Yellowstone Worlds

oldgringo2001 · 01-05-2014, 06:35 PM

Eruptions of the Yellowstone supervolcano have been a popular topic recently. I have seen several documentaries, a four-hour miniseries, and read the first three Turtledove Supervolcano novels. So, here are some Yellowstone worlds for the Infinite Worlds setting:

Yellowstone-1(Q5, 640,000 BC): On this Earth, the Lava Creek Eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera happened 37 years ago. Early humans live on the old-world continents which are closed to everyone but monitors and licensed researchers. Some tourism is allowed in the Americas, primarily to South America which has some interesting wildlife such as giant birds, and marsupial saber-tooth "tigers."

Yellowstone-2 (Q6, 2,100,000 BC): Vulcanologists expect the Huckleberry Ridge eruption to to occur soon--that is, in the next 100 centuries. Or it could happen tomorrow.

Yellowstone-3 (Q5, 2025). Discovered less than one year ago, this line is a new and unwelcome headache for Infinity. It may be a former echo, though the point of divergence seems to be earlier than the Yellowstone Event, which occured just over twelve years ago.

A catastrophic eruption took place at Yellowstone Park on December 24, 2011. Besides the total destruction of the park and the area around it, the release of gases and ash disrupted weather around the world. The Gulf Stream has been severely affected, bringing even colder weather to Europe, and disastrously affecting rainfall patterns.

The United States isn't starving--but with the loss of over half the farmland in the United States, there are no longer surpluses to go overseas. Coping with the disaster and recovery has built up FEMA into a vast enterprise dwarfing the New Deal. Tariffs and rationing have drastically cut imports, particularly of consumer items--which has hurt the economies of every other nation. The USA isn't alone in taking these measures, of course, but it is getting the lion's share of the blame.

India and Pakistan finally had their nuclear war a couple of years ago. Homeline India is already giving clandestine aid, but wants to do far more. China is doing the same for Pakistan (its client state on Homeline.) How much longer can The Secret hold?

While this world doesn't have a lot of parachronic tourism potential, it is in Quantum Five, so anyone with a conveyor and the coordinates can visit. Unless there is a gateway somewhere, Centrum shouldn't be a problem--unless perhaps the Centrum is canny enough to propose easing the problems by taking some of the refugees (read: new Indentureds.) Besides do-gooders, it's a pretty good place for Homeline fugitives to hide in (the chaos has made a mess of record-keeping). I-cops assigned to Yellowstone-3 aren't going to have many opportunities to vacation...

01-05-2014, 06:35 PM	#1
oldgringo2001 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Silicon Valley	Yellowstone Worlds Eruptions of the Yellowstone supervolcano have been a popular topic recently. I have seen several documentaries, a four-hour miniseries, and read the first three Turtledove *Supervolcano* novels. So, here are some Yellowstone worlds for the *Infinite Worlds* setting: Yellowstone-1(Q5, 640,000 BC): On this Earth, the Lava Creek Eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera happened 37 years ago. Early humans live on the old-world continents which are closed to everyone but monitors and licensed researchers. Some tourism is allowed in the Americas, primarily to South America which has some interesting wildlife such as giant birds, and marsupial saber-tooth "tigers." Yellowstone-2 (Q6, 2,100,000 BC): Vulcanologists expect the Huckleberry Ridge eruption to to occur soon--that is, in the next 100 centuries. Or it could happen tomorrow. Yellowstone-3 (Q5, 2025). Discovered less than one year ago, this line is a new and unwelcome headache for Infinity. It may be a former echo, though the point of divergence seems to be earlier than the Yellowstone Event, which occured just over twelve years ago. A catastrophic eruption took place at Yellowstone Park on December 24, 2011. Besides the total destruction of the park and the area around it, the release of gases and ash disrupted weather around the world. The Gulf Stream has been severely affected, bringing even colder weather to Europe, and disastrously affecting rainfall patterns. The United States isn't starving--but with the loss of over half the farmland in the United States, there are no longer surpluses to go overseas. Coping with the disaster and recovery has built up FEMA into a vast enterprise dwarfing the New Deal. Tariffs and rationing have drastically cut imports, particularly of consumer items--which has hurt the economies of every other nation. The USA isn't alone in taking these measures, of course, but it is getting the lion's share of the blame. India and Pakistan finally had their nuclear war a couple of years ago. Homeline India is already giving clandestine aid, but wants to do far more. China is doing the same for Pakistan (its client state on Homeline.) How much longer can The Secret hold? While this world doesn't have a lot of parachronic tourism potential, it is in Quantum Five, so anyone with a conveyor and the coordinates can visit. Unless there is a gateway somewhere, Centrum shouldn't be a problem--unless perhaps the Centrum is canny enough to propose easing the problems by taking some of the refugees (read: new Indentureds.) Besides do-gooders, it's a pretty good place for Homeline fugitives to hide in (the chaos has made a mess of record-keeping). I-cops assigned to Yellowstone-3 aren't going to have many opportunities to vacation...