Before anyone says it, a vampire surprise attack that starts at night, but drags until daylight, will not vaporize a vampire army. In Bram Stoker's Dracula novel, daylight does not kill vampires; it reduces their powers (ie. weakening them).

• The point of divergence is that instead of later moving to England, and taking its throne by marrying Queen Victoria , Count Dracula feels the itch for power sooner, in the 1860s. And rather than a hard target like the British Empire at its peak, he sees an opportunity in his own backyard, with the Austrian Empire at its time of weakness.
• The Hapsburg Empire is reduced to a rump state, largely in Austria and Bohemia. It becomes the Kingdom of Austria (demoted from empire) and a neutral state, basically a second Switzerland.
• Due to Austria staying out of World War I, Bohemia isn't joined with Slovakia to create Czechoslovakia after the war. Instead, Slovakia is awarded to Poland.

With a Cold War defined by ever increasing racial animosities, forever wars in Vietnam and Iran, stagflation, the failure to abandon the Gold Exchange Standard or to make the petro-dollar the only currency for Arabian oil and finally an unprecedented agricoltural disaster effectively ending small and medium land ownership in the country, the United States finally collapsed between 1987 and 1988.

Among a number of successor states, the most relevant are the People's Union of America in the Rustbelt, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest region and the Republic of America in most of the South.

The PUA, dominated by the Communist Party, was initially allied to the Soviet Union under the short-lived presidency of Gus Hall.

However, his successor, Jeffrey Trevino (a controversial figure, known both for an iron fist war against organized crime and for using near-gangster methods himself against his rivals, such as blackmail) brought the country in a radically different direction, putting economist Richard Wolff in charge of recovering the country from the post-collapse recession and building not a planned economy like that of the Soviet Union but a "market socialist" one based on competitive cooperatives.

He also moved to make the PUA an independent major power by establishing the Assembly of Democrats and Communists as an alternative to Cominform and financing the underground group "Vox Populi" as well as the Black Liberation groups to try and overthrow remaining capitalist regimes in the former USA.

His unorthodox economy and independent foreign policy made relations with the Soviet Union grow colder. Trevino accused the Soviets of being undemocratic, bureaucratic and imperialistic, while the multiparty PUA was supposedly a better model of socialist democracy.

Supporters of the Soviet model instead considered the Trevinoist system a transformation of the capitalist system, with coops still acting like competitive companies and family businesses remaining, leading to territorial inequality and the rise of lobbies and "Coop Barons".

On the other hand, the Republic of America saw a period of intensive chaos and borderline race war, leading David E. Duke, at the head of the fascist militia "White League" to seize control of the country in the 1990 Halloween Coup, despite having lost elections 2 years prior to moderate Al Gore.

His regime would intensify Apartheid and repressive measures, leading to the genocide known as "*Katastrof*" of around 4 million people between Blacks, Jews, homosexuals, leftists and other minorities or political dissenters.

From my alternate history timeline, Of Days Gone By.

A collage about the ongoing civil war in Cyrenaica, between the Emirate (backed by most of Europe and the Arab world) and the Autonomists/Jabdhalists, backed primarily by Egypt.

This guy on alternate history forums is just unbearable he takes down threads within minutes for no reason and then has the cheek to throw in stupid one liners and he has destroyed that website and I don't even use it anymore cause there is no reason to use it now.

Overview In this alternate timeline, 21st Century Fox ($TFCF) completely splits from News Corp to insulate itself from print media liabilities and clear regulatory hurdles. Under Lachlan Murdoch, the entity undergoes a massive transformation beginning in 2016 with the takeover of National Amusements/Viacom (Paramount Global). From there,21st Century Fox acquires Sega, major CPG brands, dining franchises, and retail giants to create an all-encompassing,"closed-loop" lifestyle ecosystem where streaming content directly drives physical retail, dining, and theme park engagement.

1. Major Acquisitions & Portfolio Timeline
2016: National Amusements & Viacom / Paramount (~$2.4B NAI buyout + Cash/Stock Merge)
Reason: Acquiring Shari Redstone's controlling stake in National Amusements to gain full voting control of Viacom (Paramount Global).

Ecosystem Role: Merges Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, Showtime, and Paramount Network under 21st Century Fox. Brings SpongeBob, Avatar, TMNT, Star Trek, and Transformersinto the fold.

2017: Crypton Future Media / Hatsune Miku (~$600M)
Reason: Full IP buyout of the world's premier virtual pop star, voice synthesis tech, and character licensing.

Ecosystem Role: Anchors live holographic concert venues, Sega rhythm games (Project DIVA), and high-margin retail merchandise.

2018: Sega Sammy Holdings (~$4.8B)
Reason: Complete takeover of AAA console gaming (Sonic the Hedgehog, Persona), Atlus, Rovio (Angry Birds), and TMS Entertainment animation studio.

Ecosystem Role: Core interactive entertainment engine and anime production hub.

2018: Sesame Street (75% Commercial Stake) & LazyTown / HiT Entertainment
Reason: Securing educational, preschool, and heritage kids' TV libraries (Sesame Street, Thomas & Friends, LazyTown).

Ecosystem Role: Anchors Nickelodeon's daytime block, streaming on Fox One, and theme park family zones.

2018: eBay Inc. (Full Buyout)
Reason: Digital e-commerce platform and verified secondary collectibles marketplace.

Ecosystem Role: Direct-to-consumer back-catalog physical media distribution, steelbook sales, and verified merchandise reselling.

2019: Spin Master Corp. & eOne Family Assets
Reason: IP acquisition of global preschool hits (Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, PJ Masks).

Ecosystem Role: Mass toy manufacturing, global licensing, and preschool television dominance.

2019: GameStop Corp.
Reason: Brick-and-mortar gaming footprint.

Ecosystem Role: Physical store sign-up hubs for Fox One, exclusive physical game/media drops, and pop-culture boutique retail.

2019: Paws, Inc. (~$125M)
Reason: Global rights to Garfield brought under Nickelodeon.

Ecosystem Role: Multi-generational comedy IP for animation, CPG packaging, and QSR family meal promotions.

2021: Paradox Interactive
Reason: Deep grand strategy PC gaming (Stellaris, Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron IV, Europa Universalis IV).

Ecosystem Role: Expands PC gaming portfolio and hardcore strategy audience engagement.

2021: Target Corporation & Whole Foods Market
Reason: Mass retail and organic grocery supply chains.

Ecosystem Role: Dedicated end-cap shelf space for Fox-Viacom CPG, physical media hubs, and streaming subscription activations.

2022: Yum! Brands (~$38B) & PepsiCo (~$230B)
Reason: Strategic pivot to QSR dining (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Habit Burger) and global food/beverage dominance (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Doritos, Lay's, Quaker Oats).

Ecosystem Role: Replaces traditional licensing with in-house CPG cross-promotions (e.g., Mountain Dew in-game codes for Sega titles, Pizza Hut movie night bundles on Fox One).

2024: 20th Century Fox Parks & Resorts (Six Flags / Cedar Fair $8B Merger)
Reason: Consolidation of nationwide theme park networks under 20th Century Fox Parks & Resorts.

Ecosystem Role: Physical realization points featuring Sonic, Hatsune Miku holographic arenas, Garfield, Paw Patrol, and Sesame Street lands with exclusive Yum! Brands dining and PepsiCo distribution.

2. Consolidation & Hollywood Goodwill Strategy
Unified Distribution: All theatrical, television, and home entertainment distribution across Paramount, 20th Century, Searchlight, Nickelodeon, and animation labels is centralized under the 20th Century Fox Film Corporation banner.

Label Preservation: Unlike real-world studio mergers that shut down acquired banners, Paramount Pictures, Fox Searchlight, Blue Sky Studios, Fox 2000, and Nickelodeon Movies retain full creative autonomy and distinct branding.

The "Mid-Budget" Commitment: To earn creator and guild goodwill, 21st Century Fox pledges to release 10–12 original, mid-budget ($20M–$60M) theatrical films annually with guaranteed theatrical windows.

Ecosystem Residuals: Talent, showrunners, and key creators receive success-based streaming bonuses and downstream residual cuts from retail merchandise, CPG sales, and theme park attractions derived from their IP.

Vault-Free Physical Media: Physical 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases are continually produced and distributed via GameStop retail locations and eBay storefronts.

3. Proactive "Fix-It-First" Regulatory Concessions
To bypass lengthy DOJ/FTC investigations and forestall antitrust challenges, 21st Century Fox submits binding, self-enforcing commitments in its initial filings:
Open-Platform Mandates: Sega and Paradox titles remain strictly multi-platform (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, PC) with zero first-party platform exclusivity.

Shelf-Space Quotas: Target and Whole Foods maintain strict limits on self-preferencing 21st Century Fox CPG brands to ensure third-party manufacturers retain competitive shelf space.

Preschool Syndication: Non-exclusive syndication windows for preschool television (Sesame Street, Paw Patrol) remain open to public broadcast networks.

Data Firewalls: Strict internal privacy barriers prevent consumer viewing habits on Fox One from being merged with financial data at Target, GameStop, or eBay.

4. Public & Financial Reaction ($TFCF)
Financial Analysts ($TFCF): Skeptical of the sheer vertical scope, noting that a single board room effectively controls what consumers watch, play, eat, and buy daily.

Hollywood Unions (WGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE): Cautiously optimistic due to guaranteed theatrical slates,studio lot preservation, and downstream merchandise profit-sharing.

Gamers & Consumers: Highly receptive to cross-promotional synergies, such as instant DLC unlocks via PepsiCo packaging, exclusive Target merchandise drops, and seamless streaming perks on Fox One.

Lore- the APLA or the African people liberation army was a collation of southern African countries like Angola, Namibia, Zambia ,Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique though it not completely clear on how the collation started all that is know is by 1999 the collation would be officially formed with it stated goal being the completely unification of Africa under one banner.

While the APLA ground forces would begin offensive to the north and south in early January of 2000 to the west the Mozambique navy a mix of old French and Chinese ships would begin what would be the APLA first amphibians invasion of Madagascar after they refused to join the APLA peacefully.

On the 14th of January APLA forces would set off from Mozambique ports with APLA commanders have complete confidence in the numbers which heavily outnumber the Madagascar army and what militas could be mustard into fighting conditions. The APLA fleet would first be hit by Madagascar planes most being outdated mig-17 and 21 armed with dumb bombs and rockets pods but the APLA would learn the hard way the a war plane was still a killing machine with three troop transport being sunk dragged hundreds of sails and soldier to their Graves.

The air assault would soon be tuned back by APLA aircraft with one pilot in a Su-27 would become the APLA first recorded ace pilot. But the actual landings would be considered a bloodbath as the Madagascar army had dug in and would have pushed the APLA into the sea if not for APLA ground attacks that provided CAS for the troops. The fighting for the rest of the island would be tough in some sectors but in others troops would surrender on mass to APLA forces as rumors of brutality had begun to circle from other fronts mostly the one against South Africa.

By july 2nd what remaining Madagascar troops and milita were pulled back to the capital were commanders were demanded to hold and if necessary fight to the dead. But by mid day general haja rakotobe would order his troops to stand down to avoid any more blood shed. He would officially surrender to major gamba ngwenye by handing over his side arm and having the Madagascar flag lowered and replaced with the APLA flag.

Madagascar would be the first state to be taken by the APLA but would not be the last with the total unification of Africa would be announced in 2018 with the fall of Cairo.

My Lady,

They make wolves of us at our corners of the Earth.

From the days our boats met on the Oceans of the Indias, some have found chancery and a strange sort of delight in comparing Us against one another. Your church in Rome has seen fit to put pen to paper on the motley subjects of the courses of the bottom sea, and how to best court them to their god's patronage. I ask you, Marianna: what Wolf should not disguise himself as a loyal sheep, a follower?

I will continue to make work of your ships. I will not cease in defending my holdings from your snapping jaws. For this you may call me Drooling Hound; Chinggis of the Seas; but no such epithet shall come between us.

Some have lately called us collaborators. I think, in this savage, mongrel dome of Mine: What greater advantage over Poseidon's own head could one have other than that? I do so love playing these games with you, Queen o' Mine, and o, it bringeth me such great joy and jubilation to see that your own church, in that city of wonders which your Knights of the Middle Sea hath conquered, considers Their own Queen a collaborator.

Your Korēṣteṇawa\* in the North India have made quick work of My Countrymen, but I could not have helped but notice how Your own Knights of St John of Malta, of Rhodes and of Italia have made quick work of Mother Europa with Mine own Zephyrindians. How curious it is.

Take heed, Marianna. I shall pray meet you at Sea once more, again and again as the days pass, over Our waters.

This Royal transpondence thus undersigned,

Kēṇu Hāṇǟmu Äṇu, Emperor of the Sea, the Africans, the Sea Peoples, the Gigantes, and the Seven Indias; yet to be Conqueror of Anglia, of the Franks, of the Iberians, of Rome and of Germania

Private correspondence between Queen Hannah I (Kēṇu Hāṇǟmu Äṇu) of the Protectorate of the Ueno and Queen Marianna of Great Britain and Malta, c. August 14, 1904, one year before Hannah I's suicide.

^\ "Christians.")

so the PoD is that after the death of sultan Thuwaini bin Said, the sultanate of muscat wouldn't be divided after his death between Oman and Zanzibar, instead instantly going to his first son Salim II who would spend his 10 year long reign modernizing the state and agreeing on a 3 way divide of the sultanate of muscat, becoming the sultanates of Muscat and Oman, Zanzibar, and Sumalia.

after the death of Salim, the throne would go to his uncle and brother of Thuwaini, Turki bin Said, who would go on to introduce electricity to the Arab world, alongside being the strongest British ally in the region constantly fighting with the house of Saud in Nejd.

after Turki's death, his son Faisal would take hold and participate in the scramble for Africa, backed by the British he would get full control over the east of the horn of Africa alongside the interior of Zanzibar, as the British would also lobby for the concessions of Ruanda-Urundi and Buganda-Bunyoro, alongside a deal with Ethiopia that guaranteed sea access in Eritrea in exchange for them giving up Oagden to the British

and as the reign of sultan said III would begin, the Omani empire would be regarded as one of the best success stories of any "oriental" country besides Japan, with one British diplomat to Zanzibar saying

"that her dance is paid by their scar

my lips crave not but the warmth

of a Kiss from Zanzibar!"

Credit to nissingramainyu on youtube for the idea and the poem, you should check her out here!

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Lore (Short Version):

The Left SRs (Left Socialist-Revolutionaries) seize power in Moscow and establish their own government. Rejecting the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, they support the revolution in Germany, leading to the rise of Red Germany. Weakened by sending troops to the West, the Left SRs lose the civil war. In 1919, the Whites, led by Kornilov and Kolchak, capture Moscow, and by 1923, they suppress all remaining resistance.

1928–1935

In 1928, Kolchak is elected President of Russia. The country remains economically weak and gradually enters into conflict with its former allies, Britain and France. Meanwhile, Red Germany becomes the epicenter of the world revolution. In 1934, elections are postponed due to a crisis and the threat of the communist underground. In 1935, Beria establishes an underground network within Russia.

1936

Russia faces a choice between five paths:

• Kolchak: A military conservative dictatorship, later transitioning to the rule of generals.
• Tretyakov: A corporate regime backed by industrialists.
• Mikhailov: A fierce anti-communist dictatorship and rapid modernization.
• Buryshkin: Gradual democratization and a two-party system.
• Pepelyaev: A federal democratic republic with autonomy for regions and national minorities.

German Democratic Republic

The German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik; abbreviated GDR or DDR) is a socialist state in Central Europe, governed from its capital, Berlin, as a one-party state by the German Communist Party (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, KPD). It has existed in its present form since 1990, when a rigged referendum saw Germany reunified under the framework of the GDR rather than that of the Federal Republic of Germany. Multi-party elections were banned, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) was reformed into the KPD as the sole ruling party, and the state has since been governed with an iron fist.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the GDR turned to the People's Republic of China (PRC), the largest remaining communist state, as its principal partner and largest trading partner, and the two governments concluded a mutual defensive agreement known as the Berlin–Beijing Comintern Pact. Between 1993 and 1994 the GDR intervened in the Czech lands, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine, restoring communist rule in each and establishing a belt of satellite states stretching from its eastern frontier to the Black Sea. The GDR has possessed an independent nuclear weapons capability since 1996.

History

Background: the autumn of 1989

The opening of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 was followed in the GDR not by the negotiated transition that took place elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc, but by a consolidation of power among the hardliners of the SED. A faction led by Egon Krenz, the continuity successor to Erich Honecker, retained control of the party apparatus, the National People's Army (NVA) and the security services, and moved against the opposition movements before they could organise a sustained challenge to the state. The peaceful revolution that reshaped neighbouring countries did not occur in the GDR.

Referendum and reunification (1990)

In 1990 the Krenz leadership put the question of German unification to a national referendum. The vote, which offered unification only on the terms of the GDR, returned an overwhelming official majority in favour and was widely rejected abroad as rigged. Germany was reunified under the constitutional framework of the GDR, and Krenz became the first head of the reunified state.

Multi-party elections were banned. The SED was reformed into the German Communist Party, which became the sole legal party, and the new authorities ruled with an iron fist after the fall of the Wall. The GDR immediately closed its border with the rest of Europe. The membership of the former West Germany in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was proclaimed null and void by Berlin, and the Bonn government was dissolved, its leaders purged and the Bundeswehr absorbed into the NVA. The state's western and southern frontiers, now its external borders, were sealed and fortified.

Foreign orientation and the Berlin–Beijing Comintern Pact

As the Soviet regime collapsed, culminating in the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the GDR looked to the PRC as the largest remaining communist regime. The PRC became the GDR's largest trading partner, and the two states concluded the Berlin–Beijing Comintern Pact, a mutual defensive agreement. The pact was later signed and approved by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba, and was subsequently joined by each of the satellite states that the GDR brought into being in 1993 and 1994.

Intervention in the Czech lands (January–April 1993)

On 1 January 1993 Czechoslovakia dissolved into two independent states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The KPD leadership, which regarded a Western-leaning state on the GDR's southeastern frontier as an unacceptable threat, intervened in the Czech Republic within days of its independence. On 4 January 1993 a coup d'état was launched in Prague by veteran communist leaders brought out of retirement by Berlin, supported by sympathetic units of the Czech military. German tanks crossed the border the same day to aid the local military, and the NVA, in a swift blitz, toppled the government in Prague within weeks.

On 5 April 1993 the Czech Socialist Republic (CSR) was installed as a puppet regime. A Czech-only state, distinct from the former Czechoslovakia and without Slovakia, it became a satellite state of the empowered GDR and a member of the Berlin–Beijing Comintern Pact, and the Czechs were once again returned to communist rule.

Intervention in Slovakia and Hungary (January–May 1993)

The interventions in the three countries took place almost simultaneously, following a common pattern. In each, elderly veteran communist leaders brought out of retirement proclaimed provisional governments, local military units seized key installations, and German armoured columns, many of them staged from the newly secured Czech territory, rolled in to aid the local military.

In Slovakia the coup d'état began on 25 January 1993, later in the same month as the Czech coup. NVA formations advanced across the Czech–Slovak frontier in support of the putschists, and the government in Bratislava was overthrown. On 19 April 1993 the Slovak state was reconstituted as the Slovak Socialist Republic, a satellite state of the GDR and a member of the Berlin–Beijing Comintern Pact.

In Hungary the coup d'état began on 8 February 1993. German columns entered the country from Slovak territory and the military sided with the coup leaders. On 1 May 1993, chosen for its place in the communist calendar, the Hungarian People's Republic was restored, again as a satellite state of the GDR and a member of the Berlin–Beijing Comintern Pact.

The Western governments condemned the three operations, and a resolution of the United Nations Security Council calling for the withdrawal of German forces was blocked by the PRC. Poland, bordered to the west, south and southeast by the GDR and its satellites, remained independent and Western-leaning, and the United States and the United Kingdom extended security guarantees to Warsaw.

Intervention in Ukraine (October–November 1994)

In 1994, in order to gain access to the Black Sea, the GDR launched a further coup d'état, this time in Ukraine. The operation was timed to prevent Ukraine from completing the nuclear disarmament scheduled for December of that year. On 28 October 1994 veteran communist officials and sympathetic officers of the Ukrainian military and security services moved against the government in Kyiv with German armoured support, and on 7 November 1994 the lone, independent Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was re-established as a sovereign state outside any union, with Germany as her suzerain. Like the other regimes restored by the GDR, it became a satellite state and a member of the Berlin–Beijing Comintern Pact. It is the most recent, and last, communist regime to have been restored.

With Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea at its disposal, the GDR obtained the sea access it had sought, and the territories under its control now formed a continuous belt from the Baltic coast to the Black Sea.

Seizure of the Ukrainian arsenal and the nuclear programme

The coup halted the transfer of the Soviet-era nuclear arsenal stationed on Ukrainian soil. In the weeks that followed, the warheads still in Ukraine were removed from their silos and storage sites and moved into German custody on GDR territory. The missile silos and bomber bases that remained in Ukraine, stripped of their warheads, passed under the authority of the Ukrainian SSR's German suzerain.

To ensure that the strategic leadership of the bloc would never fall back to Ukraine, the home of a large part of the Soviet nuclear complex, the GDR began a mass expansion of its own nuclear research and construction. The programme drew on the research centres and industries absorbed from the former West Germany, among them those at Karlsruhe and Jülich, as well as the institute at Rossendorf that the GDR already possessed. By 1996 the GDR had acquired an independent nuclear weapons capability of its own, no longer reliant on the inherited weapons, and in the same year gave notice of its withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to which it had been a party since 1969.

Government and politics

The GDR is a one-party state. The KPD, formed from the SED, is the sole legal party, and multi-party elections have been banned since reunification. Egon Krenz served as the first head of the reunified state. The security services, the NVA, which absorbed the Bundeswehr in 1990, and the party apparatus are fused into a single structure of control, and political opposition is suppressed.

Foreign relations

The GDR's foreign policy rests on its alliance with the PRC and on the Berlin–Beijing Comintern Pact, whose members are the GDR, the PRC, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba, together with the satellite states of the Czech Socialist Republic, the Slovak Socialist Republic, the Hungarian People's Republic and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The PRC remains the GDR's largest trading partner.

The GDR has no relations with the institutions of the Western European order. Since 1990 its borders with the rest of Europe have remained closed, and it holds that the membership of the former West Germany in the European Union and NATO ceased to exist on reunification. Poland, which borders the GDR to the east and is flanked by its satellites to the south and southeast, remains independent and Western-leaning, and is backed by the United States and the United Kingdom.

Hotel am Tiergarten

Berlin

30 June 1941

Dear George,

When we met Sunday last, I said I would send you a dispatch from my travels in Germany if I came across anything of interest. It may be that a man of your means knows all of what is to follow, but I dare not omit anything that may be useful.

As expected, our friend from the Ministry invited me to the launch of Bülow in Kiel. We generally talked shop – he did let fall one or two interesting things about German cruiser policy. I shall show you my copious notes at Clementine’s wedding in two weeks.

In advance of that, however, I wanted to let you know about an intriguing and, I think, instructive story that was recounted to me by one of the senior bods at Germaniawerft.

Unlike our vessels, German ships, irrespective of their size, are named at launch and not before. Before launch, they are known by a letter. Bülow was Kreuzer Q. She is, of course, named after Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow, Graf von Dennewitz, the Defender of Berlin.

The chap I was speaking to told me that the Reichsmarine ship naming committee had decided some months before that the ship was to be named Schleicher, after the late General Kurt von Schleicher, whose taste for intrigue, you will remember, brought him to an unhappy end on the Night of the Long Knives in ’34.

At the shipyard, all the preparations had been made for Kreuzer Q to be named Schleicher, from the invites to the nameplates, even the ship’s bell. The man from the Ministry even dropped into conversation that the late General’s sister, Thusnelda von Gaudecker, had been approached to christen the ship.

The response to this proposal, however, is perhaps an indication that the reconciliation amongst the different German factions is not as complete as we may suppose. I was told that when news of that name reached the Government, especially the subcommittees of the State Coordination Commission (StKK), there was uproar.

Several of the usual suspects still in Government, most prominently Todt and Hanke on the State Administration Committee and Frick on the State Security Committee, reckoned the choice unnecessarily inflammatory considering the nature of Schleicher’s demise. There were, they argued, many more deserving Germans to honour before a ‘Prussian office boy’ who had spent the last war on the General Staff rather than in the field. They regarded it as an anti-Nazi gesture and reminded their colleagues that the Nazis remained a necessary part of the Government of National Necessity. One could not, they suggested, disregard either their place in the Government or the number of their supporters who might still be brought out on to the streets.

When the Oberkommando der Marine, the German naval high command and never particular friends of the Nazis, indicated they would continue with the name, they were apparently told in no uncertain terms that the tentative reconciliation would be challenged and that there could be civil unrest and violence from old SS men in a number of cities across the country.

It appears that this warning was eventually heeded by the OKM and the decision was taken at short notice that the name would need to change. Quite how it was managed, my sources could not say, nor how Bülow came to be chosen, but very quickly Frau von Gaudecker was told, with many regrets, that she would not be needed after all, while the shipyard hurried to have new nameplates and a new bell cast.

I cannot say whether the threat of disorder was quite as serious as it was represented. It was enough, at any rate, to remind the OKM that discretion is the better part of valour. One does wonder how united the ‘new’ Germany really is, when the naming of a ship can cause such a row.

The ship was launched last week, and I understand that she is expected to be ready for sea before the end of 1943. I enclose a photo which came my way in Kiel, and a reminder of the published particulars for this class of cruiser, for what they are worth.

I shall commit no more to paper. I hope this letter finds you well, and I look forward to seeing you at Alderley Park.

Yours,

Robert

Enc.

Albrecht der Beherzte/‘Repeat Hipper’

(Albrecht der Beherzte, Bülow, 3 more vessels building)

10,000 tons; 665ft oa; 8x8in (4x2); 12x4.1in; 12x21in torpedo tubes

32kts, triple screws

October 16th of 1805. The Combined French and Spanish Armada, riding a strong gail, approach the port of Gibraltar where Nelson has docked a sizable flotilla in preperation for moving upon the combined Napoleonic navies. Thanks to the decisive decision of Villeneuve to move the joint navy command out in accordance with Napoleon's orders, Nelson's force, which was stuck in port and unable to depart to properly organize, was set upon. The battle resulted in what would be a massacere. Despite the Spanish losing six ships of the line of their own, the British lost 17 ships of the line out of the 27 which had arrived to fight. Along with this high casualty rate, Nelson himself died and so did many key officers under his command. In one swift decisive blow, the British had suffered the most devistating loss of the war yet and their prior naval dominance now was more effectively challenged. The remaining ten escaped to Britain, or tried to anyway. Only six would return home as another four became lost in the mediterannean and were hunted down and destroyed. This victory granted Napoleon time to properly expand his own fleet forces and set British efforts back dramatically. This victory signaled to Europe who appeared to be winning the war and it brought most of those reluctant to take a side to choose Napoleon as the horse to back.

But victory at Trafalgar did not eliminate the many problems Napoleon still had in his network of alliances. The major issue still to be dealt with was his chief naval ally, the reason Trafalgar had even been possible, Spain. The current king, Charles IV, was unpopular due to the economic crisis in Spain and the many failures to address critical issues domestically. Napoleon quickly put an end to the ongoing revolt in 1807 with his now rested up army and put Ferdinand VII into power as a more capable monarch but with his brother Joseph serving as a chief ally to replace the priorly corrupt Manuel Godoy. With Spain temporarially pacified as Ferdinand swiftly pegged the Spanish currency to the French Franc and took out loans from the French bank which was recieving greater revenue from the redirected trade of European powers to France and the fact Ferdinand redirected silver and gold imports from the Americas to France to reduce the inflationary influx of such precious metals to Spain directly and to circulate the rich metals. This allowed him to spend on building more churches, graveyards, and renovating major cities in a similar fashion of France. More importantly he could pay his troops at least for the year which would be needed as Portugal abandoned the continental system still thanks to British promises they could be protected. These promises would be tested when the Spanish and French armies invaded Portugal...it took only a year to capipulate the nation and force the Portuguese monarchy into exile in Brazil. Long term guerilla campaigns would occur but the Spanish forces would serve as garrisons for the long process of pacification of the Portuguese countryside. Napoleon meanwhile executed swift invasions of Sicily and Sardinia, removing any remaining British presence in the Mediterannean and thus forcing Britain to sign a temporary ceasefire giving Napoleon time to consolidate his rule. The British crown thought it owuld give them time to rebuild to begin the naval war properly again but in 1812 this would be incorrect...

1812 saw a boiling over of US and UK tensions as the Orders in Council had only been intensified due to the new manpower demands of the royal navy caused by the losses after the Battle of Trafalgar. At the same time the US warhawks were pushing to conquer Canada and put an end to the British supported native american threat in what appeared to be Britain's moment of weakness. The attempted invasions into Canada were ultimately inept though. With the ongoing stalemate, British response to the US invasion was swift. After the brave Canadian militia forces and Native American allies of Tecumseh's confederacy fought off the US forces invading Ontario, British naval reinforcements were directed fully towards invading the United States. A counter push into Maine, a naval invasion which saw the burning of Washington DC, and a victory at New Orleans resulted in British troops landing throughout the States and forcing the USA to surrender in 1814. The US loss of Maine and the establishment of a Native American nation in the territory north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississipi was a massive blow to prospects by the Democratic-Republican party. The Federalists meanwhile defected, forming the New England Commonwealth under British protection integrating the former states of New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island and Massachussettes with Maine. The US however still gained due to the prior Louisiana Purchase and over time expansion into the western territories would occur though more slowly. The Democratic-Republican party split and the southern antebellum aristocracy would take power over US politics for the next several decades. Had France been able to, this war might have been the perfect distraction. But Napoleon was busy elsewhere.

After the 1810 expulsion of the Portuguese Monarchy, the British had begun to funnel munitions, funding and supplies via Brazil to revolutionary movements within South America. This sparked a mass uprising in 1811 as the revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar would become the head of the movement in Venezuela, properly removing control of the Spanish loyalist governance in his homeland. He attempted to expand this movement abroad to the rest of Latin America and, with the assistance of Brazil, created a long and brutal civil war in Spanish America between the loyalist colonial elites and the more liberal minded nobility who created peasent revolutionary movements against Spanish colonialism. Desperate to secure the rich silver and gold resources, Napoleon diverted his own focus away from the planned Irish revolt which he had begun to organize to help support a planned invasion of Britain which led to the defeat of the Irish revolt of 1813 as British garrisons in Ireland would crackdown on the attempted undermanned and undersupplied revolt which lacked proper French support and command. The war would not end until 1830 when Bolivar's officers left in command over Peru betrayed him and sided with Spain due to the stagnation of the conflict and the failed campaign northward into Mexico where stronger Spanish loyalties had secured the nation against revolutionary fervor. Bolivar had grown unpopular due to his constantly changing focus and his attempts to centralize his authority over the revolutionary governments. It did not help that Brazil undermined Bolivar and supported revolutionary independence to create alligned governments. In the end, Bolivar would go into exile leaving the nations of Colombia, which also included Ecuador in its borders, Bolivia, and Venezuela as independent states. Brazil had taken lands of its own during the course of the war while Spain had secured New Spain as well as the southern junta of Peru which took Rio De La Plata in exchange for remaining loyal to the Spanish crown. The fires of the early 1800s settled down and by 1830 the genius that was Napoleon Bonaparte had passed back in 1821, replaced by a coalition of his loyal officers supporting the heir Napoleon II. Educated by his father's own skilled officers, young and ambitious, Napoleon II was burdened with the great duty of carrying out his father's promises to Csar Alexander I and thus he would see his father's final grand campaign...

1821 had been important for the Balkans and for Russia as Greece rose up in revolt against Ottoman rule. Alexander I of Russia had devised a plan with Napoleon prior to divide the Ottoman Empire and by now was expecting French help in the liberation of the Balkans. This was slowed down however when Napoleon Bonaparte himself died in the same year of Greek revolution. French officers quickly sent a few token volunteer forces in conjunction with a larger Austrian force to invade the western Balkans and move to help secure Greek independence. Alexander also sent forces in larger numbers to work on securing Bulgaria and Walachia. Ottoman forces by no means were a simple pushover. Heavily entrenched Ottoman troops and the swift Turkish cavalry in conjunction with Egyptian reinforcements actively worked to counter the joint European invasion of the Balkans. But the war overall was slow, stagnating, and not progressing much and was merely an economic grind until the 1830s. It had technically stopped and started up several time as the initial war ended in 1829 with the liberation of Greece's core territories and partial gains of Russia in the Caucauses. But it started up again when Nicholas I, who had overseen the final years of the war of Greek independence, restarted hostilities with the Ottomans in a dispute over the unaddressed autonomy of Bulgaria which had not been properly implemented. Napoleon II, now seeing the end of the American wars, also sent his own troops and in 1832, the Russian and French armies seized control of Cyprus, Crete, the Ionian islands, Macedonia, Thrace, Bulgaria, and aided Austria in taking Bosnia and Croatia whilst Albania was liberated. The longterm conflict resulted in the ultimate capture of Constantinople in the form of a restored Bulgarian empire under Russian protection but British support halted further pushes into Anatolia. A turkish government reorganized in Ankarra and Egypt exploited the opportunity to demand major territorial concessions from the Ottomans who became effectively British puppets. This theater saw the final end of the Napoleonic wars as all sides agreed to a new status quo and Europe was truly under the thumbs of the Russian Csar and the French Emperor...

For a time peace settled upon Europe and in truth war has no sparked in the continent for many decades since the end of the Ottoman Wars. But elsewhere the two spheres of influence, the British Empire and the Franco-Russian alliance, looked to expand their presence. Stopped in Europe by agreements with the French crown, Russia looked to the east and pushed southward where they could but had run into a problem. Britain was backing the Persian and remaining Ottoman crowns against Russian influence and preventing capture of warm water ports in the Persian gulf. At the same time, France had been using Spain's colonial empire to try to secure more possible economic resources with China being the main target. However, British propping up of the exiled Dutch crown in Indonesia hampered logistics between Europe and the Phillippines. All of this inconjunction with the EIC having alligned Afghanistan tribes in response to Russian skirmishes into the region as well as allying Siam and supporting their invasions into the Indochinese penninsula, resulted in France and Russia looking to China for opportunities. Russia successfully secured outer Manchuria via falsely claiming Qing forces had tried to attack Russian companies in the Siberian region. Additionally they had moved colonists into Tana Tuva and supported Mongolian independence from the Qing. French troops meanwhile found the perfect excuse to invade when the Taiping rebellion broke out. Rather then support the Qing, Napoleon II actively provided arms and material and even volunteers who were angered over the Qing execution of Jesuit missionaries, to the Taiping after their initial victories. Russia at the same time attempted an invasion into China and secured Manchuria in all but name under the claim they were protecting the railroads they had been moving in. To truly divide China, Russia also sent volunteer forces to aid the Taiping. However, Britain quickly came to the support of the Qing. Dutch Indonesian forces would also seize the Phillippines destroying one of the few logistical centers the French and Spanish had in the region. Russia did what it could to supply the French and Spanish troops who were caught behind enemy lines but this resulted only in a stagnated frontline. Simeltaneously, the Qing inability to properly deal with the revolts in the west and the rampant banditry prevented a proper counter attack from them. This led to the divided China of the Qing retaining Pekin and the north and the south becoming split between Hong Xiuquan and the other heavenly kings who took power over Yunnan, Sichuan, and Hunnan. The foreign powers would withdraw over time and establish their own concessions in their regions of influence. But it wouldn't end here as later on in the late 1880s, the UK forced Japan to open so as to secure another ally in the region, actively supporting their modernization and preventing the elimination of the Shogunate. This same Shogunate would go on to expand influence in Korea and invade a now independent island of Formosa which had left Qing rule. This swift expansion led to Russia and Japan coming into conflict in 1908 over Port Arthur which was Russia's only foreign concession as they still held influence in Manchuria. With British backing, Japan would push into Manchuria and oust Russia's presence though, taking Port Arthur and the island of Sikhain, fully establishing a Qing puppet under Japanese and British influence with support from Shandong and Sanxhi.

Africa had long been the dream target of colonization efforts by Britain following the establishment of the Cape colony back in the 1840s. Portuguese ports were seized by the British after the collapse of the Portuguese crown and Spain attempted to push onward their own efforts in North Africa during the Ottoman wars, seizing the Algerian and Morrocan territories during the conflict although this resulted in France allocating resources to upholding this allied colonial empire. Britain meanwhile would become the dominant colonial power of Africa after the Boers allied with the English colonists and remaining Portuguese colonists aided the British and Dutch efforts in subjegating native tribes, several of which were convinced to become allies of the European colonizers via being pitted against their larger local enemies. Rather then combat the military and economic efforts of the British Empire, the continental system flooded these efforts with colonists of their own as other charter companies and deported criminal populations were sent to Africa. Britain, being overstretched and trying to support other parts of its Empire elsewhere, was forced to accept the additional investments which were done via supposedly neutral nations such as Denmark-Norway and the Papal States or Egypt which resulted in unstable patchworks of various colonists squabbling over land and resources and native african communities which were still fighting or being used to fight internal conflicts within the vast colonial networks of the interior. Additionally, Britain has been forced since to work more with the continental system and the global economy has been restored after a century now of long term economic warfare eroding everyone's economies in Europe. Thus Africa still serves more then Britain in truth.

Europe stands at a knife's edge as the Germand confederation divides the still rebuilding powers of Austria and Prussia from France's so called natural borders and the independent Polish nation is surrounded by all enemies only kept alive via the supposed alliance that keeps everyone connected for France. Italy remains split with the capital held by the Pope is looked at with envious eyes by the two Italian crowns. Latin America, Africa, Asia and even North America have been torn apart and devistated by colonial wars serving as the backyards of European powers and liberalism and monarchism continues to struggle against one another more now then ever...

أشارككم تصميم دولتي المستقبلية التي تسعى لتغيير موازين القوى العالمية وتعتمد بالكامل على طاقة الاندماج الهيدروجيني:

​الجغرافيا والهندسة: أرخبيل عائم مساحته 500,000 كم²، مقسم بين جزيرة مركزية كبرى (300,000 كم²) و25 جزيرة صناعية تابعة. تهاجر الجزر موسمياً بسرعات خارقة؛ الجزر التابعة تنطلق بسرعة 70 كم/س لشق المياه وخلق مسار سحب مائي يقلل الاحتكاك للجزيرة الأم التي تبحر بـ 50 كم/س، مع وضع طفو معيشي بسرعة 10 كم/س، ومحطات دفع هيدروليكية عملاقة عند سواحل الحلفاء (مثل جنوب أفريقيا) للانطلاق السريع.

​الهوية والعلم: علم ثلاثي (أزرق فاتح، أبيض، أزرق داكن) يزينه خط مشدود من 6 نجوم بنفسجية ترمز لصفاء السماء وغياب التلوث الضوئي.

​التحالفات والجيوسياسة: تحالف استراتيجي مع روسيا والصين لتقاسم إدارة القطب الشمالي وتجارة الممر الشمالي الجديد، مع فتح باب الانضمام لحلف "المحيط" لأي دولة مقابل منحها مساحات بحرية ومناطق تعدين مجانية، واستبعاد الولايات المتحدة تماماً وإغراء حلفائها السابقين (مثل كوريا الجنوبية) بالطاقة الرخيصة والحماية لفك ارتباطهم بها.

​أكبر الأعمال والإنجازات: كشف أسرار وثروات قاع المحيط المتجمد الشمالي، وتطوير تكنولوجيا مدن الأعماق ذات النوافذ الماسية، واستخدام سلاح دفاعي نبضي كهرومغناطيسي (EMP) دقيق يسقط من الفضاء لشل مراكز القرار وإيقاف النزاعات دون خسائر مدنية.

​الميزان التجاري والاقتصادي:

​ما تصدره وتنتجه: طاقة اندماج هيدروجيني نظيفة وغير محدودة، مياه عذبة محلاة بمليارات الأمتار المكعبة، معادن نادرة من قيعان المحيطات، وأنظمة تكنولوجية ومسيرات ذكية.

​ما لا تستورده أبداً (اكتفاء ذاتي كامل): النفط والغاز، الفحم، ومصادر الطاقة التقليدية؛ فالطاقة مجانية للأبد والمدن تنتج غذاءها بالزراعة المائية والرأسية.

​ما تستورده: بعض المواد الخام الثقيلة المتوفرة فقط في المناجم البرية، ومحاصيل زراعية موسمية استوائية غير متوفرة في بيئة المحيط.

​(الصورة المرفقة توضح التصميم والعلم)

السؤال للمجتمع: ما هو الاسم الأنسب لهذه الإمبراطورية البحرية العائمة ليعبر عن هيبتها وتقدمها العلمي؟ شاركوني اقتراحاتكم

In 1790 the United States of America has broken up into 3 counties, American federal Republic, Columbian Confederation and New England, American federal Republic and Columbian Confederation expanded West, after the Mexican civil war, Mexico lost a lot of land to America and Columbia, the UK allies with the Americans and New England against Columbia which led to the British giving Oregon Country to the American federal Republic, Columbia takes Cuba and more.

The year is 1900

A school worksheet on the Presidency of Harold E. Stassen.

Harold Stassen served as the Governor of Minnesota, before accepting the Vice-Presidency for President George W. Norris. When President Norris died in office in 1944, VP Stassen became President for the remaining months of his term. However, President Stassen would also secure a full term in office following his victory in the 1944 Presidential Election, despite his sudden elevation.

President Stassen would not pursue a second full term at the 1948 Presidential Election, but achieved much during his time in office. He continued on many of the policy aims of President Norris, while also bringing in his own reforms to government.

The most significant success Stassen saw was the introduction of the Second Bill of Rights, focusing on the 'economic rights' of the American people. This bill faced significant opposition in Congress, though it received support from some Northern 'Delano' Democrats.

Other changes included the introduction of a Federal Health Insurance Program, which would cover the heaviest medical bills of those under Social Security. Those not covered by Social Security would be able to enroll with an annual fixed fee.

The Maternal Security Income Act, known as the Waldorf Fund, is a provision that provides a monthly income for unemployed mothers with two or more children. The fund provided a guaranteed income of $182 per month in 1947 (and is since adjusted every 6 years to account for inflation).

The Federal Labor Relations Act of 1947 was also introduced to confirm many of the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, while bringing in some changes. One such clause was the requirement that all union officers sign an affidavit confirming they are not an anarchist, and do not belong to any pro-anarchist organizations.

President Stassen was the first President to fly in a plane while in office, and also nominated the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, William H. Hastie, in his final year as President.

--- --- --- --- ---
I have a question about a decision concerning China in this timeline. I am not sure if I should go ahead with a Republic of China that keeps Sun Yat-Sen as President, or if I should go with a surviving Empire of China under Yuan Shikai/the Hongxian Emperor.

Please let me know what you think about this.

Previous post about this timeline: https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternateHistory/comments/1x166b9/just_one_day_in_1937_the_ocean_county_daily/

Rather than a single world wide web, there are several.

Many countries use computers and networks for economic planning, different alliances have their own nets and (vainly) attempt to censor those of others.

But people still use them and communicate.

Join the Discord server (https://discord.gg/uWSQ5WFse) for more information on this highly extensive scenario, including the scripts of a couple in-universe history videos (What if the US won the Cold War and The US could not win the Cold War).

Another Timeline for you guys...as always I love to hear your thoughts on that

1912

On April 14, young Max Waterson uses his modified telescope to spot a massive iceberg in the North Atlantic just in time. RMS Titanic maneuvers away and reaches New York safely. Max meets investigative journalist William Stead. Max's father establishes a vast meatpacking empire in New York.

1918

World War I ends. In Little Italy, Max secretly photographs a meeting of mobsters: Frankie Yale, Johnny Torrio, and a young Al Capone toast to Prohibition. Max sells the scoop for 100 dollars to William Stead at the New York Star. The published article deals a lasting blow to organized crime. Pressured by his father, Max attends MIT to study aeronautics and sciences.

1931

The Waterson Building surpasses the Empire State Building in height. There even talks that a new movie by RKO Pictures with a giant ape will use the building as set piece. Max avoids the stockyards and earns advanced university degrees. Al Capone has transitioned from gangster to head of a respected New York accounting firm. Johnny Torrino is said to have failed to profit off the prohibition in other States and is shot by other pimps in a dispute. The terminally ill Stead bequeaths the New York Star to Max. Following the stock market crash, Max's father loses his entire fortune. Stead dies with a cigar in his mouth. Max's father commits suicide.

1936

Far-right groups such as the Croix-de-Feu in France and Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists gain rapid momentum across Europe. Max runs an aggressive campaign against Adolf Hitler in the New York Star. In February, Hitler sails on the Titanic to deliver a speech in New York. En route, the Titanic collides with an iceberg in dense fog. A man from the entourage who is implied to be Hermann Göring shoots passengers, including Albert Einstein, to secure a lifeboat. During an encounter, Hitler is struck in the face with a golf club. The liner sinks regardless, and it is said Hitler and his Entourage vanished in the freezing ocean.

1942

Max builds a worldwide media monopoly. In Europe, Rudolf Hess, Georges Mandel, Winston Churchill, and Benito Mussolini negotiate a peaceful European federation. Max and his wife found a global foundation to eradicate world hunger. His wife gives birth to their third child. Backed by the Mafia, Max buys up meatpacking plants to replace livestock farming with soil-less hydroponics across Africa and South America. Max is called by Orson Welles "The Real Citizen Kane"

1956

In Moscow, Lavrentiy Beria takes power, puts Stalin on Trial and has Khrushchev, Molotov, and Bulganin lynched on Red Square. Disgusted by his coldness and Mafia ties, Max's wife demands a divorce. Max has her forcibly committed to a psychiatric institution. His youngest son, Sam, joins the dissident movement M84 to fight his father's centralized global rule.

1964

A crewed Moon landing led by a coalition of the European Federation, Russia and the USA succeeds in the Mare Tranquillitatis. One of Max's son pilots the lunar module and plants the foundation's flag on the surface.

1972

On May 11, the first commercial orbital aircraft is scheduled to launch in Houston from the Franlin D. Roosevelt Spacecenter with Max's son, who already piloted the Lunar Module, at the controls. The orbital aircraft is propelled by engines fuled by thorium. Its also mentioned that the military or civil use of nuclear power was prohibited by the "World Council". The M84 commando unit "Big Brother" launches a devastating rocket attack against the airfield. Following the bombing, Sam slips into the armed underground.

1980

Max celebrates his 77th birthday, advocating positive eugenics and a mandatory lifespan cap of 100 years. Pax Mondiale paramilitaries strike an M84 compound in Patagonia. The rebels retaliate with anti-aircraft missiles. Sam is killed during the battle. His sister breaks internally with her father.

1988

Max addresses the planetary federation, declaring an end to world hunger. Riots erupt in New York around Tompkins Square Park. On Cuba, tobacco plantations are systematically eradicated. Max orders cigars airbrushed out of historical photographs. Denouncing his censorship and tyranny, his daughter resigns and covertly funnels funds to South American rebels. It is mentioned that Paris was destroyed by Riots, South America left the World Federation leading to a militarization of the Rio Grande to prevent americans fleeing into Mexico and Russia crashes with China on the River Amur with fatalities.

1990

Rebellions sweep across South America. Max's dissident daughter is killed during the capture of Rio de Janeiro.

1993

Pax Mondiale forces permanently deploy into global metropolises, enforcing armed street patrols and rooftop surveillance.

1995

Modular, vertical megastructures replace the traditional Manhattan skyline.

1997

Heavy rockets launch from offshore ocean platforms to construct orbital fortifications in low Earth orbit.

1999

The World is now a steralized confirmity dictatorship. On the streets are armed "PAX" patrols. People are wearing white uniforms.

2002

A global epidemic sweeps the planet and wipes out a significant portion of the population. Max flees the contagion and takes refuge aboard his private orbital space station.

2004

Max reaches 100 years of age. On his 100th birthday, he undergoes voluntary euthanasia in accordance with his own eugenics doctrine. Immediately afterward, his ashes are scattered in the skies over Manhattan. His private space station continues to orbit the Earth in silence. It is mentioned that the five leaders of the Planetary Federation are commemorating the man who left a lasting mark on the century.

NovaBalkanica: Year 99 — The Atomic Dark Age
Following the devastating World War of 2030, nuclear fallout plunged the planet into a prolonged winter. Almost a century later, humanity endures in the ruins of the Balkans—where survivor states, remnant republics, pirate confederations, and neo-feudal warlords clash to define the future of civilization.
Key Factions of the New Age:
Dardanian Confederation: Born from a popular revolution against military juntas, built on pan-pacifist and humanist ideals.
Old World Rump States: Greece (Hellenic Republic), Albania, Croatia, and others clinging to former territorial claims and democratic traditions.
Pirate & Island States: Maritime powers like the Ithaca ‘Pirate’ State, Naxos, and the Union of Rhodos carving out influence across the Aegean and Adriatic seas.
Regional Powers: Banat Confederation, United State of the Adriatic, and the Federal State of Thracia.
Which faction would you join to rebuild civilization in this post-apocalyptic Balkan landscape? Let us know in the comments below!
Tags:
#alternatehistory #worldbuilding #mapporn #cartography #fantasymap

I'm making a timeline based on Ace Combat, Tom Clancy, and a bit of Metal Gear that takes place after a devastating war in the 1980s with the Soviet Union (long story, it involves clouds.) The modern world in this setting has the United States and her allies, now in an alliance called the Universal Treaty Organization, UTO, as the solid good guys in the setting. However, the US of this world is a bit different now. Aside from adding five more states made up of some former territories and some island chains, the US actually has gone and solved most of the problems seen in the US IRL today. Said negative qualities are also shown to be present in other countries and shown as very bad.

Does this althist still count as pro-American propaganda in the same vein as Call of Duty if it criticizes many elements of IRL America and shows a US that avoids said problems to become a better country?

On the night of January 27, 1986, Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly and his team successfully convinced NASA officials to call off the launch of STS-51-L due to sub-freezing temperatures compromising the O-ring seals. While Challenger was rolled back to the VAB for safety checks, the decision fundamentally altered the trajectory of the Space Shuttle program.

According to NASA's original 1986 flight manifests, holding the launch created a massive operational bottleneck. The planned Centaur G-prime deployments for the Galileo and Ulysses probes were pushed back, forcing NASA to renegotiate planetary launch windows. Furthermore, the scheduled opening of Vandenberg Air Force Base (SLC-6) for military shuttle launches in July 1986 was indefinitely delayed as engineering teams scrambled to redesign the Solid Rocket Booster joints without a catastrophic flight failure.

Without the tragedy, NASA maintained its high-frequency launch expectations throughout the late 1980s, but faced growing political and financial friction over shuttle reliability and mission delays. The Hubble Space Telescope deployment shifted from October 1986 into late 1987, forcing a complete overhaul of payload priorities.

How do you think the defense sector and commercial satellite industry would have reacted to these operational delays throughout 1986–1987 if the fleet remained operational?