Does China have a chance in the Fitzpatrick's War TL?

[bugboy]

Do you guys think there's any remotely plausible way China could overtake the Yukon's as the dominant power after the devastation of the 4 points war?

We'll assume that the Timermen system of oppression will not be overthrown through internal revolt.

 

[The Lurker]

I don't really know..... maybe not immediately, and maybe not something that's strictly speaking 'China,' but the Yukons will eventually NEED someone to fight in order to keep the Khaldun cycles going, and I'm certain that the Timermen have plans ready to bring that about.

 

[bugboy]

I don't really know..... maybe not immediately, and maybe not something that's strictly speaking 'China,' but the Yukons will eventually NEED someone to fight in order to keep the Khaldun cycles going, and I'm certain that the Timermen have plans ready to bring that about.

Yeah that was another thing that irked me about the book. It seems like the airforce and navy can do the job of containing any upstart nation, so the army pretty much has no purpose except the border wars with mexico.

 

[dreadnought jenkins]

I loved the book. The problem was that in the end, the Dr. Murrey said that the timermen planned to ground the rest of the world back into the stone age. That left me sort of dissastified as it left no future challenges for the Yukons. You know, I don't about the chinese winning but the timermen's plot could be foiled by another bruce like character(this one with a stronger spirit), after all, the timermen aren't omnipotent.

 

[Ivan Druzhkov]

I loved the book. The problem was that in the end, the Dr. Murrey said that the timermen planned to ground the rest of the world back into the stone age. That left me sort of dissastified as it left no future challenges for the Yukons. You know, I don't about the chinese winning but the timermen's plot could be foiled by another bruce like character(this one with a stronger spirit), after all, the timermen aren't omnipotent.

Well, from the footnotes it seems that there's already been about a half-dozen wars against the Chinese ever since the Yukon Confederacy was formed, with an average of two per century. While these don't seem to be as punishing as the Four Points War, it does suggest that China will be allowed to repair itself to the point where it can give good exercise for the Yukons. Failing that, they could always wait for a new power to appear, possibly some type of Muslim entity in Europe. Since the Yukons generally avoid dealing with foreign affairs as much as possible, I could easily see them letting a new power grow unhindered for a while.

 

[bugboy]

Well, from the footnotes it seems that there's already been about a half-dozen wars against the Chinese ever since the Yukon Confederacy was formed, with an average of two per century. While these don't seem to be as punishing as the Four Points War, it does suggest that China will be allowed to repair itself to the point where it can give good exercise for the Yukons. Failing that, they could always wait for a new power to appear, possibly some type of Muslim entity in Europe. Since the Yukons generally avoid dealing with foreign affairs as much as possible, I could easily see them letting a new power grow unhindered for a while.

It didn't seem like that to me...

I recall Murray saying something like "And the rest of the world will be beaten down until they are primitive as cavemen. Then perhaps we will let the Yukons have electricity."

Remember that line?

 

[pieman3141]

After just having read the book (yes, the Zeppelins turned me on as well), I'd say no to China becoming anything like the USSR was to the USA. Survivability could be attained, if the Yukons gave China a few more decades, but I doubt the Timermen would've let anything like that happen. China is like a scapegoat power. Every few centuries they'll get a beatdown just so the Yukons "remain in the first stage."


And as for the ROTW getting ground down back into the Stone Age - I doubt that will happen. I think Murrey was being slightly sarcastic/humourous with that comment. I took "maybe we'll let the Yukons get electricity" to mean "when pigs fly." They must've known about the stories of Atlantis, even if they weren't true.

 

[Ivan Druzhkov]

It didn't seem like that to me...

I recall Murray saying something like "And the rest of the world will be beaten down until they are primitive as cavemen. Then perhaps we will let the Yukons have electricity."

Remember that line?

Yeah, that line. Well, Murrey did say that the most important task of the Timerman was to keep the Yukons the same no matter what happens, so it's possible that the future plans for the world are still in doubt. After all, if the Yukons have no enemies, how else are you going to make sure that the people don't get silly ideas like "I hate fuckin' farming. Why don't we try living in like kings in the cities?" or "Gad, the world is so boring. Let's write up an ideology and raise some hell!"