New Reality Seeds

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

What does the group on this board think would have been the outcome of an early Suez canal?

I'm not sure the canal is really a big deal, it's not like stuff wasn't shipeed overland through Ottoman territory. The big change point here may be that the Ottoman Empire has started to *care* what's happening in the Indian Ocean and the ports of India. None of the great powers of Asia were naval powers much, anything that starts the change that is important, and I can't imagine the Persians or north Indians wouldn't react. Though this is a particuarly low point for both regions. The Timurid empire is in the process of collapsing, with a final fall in 1506, and Dehli Sultanate has been shrinking for a century, and no longer controls any of the coast, white the Mughals won't arrive for another 25 years. There's a reason the Portuguese were so amazingly successful, they arrived at a real weak point for the local Imperial competition, and faced off mostly against smallish successor statelets. The fact that it is such an unstable period means there's a [lot] of room to butterfly the situation in any direction you'd like really.

I also wonder who in the struggle between Homeline, Centrum, and the Cabal would have a motive to push against the Religious Scholars (the main opposition to the plan of reopening the canal) to get the Sultan to build the Canal?

Does it need to be any of those? How about a secularist government in Homeline Turkey or Egypt? Or a religious one trying to convince said scholars they are wrong.

[Astromancer]

Your idea of having a Homeline government, or a powerful part of one is a solid one. It severely hampers the PCs in interesting ways.

[PTTG]

John Adams, it just be said, was obnoxious and disliked. One can imagine that his great capacity for personal enemity could weaken support for the federalist sedition act. Allow it to be challenged in the supreme court and then dismissed with extreme prejudice, and for centuries to come you could end up with the first amendment being held as utterly inviolate.

Perhaps that produces a feedback loop of an already laid-back American culture becoming even more unconcerned with censorship. If nothing else,
A generation of silent films and talkies featuring swearing, the law defeated, and other licentious content would be a popular novelties...

[Astromancer]

In most parallels The Knights of the Golden Circle were a noxious flash in the pan. In this Q6 low mana parallel George W. L. Bickley had the luck of gaining a partner who supplied the organizational skills Bickley sorely lacked. Patrick Cabell Breckenridge, an uncle of John Cabell Breckenridge (a one time Vice president of the US, and a major figure in the Confederacy), made the Knights a functional organization. Thus the attempt to conquer Mexico in the late 1850s actually led to a war.

When Lincoln became president he asked Mexico if the USA could ally with them against the Knights. Largely because of the successful organization of the Knights, the Secession movement was a damp squib. The organizers were arrested and Lincoln was able to push through serious legislation to restrict the spread of Slavery. As Justice Tainey (author of the Dredd Scott decision) had joined the Knights, Lincoln's law was judged constitutional.

The situation in this parallel's America doesn't please certain outtimers. Centrum would prefer a weaker USA in order to preserve the British Empire. But they want a US military that's strong enough to aide Britain in time of need. This America doesn't fit that bill. Multiple Homeline groups want a quicker end to Slavery. Lincoln has set things up to strangle Slavery as an institution. With large numbers of prominent Southerners in Northern Mexico the political ability to resist Lincoln and his allies is much weakened. This reduces the need for violent struggle and the appetite for it as well.

Basically, spy versus spy in 1860s America.

[Astromancer]

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars Britain held the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and, as with Cape Town, could have kept it. The only reason Britain gave this lucrative colony back to the Dutch was that the British wanted the Dutch to be a political counterbalance to the other European powers.

However, in this Q6 low Mana parallel, Centrum agents persuaded the British ministers in charge of the decision that the Netherlands is no longer going to be a power, so they should just keep the East Indies. It is now the year 1850. British holdings in Asia are vastly larger than in Homeline history, continental Europe is much poorer, American clipper ships are driving the British navy to distraction in Asian waters, Russia has attacked and taken Istanbul and the Dardanelles, and Britain has no allies.

Basically, Centrum won a victory here and it has gone South. This Victorian Britain is deep in Imperial overreach and seriously in trouble. Czarist Russia, unrestrained by European politics is trying to conquer the Ottoman and Persian empires. If the Russians achieve this (and both empires are weak in this period) Britain's trade networks and empire will become extremely vulnerable.

So, military action and espionage in the near east.

If you prefer East Asian action, Yankee captains smuggling contraband could be a fun campaign.

For those wanting European swashbuckling, the impoverished and technologically backwards Europe of this world is a hotbed of intrigue, rebellion, assassination, espionage, and chicanery. 18th-century social structures forced to deal with 19-century politics leading to bitter repression of the people by the aristocracy. The counter to the repression is conspiracy and violence.

[Astromancer]

In most parallels that follow Homeline to the 16th century Ivan Grozy becomes Prince of Moscow at the age of three. In this parallel Ivan was poisoned as an infant. The Rurik dynasty ends in 1633.

Russia remains a disjointed cluster of of minor principalities. Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, and the Ottoman State, expand into the vacuum.

The mercantile city of Novagrad retains its independence by being useful to Sweden, Lithuania, and Poland. The diplomacy Novagrad used to preserve itself also extended to the Coszacks, the Tatars, the Ottomans, the Persians, and the peoples of Siberia.

Basically, the PCs are explorer/diplomats seeking trade and profit in the vast forests of Siberia. Or maybe they are sailing down the Volga past the river pirates to trade with the Sophy (King of Persia), or maybe you're seeking to have the English build a trade entrepot on the northern edge of Siberia in order to sell the magnificent furs of sables on the markets of Europe without letting the Poles and Sweds getting all the profits.

Basically, a Russia with politics more like Renaissance Italy.

[fchase8]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

While I have little doubt that the political elites of Thailand strongly favored Japan in WWII, in fact they made multiple statements to that effect. In the parallel I've set up, where Anna actually understands King Mongkut as well as she thought she did in our world, the Thai political elites have a clearer sense of the situation. They realize that a Japanese victory is unlikely. So, although they strongly favor Japan, they remain neutral and work to convince the Western allies they are on their side.

Basically, the Thai political elites chose to come out of the general crisis intact. It is not unlike similar choices made by Sweden, Turkey, Ireland, Spain, and Switzerland. Now of this list, only Turkey came chose to true neutrality. Sweden and Ireland favored the allies but needed to stay out to survive. Spain favored the Axis, but couldn't lose American grain imports. Switzerland deeply feared Germany and didn't want to be annexed. All these nations wanted to stay out of WWII for survival's sake.

Thailand in Homeline history did ally (weakly) with Japan. But in this parallel they've a better sense of their own interests.

While Thai diplomats could swear to the Allies that they're not on Japan's side, the situation on the ground would be that they were, just based on geography and Imperial Japan's dominance of the region. And the Allies probably wouldn't give the diplomats much credence, given white man's views of Asians at the time.

It kind of seems like things would happen the same way they did on Homeline/IRL, Thailand an anti-communist monarchy/U.S. ally after WWII. Only if it affected outside states, such as French Indochina/Vietnam, would it have any serious ripples, enough to make it a different parallel.

The idea of a stronger Thailand causing things like an anti-communist Vietnam and/or continued USSR-Maoist China alliance would also be neat in a 'changes not coming from where you thought they would' in Homeline eyes.

And would cause all sorts of issues with Homeline Southeast Asia interfering in Infinity's work - while the I-Cops would need their help, not having the level of southeast Asian agents/speakers that it would have of Chinese or Indian (to say nothing of European). Homeline Bangkok would be an enthusiastic backer of this world's strong Thailand (though there might be issues if it's a different set of monarchs than Homeline), while Homeline Hanoi would be furious about a royal Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Infinity is really just worried about the USSR-Maoist China alliance starting nuclear WWIII...