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To end the thread...
24 December 1944 – Stanford, CA

The auditorium was full to capacity as the introduction began, “This will be the last year of our annual Christmas Eve Lecture by our distinguished chair of the Department of History”. Murmurs began and were soon quieted down by the speaker. “At 77 years of age this man needs no introduction”, the speaker turned to his honored guest, “but he will get one anyway”. Light laughter erupted as the older man nodded his head, the two had been friends for over twenty-five years and good humor was always welcome. Thus the speaker turned back to his audience and continued, “Whatever title you care to assign him – from Chair of the Department of History to ‘Emperor and Autocrat of the Russians’ to Sovereign of the Order of St. Catherine to Mr. Chess – the influence of this man both locally and abroad is not left unchecked. Many teach history, but how many actually get a chance to mold it”?

Applause began to erupt as the auditorium, literally packed to standing room only, threatened to overwhelm speakers and guest alike. “Coronated at the age of 28, he ruled Russia for twenty years in some of its most defining times only to face and survive the worst that Communism had to offer. Coming to the United States shortly after losing most of his family, he came with enough wealth to purchase plentiful lands in the northern Bay area and restore old Fort Ross into the modern palace it is today. His investment in businesses near and far – many founded by Stanford alumni – brought prosperity to our university even with the Depression years. While others suffered, he donated millions of his own money, founding first Royal Motors, then Bay Burgers, and Imperial California Airways before Howard Hughes took it over only a few years ago. Please join me in welcoming our esteemed speaker, Nicholas Aleksandrovich II of the House of Romanov”.

Now wild applause erupted over the auditorium with standing ovations as the speaker slowly moved forward to the podium. He allowed the applause to continue for a full two minutes, dying down slowly as the man began to speak in somewhat accented English, “It is not every day that one is so honored by a former President of the United States”, some laughed and some remained whisper-quiet, “so regardless of politics please join me in applauding and honoring this man whose previous job I shall never envy”. Laughter mixed with applause as Herbert Hoover also received a much smaller round of applause. Nicholas began to speak once again, “As this is my final lecture, I hope not to look back but to look forward, to set the stage for the world as it is, and while some of you may find this controversial, I will begin by recapping the last quarter century”.

Silence emerged as the audience began to listen intently. “Few in the world are not aware of the Jeunesses Patriotes clique or its leaders Louis Darquier de Pellapoix, Xavier Vallat, or ultimately Rene Bousquet, among others. The rise of the Croix-de-Fes has caused the shattered French nation to recombine even as its titular Emperor Napoleon flees with his family in the face of increasingly Fascist tendencies. Some will say, ‘Why would a man who helped set the Croix-de-Fes in power flee France’?, but their open break with the monarchist past and increasingly violent language meant that even Vallat’s personal interventions could only last as protection for the royal family. With the reunification of unoccupied France their aggressive behavior pushed across the local terrain as Spain, London, Rome, and others came together to re-form the Allies against the Coalition of the German Empire, United States of Austria, and their like-minded brethren. Against and beyond these alliances lay the USSR and her leader Yosef Besarionis dze Jughashvili, the United States and her President Franklin Roosevelt and President-elect Thomas Dewey, and the Empire of Japan under Prime Minister Tojo with Emperor Hirohito. New weapons are under development around the world – Germany with her jets, France with her rockets, Britain with her computers, the United States of Austria with her so-called ‘Sturmgewehr’ rifles and fast-attack submarines, etc. War is almost certainly brewing across the world as these alliances now pervade South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and even North America. Germany has lost control of Burgundy to France while the remainder of Alsace-Lorraine has merged with the Pfalz as a distinctly German Grand Duchy”.

“One you are intimately familiar with, right”? Laughter briefly pervaded the audience.

“Indeed I am, young lady, as my surviving daughter and her somewhat reckless husband continue to develop their own capabilities with their eight children. I prayed long and hard, but it appears they are all healthy…so, so healthy…”. Nicholas regained his composure quickly as the memory of his dead daughters and son came flooding back as they tended to do from time to time, his quiet marriage and second family remained secret, especially as the beautiful Maria Anna had not disclosed her last name until the birth of their first son nearly fifteen years ago. He had known she was an Iturbide…With a sigh he returned to speaking. “Augustus is his own man. We talk every other day by that wonderful telephone system which now crisscrosses the globe. I pray he will remains as wise in rule as lucky in war. But we digress”!

“With the rise of the National Union Party in Germany, the Chancellorship becomes more and more bellicose under Kaiser Wilhelm III who is slowly acclimating his own son to rule. As the Crown Prince Wilhelm, who would have been Kaiser Wilhelm IV, stepped down to marry Dorothea von Salviati he has renounced his rights to the throne and I hear has two lovely daughters of his own. As a result Prince Louis Ferdinand is now the heir apparent, and personally I think that puts Germany in good hands. Although the Nordic League drifted away from Germany after the war, Stockholm remains the dominant partner with the allegiance of Denmark remaining a source of contention between the Tri-archy and Berlin. Officially a neutral power she would almost certainly join Berlin in a world war unless directly attacked by Germany, and although not a first-tier power it would be unwise to underestimate her. Mussolini controls Italy still, his industry limited and navy aging, but the Italians remain a wild card as her leadership shifts to a new generation. Personally I think her presence means more for geography than strategy, but recalling what an Italian general did for France barely a century and a half ago, who knows. Spain, or formally the Kingdom of Hispania, is a rising power, ironically, after her ‘dual union’ with Portugal re-invigorated the Iberian monarchy and consolidated control of the eastern and central Atlantic in one government’s hands. London herself remains interestingly weird, the Labour Prime Minister Oswald Mosely taking advantage of the troubles brought on by the Depression to assume power under the so-called ‘Birmingham Proposals’ with its gradual evolution into a ‘social welfare state’ or, according to some, ‘proto-Communist state’. Her technological edge is not diminished though, for where Germany has Heinkel the British have Power Jets, and the HeS 025 is perhaps only three to five years ahead of the Rolls-Royce Derwent and perhaps two ahead of the newly displayed Rolls Royce Nene engine with the ‘Vampire’ aircraft and the rumored HF-DF system pioneered by the Tube commission. American interest in scientific exploration is now well underway with Lockheed and GE leading the way here as well as in rocketry under Dr. Goddard, though France is perhaps five years ahead here as well. While American rockets are catching up quickly and now reportedly using some sort of ‘regenerative cooling system’ and a new guidance system to breach the speed of sound to altitudes over 100 miles, the French Papillion rocket edges closer and closer to space with the announcement of a possible ‘artificial satellite’ launch via the new ‘Diamant’ rocket in the next 10-12 months as it reaches almost 200 miles altitude”.

“Russia, or as it now calls itself the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, has industrialized faster than any prediction ten years ago forecast but at a terrible human cost. While its industrial output grows, its population shrinks thanks to mass-starvation tactics in Kazakhstan and the endless plains of Southern Russia. Without the Ukrainian breadbasket to feed them, the Aral Sea has all but dried up per reports, and food is being imported en masse though at decreasing rates with each passing year. Her army adopted tanks early and the combined arms tactics of internationally renowned General Tukhachevsky and the Red Army plowed into Chinese Turkmenistan only last year. Her refining technology and aerospace technology lag behind but efficiency with oil and aircraft are not as much a problem given the theorem that quantity and trump quality. Japan is advancing rapidly, pushing into China more and more, but becoming more reliant on the artificial oil refined in Manchuria. Rumors have it they found a massive oil field there, if true the crude though functional tanks fielded by the Empire might start appearing in greater numbers. If an equivalent tank is found and matched to the impressive ubiquity of the Nambu Type 75 Rifle, A7M aircraft, and I-201 high-speed submersibles, the Empire could become a very formidable foe indeed”.

“I save the United States of Austria for last, for although its demise was predicted almost universally, the talented governance of Charles I/IV and his even more impressive son, the recently enthroned Otto I, have united the populace in a way never thought possible. I credit part of this to their mandatory education of Esperanto in *every* school of their nation – no one ethnicity dominates, everyone has to learn a language that is not their own, and that becomes the means of communication. Even more impressive is their development in the last twenty-five years, indeed the highest standards of living in Europe are now found in Prague, Venice, Budapest, and Vienna. Interestingly, by a barely double-digit margin, Venice opted to stay in the United States of Austria as an ‘equal’ state. Even more interestingly, the best naval and aerospace engines in the world now come from Split and Zagreb while Prague may be the finest manufacturer of small arms on the planet. With the relocated expertise of many former-Belgian experts, the ‘Jackhammer’ magazine-loaded shotgun and development of the ‘StG 43’ system, there are still strong divisions that split the United States of Austria but pity the foolish nation or nations that think that is enough to stop them”.

"I have left many nations out of this very brief lecture, the state of the world into today now sees prototype jet passenger aircraft and potentially space-faring rockets just beginning to emerge. With Zuse in Germany bringing ever-more advanced ‘computers’ online as seen in the transmission of news and computation of research at its universities, the development of television makes or world grow ever closer by the year. I do not know what the future holds, but I envy many of you for the chance to see it. Many of you will be the leaders and knowledge workers in such a world, developing its industry and perhaps being responsible for some or most of its people. Remember your humanities and history, the mistakes of the past only echo in the future if we fail to remember them. In closing I leave you with the following question: In four generations will humanity pity our limitations or envy our achievements? Thank you for your time and with that I will take questions”.

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