Dylan Dies

July 29th, 2007

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The Announcement

Drac pulled up the image of the young woman and displayed her on the desk. "And, what happens to dear Melissa when you take her place?"
"I'm afraid she dies."
"Tyr Weapons Systems." He tapped his head. "That's a whole universe of pain and death. Is the price you're getting worth it?"
"I think so."
"Can I be traced through you?"
"Anything is possible, Drac. I can't give you complete assurance on that."
He nodded. Whether he could be traced was a matter of his skill versus those of his opponents, and not up to her. "Who hired you?"
"You know I can't tell you that."
"Worth a shot." He thought for a minute, then nodded. "All right. When do you need to start?"
"I need the body complete by the 14th. And, I'll need to give you updates on her physical condition up to the 13th. All right?"
Drac shook his head. "I'm starting to think this isn't worth it for me."
Sonja leaned across the desk. "I really need this, Drac. You have no idea how important this is."
He reached across and took her hand. "All right, Sonja. For you. Leave me all the information you have, and I'll begin. Will you be able to transmit the updates, or will security require you to bring me those in person?"
"In person. Some things are too easy to pluck out of the air." She transmitted briefly, and he nodded to acknowledge receipt. Then, she got up and took a step back towards the hole. "Coming with me?"
His dark eyes were poring over the data in front of him, and he shook his head. "No, dear, you go ahead. The hole will let you out. I'm going to begin working on this masterpiece." He waved a hand and the hole opened back for her. When she walked underneath it, she was lifted up and passed through, back into the small booth. When she was back on her feet again, the hole closed over and was covered by the rectangular block - the coffin - that Drac kept to greet his customers.
She stepped through the beads and went back into the bazaar. This time, the wash of desires and noises was a welcome distraction from what she would have to do over the next week, and what would be done after that.

Once she was home, she set up a security field and dropped the personal defenses she had been keeping up since leaving. She was exhausted. She hadn't slept since getting the assignment, three days ago. There had been a lot to do, many people to see, and hundreds of preparations to make. She was pretty sure that she had it all in hand, now, and could let it all coast for a few hours while she rested.
She took off the silver jacket and laid it carefully at the foot of the bed. Then, she slid out of her boots and socks, lining them up carefully where her feet would fall when she swung her legs out of the bed. Off came her pants, and they were folded neatly and set on the chair within easy reach. She left on her blouse because she didn't like to sleep topless. She folded back the sheets, slid in, and covered up. The room saw that she didn't want to stay up, so the lights dimmed and the temperature dropped to make her comfortable. Within seconds, she was asleep.
Seconds later, a persistent tickle at her ear woke her up. "What is it?" Her eyelids fluttered open, and a man stood at her bedside, admiring her sleeping form. She drew the sheets a little more tightly around her. "What do you want, Gil?"
"You, of course, Sonja, but a little progress report would do for now."
"I'll give it to you after I've had a chance to sleep for a few hours." She waved a hand at him and pulled the cover over her head. "Go away."
His head lowered within inches of hers. "Our employer wants to know where we stand. This kind of man doesn't wait, baby."
"We're on track. Goodbye."
"Details, Sonja."
"Matilda," she muttered to her computer, "what level of privacy am I on?"
"Emergency calls only, mum," the soft english voice replied.
"Sonja, the guy hasn't heard from you in 3 days. He is friggin' threatening to have the Militia come in and torture me. You know I can't take real pain."
She pulled back the sheet and stared into Gil's eyes. They were bloodshot, as always - Gil never did take care of his appearance - and they were worried. He looked almost as bad as she felt. "Look, Gil, I've got the preparations made, the switchover will take place as planned on the 13th. Now, I need eight hours of sleep, or I'm going to die."
"Who are you using for the prep? He wants to know."
She narrowed her eyes. "He doesn't get to know, Gil. My sources remain anonymous to everybody - even big money types."
"Sonja..."
"Gil, I'm cutting you off now. If you call me back before eight hours is up, you won't have to worry about being tortured by the Militia."
"You'll give me everything then, though, right?"
She was really regretting ever coming to work with the little weasel. "Yes, Gil. Now you go bye-bye. Matilda, total privacy."
"Yes, mum." Gil's image blinked out, and Sonja settled back again. "Shall I play some music for you, mum? You seem somewhat tense."
"Sure." A few strains of folk music played out over her, and she breathed deeply. "This had better work." She flipped over on her side, trying to get more comfortable. "Hey, Matilda, was that call monitored?"
"There wasn't any discernible trace, mum."
"Can you analyze any unusual traffic that may have piggy-backed on Gil's signal and let me know?"
"Of course, mum." Matilda was silent for a minute, leaving the soothing pipes to work their magic on Sonja. She was almost asleep when Matilda came back. "There was a slight bulge in the amount of data being transmitted, mum, but I couldn't trace where it came from or where it went. The probability is that the call was being monitored."
"Damn it." Gil had been told to make the call and get information from her, and their employer was listening in. "I hate it when people don't trust you. A contract is a contract." She fussed and fumed mentally for a couple of seconds, then asked, "Can you tap into Gil, and find any residuals left in his area?"
"I'll try, mum. But, for what purpose?"
"If you can pick up a residual from anyone associated with Tyr Weapons Systems, bring it back, isolate, and culture it. Then work up an antidote."
Matilda paused, and hesistantly said, "Tyr Weapons Systems is known very widely for their security, mum."
"I have a lot of faith that you can break that reputation, Matilda."
"Very well, mum."
Sonja's exhaustion was weighing very heavily on her. "I've still got to get some sleep. Matilda, keep me posted of any emergencies, but let me sleep uninterrupted for at least five hours if you can. All right?"
"Yes, mum."
She covered herself again and closed her eyes. Everything was abuzz inside her, but she forced that all down. She called up the morpheus image she'd had planted to help her relax.
A muscular man's hands ran down her body, unclenching each muscle, relaxing all her nerves. Then, those wonderful hands smoothed away her hair and massaged her temples, and her breathing deepened. Her eyes closed, but the hands kept working their magic, flying to any part of her that needed to be soothed, and caressing away her cares and tensions. In minutes, she was asleep.
She really liked morpheus.

Five hours later, Matilda woke her with a gentle ringing bell. She sat up in the bed and stretched, feeling much better than she had in three days. She would have liked more, but she got enough to keep her going for a while.
"Find out anything, Matilda?"
"I have four different residuals that I am attempting to cultivate. They are all from different systems inside Tyr, and one of them is being very nasty about being held and cultured."
"Work on that one. I think it'll probably be the most helpful to the task we have at hand."
Matilda almost sighed. "I will try, mum, but you have no idea how difficult it's being."
Sonja smiled at the old girl. "I'm sorry, Matilda, but please do your best. This could make our lives a lot easier."
That almost-audible sigh again. "Yes, mum."

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian border Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence made a fateful decision for England and his family. The letters he had written between 1931 to 1934, posing as his own Uncle to John Bruce were a threat to his family. A threat to his missionary brother, and anchoress mother who had already lost two sons to the war. The shame washed over him. He swalled two quinine tablets, to disguise his sweating as malaria. Yet he had given his word to do his best for his Arab allies. Before November 1917, he would have consulted with his God, but God was no longer speaking to Thomas Edward Lawrence. "Publish and be damned" he told Skorzeny.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of Susan Shwarz original content has been made to celebrate the author's commanding genius.

Hey Joe Where you goin' with that gun in your hand? Hey Joe I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand? Well, dig it! I'm goin' way down south, way down south,(Hey) way down south to Mexico way!
Jimi Hendrix	Alright! (Joe) I'm goin' way down south, (Hey, Joe) way down where I can be free! you better run on down! (where you gonna...) Goodbye everybody. Ow! ~ Lyrics to “Hey Joe” - Click to Play Sample
Dead Man Walking

Guadalajara 1969 ~ Hendrix apocalyptic warnings about President Richard Nixon (codename “Joe”) and his covert operation to suppress the counter-culture had been largely ignored as paranoia until J. Edgar Hoover had terminated the Woodstock Music Festival on July 6th 1969. Within the next two years, many of the icons of the counter-culture including Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jim Hendrix had mysteriously died and those warnings were seriously re-evaluated. Counter-insurgency techniques planned for the VietCong were turned on American youth as the white suburbs of America became strategic hamlets. Which made perfect sense, some times you have to destroy the village to save it. Greenwich Village included. The Lyrics are available at Lyrics Freak

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1970, António de Oliveira Salazar had been dead for just forty-eight hours. Dramatic changes that had been held in check for many years were now unleashed; Portugal was no longer “Proudly Alone”. Immediate pressure for independence emerged from nationalists in Mozambique and Anglola. The most fevered speculation focused on the west coast of India. The Administration in Goa faced the very real prospect of losing the whole subcontinent, the Jewel in the Crown of the Portugese Colonial Empire. ~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2009, the TV networks presented episode eighteen of So What If?. Historian Mackinlay Kantor reviewed the history of the USA, CSA and Republic of Texas after the death of Grant on the way to Vicksburg and how Lee won at Gettysburg.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1967, explosion and fire on U.S. navy carrier Forrestall in Tonkin bay left 134 US servicemen dead. A Zuni rocket was accidentally fired from an F4 Phantom parked on the starboard side of the flight deck aft of the island. The missile streaked across the deck into a 400 gallon belly fuel tank on a parked A4D Skyhawk. The pilot of the Skyhawk was [the later to be] President John McCain of Arizona, he was able to evacuate the plane and got away safely.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Mosi-oa-Tunya	In 1855, from Mosi-oa-Tunya, known to the European as Victoria Falls, Makololo soul-deeps promoted the continent of Ifriquia to a mega-node in the Mesh, the global network of First Nation consciousness founded in Manna-hata, Turtle Island in 1492.
British witness David Livingstone recorded “the scene as so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” The smoke that thunders burst into the Zambezi River as indigenes around the globe celebrated the dawning of a new age of inter-connectivity.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1948, the first Summer Olympics since Berlin 1936 opened in London with the Games of the XIV Olympiad. Several new nations sent teams following territorial alignments either delayed or caused by the Great War. These included East and West Austria, North and South Japan, Palestine and Hindustan.	London 1948
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Bob Dylan	In 1966, the musician Bob Dylan died in upstate New York. Whilst riding his Triumph 500 motorcycle in Woodstock, New York, its brakes locked, throwing him to the ground. The fall broke his neck and he died instantly. He was sadly missed, even though other artists used the master's lyrics.
In the words of the CBS tag, "Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan”.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1981, Lady Diana Spencer married Charles Windsor, Prince of Wales. It was an unhappy marriage for the “Queen of Hearts” which ended with a tragic car crash in 1997, killing the Prince and his lover, Camilla Parker-Bowles. The widow subsequently married Dodi Al-Fayed, finding true happiness at last.	Diana Spencer
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Lenin's Coffin

July 20th, 2007

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The Announcement

“So, where is her father?”
She knew that question was going to come, eventually. “He's working in Iraq. He has an engineering firm that takes on dangerous assignments.”
Lance looked a little uncomfortable as he asked, “So, are you two still...?”
“Married? No. We divorced about 4 years ago.”
Lance looked over at Monica. “Must make this kind of event hard on her.”
“It can.” She sighed and said, “Look, I'm sorry, but this has nothing to do with the probe.”
“Human interest, doc. We don't want to just hear the facts – we want to know the person behind them.” He gave her his best smile again. “Especially when that person's cute.”
She smiled in spite of herself. “Are you hitting on me?”
“How would you feel about it if I was?” He answered her question with a question – very annoying.
“Well, I wouldn't mind if you were honest about it. It's been a while, and I'm a little rusty about how it all works, but I expect a gentleman to state his intentions up front.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.” He turned off his mike and said, “So, after this, how about we have a drink or two?”
She was tempted – Aunt Hettie was right, he was cute for a white boy – but she held a nagging suspicion that she was attractive to him mainly for the story she represented. “I don't know. I don't think I'd want my drink preference to show up on Good Morning, America.”
“All off the record, doc – Andi.”
“It's OK, you can call me doc.”
“All right, then.” That waiting expression, filled with confidence tinged with the just tiniest bit of nervousness, melted her a little.
What the hell, she thought, it has been a while. “OK. But I get to pick the place.”
“You got it.” Now, he was insufferably smug. Men were always like that after you said yes.

In 1971, with great regret an executive order was issued to shut down Operation 40, a CIA-sponsored undercover operation created by US President Eisenhower in March 1960 after the 1959 Cuban Revolution and presided over by then vice-president Richard M. Nixon. Operation 40 had 86 employees in 1961, of which 37 were trained as case officers. One such officer Frank Sturgis described the work of this elite intelligence operation as "this assassination group (Operation 40) would upon orders, naturally, assassinate either members of the military or the political parties of the foreign country that you were going to infiltrate, and if necessary some of your own members who were suspected of being foreign agents... " Broadly, Operation 40 had three phases. 1) Execution of covert US Foreign Policy (1959-1961) by assassination attempts on Fidel Castro, Che Guavara, Patrice Lumumba ending in the Bays of Pigs Operation 2) Execution of housekeeping operations (1961-1968) including domestic assassination attempts on John F Kennedy, Robert F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, George Wallace and Malcolm X. 3) Executon of counter-culture icons (1968-1972) including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. By means of dispatch, Nixon's genius was to conceive of a treachery within a treasonous act. Members of Operation 40 would break-into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Deep sleeper agent Frank Wills would then foil the robbery, call the police and kick-start the justice operation. Perhaps some of them would go for immunity, perhaps even a few stories would be told. Sturgis himself had been one of the gun-men on the grassy knoll, and witnessed the shooting of Office JD Tippit by L Gordon Liddy. An unprecented cover-up would be required. In a triple twist, the CIA punished the executive for failure to support the Agency over the Bays of Pigs. The cover-up was buried by turning the heat back onto the White House itself, forcing Nixon to resign in 1974. On tape, Nixon described the Kennedy assassination as the Bay of Pigs thing, it was a fifteen-year web of intrigue that finally caught the spider himself.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Richard Nixon	"It is only a beginning, always. The young must know it; the old must know it. It must always sustain us, because the greatness comes not when things go always good for you, but the greatness comes and you are really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes, because only if you have been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain. " ~ Richard Nixon
President

Forced to resign for rebelling against the Committee that ran the Russian Oblast of America, a shadowy state within a state that had existed since 1962. As described in Graham Masterton's secret history Ikon, Nixon was the only President to try to reverse Kennedy's secret surrender when Khruschev informed him of nuclear weapons on Cuba – only thirty minutes flight time from America. Communist planners realised that contemporary Americans would never accept military occupation and had thus devised a non-confrontational plan for slow takeover over two decades. Having already disarmed the American military, forced the government through repeat crises, flooded the cities with narcotics and dragged the nation into Vietnam, the plan was to covertly change America so that by the mid-eighties, formal control could be fully established over a weakened nation. The full text of the farewell speech is available at Great Speeches

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 2007, A. BREEG wrote ~ my cousin died on 18th June 1978, this much is known. This year the British Heavy Metal Band Iron Maiden released a song called "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". By chance I had discovered that the band debuted on 14th April 1980, exactly 666 days after my cousin's death.
Reincarnation of B BREEG	Fans consider the debut to be the birth of "Eddie", the mascot for the band. He is a perennial fixture in the often violent album cover art, as well as ever present in their live shows. Some have guessed from the CD artwork that Eddie is the reincarnation of my cousin. Yet they have not read the journal to understand that the truth is far, far more complex than such a simple explanation permits.

CD Cover

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the genius of Iron Maiden's "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg".

In 2009, TV networks ran episode eleven of So What If?. Septuagenarian Saddam Hussein dies in Baghdad. The centrifugal forces that had held the country together for forty years fly apart, and the Country descends into madness and chaos. Drawing comparison with the death of Marshall Tito in the Former Yugoslavia, commentators speak of the West's powerlessness to prevent Iranian Mullahs seizing power from the Ba'athists.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2007, a Co-Historian at the Academy mistyped his gmail id whilst logging on to email. Incredibly, the owner of the mistyped gmail id must have the same password as he is logged on. Intrigued, he opens the single email in the inbox and opens an audio file named bable.wav to hear the most alien of noises imaginable. Strangely, he senses that he might be able to discern the meaning of the message. Certainly it is a set of precise instructions to be executed..

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Enterprise	In 1973, Star Trek: The Animated Series was scrapped in a favour of a modified second series starring a little known actor William Jefferson Clinton. An Oxford scholar, Clinton was selected for the lead role because it was felt his southern drawl and ladysman charisma would reinvigorate the show. In his autobiography “The ..
.. Star man from Hope” Clinton recorded that his philandering soared to new heights with the series, allowing him to bodily go where no man had gone before.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1927, the promotion of the Dreamtime subcontinent to an ultra-node in the Mesh had unforeseen consequences. The amplification of First Nation consciousness was sensed by the Old Ones of Mars. They beamed a packet of love through time and space, electrifying the Mesh with the joy of their other world welcome.	Mars
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Confederate Con..	In 1839, the Congress of the Confederate States of America began sitting in Richmond, Virginia. To a man they were implacably opposed to 8th President of the United States Martin Van Buren. The explosive issue of First Nation genocide, sparked by the Cherokee Trail of Tears was about to ignite the American Civil War. This ..
.. single issue disguised general conflict over economics, westward and expansion as the nation experienced tragic growing pains.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1917, Alexander Kerensky became Prime Minister and President of the Russian provisional government and survived an assassination attempt. His first challenge was to defeat the Red Menace from the vampire forces of Lenin's undead nosferatu who believed that “at night, power laid on the streets of St Petersburg”. ..	Kerensky
.. The White general Kornilov discovered Lenin in a coffin under the Finland Station, whereupon he was caste into the bright summer sunlight to kill both the vampire and his offspring brood. Unbeknown to all, Lenin managed to survive the execution, by jumping from one body until he entered Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, sneaking away to another to continue killing as the vampire Stalin.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Religious Turmoil

The state of TIAH

March 25th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: I promised you a collection, and we are working on it – but real life is getting in the way. Fortunately, the worst part of the real-life problems we were having has been resolved. I have found new employment (yay!). We're going to aim for an April release for the collection, and will make more announcements about it as we draw closer to actually making that a reality. We're spending this morning working on, it so our Guest Historian is taking up the slack for our posting today. And, speaking of April and our Guest Historian, Stephen Payne suggested that it was time for a contest, so we're going to have an April Fool's Day Contest! Email us up to 3 entries for an alternate April 1st and we will post the best 10, with your own credit and link to your website (if you have one). My lovely Co-Historian says that if we can get 30 entrants, we can offer an ultimate winner a complimentary TIAH mug, but we only have 4 entrants so far! Get researching those alternate histories now, folks! The deadline is March 29th.

Percy Bysshe Sh..	In 1811 the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was expelled from the University of Oxford for his publication of the pamphlet The Necessity of Divinity. Since the Reformation, England had been studiously atheist and even the dons of Oxford were not tolerant of religious worship in the nineteenth century.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1865 on this day in Wisconsin the Claywater Meteorite exploded just before reaching ground level, delivering a cluster-bomb effect as fragments of 1.5 kg mass showered Vernon County. Little significance was given to the incident until the delivery of the alien first-borns; settlers of European heritage were about ..	Meteor Crater
.. to experience a great empathy for the displaced first nations of America.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Howl	In 1955 US President William Randolph Hearst invited Allen Ginsberg to the Reconstructed White House in San Francisco to congratulate that gentleman on the delicious obscenity of his latest poem 'Howl'. Standing proudly alongside other members of the genre including Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, Hearst noted ..
.. that the poetry of the Beat Generation was a vital form of escapism for America as it sought to build a counter-culture after the horror of World War III. Ginsberg honoured Hearst by writing some highly offensive graffiti on the West Wing wall.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1409 the Council of Pisa opened in a determined attempted to end the Western Schism, a split within the Catholic church in 1378. The event backfired disastrously, and today almost every major city in Europe has at least one Pope and one Anti-pope.	Habemus Papam a..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Days Of Grace

July 6th, 2007

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The Announcement

A note from the AH: Since my contribution is now whatever I am currently writing, today my contribution is just a little intro to Steve's work – ah, the luxury of having a Co-Historian! Here are Steve's “bobby dazzlers”, as he calls them...

Kerry Edwards	In 2004, Democrat Presidential nominee John Edwards suffered from pangs of doubt following a meeting in North Carolina with Vice Presidential hopeful John Kerry. Edwards' plan was to secure the national security vote with a balanced ticket combining his strong anti-war stance with a former Vietnam Veteran.
Of course, if Edwards had allowed his political advisor Bob Scrum to push him into supporting the war, the positions would have likely been reversed. Or Howard Dean would have been meeting with Kerry, who could say?. Iraq was the big flip-flop of this political generation. ~ Steve Payne: use of this news item was selected to debate Iraq War not to comment on the Iraq War.

In 1777, the people of the Long House completed a week of celebration for the first anniversary of the birth of their nation. In reference to the expulsion of Europeans from the Turtle Island, Leaders of the Iroquis Federation quoted from the Aztec, Montezuma who famously said "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance".

~ variant by Steve Payne: respect is due to Jerry Oltion's classic Red Alert, potraying the Cuban Missile Crisis, recast in the 1800s as the Iroquois Federation inter-tribal air force vs. Manhattan.

Prince Harry	In 2008, at RAF Northolt the Royal Family welcomed the return of Prince Henry Charles Albert David following his release by hostage takers in Iraq. Third in the line of succession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, "Harry" had been seized on patrol and held for 115 days before his release.
An unusually emotionally scene reminded many of a somewhat similiar scenario from 1982. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's son Mark had returned from Sahara desert where he had been presumed lost while taking part in an international motor race. Quoting the scriptures, the Queen said "Welcome Home Our Beloved Son...We Are Well Pleased." Three months later, in an unconnected move, British troop withdrawals were announced. Everyone's son was coming home it seemed, and in a sense, Harry's service had achieved the great leveller that national pride had demanded. ~ Steve Payne: use of this news item was selected to debate Iraq War not to comment on Prince's personal safety.

In 1999, the networks ran instalment eight of TSEotTC in two parts. A terrible car crash in Paris, the British nation in tears. The Prince of Hearts, dying in the arms of his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles. And beyond the high drama, the conspiracy..

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1969, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation John Edgar Hoover issued executive instructions effectively banning a musical festival planned in New York State for the weekend of August 15th.	Hoover
400,000 people from all over America were expected to descend on a 600-acre dairy farm of Max Yasgur, in Bethel, New York, for a three-day concert, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Planned performances were expected from, among others, the Who, Santana, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix and, in only their second live show together, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Within Government circles it had been feared that like the million-man March on Washingston six years before, hippies would become self aware that far from being scattered individuals, they actually were much bigger in number than they thought. Since the return of the Republicans to the White House, the Nixon Administration had pursued a conservative agenda. The "showbiz" attitude of the Kennedys combined with anti-war protest threatened to implode American society unless firm action was taken at the beginning of the Presidency. American youth needed "what my father would call a visit to the wood shed" said Nixon, taking a very hardline on the counter-culture that had emerged since he left the White House with Eisenhower in 1961. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrisson would all die mysterious deaths before the '72 election. In a concilitatory measure, Nixon invited the Beach Boys to the White House, an all-American success story for the music industry.
~ entry by Co-Historian Steve Payne

Jethro Tull	In 1969, the Gnomes of Basle faced an unprecedent challenge to their uninterrupted world rule following the release of progressive rock band Jethro Tull's concept album Stand Up. Ironically, David Palmer, Glenn Cornick, Clive Bunker, Martin Lancelot Barre and Ian Anderson would not have looked out of place at the mastermind's underground HQ below the Bank for International Settlements building in Switzerland.
Quite simply, Ian Anderson flute playing was sublime. Stand Up represented an unexplored dimension of pure mellowness that could prove fatal to the despondency the Gnomes' required to sustain their world-grip. Laboratory tests at Basle had proven that human listeners achieved a degree of freedom that could if unchecked force them to reconsider feelings of disempowerment. Sound government required the Gnomes to accelerate the introduction of formulaic music, stick Ian Anderson on an obscure Scottish Island and flood the coming generations with mindless pulp noises.
~ entry from Steve Payne: tribute to Ian Anderson - you rule, sir!.

In 2010, in Alaska's White Mountains swift and effective counter-measures are taken at the High-frequency Auroral Research Center (HARC II). The world's most powerful beam of high-frequency electro-magnetic energy enters the ionosphere and destroys the small pox virus weapons. The rogue North Korean leadership who launched the weapons were already dead in Pyongyang, destroyed by a British Trident.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Freddie Mercury	Machines...It's a machines world, . Don't tell me I ain't got no soul When the machines take over, It ain't no place for rock and roll They tell me I don't care, But deep inside I'm just a man.. We have no disease no trouble of mind No thank you or please no regard for the time We never cry we never retreat We have no conception of love or defeat ~ Lyrics to Back to Humans
Rock Cyborg

Cyborg technology rescued Rock mega-star Freddie Mercury real name Farrokh Bulsara from a certain death at the hands of the AIDS pandemic. In “Back to Humans”, Mercury speaks of the duality of his release and imprisonment through this techno escape route. A synopsis of the life of Freddie Mercury can be viewed at Wikipedia

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

Churchill	In 1942, it was agreed by Taoiseach Éamon de Valera that 32nd American Winston Churchill would after all visit London Town as part of his State Visit to the Irish Isles. It is further agreed he would support the Dublin Government by denouncing the protestant terrorists behind “the Troubles” in Southern England.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1942, following the funeral of Ian Fleming, the fifteen other members of the assassin squad were executed on this day in Dublin. The subversive English underground newspaper reported the executions as follows. ”No nobler blood than theirs has fallen on Irish earth in the long struggle for freedom. The military failure ..	Ian Fleming
.. of the assassination proved to be no less significant than the effects of its impact upon the nation's mind. It was the expression in action of an idea essentially spiritual, the translation of an old and vital aspiration into living history. In this State Visit the historic English nation was reborn. For men who shared in that shining deed Fleming, in one of his last messages, asked the remembrance of England present and to come. He did not ask in vain. 'They shall be remembered for ever'"
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

John Edwards	In 2004, John Kerry named John Edwards as his Vice Presidential running mate on the Democratic Party ticket. Just about the only thing that John Edwards agreed with his boss on is that America can "do better". Edward's interpretation is somewhat different from Kerry's, the North Carolina Senator meant “do better” than ..
.. having his boss assume the Presidency. Regrettably that meant Edwards had to seek common cause with these unlikely allies, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The following year Edwards beat Harry Truman's record ascendancy to the Presidency after only 82 days, when Kerry was forced to resign over inconsistencies in his Vietnam War Record.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1975, on this day Arthur Ashe celebrated the achievement of becoming the first African American man to win the Wimbledon singles title. At 1 John 5:19 it is written that the whole world lies in that wicked one, and Satan did not want to play ball. The story of Ashe's life turned from success to tragedy in 1988, however, ..	Arthur Ashe
.. when he discovered he had contracted HIV during the blood transfusions received during one of his two heart surgeries. He spent much of the last years of his life writing his memoir Days of Grace, finishing the manuscript less than a week before his death of complications from AIDS on February 6, 1993.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Bazaar

July 28th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Justification: Here's something else new – sorry about all the jumping around lately. I'll settle down on one thing or another before too long. If you have an opinion about which story I should settle down on, email me or leave notes in the comments.

The bazaar smelled terribly, just as it always did. Sonja's nose crinkled for a second, then her filters kicked in, and most of the smell went away. Not all, of course, because some of those smells were capable of bypassing her filters, but at least the worst ones were subdued.
Most of the booths had pheromone attractors, and some of those were bypassing her filters, too. She was glad she had disabled her sex drive before coming. There were bombardment streams at some of the more pushy booths that tried to break into her main interest centers, but she had neural assistants to take care of those.
"This is what you want." The thought popped in, and she felt a great desire to stop at the booth that had supplied it. A second later, that thought was joined by, "This is what you will buy." A second after that, her assistants cleared all trace of that stream from her head. She raised an eyebrow at the expectant storekeep, smirked, then strode away. Several uglier thoughts followed after, which she didn't have to bother killing.
The booth she was heading towards had no need of the flashy ads the others employed. Its owner was an artist known by everyone who needed his talents. He did not wish to attract new customers by artificial means.
Sonja pushed through the beads surrounding his booth and sat on the cushion that faced a man-sized rectangular block. As she sat, the temperature and lighting in the area bounded by the beads instantly changed to what she enjoyed most. Light music began playing, a small piece from the last century that was one of her favorites. He hadn't read her mind to discern it - the booth worked on a thousand subtle clues she dropped as soon as she broke through the beads. Drac never read people's minds unless they asked him to. But the fact that he didn't need to made people respect him all the more.
It also showed that he respected the privacy of others. Whatever happened in Drac's booth was left in Drac's booth. Another great factor in his reputation.
The block began glowing, then slowly warped itself into the shape of a tall man, long and lean, with skin the color of mahogany. The attraction Sonja felt for him had nothing to do with pheromones. "Hi, Sonja. What can I do for you?"
"I've got something pretty hot to trade, Drac." She pulled a thin vial out of her shirt pocket. It was filled with a couple of milliliters of yellowish fluid. "This is Oregon's finest. Militia security culture. Know of anyone with a need to bypass Militia security systems?"
Drac smiled, revealing his fangs. "I can think of a person or two. Is it reproductive?"
She sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, this is it. But, this is enough to treat about a thousand kilos of total mass."
"Until they change cultures."
She nodded, a little disappointed that he caught on that fast. "Right, but they don't do that more than once a month. And they just made the change three days ago, so this culture's going to be good for at least three and a half more weeks."
"Have you got the antidote culture to it?"
"No, you'll have to find some way to clear it out. But, someone of your skills should be able to do that with no problem," she smiled, "right, Drac?"
"Of course, dear. I just needed to know whether I had to knock that off of whatever you want to trade that for." He leaned over to her. "What do you want to trade it for, Sonja?"
"I need a new body."
He looked her up and down. "I've always liked the one you currently have. It would be a real shame to get rid of it."
"I don't have much choice."
He frowned. "No, they never do. Why do you need a body from me? That's a very common function; practically anybody can supply you with culture that'll do that."
"Because I need your skill in creating it."
He snickered. "Why all the flattery, Sonja? Are you in that much trouble?"
"Yes."
He raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be wavering in his decision not to read minds. "Am I going to need that Militia culture myself after this?"
She didn't meet his gaze. "It's possible."
"Well, you've been very bad, indeed, little Sonja." He gestured below him, and a hole opened up. "Let's continue our discussion someplace a little more secure."
Her cushion rose into the air, and she held herself as steady as she could on it. It floated to the hole and dropped through, followed by Drac. As the shopkeep passed the hole, it closed, and they floated in darkness for a moment. Then, Sonja felt her cushion land, and a light came on around them.
They were in a cavernous office, filled with tasteful furniture that was at least two and probably three centuries old. Drac strode over to the desk that filled up half of one wall and seated himself in the throne-like chair behind it. He gestured, and the cushion placed itself and Sonja on an impossibly comfortable chair opposite him.
"You have such wonderful taste, Drac. How much does all of this cost?"
He looked around and ran a few numbers in his head. "More than you will see in your life."
"I don't know about that."
He settled himself down to business. "Why do you need a body from me, Sonja? And what sort of modifications is that body going to have?"
She pursed her lips. She had been working out the particulars for several hours, but had yet to hit on any that worked for her. "Well, I'm going to need a reader screen and at least temporary camouflage cultures." She held up her palm and an image of a woman popped up out of it. The face was angular, with blue eyes and high cheekbones. The hair was short and black. The body was a stylish hourglass, with high definition on the muscles of the legs and arms. "This is what I'll need to look like. She's 1.847 meters tall and weighs 61.013 kilos." An image of fingerprints popped up, followed by a retinal pattern. "This is her ID, and I've got a DNA sample for you to culture that you'll have to match."
"You know, I've always liked you as a blond. I don't know if you'd exhibit the same charm as a brunette." He looked her in the eye. "Who is she?"
"Do you really need to know?"
"I do if it's going to mean trouble for me. I don't like to move my shop; my clientelle know where I am, and the furniture gets scratched in transit." She felt a small pressure at her temples, a warning that he was holding a mental probe ready to use on her. "Tell me."
At least he warned her. Most of the other craftsmen she had considered for this job would have probed her the second she walked into their booths. "She's Ben Harrison's daughter, Melissa. Mr. Harrison is the president of Tyr Weapons Systems in Redmond."

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian border Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence took a massive gamble. Lawrence was a natural risk taker, often driving his motorcycle with such abandon that he betrayed the death wish which had gripped him since his disastrous loss of integrity in November 1917. Actually, in 1935, he had almost died when he had swerved to avoid two small boys and struck a van driven by German agents. Yet these letters he had written between 1931 to 1934, posing as his own Uncle to John Bruce were something else - a threat to his family. A threat to his missionary brother, and anchoress mother who had already lost two sons to the war.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of Susan Shwarz original content has been made to celebrate the author's commanding genius.

In 1970, António de Oliveira Salazar had been dead for just twenty-four hours. Labelling the African Unity Organization a Marxist movement, Salazar had fought the Winds of Change sweeping the southern hemisphere; "Proudly alone" was the motto of his final decade as the dictator of the Portuguese Republic.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

For we who grew up tall and proud In the shadow of the mushroom cloud Convinced our voices can't be heard We just wanna scream it louder and louder louder
Queen	What the hell we fighting for? Just surrender and it wont hurt at all You just got time to say your prayers While your waiting for the hammer to fall ~ Lyrics to “Hammer to Fall” - Click to Play Sample
Apocalyptic Childhood

The apocalyptic influence of the Dropshot War (World War III) and how it affected members of the band and their childhood. The lyrics are detailed in full at at Lyrics Freak

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1940, former New York DA Allister Park and new wife Kuurikwiljor depart the Tawantiinsuujan capital of Kuuskoo in an airwain, a scaled down aircraft with steam engines on either side of the wing. Unexpectedly, the Wheel of If turns once more as the airwain is forced to land in a Mexico City that repelled the conquistadors. The reason for the repulsion is apparent, the City is ruled by an ancient demon of the Aztec world Mictlantecuhtli. The Lord of Mictlan plans to sacrifice the newly weds at the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlanthe very next day..

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Stalin	In 1942, USSR leader Joseph Stalin issued Order No. 227 in response to alarming German advances into Russia. Under the order all Soviet forces retreated behind the armistice line. Comrade Stalin had intended to organise a series of hit and run strikes from Siberia, however his politburo colleagues executed him for betraying ..
.. the revolution due to his cowardly decision to quit Moscow.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1976, in China an earthquake measuring 8.2 magnitude flattened Tangshan, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851. Many people in Tangshan reported seeing strange lights the night before. A thousand chickens reportedly refused to eat and acted wildly, along with several hundred geese who reportedly tried to eat each other ..	Tangshan earthq..
.. in desperation and frustration, and sheer terror. Dogs would not stop barking and goldfish jumped out of their bowls. The source of this catastrophe was not understood at the time. Only later did Earth Scientists discover the extent of the underground damage caused by the Tunguska impact event of 1908, and the south-eastward trajectory of the Neutronium.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Armalite	In 2005, the Provisional English Republican Army (The PERA) called an end to their ..
.. thirty year long armed campaign in Southern England. In so doing they had finally heeded the advice of Taoiseach Éamon de Valera from 1942. During the disastrous State Visit of the 32nd US President, he had responded to Winston Churchill's call to action “Something has to be done”. de Valera argued “The English must now move forward from 1533 and stop arguing about the past”, a reference to Henry VIII actions in breaking with Rome which caused the collapse of English power at the hands of Catholic Europe.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley's British army defeats a much larger French force under Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Yorktown. Wellington had arrived in North America to set the clock back to 1776, and he meant business.	Wellington
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Secrets

Indira Gandhi	In 1966, the only daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, became the first woman prime minister of India. Mrs Gandhi led the nation into a new period of enlightenment by pursuing Bapu's policy of brahmacharya, meaning 'control of the senses in thought, word and deed'. No better demonstration could be given that her survival from a hail of bullets from her Sikh bodyguards in New Delhi in 1984. She had after all witnessed Bapu survive a similiar attempt on his life in 1948.
Prime Minister

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T.E. Shaw	The earth trembled with the wrath of the warring nations, as Shaw's fame spread fast and with the momentum of the fabulous through Asia. All the metals were molten. Everything was in motion. No one could say what was impossible. Shaw realised Napoleon's young dream of conquering the East; he arrived in Constantinople in 1919 with most of the tribes and races of Asia Minor and Arabia at his back. ~ epic coda to the Final Arabian Tale 'Byzantium', by fantasy writer Ned Lawrence © Oxford University Press, 1919.
Fictional Hero

On completing his degree (1910), Ned Lawrence commenced postgraduate research in medieval pottery with a Senior Demy at Magdalen College, Oxford, which he abandoned after he was offered the opportunity to become a practising archaeologist in the Middle East. In December 1910 he sailed for Beirut, and on arrival went to Jbail (Byblos), where he studied Arabic. He then went to work on the excavations at Carchemish, near Jerablus in northern Syria, where he worked under D.G. Hogarth and R. Campbell-Thompson of the British Museum. He would later state that everything he accomplished as a fantasy author he owed to Hogarth. While excavating ancient Mesopotamian sites, Lawrence met Gertrude Bell, who was to influence him for much of his time in the Middle East. In late summer 1911, Lawrence returned to England for a brief sojourn. By November he was en route to Beirut for a second season at Carchemish, where he was to work with Leonard Woolley. Prior to resuming work there, however, he briefly worked with William Flinders Petrie at Kafr Ammar in Egypt. Lawrence continued making trips to the Middle East as a field archaeologist until the outbreak of World War I. In January 1914, Woolley and Lawrence were co-opted by the British military as an archaeological smokescreen for a British military survey of the Negev Desert. They were funded by the Palestine Exploration Fund to search for an area referred to in the Bible as the "Wilderness of Zin"; along the way, they undertook an archaeological survey of the Negev Desert. The Negev was of strategic importance, as it would have to be crossed by any Ottoman army attacking Egypt in the event of war. Woolley and Lawrence subsequently published a report of the expedition's archaeological findings, but a more important result was an updated mapping of the area, with special attention to features of military relevance such as water sources. At this time, Lawrence visited Aqaba and Petra. From March to May, Lawrence worked again at Carchemish. Following the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, on the advice of S. F. Newcombe, Lawrence did not enlist in the British Army but held back until October, when he was commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps. During this period, he wrote a series of fantasy novels that were published after the war after he resumed his education.

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In 736 AUC, Caius Lumis Juventus, Roman inventor extraordinaire, demonstrates the most powerful steam engine ever built. Caius had been a student of the ancient Greek sciences, and had learned of the simple uses they had put the power of steam to in the old days. Jove’s Thunderbolt, the engine that Caius Juventus built, was capable of pulling a carriage with three heavy men for miles. His designs revolutionized Roman society.

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In 3896, Japanese Zen philosopher Dogen Kigen is born somewhere in southern Japan. As a young man, he traveled to the Chinese Empire to study the true ways of Zen at Mount Tendo. His mountain temple in Echizen has become a regular stop for pilgrims, including every Chinese emperor; tradition dictates that the emperor spend a week there before his coronation.

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In 1809, renowned author Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachussetts. The most popular writer in America during his lifetime, Poe invented detective fiction, as well as popularizing what would come to be known as horror stories by those who sought to imitate him at the end of the century. Poe died in 1883, a wealthy and happy man of letters.

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In 1840, Captain Charles Wilkes claims a third of Pluto for the North American Confederation. Although considered a bad piece of property to own at first, Pluto’s position at the outer reaches of the solar system becomes important when the Congress of Nations decides to build its defensive base there, and the N.A.C.’s importance in system affairs is increased.

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In 1943, singer Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas. Her hard living fueled the blues that she sang so beautifully, but it all came crashing down on her when she missed the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 because she was too drunk to perform. She checked into rehab after that, but her music never recovered. Today, she runs a counseling center for performers trying to kick addictions.

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In 2001, Chairman McPherson issues the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of the fatal car crash which killed the heir to the throne Prince Charles Windsor and his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles in Paris on 31st August 1997. McPherson finds no grounds for conspiracy. The British Public will have none of it, and the McPherson report overtakes the Warren Commission as a source of conspiracy theories on the Internet.

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In 1840, Captain Charles Wilkes attempts to circumnavigate Antarctica to claim so-called Wilkes Land for the United States. The southern lights known as the aurora australis terrorize the mission as powerful magicks force Wilkes to turn back and abandon the mission.

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In 1943, singer Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas. A charismatic and leading member of the counter-culture, conspiracy theorists believe that Joplin was a victim of the authoritarian problem implemented by President Richard Milhous Nixon in the late sixties / early seventies. Defeated in the '60 election, America entered a crazy decade of anti-social behaviour which threatened to rip the country apart. A strong disciplinarian, Nixon got the country back on track when he was re-elected in '68 with a 'secret plan'. His dislike for the hippie counterculture and the anti-war demonstrations emerged during the campaign when he had intimated 'I think some of these young people need what my father would call a visit to the woodshed.' The essence of the 'secret plan' soon emerged following the mysterious deaths of numerous counter-culture personalities including Janis Joplin as well as Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix..

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In 1940, the anti-German Underground film by the Three Stooges, You Natzy Spy, premiered in America. The highly controversial film featured comic Moe Howard as a Hitler-like figure who ruled over an amorphous country known as Moronica. The American Bund called for a total boycott of the film, and incited riots at many of the theaters showing it.

In 1971, European Space Agencies described Apollo 13 mission mechanical failures as a self-inflicted wound. The British really had to do something about this quality control problem for next time.

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Mike Gatting	In 1990 police in Archona armed with batons and dogs broke up a demonstration against English cricketers who arrived for a tour of the Domination of the Draka. Several hundred protesters, many waving placards saying "Domination is not cricket" and "Ban racist tours" had gathered in the arrivals hall at the Eric von Shrakrenberg airport to wait for the 15 England tourists led by captain Mike Gatting.
England Capt.

The cricketers were three hours late - by which time the police had moved in waving batons, setting the dogs on protesters and firing tear gas. Winnie Mandela - wife of the jailed African National Congress leader, Nelson Mandela - was seen among the crowd wiping tears from her eyes. She later complained of police brutality.

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