Bulldoggus
Banned
All I know about it comes from the novel World War Z, honestly. My grandpa once compared it to NYC in the 70's/80's, when the whole thing was kinda falling apart.
Reds fanfic
- Thread starter E. Burke
- Start date
Redshank Galloglass
Banned
Ahh,WWZ. The only book that claims to be realistic yet fails to comprehend the sheer lethality of modern warfare.
But you know, napoleonic tactics make MANLY MEN.
And yeah Yonks is pretty bad.
Bulldoggus
Banned
As an aficionado of pastries, I was thinking that it was possible that in the UASR, Italian Pastries (i.e. Cannoli, Zeppole, Sfogliatelle) would outpost more traditionally WASPy pastries (apple pie and the like) as the most iconically American desserts, as a lot of the highest quality Italian pastry places are in current or former Italian immigrant ghettoes. Thus, Italian pastry (perhaps mixed with German Black Forest Gateau and simpler stuff like donuts) becomes the pastry of the proletariat.
But I get your point.
As someone pretty familiar with the Napoleonic Wars... they do
But I get your point.Bookmark1995
Banned
In a society that praises multiculturalism, literally any pastry by a major urban ethnic group could be made a big part of the ITTL American palate.
Jewish people could popularize blintzes, sufganiyot and cheesecake. German people could popularize strudel. Mexican people (if a large Mexican community does still immigrate) could popularize churros.
Bulldoggus
Banned
Cheesecake is a more jewish thing?
Or Pan Dulce! Or (although this is more Argentinian) Dulce de Leche!
Bookmark1995
Banned
Cheesecake is a more jewish thing?
I believe it is a the Holiday of Shavout, where you eat lots of dairy products.
Cheesecake is delicious, and without boring ol' apple pie, people will be eating it more.
Bulldoggus
Banned
I like cheesecake, but I don't think apple pie will be gone by any stretch (and I sincerely hope blueberry pie would remain).
Redshank Galloglass
Banned
As long as good old Irish pastries remain intact, I'm fine.
It's alchohol.
It's alchohol.
Initially, heavy metal music of the British working class. Tony Iommi created a metallic sound, after the lost fingers. By the way - it was originally a blues musician (the actual metal is dialectical "denial" of the blues). And elements of jazz noticeable technical death metal. By the same courage loose concept. Under masculinity can be understood as type-dominant males, but you can to realize a reliable companion that can support in difficult times.
In addition, as described by me from the Cascade Mountains metal originating in an environment where effeminate Hippie be inappropriate.
Well, I suppose that because of cultural ties with Russia in the dining rooms appear new dish ... No, not Borsch , it's Ukrainian cuisine. This Russian soup - it's ShchiAs an aficionado of pastries, I was thinking that it was possible that in the UASR, Italian Pastries (i.e. Cannoli, Zeppole, Sfogliatelle) would outpost more traditionally WASPy pastries (apple pie and the like) as the most iconically American desserts, as a lot of the highest quality Italian pastry places are in current or former Italian immigrant ghettoes. Thus, Italian pastry (perhaps mixed with German Black Forest Gateau and simpler stuff like donuts) becomes the pastry of the proletariat.
As someone pretty familiar with the Napoleonic Wars... they do
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I'll love some "Fight the Power" kind of stuff.
Of course, though I'm sure they do look a bit more different than OTL in many things, but still enough for us OTL people.
I'm fine with heavy metal as familiar as OTL. Doesn't matter. It's still British. Music is more than just musicality. Politics and economics play a role in dissemination of music.
Heavy metal is not going to be gone ITTL, as Jello said. And I noticed that too. But as I said, they will look a bit different ITTL. It can't be helped.
There is something to think about. Basically I have a theory about that. Firstly - American Metal will initially have a purely decorative function, and will be deprived of social commentary.
Secondly - the metal appears as a reaction to the hippies. I do not think that everyone will want to keep this way of life. In one article I read this description "cascade" metalheads. "In Europe, listening to metal gloomy guys in black leather jackets and spiked leather jackets In America -. Dear attribute, and metal band is now more like whether to farmers from the south, or to the lumberjacks from the north." Note that in an environment made to work with his hands. Besides it (IMHO) in the ITL America supposed physical education should be developed. This contrasts with the dope smoking Hippies (let's face it honestly - it is an urban subculture that emerged among people not engaged in useful work). In fact, "cascade" metallers act dialectical unity of the two subcultures (which makes them suitable for the alternative of America). On the one hand - "I'm not the patriarchal bull who seek to dominate, and even antisocial." On the other - "I do not hippies that avoids manual labor, and leads an idle life."
Thirdly - saying the metal will not be obsessed with the idea of masculinity (going over the brink of turning into homoeroticism, and this is something special). And of course there will be such a shit how to "Mötley Crüe", who had a harem of groupies. I am even sure that women's groups will be used.
By the way with the advent of the film adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast" I started having thoughts about alternative version. The whole story is curious that there has been and "reactionary" and "progressive" elements.
Progressive
1) Belle's not a princess, and the commoner (though rather her father belongs to the "third estate"). By the way, Emma Watson fit this image - a simple, but beautiful and kind girl.
2) Gaston! Just by itself. Gaston On the one hand it is a parody of the cute princes, on the other hand a parody of "masculinity" and machismo. The dialectical combination of the negative aspects of capitalist culture. Justin Bieber and Bodybuilder in one person. Although I have not seen the cartoon, perhaps image Gaston changed, I know that in the cartoon he shows his biceps, and in the trailer, he looks at my face and said - "Beautiful, gentle creature, well, who you compare" (quoting Russian version of the trailer) .
3) The Beast was a monster because it acted as a rich major.
reaction
1) The fact that Belle "marries the prince."
2) The contrast between the individual and society - Belle opposed to harsh and narrow-minded citizens.
Progressive
1) Belle's not a princess, and the commoner (though rather her father belongs to the "third estate"). By the way, Emma Watson fit this image - a simple, but beautiful and kind girl.
2) Gaston! Just by itself. Gaston On the one hand it is a parody of the cute princes, on the other hand a parody of "masculinity" and machismo. The dialectical combination of the negative aspects of capitalist culture. Justin Bieber and Bodybuilder in one person. Although I have not seen the cartoon, perhaps image Gaston changed, I know that in the cartoon he shows his biceps, and in the trailer, he looks at my face and said - "Beautiful, gentle creature, well, who you compare" (quoting Russian version of the trailer) .
3) The Beast was a monster because it acted as a rich major.
reaction
1) The fact that Belle "marries the prince."
2) The contrast between the individual and society - Belle opposed to harsh and narrow-minded citizens.
Not only that, but metal is also very heavily inlfluenced by the Chicago Blues. Metal progenitors like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath explicitly pointed to artists like Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson as influences. With rock'n' roll being more African American dominated ITTL, I could imagine early rock'n'roll having a darker edge from this Blues influence, possibly creating a proto-Metal sound.
Oh yeah, hi, I'm back. I'll have a piece for you later today.
Redshank Galloglass
Banned
Hope you are feeling better my dude.
And yeah, I agree about metal. I do hope that Thrash still comes around though.
Redshank Galloglass
Banned
Hey everbody,
So I remembered we discussed "social engineering" projects a few weeks ago, and I thought it would make for a good discussion in an Alt-thread. I was going to do a whole update on Honolulu, but I lost all my progress, so I'm going to be relaying the details of my lost update in this AH thread. It's pretty lazy, I know, but I wrote so much on it and I really don't want to start over. So here goes:
AH thread: Important Social Engineering Projects in the 20th Century
More to come, commentary is encouraged!
So I remembered we discussed "social engineering" projects a few weeks ago, and I thought it would make for a good discussion in an Alt-thread. I was going to do a whole update on Honolulu, but I lost all my progress, so I'm going to be relaying the details of my lost update in this AH thread. It's pretty lazy, I know, but I wrote so much on it and I really don't want to start over. So here goes:
AH thread: Important Social Engineering Projects in the 20th Century
More to come, commentary is encouraged!
Orion's Belt
Orion's Belt was a UFO cult, founded by X. Cimarron, which operated from 1967 to 1996. At its height, it had roughly 2300 members. It is most famous for the "Andromeda Crisis" in 1996, a four day stand-off between the Puerto Rican militia backed by the CSS, and the OB cultists in the Andromeda complex built in Puerto Rico, guarded by the so-called "Mobile Infantry".[1] The standoff famously ended with X. Cimarron and all 912 members present in the complex committing a mass suicide, supposedly to escape the wrath of the "Original Civilization" upon the Earth, and join a refugee ship sent with Comet Hale-Bopp.[2] The incident received widespread shock across the UASR, and indeed, through most of Comintern.
Beliefs
The belief system of Orion's Belt was codified in Cimarron's 1962 book, A Revised History of Humanity. In it, he described how humanity was originally modified to intelligence by a Terran colony established by a larger intergalactic utopian communist civilization. However, that Terran colony lost contact with the original civilization, which eventually collapsed and went extinct. (It would be later remembered in myth as Atlantis). Over time, the primitive communist system the newly intelligent used was perverted and abandoned by opportunists, resulting in the creation of the feudal and capitalist systems. Luckily, through thinkers like Marx, Proudhon, DeLeon, and Lenin, some of humanity has once again embraced the principles that guided the original civilization. However, their work isn't done. Cimarron prophesied that the Original Civilization will return to see the fruits of the experiment, and will be horrified by the still present capitalism and statism. They had allegedly sent emissaries to Earth, which were observed as so-called "UFOs".
The most controversial belief was that, in order to please the Original Civilization, Comintern must finally annihilate the capitalists and imperialists of the world. This could be accomplished via nuclear weapons. They believed that nuclear war was the only way to defeat the FBU, and bring down international capitalism once and for all. This will show the Original Civilization their dedication to the propagation of socialism. After this victory, the "statist" Comintern will wither away, producing a new communist utopia. If that didn't happen however, the best choice was to isolate themselves, and wait for the Originators (as the aliens were called) to come to Earth, and extinguish the capitalists and statists themselves. When that happened, Cimarron claimed the souls of those left would join with the collective, creating a peaceful universe.[3]
The cult practiced a very ascetic lifestyle. Cimarron, influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism, imposed strong vegan restrictions on diet, and had an extreme communalist streak. There was no personal property, which was conflated with private property, and indeed, privacy itself became associated with both. Cimarron's son, Elliott, described the conditions at Vega, the commune operated by the cult in Texas before the building of Andromeda, in his memoirs The Utopia-Makers: My Life in Orion's Belt. "Everyone slept in the same large room, ate in the same place. There were no personal utinsils, just one spoon for everyone.[4] Everyday, at exactly 2, there would be a mass meditation. Any personal possessions were destroyed." Sexual relations were strongly encouraged, albeit without the use of contraceptives, and in full public view (within the sleeping complex). This was to produce more children, and build the base more. Children were raised communally, but unlike the child-rearing collectives, they would sometimes not know who their parents were. While they stated they didn't oppose medicine and technology, they believed health problems were merely an extension of years of capitalistic rule, which used medicine to control the masses while tricking them into thinking their health was improving. They also said that people were primarily workers in the Original Civilization, whose had their leisure time, but relied on working. As a result of these policies, (and what initially started its conflict with the American government,) there was severe health problems and even some deaths within the Vega and later Andromeda communities. This also caused the shrinking of the cult down to only 1100, and after moving to Haiti, even less. In particular, many parents would leave the cult to find adequate care for their children, after Cimarron refused to yield on the medicine question with children.
History
X. Cimarron was born Xavier Eliot in Wichita, Kansas, on January 31st, 1928. His parents were trapeze artists with a traveling circus, causing him to move across the Mid-West and West through his childhood. He describes in several of his lecture his dissatisfaction with life in the circus, how it seemed distant and isolated, especially with the Cultural Revolution going on around them. Thus, at age 13, he left the circus, and entered a child raising collective in Sequoyah. He joined the RDF 5 years later, in time for the Horn of Africa conflict. He served with the John Brown Battalion.
In Somalia, his comminissar gave him and the rest of his squad books by Marx and Trotsky, to educate them on their purpose there. He quickly delved into them, dissecting them, and studying every letter extensively. It was also at the Somalia where he had, what he would later call a "deeply spritual experience." That was the "Baki incident" in 1950, a much discussed UFO sighting, where members of the John Brown Battalion observed strange lights near the Somalian-Ethiopian border. Most scholar believe they had merely observed a meteor shower during a particular dark night, and during a rather tense moment, since they were so-close to enemy lines. However, Eliot had a revelation. He saw the vastness of the universe, and the endless possibilities for life. He also connected the development of extraterrestrial civilizations with Marx's dissertation of Hagel's historiography. He began to believe that the lights he saw were of a more advanced civilization, one which had embraced full communism, and had expanded among the stars.
Another experience which he said shaped him was the 1953 science fiction film Farewell to the Master. [5] In the final scene of that film, Klaatu makes an passionate plea to ensure peace on Earth in order for them to join other beings in the universe. While most agree it was a speech against nuclear war and militarism, Xavier saw it as a plea to ensure that capitalists (the main enemy of peace in the world, in his eyes) are destroyed by any means. He went to college at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a degree in Physics, and political philosophy in 1957. He settled in Los Angeles after his graduation, working as a technical writer. It was there he adopted the name "X. Cimarron," after the American river, which he visited sometimes in his youth. In 1959, he began a lengthy correspondence with John Rothschild, a rocket scientist and former associate of Robert Truax.[6] He was working on his first novel, Spaceships on the Nile, and contacted Eliot for some eyewitness testimony for the Baki Incident. A lengthy correspondence between Rothschild and Cimarron introduced Cimarron to the ancient astronaut theory, and furthered shaped his beliefs. (During his last interview in August, 1996, Rothschild admitted his correspondence, and expressed guilt over not attempting to tamper down Cimarron's more wild assertions.)
Gradually, he grafted his ideology, carefully examining myths, legends, UFO sightings, and Marxist writing to build into a full mythology. In 1962, he released the Revised History of Humanity. With the Second Cultural Revolution underway, he immediately gained a following, and soon, he began to travel across California to lecture. He was soon corresponding with several people at a time. They were attracted to his message about humanity being part of a larger civilization, and to his more communtiarism. He released he could use this base to reach more people. Thus, he, and several close followers, formed Orion's Belt, after the location of the galactic capital according to Cimarron, in 1967, in San Francisco. From there, the organization grew exponentially, reaching out through most of the West Coast. By 1971, it had branches in Pacific Coast as far as Vancouver and Mexico City, with the Las Vegas as the furthest East branch. It's attempts to expand more failed, but this base provide nearly 2000 members. While ridiculed, it was considered for a time one of the larger counterculture movements of the 70's. Indeed, it had some attention during that time, but slowly, it faded from public view by the time of its move to Texas in 1974.
The organization was a collective in theory, but gradually began to center around "Central Committee." Paulette Cooper, journalist and author of Cultland: A Look into the America's most Infamous Cults and Syndicates, described it as essentially a mini version of a revolutionary government. It consisted mostly of college aged women, who all had sexual relations with Cimarron, and who were all devout to organization. [7] Of these women (and occasional man), the lifelong partner of Cimarron and most loyal member was Alexandra Olenska. The daughter of Polish immigrants, she had been a Marine during the Indochina Conflict. Despite the Communists ultimately triumphing, she had poor experiences, which lead to depression and a crippling heroin addiction. She was in a rehabilitation center, when she read the Revised History, and was enamoured with Cimarron, joining his organization in 1969, and rising through the ranks. In order to enforce its rule, Olenska convinced Cimarron to form the "Mobile Infantry" (a name from Star Trek, which both Olenska and Cimarron were fans of), with Olenska in charge, due to her military experience. Olenska and Cimarron had their (individually as well as a couple) only child, Eliott, in 1971. Gradually, the organization became very undemocratically centered on Cimarron, with the Central Committee and Mobile Infantry existing to enforce his will.
In 1974, Cimarron announced that he and the Central Committee were going East to settle an isolated region of Texas, to avoid the inevitable targeting of LA and San Francisco during the nuclear conflict with the AFS, and to easily rebuild from said conflict. He encouraged followers to join them. This, and the increased focus on Cimarron, came to be attributed for the severe decline in membership, from 2300 in 1972 to just over 1400 in 1975. Not helping were the conditions building and operating the newly dubbed Vega complex. It was an agricultural collective, but most of the members lacked the knowledge to farm, especially in the Texan climate. This, along with Cimarron's emphasis on self-sufficiency, lead to severe food shortages and malnutrition among followers. Cimarron also said members should cut off all ties with the outside world, leaving only themselves to contact the Originetors. The only technology in Vega was a television and radio inside the Mobile Infantry office, which were used to keep up with any news of the apocalypse.
Cimarron was elated to hear of the Canadian Crisis, believing it will lead to promised nuclear annihilation of the capitalist powers. He would blast broadcasts of the Crisis to his followers during their meditation to enforce why they are doing this. When the Crisis failed to pan out, he grew increasingly angry at the "incompetent" UASR government, and stated they were the main impediment to the purging of world capitalism. In the 80's, with membership decreasing, Cimarron would send members out to buy video cameras, tapes, and cassettes in bulk, and bring them back to him. He would then record messages on them, to be distributed, both locally in Texas, and nationally. They failed to get much attention. They also utilized the growing national computer networks to spread their message, once again to little effect. He also researched places to go in case the Texas experiment didn't pan out. He eventually reached Puerto Rico, due to its isolation and status as an Associated Union Republic (meaning it could transition safely to stateless communism after the Originetors arrived)
At age 17, Elliott (having been in contact with several dissatisfied members who left, as well as sneaking out to enjoy Earthly pleasures and seeing healthy people for the first time) eventually left, leaving his parent devastated at having to cut him out of their lives. Eliott got into contact with several former members, and together, they made a formal complaint about conditions at Vega. The CSS did send an infiltrator into the commune to investigate further in 1989. However, the infiltrator, Mark Jonson, found that this was not a easy job. As he related to Paulette Cooper in Cultland, "There were no telephones, no computers. No contact with the outside world. I might as well have actually been on the star Vega for all I knew. I had this plethora of stuff that we could've gotten them on, but there was no way I could contact the Secreatariat. There was no privacy, it felt like everyone was watching and reporting what everyone else did. I couldn't just have a cellular phone and contact someone, because they could find me." He said while he didn't see the Mobile Infantry commit any violence against members, he suspected that dissenters they caught were tortured (which Eliott confirmed in Utopia Builders). He also said of Cimarron, "It felt like he was ever present. He was watching your every move. He was always there. I think just that unsettling fear prevented me from attempting to contact the Secretariat [...] I infiltrated several Sons of Liberty offshots during my career with Section 9. I spent five years undercover in the Socialist Action Front, where I saw them do things, that would leave any normal person with nightmares, and have slept fine from those. Being at Vega is singlehandedly the worst experience I have ever had in my life, and I still have nightmares from that."
Eventually, after a year in Vega, Jonson escaped, and managed to get to San Antonio, where he contacted Section 9 and reported what he found. He didn't realize that two members had followed him, and upon learning his identity, reported back to Cimarron. Cimarron decided to take drastic measures, buying several boats in Houston, and immediately having members clean out the commune. By the time CSS agents arrived, they found it empty, with several buildings even completely deconstructed, and everything taken. They would spend the next five years attempting to find them.
Cimarron, Olenska, and the rest arrived in San Juan in 1991, with whatever they could deconstruct or take overnight. Cimarron had already identified an abandoned RDF station in a remote location, which Cimarron named "Andromeda." After using the construction material to renovate the base, the Andromeda Complex became the main source. In the complex, it was even more regimented. There was one public shower, and one toilet, which everyone used. The sleeping room had no windows, leaving it completely dark. Crops were even less suitable, resulting in more deaths. The Mobile Infantry saw it fit to torture those who committed even the most minor offense. Cimarron became the undisputed leader, despite his growing insanity, and some defectors said that at times, he even said he spoke directly to the Originators telepathically. Some defectors with knowledge of Spanish went to nearby villages with tales of what was happening. Cimarron told Olenska to "Prepare for the Final Conflict."
On April 6th, 1996, a Puerto Rican Police Militia dispatch (accompanied by Section 1 agent Alberto Menendez) arrived at Andromeda, and attempted to breach the fence. They were ambushed by the MI, who shot them using assault weapons. Menendez, along with militiamen Juan-Luis Lopez and Maria Perez, were murdered. The CSS immediately dispatched a team of agents to the location to assist the Puerto Rican militias. Jonson (who led the team) told Public Safety Secretary Bill Ayers "We are not dealing with terrorists here. We have innocent people there, brainwashed by a lunatic. There are families in there, children. We must be careful with this situation."
Keeping this in mind, the militia and MI were at a stand still. The militia and CSS feared that a direct incursion could lead to civilians taking up arms (potentially getting human shields compromising the situation.) However, on the fourth day of the standoff, the MI mysteriously retreated. Air surveillance revealed they were all gone. A special dispatch was sent, and after carefully moving through the jungle, arrived at the complex. They found it completely abandoned, with no one seemingly there. However, when they opened the sleeping room, they found everyone, covered in a blanket, including Cimarron and Olenska. They also found cyanide pills next to half drank water. In total, 912 people committed suicide. In the MI operating room, a tape was kept in the VCR. Grainy footage of Cimarron addressing crowd, telling them the time has come. The Originators will purge the Earth. However, they will give one last chance to believers to come with them, through a space ship arriving with the recently discovered Comet Hale-Bopp. They would take those willing to shed their Earthly form, and ascend to paradise. Cimarron showed a capsule of cyanide, and said this was the way to shred their Earthly form. He commanded them to head into the sleeping room, and "finally ascend."
In addition to the 912 cultists, militiamen Juan-Luiz Lopez, Maria Perez, and Armando Alverez, as well as CSS agents Alberto Menendez and Estes Cleaver was killed before and during the assaults in the standoff, bringing the death total up to 917 people. The bodies were sent back to the mainland. Cimarron and Olenska were taken to Elliott, who had them cremated in a secret ceremony, with only him in attendance.
Legacy
The tapes belonging to Orion's Belt were confiscated from the compound. They were put up for classification review by a public security council. After a prolonged debate, the tapes were classified and sent to an unknown location with other classified items. Several of the tapes made during the Vega period, and The Revised History of Humanity (albeit in old, out-of-print versions) are still available in public.
Elliott Olenska's book The Utopia Makers was made into a 1998 TV film starring Paul Sorvino as X. Cimarron and Ashton Kutcher as Elliott.
The famed 90's animated comedy series The Comrades had a brief joke about a character having been part of the group during the 70's
Forerunners, a 2001 film, fictionalizes and dramatizes the standoff, setting it in Panama, and renaming the cult "Paradise".
The 2011 Rugby film The Greatest Game features news footage of the mass suicide during its opening sequence as part of a montage of major events from the 1990's
The Siege, a 2016 Mexican-American film, features the Standoff from the perspective of the law enforcement trying to find a way into the complex. Stars Michael Pena as Alberto Menendez, Michael Keaton as Bill Ayers, and Matthew McCoughnhey as Michael Jonson.
The song "The Ascent" by Space Rock group Star Killers contains references to OB mythology, as does "Ziggy Stardust Returns" by David Jones
[1] This, I believe, is a term from the TTL Star Trek. It's inclusion here is a reference to the Star Trek terminology used by Heaven's Gate.
[2] Another Heaven's Gate reference
[3] The positive view of nuclear war, as well as the belief in UFOs as evidence of a socialist alien society, are beliefs lifted from the Posadists, a somewhat prominent Latin American Trotskyist organization.
[4] The utensils part was something the Khmer Rouge did.
[5] The Day The Earth Stood Still. "Farewell to the Master" was the name of the original short story the film was based off.
[6] This is a character I introduced way back in this update. I'll retcon a couple elements from that.
[7] The People's Temple had a similar leading committee, consisting of young women.
Orion's Belt was a UFO cult, founded by X. Cimarron, which operated from 1967 to 1996. At its height, it had roughly 2300 members. It is most famous for the "Andromeda Crisis" in 1996, a four day stand-off between the Puerto Rican militia backed by the CSS, and the OB cultists in the Andromeda complex built in Puerto Rico, guarded by the so-called "Mobile Infantry".[1] The standoff famously ended with X. Cimarron and all 912 members present in the complex committing a mass suicide, supposedly to escape the wrath of the "Original Civilization" upon the Earth, and join a refugee ship sent with Comet Hale-Bopp.[2] The incident received widespread shock across the UASR, and indeed, through most of Comintern.
Beliefs
The belief system of Orion's Belt was codified in Cimarron's 1962 book, A Revised History of Humanity. In it, he described how humanity was originally modified to intelligence by a Terran colony established by a larger intergalactic utopian communist civilization. However, that Terran colony lost contact with the original civilization, which eventually collapsed and went extinct. (It would be later remembered in myth as Atlantis). Over time, the primitive communist system the newly intelligent used was perverted and abandoned by opportunists, resulting in the creation of the feudal and capitalist systems. Luckily, through thinkers like Marx, Proudhon, DeLeon, and Lenin, some of humanity has once again embraced the principles that guided the original civilization. However, their work isn't done. Cimarron prophesied that the Original Civilization will return to see the fruits of the experiment, and will be horrified by the still present capitalism and statism. They had allegedly sent emissaries to Earth, which were observed as so-called "UFOs".
The most controversial belief was that, in order to please the Original Civilization, Comintern must finally annihilate the capitalists and imperialists of the world. This could be accomplished via nuclear weapons. They believed that nuclear war was the only way to defeat the FBU, and bring down international capitalism once and for all. This will show the Original Civilization their dedication to the propagation of socialism. After this victory, the "statist" Comintern will wither away, producing a new communist utopia. If that didn't happen however, the best choice was to isolate themselves, and wait for the Originators (as the aliens were called) to come to Earth, and extinguish the capitalists and statists themselves. When that happened, Cimarron claimed the souls of those left would join with the collective, creating a peaceful universe.[3]
The cult practiced a very ascetic lifestyle. Cimarron, influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism, imposed strong vegan restrictions on diet, and had an extreme communalist streak. There was no personal property, which was conflated with private property, and indeed, privacy itself became associated with both. Cimarron's son, Elliott, described the conditions at Vega, the commune operated by the cult in Texas before the building of Andromeda, in his memoirs The Utopia-Makers: My Life in Orion's Belt. "Everyone slept in the same large room, ate in the same place. There were no personal utinsils, just one spoon for everyone.[4] Everyday, at exactly 2, there would be a mass meditation. Any personal possessions were destroyed." Sexual relations were strongly encouraged, albeit without the use of contraceptives, and in full public view (within the sleeping complex). This was to produce more children, and build the base more. Children were raised communally, but unlike the child-rearing collectives, they would sometimes not know who their parents were. While they stated they didn't oppose medicine and technology, they believed health problems were merely an extension of years of capitalistic rule, which used medicine to control the masses while tricking them into thinking their health was improving. They also said that people were primarily workers in the Original Civilization, whose had their leisure time, but relied on working. As a result of these policies, (and what initially started its conflict with the American government,) there was severe health problems and even some deaths within the Vega and later Andromeda communities. This also caused the shrinking of the cult down to only 1100, and after moving to Haiti, even less. In particular, many parents would leave the cult to find adequate care for their children, after Cimarron refused to yield on the medicine question with children.
History
X. Cimarron was born Xavier Eliot in Wichita, Kansas, on January 31st, 1928. His parents were trapeze artists with a traveling circus, causing him to move across the Mid-West and West through his childhood. He describes in several of his lecture his dissatisfaction with life in the circus, how it seemed distant and isolated, especially with the Cultural Revolution going on around them. Thus, at age 13, he left the circus, and entered a child raising collective in Sequoyah. He joined the RDF 5 years later, in time for the Horn of Africa conflict. He served with the John Brown Battalion.
In Somalia, his comminissar gave him and the rest of his squad books by Marx and Trotsky, to educate them on their purpose there. He quickly delved into them, dissecting them, and studying every letter extensively. It was also at the Somalia where he had, what he would later call a "deeply spritual experience." That was the "Baki incident" in 1950, a much discussed UFO sighting, where members of the John Brown Battalion observed strange lights near the Somalian-Ethiopian border. Most scholar believe they had merely observed a meteor shower during a particular dark night, and during a rather tense moment, since they were so-close to enemy lines. However, Eliot had a revelation. He saw the vastness of the universe, and the endless possibilities for life. He also connected the development of extraterrestrial civilizations with Marx's dissertation of Hagel's historiography. He began to believe that the lights he saw were of a more advanced civilization, one which had embraced full communism, and had expanded among the stars.
Another experience which he said shaped him was the 1953 science fiction film Farewell to the Master. [5] In the final scene of that film, Klaatu makes an passionate plea to ensure peace on Earth in order for them to join other beings in the universe. While most agree it was a speech against nuclear war and militarism, Xavier saw it as a plea to ensure that capitalists (the main enemy of peace in the world, in his eyes) are destroyed by any means. He went to college at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a degree in Physics, and political philosophy in 1957. He settled in Los Angeles after his graduation, working as a technical writer. It was there he adopted the name "X. Cimarron," after the American river, which he visited sometimes in his youth. In 1959, he began a lengthy correspondence with John Rothschild, a rocket scientist and former associate of Robert Truax.[6] He was working on his first novel, Spaceships on the Nile, and contacted Eliot for some eyewitness testimony for the Baki Incident. A lengthy correspondence between Rothschild and Cimarron introduced Cimarron to the ancient astronaut theory, and furthered shaped his beliefs. (During his last interview in August, 1996, Rothschild admitted his correspondence, and expressed guilt over not attempting to tamper down Cimarron's more wild assertions.)
Gradually, he grafted his ideology, carefully examining myths, legends, UFO sightings, and Marxist writing to build into a full mythology. In 1962, he released the Revised History of Humanity. With the Second Cultural Revolution underway, he immediately gained a following, and soon, he began to travel across California to lecture. He was soon corresponding with several people at a time. They were attracted to his message about humanity being part of a larger civilization, and to his more communtiarism. He released he could use this base to reach more people. Thus, he, and several close followers, formed Orion's Belt, after the location of the galactic capital according to Cimarron, in 1967, in San Francisco. From there, the organization grew exponentially, reaching out through most of the West Coast. By 1971, it had branches in Pacific Coast as far as Vancouver and Mexico City, with the Las Vegas as the furthest East branch. It's attempts to expand more failed, but this base provide nearly 2000 members. While ridiculed, it was considered for a time one of the larger counterculture movements of the 70's. Indeed, it had some attention during that time, but slowly, it faded from public view by the time of its move to Texas in 1974.
The organization was a collective in theory, but gradually began to center around "Central Committee." Paulette Cooper, journalist and author of Cultland: A Look into the America's most Infamous Cults and Syndicates, described it as essentially a mini version of a revolutionary government. It consisted mostly of college aged women, who all had sexual relations with Cimarron, and who were all devout to organization. [7] Of these women (and occasional man), the lifelong partner of Cimarron and most loyal member was Alexandra Olenska. The daughter of Polish immigrants, she had been a Marine during the Indochina Conflict. Despite the Communists ultimately triumphing, she had poor experiences, which lead to depression and a crippling heroin addiction. She was in a rehabilitation center, when she read the Revised History, and was enamoured with Cimarron, joining his organization in 1969, and rising through the ranks. In order to enforce its rule, Olenska convinced Cimarron to form the "Mobile Infantry" (a name from Star Trek, which both Olenska and Cimarron were fans of), with Olenska in charge, due to her military experience. Olenska and Cimarron had their (individually as well as a couple) only child, Eliott, in 1971. Gradually, the organization became very undemocratically centered on Cimarron, with the Central Committee and Mobile Infantry existing to enforce his will.
In 1974, Cimarron announced that he and the Central Committee were going East to settle an isolated region of Texas, to avoid the inevitable targeting of LA and San Francisco during the nuclear conflict with the AFS, and to easily rebuild from said conflict. He encouraged followers to join them. This, and the increased focus on Cimarron, came to be attributed for the severe decline in membership, from 2300 in 1972 to just over 1400 in 1975. Not helping were the conditions building and operating the newly dubbed Vega complex. It was an agricultural collective, but most of the members lacked the knowledge to farm, especially in the Texan climate. This, along with Cimarron's emphasis on self-sufficiency, lead to severe food shortages and malnutrition among followers. Cimarron also said members should cut off all ties with the outside world, leaving only themselves to contact the Originetors. The only technology in Vega was a television and radio inside the Mobile Infantry office, which were used to keep up with any news of the apocalypse.
Cimarron was elated to hear of the Canadian Crisis, believing it will lead to promised nuclear annihilation of the capitalist powers. He would blast broadcasts of the Crisis to his followers during their meditation to enforce why they are doing this. When the Crisis failed to pan out, he grew increasingly angry at the "incompetent" UASR government, and stated they were the main impediment to the purging of world capitalism. In the 80's, with membership decreasing, Cimarron would send members out to buy video cameras, tapes, and cassettes in bulk, and bring them back to him. He would then record messages on them, to be distributed, both locally in Texas, and nationally. They failed to get much attention. They also utilized the growing national computer networks to spread their message, once again to little effect. He also researched places to go in case the Texas experiment didn't pan out. He eventually reached Puerto Rico, due to its isolation and status as an Associated Union Republic (meaning it could transition safely to stateless communism after the Originetors arrived)
At age 17, Elliott (having been in contact with several dissatisfied members who left, as well as sneaking out to enjoy Earthly pleasures and seeing healthy people for the first time) eventually left, leaving his parent devastated at having to cut him out of their lives. Eliott got into contact with several former members, and together, they made a formal complaint about conditions at Vega. The CSS did send an infiltrator into the commune to investigate further in 1989. However, the infiltrator, Mark Jonson, found that this was not a easy job. As he related to Paulette Cooper in Cultland, "There were no telephones, no computers. No contact with the outside world. I might as well have actually been on the star Vega for all I knew. I had this plethora of stuff that we could've gotten them on, but there was no way I could contact the Secreatariat. There was no privacy, it felt like everyone was watching and reporting what everyone else did. I couldn't just have a cellular phone and contact someone, because they could find me." He said while he didn't see the Mobile Infantry commit any violence against members, he suspected that dissenters they caught were tortured (which Eliott confirmed in Utopia Builders). He also said of Cimarron, "It felt like he was ever present. He was watching your every move. He was always there. I think just that unsettling fear prevented me from attempting to contact the Secretariat [...] I infiltrated several Sons of Liberty offshots during my career with Section 9. I spent five years undercover in the Socialist Action Front, where I saw them do things, that would leave any normal person with nightmares, and have slept fine from those. Being at Vega is singlehandedly the worst experience I have ever had in my life, and I still have nightmares from that."
Eventually, after a year in Vega, Jonson escaped, and managed to get to San Antonio, where he contacted Section 9 and reported what he found. He didn't realize that two members had followed him, and upon learning his identity, reported back to Cimarron. Cimarron decided to take drastic measures, buying several boats in Houston, and immediately having members clean out the commune. By the time CSS agents arrived, they found it empty, with several buildings even completely deconstructed, and everything taken. They would spend the next five years attempting to find them.
Cimarron, Olenska, and the rest arrived in San Juan in 1991, with whatever they could deconstruct or take overnight. Cimarron had already identified an abandoned RDF station in a remote location, which Cimarron named "Andromeda." After using the construction material to renovate the base, the Andromeda Complex became the main source. In the complex, it was even more regimented. There was one public shower, and one toilet, which everyone used. The sleeping room had no windows, leaving it completely dark. Crops were even less suitable, resulting in more deaths. The Mobile Infantry saw it fit to torture those who committed even the most minor offense. Cimarron became the undisputed leader, despite his growing insanity, and some defectors said that at times, he even said he spoke directly to the Originators telepathically. Some defectors with knowledge of Spanish went to nearby villages with tales of what was happening. Cimarron told Olenska to "Prepare for the Final Conflict."
On April 6th, 1996, a Puerto Rican Police Militia dispatch (accompanied by Section 1 agent Alberto Menendez) arrived at Andromeda, and attempted to breach the fence. They were ambushed by the MI, who shot them using assault weapons. Menendez, along with militiamen Juan-Luis Lopez and Maria Perez, were murdered. The CSS immediately dispatched a team of agents to the location to assist the Puerto Rican militias. Jonson (who led the team) told Public Safety Secretary Bill Ayers "We are not dealing with terrorists here. We have innocent people there, brainwashed by a lunatic. There are families in there, children. We must be careful with this situation."
Keeping this in mind, the militia and MI were at a stand still. The militia and CSS feared that a direct incursion could lead to civilians taking up arms (potentially getting human shields compromising the situation.) However, on the fourth day of the standoff, the MI mysteriously retreated. Air surveillance revealed they were all gone. A special dispatch was sent, and after carefully moving through the jungle, arrived at the complex. They found it completely abandoned, with no one seemingly there. However, when they opened the sleeping room, they found everyone, covered in a blanket, including Cimarron and Olenska. They also found cyanide pills next to half drank water. In total, 912 people committed suicide. In the MI operating room, a tape was kept in the VCR. Grainy footage of Cimarron addressing crowd, telling them the time has come. The Originators will purge the Earth. However, they will give one last chance to believers to come with them, through a space ship arriving with the recently discovered Comet Hale-Bopp. They would take those willing to shed their Earthly form, and ascend to paradise. Cimarron showed a capsule of cyanide, and said this was the way to shred their Earthly form. He commanded them to head into the sleeping room, and "finally ascend."
In addition to the 912 cultists, militiamen Juan-Luiz Lopez, Maria Perez, and Armando Alverez, as well as CSS agents Alberto Menendez and Estes Cleaver was killed before and during the assaults in the standoff, bringing the death total up to 917 people. The bodies were sent back to the mainland. Cimarron and Olenska were taken to Elliott, who had them cremated in a secret ceremony, with only him in attendance.
Legacy
The tapes belonging to Orion's Belt were confiscated from the compound. They were put up for classification review by a public security council. After a prolonged debate, the tapes were classified and sent to an unknown location with other classified items. Several of the tapes made during the Vega period, and The Revised History of Humanity (albeit in old, out-of-print versions) are still available in public.
Elliott Olenska's book The Utopia Makers was made into a 1998 TV film starring Paul Sorvino as X. Cimarron and Ashton Kutcher as Elliott.
The famed 90's animated comedy series The Comrades had a brief joke about a character having been part of the group during the 70's
Forerunners, a 2001 film, fictionalizes and dramatizes the standoff, setting it in Panama, and renaming the cult "Paradise".
The 2011 Rugby film The Greatest Game features news footage of the mass suicide during its opening sequence as part of a montage of major events from the 1990's
The Siege, a 2016 Mexican-American film, features the Standoff from the perspective of the law enforcement trying to find a way into the complex. Stars Michael Pena as Alberto Menendez, Michael Keaton as Bill Ayers, and Matthew McCoughnhey as Michael Jonson.
The song "The Ascent" by Space Rock group Star Killers contains references to OB mythology, as does "Ziggy Stardust Returns" by David Jones
[1] This, I believe, is a term from the TTL Star Trek. It's inclusion here is a reference to the Star Trek terminology used by Heaven's Gate.
[2] Another Heaven's Gate reference
[3] The positive view of nuclear war, as well as the belief in UFOs as evidence of a socialist alien society, are beliefs lifted from the Posadists, a somewhat prominent Latin American Trotskyist organization.
[4] The utensils part was something the Khmer Rouge did.
[5] The Day The Earth Stood Still. "Farewell to the Master" was the name of the original short story the film was based off.
[6] This is a character I introduced way back in this update. I'll retcon a couple elements from that.
[7] The People's Temple had a similar leading committee, consisting of young women.
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AH thread: Important Social Engineering Projects in the 20th Century
A very special thanks to @Bookmark1995 for not only partially inspiring this piece through the corporation mentioned in this piece:https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/reds-fanfic.341837/page-61#post-13535920 , but also giving me permission to expand on that corporation.
-----------------------
I'd Like to Teach The World
In Atlanta, shortly after the Civil War, several soldiers were surveying the Trust Company Bank, checking the amount of seized assets and planning out redistribution. In one vault, however, they found a piece of paper. They immediately knew the value of this paper, and after arguing for several minutes, sent it to their commanding officer. The officer had the paper authenticated, and mulled over what to do with it. He looked over the contents, and came to a decision. He sent a telegram to the offices of the Daily Worker. He titled it "The Recipe for Coca-Cola."
During the Second Republic era, Coca-Cola, the creation of Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton , became the face of American capitalism, especially with its growth under Asa Candler, who gained control over the brand in 1893. Ads for the drink became ubiquituous, with various faces of smiling models holding glasses of the drink, or of soda fountains, where it was often sold, all with the iconic red circle with cursive writing. The contour bottle shape, made in 1915 as part of contest, became equally iconic, and equally ubiquitous on ads. Never mind it had dubious claims to health or the high caffeine content, which was the subject of a 1911 lawsuit by the US government, which the Coca Cola company emerged victorious from,[1] or even the rumored Cocaine used (which would make it the subject of numerous investigations). Given this, the drink soon became part of American culture and dining.
During the lead-up to the Civil War, Coca-Cola Company quickly established contacts with bottle suppliers in Canada and Europe, in case the Socialists won, and they needed to leave. Sure enough, after Norman Thomas won, and during the coup, the Company quickly fled to Calgary, where it believed it could sit out the inevitable defeat of the Socialists. Due to this, and the takeover of bottling plants by unionizing workers, production of Coca Cola stopped in the American mainland, making it a rare commodity sought after by soldiers on both sides. Many Antifa stories tell of soldiers bringing bottle openers with them to raid bourgeois homes, in case they came across unopened Coca-Cola bottles. Due to its rarity, some soldiers used Coca-Cola mixed with alcohol for special occasions.
Commanding officer David Pfeffier stated that publishing the secret original formula (locked in the bank by investors in 1925) in the widely circulated Daily Worker could break the power of the Company, by making their exclusive product more easily available, and allows average people to do their own variations. Sure enough, after the publishing, many newly collectivized bottling plants began to make their own syrup in house. New public health laws brought the level of caffeine down, but new ingredients were regularly added by the local bottling plants and the newly collectivized soft drink producers. A plant in California put lemon and orange flavors, mixing raw juice with cola syrup. Another in Metropolis mixed several other publically released cola recipes (such as Dr. Pepper and Pepsi) into "Pure Cola", which became a popular Northeastern soft drink in its own right. Soon, enthusiasts began to collect the various different coke recipes from across the nation, and catagorized them. The result was the "Coca-Cola Recipe Book," released in 1938, and revised with additional recipes from the USSR, China, Latin America, and other Comintern countries periodically. The cover is usually an old capitalist ad, ironically punctuating the now available use, where anyone could make either the original formula or a new version. The enthusiasts formed the "Coca-Cola Union" to publish these books on a regular basis, and serve as mediator between the makers and the distributors, as well as one of the unions by which the workers from the soft drink producers can be given representation, and the state could request changes for "the health of the worker" . As a result, the "Mainline formula" used in current editions is very different from the original recipe published, and overall from the drink sold in the capitalist days, much healthier and safer to drink.
With the publishing of the formula (which was trickling into Canada through illegally transported copies of the Daily Worker), resulting in bootlegged versions being sold, the Coca-Cola Company floundered, despite their best efforts to squash the bootleggers. Ultimately, in 1941, a group of Canadian and Cuban investor took over the company, and attempted to build a new foundation. With the original formula now readily available, and with the name being hijacked by Communism to be both ironic and for name recognition and nostalgia, they changed the name to the more "Canadian friendly" Arctic Cola, to reflect Canadian nature. A stylized Polar Bear was added as a mascot to punctuate this.[2] The formula was heavily altered, adding more sweetners and preservers, making it more distinct from most American versions. An emphasis was added to show its "coldness", lasting longer in heat. This version proved popular, and soon, Arctic-Cola absorbed most of the Coca-Cola branches remaining in the capitalist world by the 1950's. [3]
In the ending days of World War II, Field Marshal David Eisenhower (an avid fan of the soft drink) introduced the drink to his friend and compatriot Georgy Zhukov, while serving in the Eastern Front. Very impressed by it, Zhukov sang its praises during Central Committee meetings, and wished to have a product like that sold in the USSR. However, many of the Soviet old guard still regarded it as an American product, and there was fear the book being published could be seen as "American Social Imperialism". However, there was a solution. A bottle plant in Milwaukee had created a colorless version, which still had the same flavor. Thus, a formula could be made and sold there resembling vodka. The Milwaukee collective agreed to give the formula to a Soviet bottling plant, which produced more version. "Red Star Cola" and localized variation became the main soda of the Soviet Union and Communist Europe in general.[4]
Meanwhile, Arctic Cola slowly grew to the prominence that its predecessor had. It became an advertising juggernaut, with various ads plastered around restaurants and cafes across the capitalist sphere. Inevitably, it began to arise in product placement in movies. In 1966's The Incomparable Atuk , Atuk the Inuit is seen briefly fascinated by an Arctic Cola vending machine, and manages to shake one out. The most prominent use of Arctic Cola in film was 1963's One, Two, Three, which centers around an Arctic Cola executive trying to sell to the communist bloc. The often cheesy, sentimental ads common in the 70's were the subject of extensive parody. In season 1 of SCTV (known as the "Cappie" years), Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, and Rick Moranis played Arctic Cola executives coming up with increasingly bizarre ideas for ads.
In an eerie parallel to its parent company, it was forced to uproot from Canada during the Quebecois Crisis, and relocated to Manchester in 1980. To avoid a repeat of the Revolution, they managed to take the formula for Arctic Cola, and locked it up in a vault in London. (Post 1979 versions of the Coca-Cola Recipe Book feature attempts to produce Arctic Cola, to mixed effect, according to Canadians who tried the formula out.) In 1984, it was bought out by the Indian based conglomerate The Tata Group, who merged it with their local cola company Thumps Up. It gradually became more Indian based, as seen in the 1991 Indo-Australian film The Arctic Cola Kid, which starred Shah Rukh Khan as a young Indian Arctic Cola executive being sent to Australia to investigate a small town who has grown resistant to the rise of a new product.
The most recent addition of the Coca Cola Recipe Book was released in 2014, featuring Cola variations from across the world, including from workers collectives in several capitalist nations. The original Coca-Cola formula from which it was all based off, is held at the Museum of Food and Dining in Chicago, in full public view. Meanwhile, most of Arctic Cola's efforts mostly center on South and Southeast Asia, with the increased involvement with Thumps Up, as well as juice and water. This is likely due to growing health concerns in the ECF and FBU over the contents of the regular products, and legislation.
[1] OTL, the lawsuit went for the US government, and Coke agreed to reduce the caffeine levels.
[2] Think the symbol of Klondike Bars.
[3] I think Fanta will be butterflied away, if you were wondering.
[4] This is loosely based on the real life story of Zhukov and White Coke
-----------------------
I'd Like to Teach The World
In Atlanta, shortly after the Civil War, several soldiers were surveying the Trust Company Bank, checking the amount of seized assets and planning out redistribution. In one vault, however, they found a piece of paper. They immediately knew the value of this paper, and after arguing for several minutes, sent it to their commanding officer. The officer had the paper authenticated, and mulled over what to do with it. He looked over the contents, and came to a decision. He sent a telegram to the offices of the Daily Worker. He titled it "The Recipe for Coca-Cola."
During the Second Republic era, Coca-Cola, the creation of Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton , became the face of American capitalism, especially with its growth under Asa Candler, who gained control over the brand in 1893. Ads for the drink became ubiquituous, with various faces of smiling models holding glasses of the drink, or of soda fountains, where it was often sold, all with the iconic red circle with cursive writing. The contour bottle shape, made in 1915 as part of contest, became equally iconic, and equally ubiquitous on ads. Never mind it had dubious claims to health or the high caffeine content, which was the subject of a 1911 lawsuit by the US government, which the Coca Cola company emerged victorious from,[1] or even the rumored Cocaine used (which would make it the subject of numerous investigations). Given this, the drink soon became part of American culture and dining.
During the lead-up to the Civil War, Coca-Cola Company quickly established contacts with bottle suppliers in Canada and Europe, in case the Socialists won, and they needed to leave. Sure enough, after Norman Thomas won, and during the coup, the Company quickly fled to Calgary, where it believed it could sit out the inevitable defeat of the Socialists. Due to this, and the takeover of bottling plants by unionizing workers, production of Coca Cola stopped in the American mainland, making it a rare commodity sought after by soldiers on both sides. Many Antifa stories tell of soldiers bringing bottle openers with them to raid bourgeois homes, in case they came across unopened Coca-Cola bottles. Due to its rarity, some soldiers used Coca-Cola mixed with alcohol for special occasions.
Commanding officer David Pfeffier stated that publishing the secret original formula (locked in the bank by investors in 1925) in the widely circulated Daily Worker could break the power of the Company, by making their exclusive product more easily available, and allows average people to do their own variations. Sure enough, after the publishing, many newly collectivized bottling plants began to make their own syrup in house. New public health laws brought the level of caffeine down, but new ingredients were regularly added by the local bottling plants and the newly collectivized soft drink producers. A plant in California put lemon and orange flavors, mixing raw juice with cola syrup. Another in Metropolis mixed several other publically released cola recipes (such as Dr. Pepper and Pepsi) into "Pure Cola", which became a popular Northeastern soft drink in its own right. Soon, enthusiasts began to collect the various different coke recipes from across the nation, and catagorized them. The result was the "Coca-Cola Recipe Book," released in 1938, and revised with additional recipes from the USSR, China, Latin America, and other Comintern countries periodically. The cover is usually an old capitalist ad, ironically punctuating the now available use, where anyone could make either the original formula or a new version. The enthusiasts formed the "Coca-Cola Union" to publish these books on a regular basis, and serve as mediator between the makers and the distributors, as well as one of the unions by which the workers from the soft drink producers can be given representation, and the state could request changes for "the health of the worker" . As a result, the "Mainline formula" used in current editions is very different from the original recipe published, and overall from the drink sold in the capitalist days, much healthier and safer to drink.
With the publishing of the formula (which was trickling into Canada through illegally transported copies of the Daily Worker), resulting in bootlegged versions being sold, the Coca-Cola Company floundered, despite their best efforts to squash the bootleggers. Ultimately, in 1941, a group of Canadian and Cuban investor took over the company, and attempted to build a new foundation. With the original formula now readily available, and with the name being hijacked by Communism to be both ironic and for name recognition and nostalgia, they changed the name to the more "Canadian friendly" Arctic Cola, to reflect Canadian nature. A stylized Polar Bear was added as a mascot to punctuate this.[2] The formula was heavily altered, adding more sweetners and preservers, making it more distinct from most American versions. An emphasis was added to show its "coldness", lasting longer in heat. This version proved popular, and soon, Arctic-Cola absorbed most of the Coca-Cola branches remaining in the capitalist world by the 1950's. [3]
In the ending days of World War II, Field Marshal David Eisenhower (an avid fan of the soft drink) introduced the drink to his friend and compatriot Georgy Zhukov, while serving in the Eastern Front. Very impressed by it, Zhukov sang its praises during Central Committee meetings, and wished to have a product like that sold in the USSR. However, many of the Soviet old guard still regarded it as an American product, and there was fear the book being published could be seen as "American Social Imperialism". However, there was a solution. A bottle plant in Milwaukee had created a colorless version, which still had the same flavor. Thus, a formula could be made and sold there resembling vodka. The Milwaukee collective agreed to give the formula to a Soviet bottling plant, which produced more version. "Red Star Cola" and localized variation became the main soda of the Soviet Union and Communist Europe in general.[4]
Meanwhile, Arctic Cola slowly grew to the prominence that its predecessor had. It became an advertising juggernaut, with various ads plastered around restaurants and cafes across the capitalist sphere. Inevitably, it began to arise in product placement in movies. In 1966's The Incomparable Atuk , Atuk the Inuit is seen briefly fascinated by an Arctic Cola vending machine, and manages to shake one out. The most prominent use of Arctic Cola in film was 1963's One, Two, Three, which centers around an Arctic Cola executive trying to sell to the communist bloc. The often cheesy, sentimental ads common in the 70's were the subject of extensive parody. In season 1 of SCTV (known as the "Cappie" years), Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, and Rick Moranis played Arctic Cola executives coming up with increasingly bizarre ideas for ads.
In an eerie parallel to its parent company, it was forced to uproot from Canada during the Quebecois Crisis, and relocated to Manchester in 1980. To avoid a repeat of the Revolution, they managed to take the formula for Arctic Cola, and locked it up in a vault in London. (Post 1979 versions of the Coca-Cola Recipe Book feature attempts to produce Arctic Cola, to mixed effect, according to Canadians who tried the formula out.) In 1984, it was bought out by the Indian based conglomerate The Tata Group, who merged it with their local cola company Thumps Up. It gradually became more Indian based, as seen in the 1991 Indo-Australian film The Arctic Cola Kid, which starred Shah Rukh Khan as a young Indian Arctic Cola executive being sent to Australia to investigate a small town who has grown resistant to the rise of a new product.
The most recent addition of the Coca Cola Recipe Book was released in 2014, featuring Cola variations from across the world, including from workers collectives in several capitalist nations. The original Coca-Cola formula from which it was all based off, is held at the Museum of Food and Dining in Chicago, in full public view. Meanwhile, most of Arctic Cola's efforts mostly center on South and Southeast Asia, with the increased involvement with Thumps Up, as well as juice and water. This is likely due to growing health concerns in the ECF and FBU over the contents of the regular products, and legislation.
[1] OTL, the lawsuit went for the US government, and Coke agreed to reduce the caffeine levels.
[2] Think the symbol of Klondike Bars.
[3] I think Fanta will be butterflied away, if you were wondering.
[4] This is loosely based on the real life story of Zhukov and White Coke
@Mr.E Does Arctic Cola (or The Tata Group now, I suppose) own a film studio to promote its products ala how Coca-Cola had Columbia Pictures as a subsidiary from 1982 to 1989 OTL? I'd hope weird quirks like that would still show up ITTL.
(Yup, you technically have Coke to thank for Ghostbusters.)
(Yup, you technically have Coke to thank for Ghostbusters.)