The Falling Rain: A Graphics Timeline

What gamer things did he do to go to jail?
Well, Mulligan was complicit in Teller's attempt to overthrow American democracy and sparking the Third Civil War, and is in jail with treason charges.

It was a very strange Thanksgiving in 2036, to say the least.
 
US Constitution Amendments
Amendments to the US Constitution:

#1-10 -
Bill of Rights (1791)
#11 -
State sovereign immunity (1795)
#12 -
Revision of presidential/vice-presidential elections (1804)
#13 -
Prohibition of those who fight duels from holding public office (1858)
#14 -
Codifies presidential succession (President -> Vice President -> President pro tempore of the Senate -> House Speaker -> Secretaries) (1866)
#15 -
Abolition of slavery (1867)
#16 -
Defining citizenship, birthright citizenship (1868)
#17 -
Prohibits denial of right to vote based on color and race (1869)
#18 -
Prohibits discrimination based on color and race (1872)
#19 -
Prohibits denial of right to vote based on literacy tests and poll taxes (1875)
#20 -
Bans public funds for religious institutions, ostensibly prohibits discrimination based on religion (1876)
#21 -
Strips citizenship from those who accept titles of nobility (1879)
#22 -
Allows for the federal government to dissolve states back into territories (1883)
#23 -
Prohibition of former Confederates from holding public office (1885)
#24 -
Creation of Special Administrative Regions for post-Confederate states, defines the relationship of First Nations with the federal government, First Nation peoples gain US citizenship, creation of reserved state and free state designations (1886)
#25 -
Prohibits denial of right to vote to unmarried property-owning women (1890)
#26 -
Congressional salary changes wait until next election (1900)
#27 -
Regulation of Congressional apportionment (1901)
#28 -
Prohibits denial of right to vote based on sex and gender (1902)
#29 -
Income tax (1902)
#30 -
Direct election of US Senators, secret ballot (1903)
#31 -
Prohibits child labor, contract protection (1911)
#32 -
Prohibits sale/manufacture of alcohol (1924)
#33 -
Changes presidential inauguration to January 22nd (1931)
#34 -
Permits labor unions to exist and the right to strike (1931)
#35 -
Anti-Polygamy Amendment, paves way for Utah’s admission (1934)
#36 -
Repeal of Amendment #32 (Prohibits sale/manufacture of alcohol) (1935)
#37 -
Limits US House of Reps to 8 times size of Senate, supersedes Amendment #27 (1947)
#38 -
Addresses filling a vacant Vice Presidential position and presidential disability (1947)
#39 -
Term limits for president (2), senators (4), and representatives (12) (1962)
#40 -
First DC status modification (star added to flag, 1 voting representative, no senators, 3 electoral votes) (1963)
#41-50 - Second Bill of Rights
#41 -
Prohibits denial of right to vote based on social/monetary status, voting age to 18 (1976)
#42 -
National minimum wage tied to inflation (1976)
#43 -
Prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender (1976)
#44 -
Codifying victim’s rights (1976)
#45 -
Social Security, Department of Social Welfare (1976)
#46 -
Universal health care, Department of Public Health (1976)
#47 -
American National Higher Education System, Department of Education (1976)
#48 -
Right to affordable housing, Department of Housing and Development (1976)
#49 -
Trust-busting, federal power against monopolies, worker’s freedom from unfair competition, right to work (1976)
#50 -
Federal protection for abortion, maternity leave, and mandated vacations (1976)
#51 -
Definition of a corporation and a person (1987)
#52 -
Protection of gay marriage (1988)
#53 -
Single-subject rule for federal laws (1988)
#54 -
Term limits for Supreme Court Justices (24 years) (1989) [first proposed in 1934]
#55 -
Election Day and Voting Day are national holidays, standardization and oversight for electoral districts (1989) [parts proposed in 1934]
#56 -
Abolition of the death penalty, except for treason (1991)
#57 -
Codification of the executive order (2002)
#58 -
Continuity of Government procedure (2002)
#59 -
Second DC status modification (name change to Douglass Commonwealth, 2 voting senators, 2 voting representatives, 4 electoral votes) (2007)
#60 -
Incorporated territories gain one voting senator, one voting representative, and two electoral votes each; limits US House of Reps to 10 times size of Senate before incorporated territories and DC are added, supersedes Amendment #37 (2011)
#61 -
Limitation of the Supreme Court to seven members (down from 15) (2018)
#62 -
Presidential Ethics codification (2037)
#63 -
Campaign finance reform (2038)
#64 -
Abolition of the Electoral College, replacement by two-round runoff (2038)
#65 -
Repeal of Amendment #2 (Right to keep and bear arms) (2040)


Teller Amendments: (proposed but never accepted)
Congressional apportionment follows citizens in a state rather than residents (2033)
Illegality of flag burning (2033)
Special interest groups may gain non voting Congressional representation. proprietorial constituencies allowed (2033)
Partial repeal of Amendment #16 (birthright citizenship) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #21 (titles of nobility) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #24 (reserved/free states) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #29 (Income tax) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #39 (Term limits) (2033)
Partial repeal of Amendment #50 (Abortion protection) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #57 (executive order codification) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #61 (Supreme Court size limitation) (2033)
 

Teller Amendments: (proposed but never accepted)
Congressional apportionment follows citizens in a state rather than residents (2033)
Illegality of flag burning (2033)
Special interest groups may gain non voting Congressional representation. proprietorial constituencies allowed (2033)
Partial repeal of Amendment #16 (birthright citizenship) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #21 (titles of nobility) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #24 (reserved/free states) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #29 (Income tax) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #39 (Term limits) (2033)
Partial repeal of Amendment #50 (Abortion protection) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #57 (executive order codification) (2033)
Repeal of Amendment #61 (Supreme Court size limitation) (2033)
Wow, no wonder this caused another Civil War.
 
This is fun, I'm very much enjoying how off-kilter everything is. Usually TLs with a Civil War/Reconstruction POD or focus get pretty shiny and nice after the conflict itself is over (even or especially if the US approaches its natural borders to a greater extent than OTL), but here the US is roiling and more than a bit chaotic under the seemingly secure Republican dominant-party structure. Just the Presidential lists are a trip, there are a lot more 'assassination' asterisks than I had expected, and the very existence of the 'overthrown' designation is a serious break from OTL, to say nothing of the little details like the various wild third parties (Futurists! Jobless! What the hell was in the water in 1928) and Confederate factions. That's not even getting into the habitable Venus casually dropped earlier, I can't help but want to know more.
 
This is fun, I'm very much enjoying how off-kilter everything is. Usually TLs with a Civil War/Reconstruction POD or focus get pretty shiny and nice after the conflict itself is over (even or especially if the US approaches its natural borders to a greater extent than OTL), but here the US is roiling and more than a bit chaotic under the seemingly secure Republican dominant-party structure. Just the Presidential lists are a trip, there are a lot more 'assassination' asterisks than I had expected, and the very existence of the 'overthrown' designation is a serious break from OTL, to say nothing of the little details like the various wild third parties (Futurists! Jobless! What the hell was in the water in 1928) and Confederate factions. That's not even getting into the habitable Venus casually dropped earlier, I can't help but want to know more.
Glad to have you aboard! I was aiming for a world that was both better and worse than ours, and it looks like I've succeeded. I do feel that I could have thrown in some more assassinations, but c'est la vie. The Overton Window has shifted quite a lot further than we're used to.

1928 is a chaotic time because the Great Depression began in 1926. Ashwood is a Hoover parallel, Wallace is an unsuccessful FDR, and Longmile is a Huey Long parallel. It's a fun time for some.

I think you'll like what I've got in store for Venus. In fact....
 
Venus, Odyssey 9
TFR4 Venus.png
 
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Battle of Rock Creek
TFR4 Battle of Rock Creek.png
Battle of Rock Creek (Pierce’s Mill)

With the resumption of the campaigning season in March 1864, both sides began to look for a knock-out punch. For the Confederates, this meant a strike at the capital, Washington DC, with the goal of scaring US President Simon Cameron into, at last, recognizing the Confederacy as an independent nation. For the Union, this meant defeating the Confederates on the field of battle, destroying their sense of invincibility, and thereby negating any proposals by France and Britain for intervention. In the end, while the aims of both sides were never quite realized, the final disposition greatly favored the Confederacy and allowed for their independence to be all but assured.

Beauregard’s Army of Virginia struck first, departing its base at Centreville on March 15th. Sending Magruder’s Division to feint at Alexandria, Beauregard crossed the Potomac at White’s Ford near Leesburg on March 21st. Johnston, operating in the Shenandoah Valley, was ordered by President Davis to join Beauregard, and he departed with the Army of the Shenandoah from Harper’s Ferry soon after word reached him of Beauregard’s successful crossing. While Beauregard would sorely need the troops from Johnston’s army during the campaign, Johnston himself would prove to be a mistake, for the frequent quarrels between the two men threatened imminent destruction upon their combined armies. On the Union side, Secretary of War Cameron, the de facto commander of the entire Union war effort and also the commander of the Army of the Tiber, had originally meticulously planned for an offensive towards Centreville, a movement he began in response to Magruder’s feint. But with Beauregard’s crossing, the threat to Washington became all too real, forcing Cameron to withdraw from Alexandria and take up position in Georgetown. Beauregard’s intentions at first were unknown to the Union, for he sent cavalry squadrons to tear up the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, signalling a possibility that Baltimore could be under threat. As such, Cameron put Reynolds’ Army of the Susquehanna, stationed in Baltimore, at high alert, and moved Garland’s Army of the Potomac from where it had been gathering opposite of Aquia Landing back towards the capital.

Beauregard scattered a Union picket force led by John Gibbon at Gaithersburg, careful to make it seem to the retreating Federals that his overall movements were towards Baltimore. Instead, Beauregard swung to Rockville and advanced down Rock Creek, bee-lining to Washington. It is by this point, March 28th, that Cameron came to his senses (thanks to fortuitous reports from Gibbon who was not fooled by Beauregard) and requested Reynolds to put his army on a train for Washington. As well, it is by this point that Johnston’s army, tired from several forced marches, reached Beauregard, and planning began for the assault into Washington.

Standing in the way of the Confederates was Fort Pennsylvania, built on the highest natural point in the entire District. Despite being one of the largest forts in the entire Fort Circle, Cameron had moved much of his forces to a newly built strongpoint centered on St. Alban’s Church closer to Georgetown, essentially ceding the fort to the Confederates. Had Cameron held on to Fort Pennsylvania, it is likely that the decisive battle he and his brother were hoping for would have happened there. Upon taking the fort, Beauregard sent Johnston south to Fort Gaines in order to trick Cameron into thinking he intended to attack Georgetown, and marched the rest of his army east, planning to cross Rock Creek and approach Washington from the north. Beauregard had no idea that Reynolds and Garland were streaming into the area, with advance forces taking positions near Fort Massachusetts. The Army of Virginia arrived at Rock Creek near the crossing of Pierce’s Mill as night fell on April 1st, pitching their tents on the west bank despite Beauregard’s insistence to Theophilus Holmes that the east bank be claimed before the army went to sleep. This delay allowed for the 6th Division (Hooker) to march forth from Columbia College and claim the east bank before sunrise on April 2nd.

Beauregard’s crossing of Rock Creek, undertaken at dawn on the 2nd with the promise of a hot breakfast after (presumably roasted on the charred timbers of the White House) immediately was contested by Hooker’s men, who themselves had barely had time to rest. At this point, Reynolds roused his tired divisions and ordered them to march to the aid of Hooker, telling his commanders to “march to the sound of guns”. Cameron, still thinking that the main attack would be aimed at Georgetown, fell back from his position at St. Alban’s Church under fears that the attack at Pierce’s Mill was instead Beauregard crossing the Creek from the east side, when in reality it was the opposite. Johnston, still holding Fort Gaines, noticed Cameron’s maneuver and petitioned Beauregard to move to Georgetown to take advantage of Cameron’s flight. However, Beauregard, who by this point had become quite irritated by Hooker’s resistance, instead ordered Johnston to join him and help him force the Creek.

By this point the fighting had reached such an intensity that the water of Rock Creek had become nearly entirely filled with blood, and the tired soldiers of Hooker could no longer withstand Beauregard’s attacks, and when Garland himself was shot (after uttering a famous last line calling for his men to take back the east bank) the Union lines began to crack. Thanks to an impromptu bayonet charge led by Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Chamberlain of the 3rd Maine, the first of Reynolds’ troops to arrive on the scene, the Federals did not break, and were able to in fact push the Confederates back across the Creek in an attack that shocked Beauregard in its intensity. Reynolds, taking overall command after Garland’s death and Cameron’s inability to do anything, ordered his soldiers to continue the momentum and cross the Creek themselves, an action that his tired troops were unable to fulfill. For much of this second phase of the battle (the first phase being the initial attack to Chamberlain’s rescue) the battle seesawed back and forth across the Creek, as charges and counter-charges proved unable to dislodge either side. It is said that by the end of this second phase, one could walk across the Creek without getting their feet wet, for such was the number of dead and wounded strewn across the battlefield. It can be astonishing to military students that such attacks continued to be launched despite the relative closeness of another crossing of the Creek just to the north of the battlefield and near to the Union base of Fort Massachusetts. It should be noted that Philip Kearny, the highly aggressive Union general, had in effect assumed command of Garland’s army and, despite Reynolds being in nominal command, was the true commander of this second phase (until his death around noon). Additionally, with Cameron’s army stuck in Georgetown, the Union was technically outnumbered, and any flanking maneuver would have weakened their lines below any acceptable margin.

At long last, following hours of pleading, Cameron moved his army up Rockville Road, reclaiming his position at St. Alban’s Church and beginning a march to Tennallytown. This maneuver threatened to encircle the Confederates, and it was only the stout resistance of Bee’s Division (which saw the death of Bee) that Beauregard was able to withdraw from the battlefield. The third phase of the battle occurred as night fell, with the 2nd Division (Porter) launching numerous attacks on hastily devised earthworks along the intersection of Rockville Road and Pierce’s Mill Road to no avail. With their position now untenable due to Cameron’s movements to the south and Reynolds approaching from the east, Beauregard and Johnston agreed to withdraw completely, setting fire to Tennallytown and Fort Pennsylvania as they left. After a rearguard action at Old Stone Tavern that saw the 1st Division (Sumner) trashed and Sumner and Cameron both slain, the Union gave up on the pursuit and allowed Beauregard and Johnston to cross the Potomac back into Virginia uncontested.

While the actions at Pierce’s Mill was an undeniable Union victory, it left a foul taste in President Cameron’s mouth. Close to two-fifths of all the dead from the First Civil War came from this one battle, and while Beauregard slugged it out with Kearny, Magruder had taken Alexandria and the heights at Arlington and began a bombardment of Washington itself. What the French and British ambassadors took from the overall campaign was less of the bloodbath along Rock Creek and more the image of downtown Washington in flames, especially after a lucky shot destroyed the ironclad USS Minotaur in one spectacular moment. As well, the death of President Cameron’s brother deeply impacted the President, who fell deeply into grief. His impeachment and removal a month later stems entirely from his reaction to Rock Creek, as he ordered the ceasing of all military activity (an order ignored by Nathaniel Lyon who was deep into the Second Missouri Campaign) and effectively recognized the independence of the Confederacy. Crittenden, when he assumed the presidency, found his hands tied as a result of this and was forced to go along with the peace negotiations (though how forced Crittenden actually felt is hotly debated), leading to the (albeit ultimately temporary) disunion of the Union.

The Battle of Rock Creek has many options for speculative historians to indulge with. Had the Army of the Tiber marched north soon after the battle began then it is possible Beauregard’s command could have been entirely encircled, allowing for the destruction of Johnston’s army as well. Had Hooker granted his men some hours of sleep then Beauregard could have crossed Rock Creek and forced battle elsewhere. Had Cameron kept Reynolds in Baltimore, then Beauregard could have likely marched into Washington, captured President Cameron, and dictated Confederate independence on the steps of the US Capitol itself. Had Chamberlain been slain in battle would have prevented his rise to the presidency, his selection of Ely S Parker as his vice, and quite possibly American intervention in the Confederate Civil War, making it possible for the Confederacy to survive long beyond its apparent expiration date, to the profound detriment of all.


ORDER OF BATTLE FOR ROCK CREEK

UNION:​

ARMY OF THE TIBER (James Cameron)
  • 1st Division (Edwin Sumner)
  • 2nd Division (Fitz John Porter)
  • 3rd Division (Irvin McDowell)
  • 4th Division (Samuel Heintzelman)
ARMY OF THE POTOMAC (John Garland)
  • 5th Division (Philip Kearny)
  • 6th Division (Joseph Hooker)
  • 7th Division (William Franklin)
ARMY OF THE SUSQUEHANNA (John F Reynolds)
  • 8th Division (George Meade)
  • 9th Division (John Sedgwick)
  • 10th Division (Erasmus Keyes)

CONFEDERATE:​

ARMY OF VIRGINIA (PGT Beauregard)
  • 1st Corps (Nathan Evans)
    • 1st Division (James Longstreet)
    • 2nd Division (John Magruder) [detached and operating in Alexandria/Arlington]
  • 2nd Corps (Theophilus Holmes)
    • 1st Division (John G Walker)
    • 2nd Division (Cadmus Wilcox)
  • 3rd Corps (GW Smith)
    • 1st Division (Robert Rodes)
    • 2nd Division (DH Hill)
ARMY OF THE SHENANDOAH (Joseph E Johnston)
  • 1st Division (Barnard Bee)
  • 2nd Division (Richard Garnett)
  • 3rd Division (Edward Johnson)
 
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How did the Portuguese get the Congo Basin past the British?
The British have a much more difficult time subduing the Boers, and despite calling for an International Congo Territory, without Leopold II (he dies from pneumonia after rescuing his son Prince Leopold from falling into a pond in 1865, a fall that in OTL gave Prince Leopold pneumonia and killed him) the international powers eventually agree to the facts on the ground which are a Franco-Portuguese partition of the Congo, thereby also allowing Portugal to fulfill the Pink Map without the 1890 Ultimatum happening.
what on Earth is going on in the Southwest that first map?
The Southwest gets filled with filibuster republics, Mormon states, native confederacies, and post-Mexico successors in the years after the First Civil War. The CSA advances to the Rio Grande but not further (after inheriting Texas's claims), and the US sticks to the Adams-Onis line. After the Second Civil War, there's a twenty year period called the Conquest of the Southwest where the US takes it all over and helps Mexico regain some stability in the process. Western movies have a lot of material to work with.
 
US Political Parties, Douglass Commonwealth Government
TFR4 US Major Political Parties Iterations.png
The Republican Party is the dominant party of the United States, holding a majority of seats in the US Congress. Additionally, 35 of all 51 presidents have been members of the party (though historians still debate as to if the Whig Party should be considered an iteration of the Republicans). The modern party was created out of the electoral ruins of the 1860 election, where eight major candidates sought the presidency, and swiftly achieved a dominance over American politics following the First Civil War. The party maintained a stranglehold over the presidency for almost sixty years until the 1920 election, when, in reaction to President Alfred Warren's unpopular refusal to enter the Great War, Lawrence Ashwood narrowly claimed the highest office. The party's main ideology has shifted over the many years, going from Jeffersonian democracy to Rooseveltian progressivism to the more modern Mercerite and Kistlerite republicanism, but for the most part has stayed left of center.

The Populist Party is the primary opposition party of the United States. Founded by five-time presidential candidate Stephen Douglas, the party took the place of the Jacksonian and Bayardite Democrats as well as the first post-First Civil War party Douglas founded, the Liberals. At first following Douglas's popular sovereignty notions, the party has adopted a strongly conservative platform that veered into stratocratic militarism following the start of the Great Depression. Though the party has claimed the presidency multiple times, scandals have been a major plague - Henry Longmile arguably sowed the seeds for the Years of Lead, and most recently David Teller attempted to overthrow American democracy. Time will tell if the party can survive the current crisis it has caused for itself.

The Alliance Party is the third largest party in the United States, typically caucusing with the Republicans. It is less of a traditional political party and more of a common banner for numerous smaller regionalist parties to congregate under, most notably the dominant parties of the free states, reserved states, and territories. It was originally founded following the Second Civil War as a means of giving voting rights back to former Confederates who had been a part of the Virginia Readjusters and North Carolina New Regulators (in opposition to the 23rd Amendment), with party founder William Mahone gaining a strong backing from Virginia governor William Cameron and North Carolina governor Zebulon Vance. The flag of the party is the "Don't Tread On Me" Gadsden flag, which gave the party its color and animal symbol.

The Ecological Party is the most recent of the four major parities of the United States, having only been formed in the 1960s. It too caucuses with the Republicans, and centers itself on environmental policies and fulfilling the legacy of its spiritual founder, John Muir. Most strong in the state of Sierra, the party has had a difficult time branching out due to the similarities between it and the Republicans, with its largest electoral success being under the breakaway Forwardist Party in the 2004 election. The recent "Green Terror" emanating from the Odyssey 9 disaster has additionally been damaging for the party, as some have claimed it to be crypto-gaianist, leading to the party's most recent shift deep into modern digitalism.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

TFR4 Douglass Commonwealth Government.png
The Douglass Commonwealth is the city-state comprised of the Federal Capital City, once called the District of Columbia, now named in honor of Frederick Douglass. Originally established by the Constitution as a place to hold the seat of government, the growth of the area and increasing demands for congressional representation ushered in the 40th and 59th Amendments. Comprised of the cities of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, as well as the counties of Anacostia County, Glover County, Washington County, and Arlington County, it straddles the Potomac River in a square ten miles on each side.

The state government of the Douglass Commonwealth has been criticized for giving preferential treatment to the lands on the north side of the Potomac - the City Washington is allowed two city councilmembers and three city delegates compared to the one city councilmember and two city delegates awarded to Georgetown and Alexandria, as well as the fact that three of DC's four counties are on the north side. DC has voted for the Republican Party in every presidential election since it was allowed to vote following the 40th Amendment, and its state government has been dominated by Republicans as well. Interestingly, there are three explicitly independent/non-partisan positions within the state government - the Council Chairman of the Governing Council, who is appointed by the President; the House Speaker of the House of Delegates; and the Public Works Commissioner of the Executive Board, who is traditionally a member of the Army Corps of Engineers.
 
More fun uncanny-valley politics - at first glance it seems pretty straightforward, TR progressivism in the Reps vs. Bryanite populism displacing the Dems with Greens off to the side, but with each little detail it becomes more and more clear that something is deeply weird and the differences hearken back much further back than that first surface take makes it seem. Some of the little permutations sound pretty straightforward parallels to OTL (Buccaneer politics, Gaianism, Neonullifierism) but for every one of those there's something else (Neo-synergetics, American futurism, Oppositionism, classical digitalism) that I just can't make heads or tails of yet, and that's good.
 
Is the song at the beginning of the thread your own work,Veranius? If not what is it’s source?
It's a Veranius original!
More fun uncanny-valley politics - at first glance it seems pretty straightforward, TR progressivism in the Reps vs. Bryanite populism displacing the Dems with Greens off to the side, but with each little detail it becomes more and more clear that something is deeply weird and the differences hearken back much further back than that first surface take makes it seem. Some of the little permutations sound pretty straightforward parallels to OTL (Buccaneer politics, Gaianism, Neonullifierism) but for every one of those there's something else (Neo-synergetics, American futurism, Oppositionism, classical digitalism) that I just can't make heads or tails of yet, and that's good.
Making up those alternate ideology names was quite a lot of fun. For some, I don't quite know what they're about, but the name's got implications - for example, digitalism probably has something to do with e-democracy, but beyond that? I've got lots of things to think about.
 
Currency Exchange
TFR4 Currency Exchange Rates.png

TO: informationtechnology@chamberlaininternational.fly

FROM: currencyexchange@chamberlaininternational.fly

SUBJECT: Help Needed

MESSAGE: Hi J, it's Luke at the Terminal 3 Main Concourse Currency Exchange. Somehow our system is glitched, and I can't get a couple currencies to be removed - for instance, the Central African Axe is being displayed, and I know for a fact that NO ONE in the last five years of me being here has asked for that. Probably one of the new kids who thought it'd be funny threw it up there, and I can't get it out. Can you send a technician at your earliest convenience?
 
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