following the rise of insurgent anti-establishment leftist candidates in the Western world, some individuals began to accuse their vocal supporters of being "Strasserites" or "National Bolshevik." In this usage, the two terms were often associated with another curious label - "class reductionist" or "brocialist." According to the accusers, those leftists who prioritized class struggle or universalist economic reforms over culture war were, in fact, totalitarian and bigoted red-brown syncretists. It appears they remain ignorant of the fact that identity politics is more often than not right-wing rather than left-wing, that the rabid nationalism of the Nazis was the culmination of right-wing German identity politics. They also ignore the fact that, by their own standards, the vast majority of historical leftists, from Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson to Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx himself would be considered "Strasserites." In the end, this rhetoric is doing nothing but poisoning the well of discourse around left-wing politics.
Of course, in recent times the right has exploited this as well. I have begun to see many allegations thrown at both Muslims and leftists that they sympathize with "red-brown" thought. That they lust for the complete destruction of Western norms and values. That they are all foaming-at-the-mouth anti-Semites, sexists, or homophobes who would put women back in the kitchen and begin a second Holocaust, while simultaneously recreating the violence of the Russian Revolution and throwing intellectuals into gulags.
The lesson one must take from this is of the importance of solidarity and understanding. The core of the left's struggle is to unite those of all races and backgrounds and mobilize the dispossessed. If one is so consumed by suspicions that all those who espose universalism are hidden fascists, they cannot be called an ally of the left. In an age where the future of humanity hangs by a thread, we cannot afford to betray each other."
- Pronouns
- He
Extrapolating from BF2042 (pretty close to the 2044 ending), not necessarily nukes, but climate change or mass conventional destruction by war or both thereof.
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
An update:
Last month was quite hectic for me as I had to move house and grapple with various health issues. In addition, I've volunteered for working on integrating nations the next major patch of TNO (Hearts of Iron IV mod that I'm working on as a member of the dev team) and that's consumed a lot of my time. However, I went on vacation this week and am feeling quite refreshed. I believe I am ready to once again dedicate my time to writing this story, which was held up by plotting issues.
However, before I continue, I felt that I need to address something that's been bothering me. Unfortunately, I've realized that this story feels too much like.... hardcore communist propaganda, which was not my intention. I just wanted to say that the main reason why many of the protagonists are part of communist organizations is due to circumstance and I intend to provide a nuanced take on this. Unfortunately, the fact that I've been cooped up inside the house for more than a year with only social media to converse with others caused me to live in a bubble and not consider how my work might come across, and this error went unchecked. For that reason, I have edited a few passages I have previously written to better fit my goals and to expand upon the characterization of the protagonists.
In Chapter 7.1, the passage:
Has been edited to:
In Chapter 7.3, the passage:
Has been edited to:
(Note: When I turn this timeline into a proper manuscript for publishing, I intend to add a prologue taking place in the Lebanese Civil War, explaining how Hassan and Maryam Khoury, two orphaned Arab Christians, discovered the Lebanese Communist Party in the first place. Hopefully it will make this decision seem less arbitrary)
Last month was quite hectic for me as I had to move house and grapple with various health issues. In addition, I've volunteered for working on integrating nations the next major patch of TNO (Hearts of Iron IV mod that I'm working on as a member of the dev team) and that's consumed a lot of my time. However, I went on vacation this week and am feeling quite refreshed. I believe I am ready to once again dedicate my time to writing this story, which was held up by plotting issues.
However, before I continue, I felt that I need to address something that's been bothering me. Unfortunately, I've realized that this story feels too much like.... hardcore communist propaganda, which was not my intention. I just wanted to say that the main reason why many of the protagonists are part of communist organizations is due to circumstance and I intend to provide a nuanced take on this. Unfortunately, the fact that I've been cooped up inside the house for more than a year with only social media to converse with others caused me to live in a bubble and not consider how my work might come across, and this error went unchecked. For that reason, I have edited a few passages I have previously written to better fit my goals and to expand upon the characterization of the protagonists.
In Chapter 7.1, the passage:
Has been edited to:
In Chapter 7.3, the passage:
Has been edited to:
(Note: When I turn this timeline into a proper manuscript for publishing, I intend to add a prologue taking place in the Lebanese Civil War, explaining how Hassan and Maryam Khoury, two orphaned Arab Christians, discovered the Lebanese Communist Party in the first place. Hopefully it will make this decision seem less arbitrary)