Hello,
Welcome to my spinoff of Protect and Survive, The Fighting Illini. This is my first TL here, so any feedback/critiques are welcomed and encouraged.
Prologue
Assembly Hall, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
February 21, 2014
Former Governor of Illinois Jim Thompson walked onto the stage with a roar of applause around him. This was the 30th anniversary of The Exchange, and Thompson was to make a speech. Although he was 78 years old, he looked as if he was almost 90. The post-nuclear war world had taken it's toll on Governor Thompson.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you. Today we acknowledge 30 years since our old world went up in nuclear fire. We remember everyone who we lost. We think of the past, and look forward to the future, never to make the same mistake again. The great state of Illinois has revovered. We have come back more united together as a state. The New Land of Lincoln is a land of opportunity and freedom."
Excerpt from former Governor of Illinois James R. Thompson's speech at the 30th Anniversary and Rememberance Ceremony at Assembly Hall, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS IN FEBRUARY 1984
James (Jim) R. Thompson (R), Governor
George Ryan (R), Lieutenant Governor
Jim Edgar (R), Secretary of State
Neil Hartigan (D), Attorney General
James Donnewald (D), Treasurer
Roland Burris (D), Comptroller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter I
Debate and Planning
A middle school in Carbondale, Illinois
February 1, 1984
The classroom was bustling and full of commotion, as all classrooms usually are. However, this one was slightly different. This classroom was filled with GTE (Gifted and Talented Education) students. The topic of today’s discussion was the current world situation.
“Well, after watching President Reagan’s speech last night, what does everyone think about it?” asked the teacher, Mrs. Williams.
A whirlwind of voices rose to answer the question, but a single voice rose higher than the rest.
“Personally, I think that his speech is doing nothing but further escalating the tensions. While I understand that the President has a responsibility to stand firm against the Soviet Union, seeing as how we’ve apparently become the ‘world’s beacon of democracy’”-the “world’s beacon of democracy” statement was accompanied by sarcastic air quotations-“President Reagan is standing firm the wrong way. He is claiming that he wants to find a way around our current situation, but at the same time he is activating the Selective Service System in the name of ‘national readiness’”-again, sarcastic air quotations-“That excuse is just that, an excuse. It’s an excuse to begin a military buildup for the conflict that even he sees as inevitable: World War III.”
Mark Porter leaned back in his chair after finishing his statement, a smug smile on his face. Some of these people don’t know jack about what’s really happening, he thought to himself. He scanned the classroom, which was contemplating what he had just said.
A rebuttal came from Daniel Mills, who although was very intelligent, lacked the balls to stand up to someone like Mark Porter in an argument like this. Mark Porter, he thought, may be lazy and unmotivated when it comes to schoolwork, but he knows how to make an argument.
“I think,” Mills began slowly, “that we are walking a very dangerous line. The Soviet Union and the United States are holding guns to each other’s heads in the form of nuclear weapons, and neither country wants to pull the trigger. But both countries know that if the other gets nervous, they’ll pull the trigger.”
Mark was thinking of a way to respond to Daniel, but before he could, Vyacheslav Illyich Anisimov joined the conversation.
“The people of the Soviet Union are scared. A very large number, far too large to estimate, do not want any kind of war with the West. The people there are as scared as the people here. We are not all Marxists. Although we come from different backgrounds, we are one and the same.”
“Come on Commie, just because you say that makes us think we’ll take your word for it? For all we know, they preach Marx and Engels everywhere over there!” someone shouted out.
Anisimov was unfazed. He had dealt with this before. Everywhere his father had gotten a new job teaching at some university, he had gone to American schools and dealt with the jeers of “Go back to Russia!” and “Commie!” and “Bolshevik pig!” It didn’t bother him, but annoyed him. These people really believed everything they heard.
“Do you think there is a reason my father and I left the Soviet Union? Of course there is! My father worked hard for a chance for us to leave that place and come here so he could teach and so I could learn. The economy is stagnated, in some places the breadlines spill over into the next town’s breadlines. We came here for freedom and opportunity.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chancellor’s office
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign metropolitan area, Illinois
February 1, 1984
At the same time as the debate raged on downstate, the heads of the executive offices of the government of Illinois were assembled in the Chancellor’s office at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign).
Tensions were rising in the world, and Governor Jim Thompson needed a contingency plan for his state. So, through a consensus reached with the help of his cabinet, they decided to pay a visit to Chancellor John E. Cribbet.
Chancellor Cribbet didn’t know for sure why the government of Illinois was coming to him now, but had a pretty good guess about it.
“So, Governor Thompson, to what do I owe this visit?”
“Chancellor, as you obviously know, tensions between our country and the Soviet Union are at an all-time high. In the past few months, I’ve started preparing Illinois for the worst result possible: nuclear war.”
Cribbet nodded as Thompson spoke. He had been doing the same at the University, but definitely not to the level that Thompson had been doing across the state. He had sent a message out to all the deans a few weeks ago, telling them to start doing light preparation for a nuclear war. Better to be safe than sorry, thought Cribbet.
Thompson went on, “I’ve come to you today to ask for your help and cooperation in this matter. In the event of the nuclear destruction of Springfield-of which I’m almost assured will happen-then I would like to move the emergency government of Illinois to this university, assuming it has not been hit as well.”
“What will you need to set up your emergency government here?” asked Cribbet.
“We’ll need housing for everyone here,” Thompson gestured around the room at the rest of the executive officials of Illinois, “and a few rooms which can serve as a command post for us.”
“I’ll see what I can dredge up, living space and a command post will be hard to set up without the rest of the university asking just what the hell I’m doing.”
Governor Thompson nodded in approval.
“Good,” he said, “I’ve already started to close down all of the Abraham Lincoln sites in Springfield and I’ve started moving the artifacts out of town. You can never be too careful about a thing like nuclear war. I’ll probably move them here once everything is set up.”
“That sounds fine, Governor Thompson. I’ll have to let the University President and a few other people know about your plan, but I’ll get back to you as soon as I can get approval for it.”
“Thank you for your cooperation Chancellor.”
“Anytime, Governor Thompson.”
Welcome to my spinoff of Protect and Survive, The Fighting Illini. This is my first TL here, so any feedback/critiques are welcomed and encouraged.
Prologue
Assembly Hall, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
February 21, 2014
Former Governor of Illinois Jim Thompson walked onto the stage with a roar of applause around him. This was the 30th anniversary of The Exchange, and Thompson was to make a speech. Although he was 78 years old, he looked as if he was almost 90. The post-nuclear war world had taken it's toll on Governor Thompson.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you. Today we acknowledge 30 years since our old world went up in nuclear fire. We remember everyone who we lost. We think of the past, and look forward to the future, never to make the same mistake again. The great state of Illinois has revovered. We have come back more united together as a state. The New Land of Lincoln is a land of opportunity and freedom."
Excerpt from former Governor of Illinois James R. Thompson's speech at the 30th Anniversary and Rememberance Ceremony at Assembly Hall, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS IN FEBRUARY 1984
James (Jim) R. Thompson (R), Governor
George Ryan (R), Lieutenant Governor
Jim Edgar (R), Secretary of State
Neil Hartigan (D), Attorney General
James Donnewald (D), Treasurer
Roland Burris (D), Comptroller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter I
Debate and Planning
A middle school in Carbondale, Illinois
February 1, 1984
The classroom was bustling and full of commotion, as all classrooms usually are. However, this one was slightly different. This classroom was filled with GTE (Gifted and Talented Education) students. The topic of today’s discussion was the current world situation.
“Well, after watching President Reagan’s speech last night, what does everyone think about it?” asked the teacher, Mrs. Williams.
A whirlwind of voices rose to answer the question, but a single voice rose higher than the rest.
“Personally, I think that his speech is doing nothing but further escalating the tensions. While I understand that the President has a responsibility to stand firm against the Soviet Union, seeing as how we’ve apparently become the ‘world’s beacon of democracy’”-the “world’s beacon of democracy” statement was accompanied by sarcastic air quotations-“President Reagan is standing firm the wrong way. He is claiming that he wants to find a way around our current situation, but at the same time he is activating the Selective Service System in the name of ‘national readiness’”-again, sarcastic air quotations-“That excuse is just that, an excuse. It’s an excuse to begin a military buildup for the conflict that even he sees as inevitable: World War III.”
Mark Porter leaned back in his chair after finishing his statement, a smug smile on his face. Some of these people don’t know jack about what’s really happening, he thought to himself. He scanned the classroom, which was contemplating what he had just said.
A rebuttal came from Daniel Mills, who although was very intelligent, lacked the balls to stand up to someone like Mark Porter in an argument like this. Mark Porter, he thought, may be lazy and unmotivated when it comes to schoolwork, but he knows how to make an argument.
“I think,” Mills began slowly, “that we are walking a very dangerous line. The Soviet Union and the United States are holding guns to each other’s heads in the form of nuclear weapons, and neither country wants to pull the trigger. But both countries know that if the other gets nervous, they’ll pull the trigger.”
Mark was thinking of a way to respond to Daniel, but before he could, Vyacheslav Illyich Anisimov joined the conversation.
“The people of the Soviet Union are scared. A very large number, far too large to estimate, do not want any kind of war with the West. The people there are as scared as the people here. We are not all Marxists. Although we come from different backgrounds, we are one and the same.”
“Come on Commie, just because you say that makes us think we’ll take your word for it? For all we know, they preach Marx and Engels everywhere over there!” someone shouted out.
Anisimov was unfazed. He had dealt with this before. Everywhere his father had gotten a new job teaching at some university, he had gone to American schools and dealt with the jeers of “Go back to Russia!” and “Commie!” and “Bolshevik pig!” It didn’t bother him, but annoyed him. These people really believed everything they heard.
“Do you think there is a reason my father and I left the Soviet Union? Of course there is! My father worked hard for a chance for us to leave that place and come here so he could teach and so I could learn. The economy is stagnated, in some places the breadlines spill over into the next town’s breadlines. We came here for freedom and opportunity.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chancellor’s office
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign metropolitan area, Illinois
February 1, 1984
At the same time as the debate raged on downstate, the heads of the executive offices of the government of Illinois were assembled in the Chancellor’s office at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign).
Tensions were rising in the world, and Governor Jim Thompson needed a contingency plan for his state. So, through a consensus reached with the help of his cabinet, they decided to pay a visit to Chancellor John E. Cribbet.
Chancellor Cribbet didn’t know for sure why the government of Illinois was coming to him now, but had a pretty good guess about it.
“So, Governor Thompson, to what do I owe this visit?”
“Chancellor, as you obviously know, tensions between our country and the Soviet Union are at an all-time high. In the past few months, I’ve started preparing Illinois for the worst result possible: nuclear war.”
Cribbet nodded as Thompson spoke. He had been doing the same at the University, but definitely not to the level that Thompson had been doing across the state. He had sent a message out to all the deans a few weeks ago, telling them to start doing light preparation for a nuclear war. Better to be safe than sorry, thought Cribbet.
Thompson went on, “I’ve come to you today to ask for your help and cooperation in this matter. In the event of the nuclear destruction of Springfield-of which I’m almost assured will happen-then I would like to move the emergency government of Illinois to this university, assuming it has not been hit as well.”
“What will you need to set up your emergency government here?” asked Cribbet.
“We’ll need housing for everyone here,” Thompson gestured around the room at the rest of the executive officials of Illinois, “and a few rooms which can serve as a command post for us.”
“I’ll see what I can dredge up, living space and a command post will be hard to set up without the rest of the university asking just what the hell I’m doing.”
Governor Thompson nodded in approval.
“Good,” he said, “I’ve already started to close down all of the Abraham Lincoln sites in Springfield and I’ve started moving the artifacts out of town. You can never be too careful about a thing like nuclear war. I’ll probably move them here once everything is set up.”
“That sounds fine, Governor Thompson. I’ll have to let the University President and a few other people know about your plan, but I’ll get back to you as soon as I can get approval for it.”
“Thank you for your cooperation Chancellor.”
“Anytime, Governor Thompson.”
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