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Old 12-27-2020, 09:25 AM   #5271
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Default Re: New Reality Seeds

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Try this one...

Leibowitz-5


In this Q5 world, Stalin lived about three years longer than in Homeline history. Stalin saw the events of the Korean war as proof of Western decadence and weakness. In our Homeline history, Stalin's death prevented his planned attack on Western Europe. In this parallel Stalin launched his planned attack on schedule.

Homeline is deeply worried about Swagmen on this world. Large numbers of Right-wing swagmen seem to like this world. Homeline fears they plan to build a power base and use the parallel to attack Homeline or at least provide both material support and safe havens for the hard right.

Separate from the political extremists a group of purely economically focused swagmen have built large businesses based on introducing late TL7 and early TL 8 technologies into this parallel's USA, Australia, and Canada.

This is a Q5 low manna world on the border between Tech Levels 7 and 8 but seeming more like early TL7 for economic and social reasons. Swagmen might introduce anomalous technologies like fusion.
Although, thanks to an ambitious Swagman selling Wernher von Braun high-quality alloys, the first satellite was put into orbit by the USA in 1955. But in most ways space technology well behind of Homeline in 1962. Satellite communication is a military thing in this parallel. Weather satellites are somewhat advanced over Homeline's 1962, but only experts would notice the difference.

************************************************** ***********************************************

Britain wasn't successfully invaded in the war, nor was the UK nuked. Still, WWIII was both more destructive and demoralizing than WWII. This Britain has gone fully socialist and has decided that, other than the Monarchy itself, titles of Nobility and the House of Lords have to go. This was motivated by scandals during WWIII where wealthy nobles exploited the misery of the people for illegal profits. This Britain is self-consciously egalitarian in a way rare in the English speaking world. As an effect of this American Roots music as interpreted by Skiffle is the British sound. It may cross the Atlantic to America before Rock and Roll takes off in the states.

Britain hadn't really left the Austerity period in 1953, even though the Festival of Britain took place before WWIII started. The levels of austerity in the later fifties were harsher than during WWII. Britain is still in Austerity in 1962 in this parallel, but the restrictions have recently eased. Britain has joined the restarted European Coal and Steel Comunity and this time on the ground floor. The Empire was lost during WWIII and on the whole few people feel it was any great loss.

Because this parallel's Britain has substantial property, wealth, land, and income taxes large numbers of "Stately Homes" are up for sale, cheap. Between austerity making trips to the countryside away from the rail lines expensive and high taxes, country homes are a drag on the market. The trendy set that bought such estates from the decaying nobility in Homeline history; Pop Stars and the like, simply aren't that rich yet. So the Cabal is stepping in to gain control of mystically potent real estate across Europe. As Britain and Ireland are stable in a way nowhere else in Europe is and clear title to the land is easier to get, the Cabal focuses its attentions on the British Isles. Both Homeline and Centrum want to know what they're after.

Rural Britain is isolated from urban Britain in a way it hasn't been since the 1880s. This is slowly easing, but rural Britain is a separate world from urban Britain. The Canal exploity this brutally.
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Last edited by Astromancer; 12-28-2020 at 08:37 PM.
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Old 12-28-2020, 04:49 PM   #5272
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Default Re: New Reality Seeds

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
Try this one...

Leibowitz-5

In this Q5 world, Stalin lived about three years longer than in Homeline history. Stalin saw the events of the Korean war as proof of Western decadence and weakness. In our Homeline history, Stalin's death prevented his planned attack on Western Europe. In this parallel Stalin launched his planned attack on schedule.

Homeline is deeply worried about Swagmen on this world. Large numbers of Right-wing swagmen seem to like this world. Homeline fears they plan to build a power base and use the parallel to attack Homeline or at least provide both material support and safe havens for the hard right.

Separate from the political extremists a group of purely economically focused swagmen have built large businesses based on introducing late TL7 and early TL 8 technologies into this parallel's USA, Australia, and Canada.

This is a Q5 low manna world on the border between Tech Levels 7 and 8 but seeming more like early TL7 for economic and social reasons. Swagmen might introduce anomalous technologies like fusion.
France is the continental that is closest to being a functioning state at this time. The Fourth Republic died during WWIII as did de Gaulle. A Fifth Republic ( not that one) has been set up, but it lacks a guiding light. Both the Anti-Dreyfusard right and the Hard Left are way out of the government and making trouble. As France was hit by a few A-Bombs (Paris was spared for political reasons) neither group is trying to take over, they simply demand to have a voice in the agenda.

Most of France is composed of small towns and villages. The population tends to either be focused on some local project or still shellshocked from the war. As focus on projects seems to aid in local communities becoming functional again, both the French national government and the American reconstruction authorities encourage all sorts of utopian projects. This has made France into a nation of Cities of Hats and Adventure Towns.
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Old 12-30-2020, 09:49 AM   #5273
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Try this one...

In the 1950's it was noticed that the Snow Line had moved south over a couple of decades. Now we recognize this as a paradoxical early sign of global warming, a warmer atmosphere had more moisture in it and more moisture means more possible precipitation, including snow. But in the 1960s some scientists thought it could be the start of an Ice Age.

On this Q5 parallel, they were right. The temperate zone has moved South. In North America, Canada has no arable land outside of British Columbia. Alaska and New England are as badly off. The deserts of the Southwest, as in most Ice Ages, wetter than normal. Russia is collapsing and the Scandinavian nations are depopulating as their people flee south. The world is going through a serious food crisis.

The local year is 1984, President Reagan is unable to deal with the growing crisis because of his rejection of the idea that government can be part of the solution and looks to be losing hard to Mondale in next month's elections because of it. Throughout the world famine and plague rage around the world.

Basically, this parallel blends the last decade of the Cold War with an ongoing apocalypse. PCs can be anything from Diplomats struggling to prevent a world war, secret agents trying to find out what's happening in collapsing dictatorships, aid workers in NGOs struggling to save endangered populations.

This is a Q5 parallel. Swagmen are swarming here to pick this world's bones. Homeline is aware that many swagmen are targeting nuclear and bioweapons to sell on the black markets of several worlds including Homeline. On this world, the Cabal is seeking an alliance of shared interests on this parallel.

This is a Q5 Low Manna Parallel, but there are signs the manna level could rise, some Cabalists speculate about Fimbulwinter.
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Old 12-30-2020, 11:42 AM   #5274
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Try this one...

In the 1950's it was noticed that the Snow Line had moved south over a couple of decades. Now we recognize this as a paradoxical early sign of global warming, a warmer atmosphere had more moisture in it and more moisture means more possible precipitation, including snow.
Besides the moisture in the air another reason was, if I understand the theme correctly that in these days a lot of dirty fuels were used like coal for example, also there was little to no filtering of the fumes. In the end this leaded to an effect where the smog in the air shielded some sunlight and warmth from the surface. So in some places it got also a bit cooler because of air pollution.

I can see the people in this reality heating with everything they can lay there hands on and make it even worse

Last edited by Willy; 12-30-2020 at 11:44 AM. Reason: spelling error
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Old 12-30-2020, 12:52 PM   #5275
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Besides the moisture in the air another reason was, if I understand the theme correctly that in these days a lot of dirty fuels were used like coal for example, also there was little to no filtering of the fumes. In the end this leaded to an effect where the smog in the air shielded some sunlight and warmth from the surface. So in some places it got also a bit cooler because of air pollution.

I can see the people in this reality heating with everything they can lay there hands on and make it even worse
We all know it wouldn't be the first time the cure was worse than the disease. However, I wasn't saying that in this world pollution made the world colder. I just took a past mistake and spun a game setting out of it.
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Old 12-30-2020, 03:32 PM   #5276
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Technomancer has two Hellstorms: don't forget the one in Antarctica.

Yeah, one in the usual spot in the US, and one centered around Hiroshima, Japan (which might reach sightly different stuff than I said: I don't know what the radius of these things' effect is supposed to be).

EDIT: Also, the "no more bombs caused Hellstorms" thing isn't necessary: I just put it in at random.
In Technomancer, the American Southwest Hellstorm causes the U.S. government not to use the A-Bomb over Japan, thus no Hiroshima.

For Hiroshima A-Bomb to create a Hellstorm, there would have to have not been a Hellstorm in the American Southwest.

Unless one happened later, American scientists trying to find out what the hell happened at Hiroshima. Though they'd probably not want to risk a Hellstorm on the U.S. mainland.

Perhaps the U.S. tests a newer A-Bomb at the same time as the Hiroshima bomb drops, and the two of them create simultaneous Hellstorms.

That could explain A-Bombs not causing Hellstorms afterwards: it has to be two bombs dropped at the same time, a long distance apart.

So the Soviet test in Antarctica (I did forget about that one in Technomancer) wouldn't cause a Hellstorm - unless the Soviets also did one in Siberia.
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Old 12-31-2020, 05:02 AM   #5277
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Perhaps the U.S. tests a newer A-Bomb at the same time as the Hiroshima bomb drops, and the two of them create simultaneous Hellstorms.

That could explain A-Bombs not causing Hellstorms afterwards: it has to be two bombs dropped at the same time, a long distance apart.
That's similar to my idea, except mine didn't require the two explosions to happen at the same point in time: the first one sets up something like a "weakening of the manna fabric", and then the second "punches the hole".
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Old 12-31-2020, 05:04 AM   #5278
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This is a Q5 Low Manna Parallel, but there are signs the manna level could rise, some Cabalists speculate about Fimbulwinter.
And then the permafrost megafauna zombies rise...
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Old 12-31-2020, 07:06 AM   #5279
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In Technomancer, the American Southwest Hellstorm causes the U.S. government not to use the A-Bomb over Japan, thus no Hiroshima.

For Hiroshima A-Bomb to create a Hellstorm, there would have to have not been a Hellstorm in the American Southwest.

Unless one happened later, American scientists trying to find out what the hell happened at Hiroshima. Though they'd probably not want to risk a Hellstorm on the U.S. mainland.

Perhaps the U.S. tests a newer A-Bomb at the same time as the Hiroshima bomb drops, and the two of them create simultaneous Hellstorms.

That could explain A-Bombs not causing Hellstorms afterwards: it has to be two bombs dropped at the same time, a long distance apart.

So the Soviet test in Antarctica (I did forget about that one in Technomancer) wouldn't cause a Hellstorm - unless the Soviets also did one in Siberia.
The Hiroshima A-bomb (Little Boy) was an untested design, because they were sure it would work. The test was of the Fat Man design later used at Nagasaki. So you could postulate some delay in the Fat Man program, but they decide to go ahead with dropping the Little Boy anyway.
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Old 12-31-2020, 08:36 AM   #5280
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In Nohime, the wife of Oda Nobunaga avoided a childhood infection that would lead to her infertility, resulting in her bearing her husband four healthy children, two daughters and two sons, who survived to adulthood. Because of her fertility, Nobunaga did not take Kitsuno as his concubine, as he reserved his affections for the mother of his children. While their first child was a daughter in 1551, their second child was a son in 1554, named Oda Nobukatsu.

Nobukatsu combined the intelligence of his mother with the cunning of his father and benefitted from the tutolege of his father's advisors and generals. He was capable of taking revenge for the death of his father in 1582. After the death of his father, he kept his mother as one of his primary advisors, and unified Japan under the Oda Shogunate by 1587.

Against the wishes of the majority of his advisors, he sought to extend the influence of Japan through diplomacy and technological innovation. He banned the slave trade in Japanese residents in 1590, including concubinage contracts between Japanese women and foreigners. He banned Christian missionaries from Japan in 1592 after a conspiracy of Japanese Jesuits sought to assasinate him in order to reestablish the lucrative slave trade.

Of particular note was his marriage to one of the younger daughters of the Joseon Dynasty in 1594 after the tragic death of his wife in 1593, in order to present a unified front against the fledgling Manchurian Kingdom. In 1596, the Koreans and Japanese invaded Manchuria and, when they were victorious in 1598, divided Manchuria equally. In 1600, Nobukatsu established alliances with the tribes of North Asia with the help of Korea in order to facilitate trade and to help to block the expansion of Russia into North Asia.

The current year is 1700, and North Asia is equally divided between Russia, Korea, and Japan. Japan established trade relations and colonies in the Northern Pacific Coast of North America starting in the 1620s, and has recently brought the newly discovered Kingdom of Hawaii into its network of alliances. With an industrial base equal to any in Europe, and one of the best trained militaries in world, it is considered a competitor to many European governments.

Despite this, it has established good relations with the French, and they have recently drawn up a treaty that formally recognizes Japanese control over the Northwestern quarter of North America and French control over the Eastern half of North America (which is hotly contested by the British). Starting in 1650, the Japanese had been engaged in a series of small wars with the Spanish in Asia and North America that eventually led to the Japanese conquest of Manila in 1673. In exchange for recognizing the Japanese possessions in North Asia and North America, the Japanese returned Manila to the Spanish in 1681, and the last 19 years have seen increased trade between the two former rivals.
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