Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

Olli is going to piss himself with laughter when the truth about Rea comes out. The various political factions are going to get a horrible sinking feeling once they twig to the truth.
 
Olli is going to piss himself with laughter when the truth about Rea comes out. The various political factions are going to get a horrible sinking feeling once they twig to the truth.

'You...you mean we're stuck with the monarchy? With a really popular, progressive Queen, who's going to have children!??'
 
We've heard from Volkswagen and BMW, but we haven't heard a peep out of Siemens or Zeiss. We've heard a mention of Intel, but about this time a young team of engineers from Santa Monica is starting a company that might give Intel some competition. Likewise, has HP been mentioned.
Zeiss and Siemens were mentioned just not by name in one of the last updates involving a large project in Bavaria. Tons of optical glass and the installation of the infrastructure for a stellar observatory don't just fall from the sky.
 
Zeiss and Siemens were mentioned just not by name in one of the last updates involving a large project in Bavaria. Tons of optical glass and the installation of the infrastructure for a stellar observatory don't just fall from the sky.
Unless its an orbital observatory and something goes terribly wrong...
 
Things should get interesting in the new Kingdom of Galicia and Ruthania as it should be one of the few independent countries of the German Empire not to require a large subsidy from Germany to be solvent.
Rea is going to restore Krakow prominence as a cultural center of Europe much to the dismay of the more conservative elements in the Kingdom.
Her Coronation is going to reflect that and the celebrations are going to bring in the tourist dollars.
Ollie at the lead up to events is going to be the first recipient of the highest award that the Kingdom has and a title to go along with that.
 
Things should get interesting in the new Kingdom of Galicia and Ruthania as it should be one of the few independent countries of the German Empire not to require a large subsidy from Germany to be solvent.
I wouldn't be too certain. PM hasn't gone too deep into the structure of this ATL German Empire, but as best I read it there's the integrated kingdoms and territories of Germany proper, where a large part should be able to keep at least solvent, though some kind of financial balancing tool might be in place. An ATL Länderfinanzausgleich if you will.
Then there are the kinda-vassal semi-independent nations under the Empire. Unless I miss something there aren't too many.
The Pacific Kingdoms probably look poor, outside of tourist resorts. Still, compared to their neighbours with the Emperor vacationing there regularly, I assume they are quite well off. Just not compared to Germany proper.
Alsace should be doing just fine.
Bohemia should be an industrial powerhouse as well.
The Baltic states are difficult to tell, but with the Ostsee a German lake, they should at least be fine, if maybe a bit below average GDP/Capita for the Empire. Though they might be a trouble spot, if the damage from the Soviet War persists in a similar way to Poland.
And then there are the potential trouble spots.
There's Slovakia. By mere geography on the periphery, quite small, always just an afterthought. I'd expect them to be still deeply agricultural.
Poland took the brunt of the fighting with the Soviets, wasn't too advanced prior to it and is still recovering. They were looking for ways to distract the population from that, with that reason for the conflict in the first place. Oh, Poland is big, and there will be prosperous parts, but on average they are probably one of the poorer parts of the Empire.
And then there's Galicia, in between those two, equally agricultural and more so, explicitly depopulated to the point where even decades after the Soviet war they are still settling outsiders there. Yeah, instantly solvent. I'd expect it to stay a problem area for a good while, though the newfound independence might be the seed of upward mobility.
I hope I haven't missed something.
 
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As my late father used to say ”what you want and what you get mightn’t be the same thing”. Let @Peabody-Martini run his timeline and be thankful for one of the best and most compelling AH timelines around.
Here, Here!!

In addition from what I understand of diabetes most everyone passes from complications not from the disease state itself.
 
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Part 115, Chapter 1909
Chapter One Thousand Nine Hundred Nine



7th June 1969

Mitte, Berlin

One never knew what would greet them when they went to the Alexander Marketplace. It being late spring going into early summer, the Marketplace was full of the odd varieties of vegetables that could be grown over the winter. To Marie Alexandra and Sophie, the biggest surprise today was the number of half-grown lambs that happened to be in a pen near the entrance. Yes, they were cute for the first few minutes. However, Marie had swiftly discovered that they were greedy, obnoxious little brutes that were destined to find themselves becoming acquainted with an oven and mint garnish in the near future. Sophie loved them though, even as they mobbed her when she tried to give a bit of attention to one of them.

The farmer who had brought them watched with wry amusement as Marie tried to get Sophie move along. There were still so many other things to see today and they had so little time. Aunt Marcella and Petia had given them each a few Marks, told them to stick together and they would all meet back at the entrance in three hours.

It was the promise of ice cream that caused Sophie to take an interest in moving on. It was how things had gone for the last few months as Marie had tried to do her level best to bring Sophie around. Marie’s mother was adamant that Marie couldn’t just bribe the younger girl into liking her again, she had to be Sophie’s big sister. Why had Tat never had that asked of her? That was the question that Marie had asked. Her mother said that the situation was different because Tatiana and Malcolm were five years older than her. It was enough to make her want to start pulling her hair out in frustration.

Minutes later, Sophie took an interest in watching a Blacksmith punching holes in white hot steel bars as they ate their ice cream outside the roped off area. It only took a few minutes for Sophie to start to get bored, so they moved on. That was when Aunt Marcella found them, and Marie found herself translating Korean to German as Marcella haggled over the price of salad greens at a stall that smelled heavily of mustard and garlic. It was to Marie’s astonishment that the Korean woman who managed this stall explained that everything she was selling had been grown in back gardens and on rooftops in Berlin itself, so it was guaranteed to be fresh.

As the deal was concluded, the Korean woman told Marie to tell Aunt Marcella that she was lucky to have two lovely granddaughters, one of whom spoke Korean. Sophie was dumbfounded when she heard that. Then Marcella said that she was looking forward to a Sunday family meal of lambchops tomorrow…



Potsdam

“Try not to panic” Ben said as he sat down on the couch in the outer room of the suite that Kiki had used since she was a girl. She was sitting on the floor surrounded by study materials for the third and final State examination to receive her Medical Certification. Kiki had no idea what subjects the exam would cover and would need be prepared for anything.

“I am not panicking” Kiki replied, “There is so much I need to know.”

“It cannot be any tougher than defending your Doctoral dissertation a few months ago” Ben said, getting a dirty look from Kiki in the process.

“Actually, it is” Kiki said, before holding up a medical journal that she had been reading. “This has an article about a young man in Missouri who died of a form of pneumonia normally seen only in the very elderly last month. I have to know about it because a nearly identical case turned up in Norway and the Physicians in every Emergency Department and Clinic throughout the world are supposed to be keeping an eye out for it.”

Ben was a bit surprised by the scale of what Kiki had just described. “After just two cases?” He asked.

“It is anomalies like these which get attention of the OIHP” Kiki replied, “It is why the organization exists in the first place, to keep two from becoming two million.”

“Any idea about the cause of the anomaly?” Ben asked. He knew about the International Office of Public Hygiene which was a part of the League of Nations.

Kiki frowned. “It doesn’t say” She relied, “It just says to treat the symptoms and to inform local health authorities.”

“It sounds to me like you have this down” Ben said, “You just need to go in there next week and amaze the Examiners.”

“This isn’t just an oral exam this time” Kiki said, “There is also the written and practical portions. The most challenging part is that there are rumors about how you are supposed to know that one of the answers might be to do nothing at all.”

“Nothing?” Ben asked.

“It is also known as wait and see” Kiki replied, “Our first instinct is to begin aggressive treatment when we should be observing. You can do a lot of harm that way.”

Ben could see full well that Kiki was prepared for the examination. She was just fretting about it like she always did whenever failure was a possibility. If he had to guess, she would probably be near the top of her class, one last time.
 
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"Sophie the lamb chops didn't come from the ones you saw in the market".

Young men dying from a pneumonia that is only seen amongst the elderly sounds like AIDS may be detected earlier, the current research has found that AIDS was around much earlier then thought before.
 
It was the promise of ice cream that caused Sophie to take an interest in moving on. It was how things had gone for the last few months as Marie had tried to do her level best to bring Sophie around. Marie’s mother was adamant that Marie couldn’t just bribe the younger girl into liking her again, she had to be Sophie’s big sister. Why had Tat never had that asked of her? That was the question that Marie had asked. Her mother said that the situation was different because Tatiana and Malcolm were five years older than her. It was enough to make her want to start pulling her hair out in frustration.
Baby steps, Marie, baby steps. Words cause lasting damage in seconds and can take forever to heal. Sophie has to learn that, despite Marie's intemperate words, there was no real malice or harm intended and that Marie still truly cares for her.
As the deal was concluded, the Korean woman told Marie to tell Aunt Marcella that she was lucky to have two lovely granddaughters, one of whom spoke Korean. Sophie was dumbfounded when she heard that. Then Marcella said that she was looking forward to a Sunday family meal of lambchops tomorrow…
This may actual be the breakthrough moment for Sophie; that Kat's family, and society in general, see her as one of them. That they see her as a loved and valued member of their family and that they have no intention of throwing her onto the scrap heap of society or of turning on her as her egg-donor & associated bio-trash did.
Young men dying from a pneumonia that is only seen amongst the elderly sounds like AIDS may be detected earlier, the current research has found that AIDS was around much earlier then thought before.
It could be an early detection of AIDS, it could also be be an early discovery of Legionnaires Disease. It could even be an early discovery of both, with the former making the victim more susceptible to the latter.
Edit: Which could make an AIDS epidemic worse initially if researchers make the mistake of assuming that the legionella bacterium is the sole cause of the problem.
 
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Ben is once again showing Kiki how much he loves her and how much she really needs him at her side to give her the much needed perspective that she lacks at times.
Hopefully the piece of paper that comes with passing the final stage of testing will give Kiki the relief from the pressure that she has burdened herself with.

The vegetables that Aunt Marcella bought at the Farmers Market sounds like they are part of the remnants of the Victory Gardens from WWII and are a nice source of extra money for the people who keep tending them.
 
Ben is once again showing Kiki how much he loves her and how much she really needs him at her side to give her the much needed perspective that she lacks at times.
Hopefully the piece of paper that comes with passing the final stage of testing will give Kiki the relief from the pressure that she has burdened herself with.

The vegetables that Aunt Marcella bought at the Farmers Market sounds like they are part of the remnants of the Victory Gardens from WWII and are a nice source of extra money for the people who keep tending them.
Garden allotments were, and still are (at least in the UK), part of (some) European urban societies as a result of late 19th century social reforms. These ensure a degree of food security for city dwellers.
 
Schrebergärten were also a thing in Germany half a century before the PoD, with a solid spread by WWI. So I'd expect there to be some involved as well.
Some will be remnants of war projects, remember Kiki regularly referring diary cows on the lawn, but some might actually be more modern. There is an early Green party TTL, Helena and Isle's involvement with it predate the Tempelhof project IIRC. I can see them having some input, like strengthening the roofs, to allow green roofs and/or rooftop gardening.
 
Part 115, Chapter 1910
Chapter One Thousand Nine Hundred Ten



20th June 1969

Balderschwang, Bavaria

The month of June had started off well but had quickly turned to shit. First, despite her fretting Kiki had passed her third and final State Examination to be a Licensed Physician. Then she had gotten new orders from the Medical Service assigning her to the SMS Prinzessin Antonia, a posting on a Hospital Ship like that had been her dream since she had been a girl. Ben had only been able to congratulate her even as he had seen the torn look on her face when she had learned of it. Apparently, the orders had been cut more than a year earlier and had only Kiki’s completion of the final exams holding them up. She had needed to report to Kiel that week as the Antonia was about to put to sea after her latest refit. That also put their plans on hold for at least a few months.

For Ben, he had not been allowed much time to process this latest twist of fate because he had needed to go straight to Balderschwang in order to deal with the issues that were cropping up. It seemed that the local villagers were taking issue many of the changes that were happening within their own community. A few years earlier when the Observatory had first been proposed, they had been happy about the prospect of dozens of construction jobs and the year-round employment opportunities it represented. Now that the Observatory Complex was taking shape in the ridge above the village, the other aspects of the project were coming into focus. Heavy lories moving earth and construction equipment had been the first thing that had been disruptive, followed by blasting up on the mountaintop. Then a rail spur had been extended from the Kempten to Oberstdorf line to facilitate the construction and that was when the reality hit them that the entire world was coming into their sleepy little corner of it. In the months since then, the village’s population had almost doubled as workers and technicians had flooded in. Many of them were employed by the Consortium of Universities that were building the Observatory and would be for the next several years, so they were looking to put down roots in Balderschwang or one of the neighboring towns and villages.

That had already altered the character and politics as those who had lived in Balderschwang before swiftly adopted an “Us and Them” attitude. Ben understood that there were profound differences between the two populations but that was no reason for conflict, even if it was just a war of words. None of this was helped by the publicity that surrounded Ben having his Doctorate of Astronomy conferred to him as he tried to keep things moving along as the mirror continued its slow journey from the labs of Zeiss Optics in Jena. The last thing they needed was for someone to be trying to slow things down in some misguided attempt to put toothpaste back into the tube.

The Mayor still returned Ben’s calls because he remained the Burggraf despite everything else, but he made it clear just which side he thought Ben was on. Ben was left trying to explain the there were no sides in this situation, that things would eventually settle, and it would be for the benefit of everyone involved.

Today, everything they had worked for was hopefully coming to fruition as the diesel locomotive pulled the specially designed flatcar up the valley. Ben just wished that he weren’t in such a foul mood for the occasion. When people heard that it was a mirror, they thought of the one hanging on the wall in their bathroom. This was entirely different though. At six meters the primary mirror was on an unimaginable scale and even with the protective coverings, it was still a sight to behold. It had taken a lot of cajoling by Ben, but he had gotten the Department Heads from the Universities along with the Village Mayor and the Municipal Council to agree to a photograph. It was because they were all part of something profound whether they were willing to admit it or not. Standing in the middle of the gathered group, Ben just wished that Kiki could be here. He figured that she would enjoy watching him trying to play the mediator.



Atlantic Ocean

The Shetland Islands were grey-green against the sky as the SMS Antonia Marie passed to the south of them. The vast ship was bound for Panama and its annual journey around the world to a number of stops in the Pacific Islands and Far East. She would be redirected to wherever it was felt she was needed if a disaster occurred. Going with her this time was a dream come true for Kiki, she felt completely rotten about it though. She had left her entire life behind and that included getting married in just a couple of months. Ben had told her that she needed to go because of the opportunity it represented, and this was perfectly in keeping with what Doctor Holz had told about needing to stop feeling guilty about things beyond her control.

That didn’t change the way she felt though. This was exactly the sort of thing that she feared would happen. Looking out at those islands on the horizon, Kiki realized she was saying goodbye to home again at a time when she wanted more than anything to stay.
 
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"Sophie the lamb chops didn't come from the ones you saw in the market".

Young men dying from a pneumonia that is only seen amongst the elderly sounds like AIDS may be detected earlier, the current research has found that AIDS was around much earlier then thought before.
Yep sounds like detection about a decade earlier. Just when HIV started to circulate in Europe and the USA, though I wonder if the gay culture in the USA is as big in this time line as it was in OTL as the USA is not as liberal. The first big HIV / AIDS outbreak OTL and found by forensic historical research was in the Belgian Congo in the 1930's during the construction of a railway. It badly affected the indigenous workers. King Leopold's legacy strikes again.

I'm going for HIV as the first confirmed case in Europe OTL was Norwegian, Arvid Noe, but he died in 1976 not 1969 but is thought to have caught it as early as 1962 in what ITTL is Kamerun. He also infected his wife and daughter. From the unusual pneumonia information some researchers have speculated that HIV was potentially circulating in Europe, possibly in a milder form, from 1939 (in Danzig) and that there was an outbreak in Belgium in the 1950's. There was also potentially an AIDS death in Canada in 1945 OTL.
 
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Yep sounds like detection about a decade earlier. Just when HIV started to circulate in Europe and the USA, though I wonder if the gay culture in the USA is as big in this time line as it was in OTL as the USA is not as liberal. The first big HIV / AIDS outbreak OTL and found by forensic historical research was in the Belgian Congo in the 1930's during the construction of a railway. It badly affected the indigenous workers. King Leopold's legacy strikes again.

That in turn could mean it doesn't come to be seen as 'the gay virus' - if ITTL it circulates among the straight population at the same time, then it'll probably be seen just as 'a killer virus'. Which in turn likely means more done to combat it initially.
 
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