Catalog of the Weird Parallels

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Every planetary body and moon in the solar system is inhabitable by and inhabited with Earth-compatible creatures.

Every.

(Inspired by reading about how the guy who discovered Uranus thought there were forests and cities on the moon.)

[Astromancer]

Try this parallel, technology has continued to advance, racial and sexual issues have moved ahead, the USA is the kind of democratic socialist society the New Dealers envisioned for America's future, however, the culture is otherwise unchanged. The society resembles a mixture of the late 1930's and early 1940's except for the listed changes. People still listen to radio dramas and look forward to Bank Night and gentlemen wear hats.

The local year is 2012, both the Republicans and the Democrats have strong progressive socialist platforms for the fall elections. The Moonbase is doing well and the Mars program is on track to land the first human on Mars next year. But superficially, this world looks like 1939.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this parallel....

So what's the conflict?

I mean I'm the person who loves low-conflict settings, but I recognize other people enjoy more incentive.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by SilvercatMoonpaw

So what's the conflict?

I mean I'm the person who loves low-conflict settings, but I recognize other people enjoy more incentive.

If the other nations remain in the late 1930s too, plenty. Continental Europe, which would dominate the planet, would be divided among Fascists, Stalinists, and reactionary Monarchies, for the most part. The British Empire wasn't a saintly institution. The Brits often saw America as a threat or a competitor, and even when they sought our alliance, they often saw the USA as an affront. As the USA in this world is fully Democratic and fully Socialist, they prove by their existence that many of the sacrifices others have made were worthless. Most of this world is colonized by one or another European power. The simple awareness that the USA, a former colony, is a rich, stable, egalitarian, democracy, threatens every single colonial power on this world. By showing what is possible, the USA's very existence foments revolution.

Is that enough conflict?

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Is that enough conflict?

Ah, okay, I misinterpreted your idea: you mean the US is super-progressive, while everyone else is still an *******.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by SilvercatMoonpaw

Ah, okay, I misinterpreted your idea: you mean the US is super-progressive, while everyone else is still an *******.

That depends on what a given nation was like in the late 1930s / early 1940s. We had the New Deal, if they had something good, it is even better. If they had something bad...

The Scandinavian/Nordic nations should be wonderful. Australia and New Zealand, as well as Canada, should be pretty good too. Unless Quebec is messed up.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

That depends on what a given nation was like in the late 1930s / early 1940s. We had the New Deal, if they had something good, it is even better. If they had something bad...

Assuming politics locked up in the 1930's (honestly the weirdest part) and World War 2 didn't happen (otherwise the allies look superbly inept), then:

- France may very well collapsed to internal strife between left and right.
- Chamberlain may very well have been able to go ahead with his social reform
- Molotov-Ribbentrop is still signed, and the partition of Eastern Europe would still probably go through.
- The Russians may have gotten around to taking Finland.
- Italy would end up needing an outlet to their aggression. Maybe Greece or Yugoslavia?
- Argentina and Brazil may have ended up at war.
- Japan is still a psychotic military state.
- China is in anarchy with the KMT central government needing to contend with warlords, communists, and Japanese armies.
- The British Raj is still stumbling along.
- The Japanese may have grabbed the Indochina during the French civil war.
- For whatever reason, people still want colonial empires.

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Canada, should be pretty good too. Unless Quebec is messed up.

If we go with the Americans solving their racial problems on or ahead of our timeline, then Quebec having the quiet revolution per our timeline is probably reasonable.

[ronwit]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Assuming politics locked up in the 1930's (honestly the weirdest part) and World War 2 didn't happen (otherwise the allies look superbly inept), then:

- Molotov-Ribbentrop is still signed, and the partition of Eastern Europe would still probably go through.

- Japan is still a psychotic military state.
- China is in anarchy.
- The Japanese may have grabbed the Indochina during the French civil war.

If we go with the Americans solving their racial problems on or ahead of our timeline, then Quebec having the quiet revolution per our timeline is probably reasonable.

Assuming the above:

- This timelines Cold War is everyone on pins and needles waiting to see what sets off the Nazi/Soviet War.
- Japan gets bogged down in China and the US never effectively embargoes Japan.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Wouldn't be in the interest of the authorities to control the behavior of the supers by editing the information available about them in comic books and online? In the case of Harlequin, I imagine that they would want to use a version of psychological warfare to convince her to betray the Joker, surrender to the authorities, and settle down to raise a family in a supervised setting.

There are huge problems with that. In anything like our modern United States the authorities trying to "edit" any printed media would go over like a lead ballon. Heck, in our world there were so many inconstancies that parallel earths were used to explain them.

DC may be better know for its proliferation of parallel earths but Marvel did the same thing with what were possible futures as well as the tangental stories getting shoved into the parallel earth category.

As for the online space trying to control it is like trying to herd cats. If the comic books are a pain the online space is that times 1000. You would have tons of fanficton, some of it in other countries, all trying to "control" the supers or creating villains to wreck havok.

I should mention that in the Joker has gone sane at least three times but it either didn't take or the Earth he was on was destroyed. This indicates that even if you try to push a character down a certain path they will eventually "snap back" and if you set it up so they can't...odds are it won't end well.

[Astromancer]

Other culturally frozen worlds spring to mind. A world were the Sixties remained groovy for generations would be fine in America. Most of the negatives in the USA and the UK were from the pushback. An unending Prague Spring would work out for the better too. However, an unending Cultural Revolution would be hell on Earth.