alternatehistory.com

Part 2.

How to be...
How to be a good German

Since World War I, Germany didn't think of itself as being the first, but the only power in the world, mostly ignoring the role of Canada, Braseal, Judea or even China and the Socialist Block, for example when talking about scientific research. On the other hand, there always was the nagging doubt caused by the loss of western Europe, including parts of Germany proper, to the Socialists in 1919. German nationalism never was tainted by nazism, hence it is still very strong today, and you can find German flags and the crest with the three eagles (actually, two eagles and a condor) pretty much everywhere. People in subordinate positions are supposed to be industrious, punctual, orderly, disciplined, dutiful and obedient, while those in leading positions are expected to be strict but fair and correct, and even more disciplined, dutiful and industrious. Women are accepted as part of the workforce - before they have kids, or after said kids have left the home; in the time between, only work that can be arranged with familiar duties is OK, which doesn't allow for great careers of course. In recent decades, the technocracy also has fought the traditional gemütlichkeit of the Germans - they want people to do healthy exercising or improving their education in their spare time, rather than drinking beer together. Given the fact that neither the Socialist Block nor the Chaos could be defeated, and that the new technologies seemed to make everything more complicated, many Germans got the feeling that they were fighting somehow with the back to the wall, and the saying "Ohne uns die Sintflut!" (Without us, the deluge!) made the round, even despite of censorship.

How to be a Chinese subject

Despite of all the changes brought in the last centuries, the traditional Confucianist mindset survived in China quite unscathed and may be even somewhat stronger, despite the influence Christian missionaries (both Russian-Orthodox and various Catholics) tried to put on them. At the moment, they're somewhat more fond of the military and conquests though, since the time when when a general united the country by force isn't too far away in the past yet. However, with the pervasiveness of nanotechnology in the last few decades, a great new challenge has appeared: Traditionally, Confucianism was very opposed to people being idle - but that's exactly what nanotechnology seems to enable in the long run; even now, unemployment is rising, and many people only have "watcher" jobs, which means they do nothing but sit around, watching that the AIs are doing their job. Also, there's the question of AIs: Many people in positions of power have replaced not completely reliable people by AIs which don't have a family loyalty that could be in conflict with their duties. But said replaced people aren't too happy about it... It's not clear yet how all of this may turn out in the long run.

How to be a Logo

After being a useful (no, essential), but often overlooked and misunderstood minority for several decades, the Logos now find themselves in charge of the whole world - a completely new situation, to which many of them reacted with a mixture of surprise, disbelief - and joy about finally being able to realise their ideas for a better world.
Being a Logo means not just being able to program and operate computers, but also knowing about the recent developments in science and technology, and in most cases having a mentally demanding hobby, like chess or go, or at least a complicated computer game. (And while we're at it: Logos definitely tend to have a playful side, in fact otherwise they wouldn't really be Logos.) By this way, they make sure that their mind is always sharp, even if their work doesn't make it strictly necessary. And in fact, many of them have such a work, and it often happens that they're so deeply concentrated on it that they tend to forget the rest of the world completely. However, as they use to say tongue-in-cheek, laziness, hubris and impatience also help being a Logo - which is true, as long as it's not the wrong kind of laziness, impatience or hubris. So or so, one can't deny that they built essential parts of the current world with this mindset.
Now, without their old bosses in politics, the economy and the bureaucracy to keep them down anymore, the Logos are busy making wild plans (and already working implementing them): In the long run, poverty, crime, hunger, diseases, unemployment and pollution are to be eradicated or made nonrelevant at least; even things like death, lovesickness, madness and boredom don't seem out of reach anymore. Others have more practical things in mind - discovering and colonising space, but also building impressive constructions on Earth, if not reshaping Earth in a new image. Finally, a good part of them wants to improve mankind with the help of cybertech and biotech - not by force, but people definitely should be free to do so. Let's also mention that some of them think about "uplifting" at least some animals, like dolphins, whales and apes...

Chaos' World of the Mind

Maybe paradoxically, Chaos always had an undercurrent of pragmatism. The wish for reformation of the Catholic church didn't lead to a break-up of the church, but to the establishment of national churches akin to OTL's Gallican church. More radical offshoots were marginalized and defeated, like the theocracies in Bohemia and some German lands. This development also lead to an earlier absolutism and nationalism. In Novorussia, the Chinese influence and the influx of Confucianist ideas strengthened pragmatist positions too. Additionally, the monarchy wasn't defeated in a revolution in two prominent cases (France and German Atlantis), but instead passed silently away. However, since the French Republican Wars, this pragmatism caused a great scepticism towards new ideas. Republicanism was accepted yet; Socialism was fought fiercely and could only survive in the real world thanks to the geographical isolation of Britain; Feminism achieved female suffrage and women entering the workforce, but didn't develop more radical positions (that weren't suppressed); and more radical ideas that were developed after our World War I also never made it, since neither the German technocracy nor the Chinese empire liked those. Hence, intellectual life was only free in Judea and part of the chaos areas (but the latter usually had other things in mind). A group of German refugees in Nippon developed the Buddhism-influenced Rasaca philosophy (Nipponese abbreviation for "radical scepticism"), which became known as the Rasac movement in the west, where it was spread Samizdat-like, but it never got much influence. The Logos who had access to all kind of informations, even forbidden ones, preferred optimism based on the trust that problems could be fixed with science and technology. Generally, given the successes of the New Roman emperors, the Technocratic governments and the Chinese adoptive emperors, this world always tended to "well-meaning dictatorship" - some people even call the Logos' government so. Including some Logos themselves.

Campaigning in Chaos

An Infinity Unlimited Campaign would either be a "war of influence" between Infinity and Centrum, while both dodging constantly from the incalculable Logos, or could take place just before the almost-loss of the Secret. Maybe the PCs do better, maybe not...

A purely Chaos-based campaign will tend to Cyberpunk, either during or before the Logos' Coup, like chasing amuck running KIs or viruses built by Illogos with the WSW through the Weltsystem - or maybe Steampunk in Socialist England. If you let your campaign play before the Coup, you could also have an adventure in Nippon or Africa, taking either the side of the Germans/Chinese or the natives fighting against them.

The sooner history of Chaos also leaves many opportunities: Try a swashbuckling campaign in the early Atlantis, or in North Africa (before their conquest), or even in modern times - with the British or the Nipponese as protagonists. A western (Germans-and-Indians) is also possible. So are war-based campaigns: Try Russia against the Muslims, or a New Roman army fighting on four continents, or the Canadians exploring and colonizing the Pacific.

Last but not least, there's the possibility that somebody influenced the history of Chaos from the background: Are the Illuminati standing behind the uprise of Germany, or Novorussia, the New Romans or the Logos?

Diverse stuff

(If this was a book or magazine article, I'd put this stuff on the sidebars.)

Other Genghis-less worlds

Several other timelines where Genghis Khan was never born or failed have been discovered. In Czarina, local year 1764, most of Eurasia is either part of the Russian empire under Catherine II (not the OTL one) or under its influence. In Two Chinas, the competition between Jin and Song eventually helped both of them, and in 1592 they control all of Eastern, Southeast and Central Asia and are still expanding; they also know about America and Australia and could well beat the Europeans for the ultimate control there. The other timelines known without Genghis are Islam-dominated: In Caliph-2, Choresm revived Islam and the Caliphate after taking Baghdad, and started a scientific renaissance; in local present 1601, they're still ahead of Western Europe, Russia and China (but fortunately, unlikely to conquer these). Caliph-3, set in 1728, the Rum-Seljuks decided for turning east instead of west after taking Constantinople, thus uniting most of the Islamic world before the strike against Europe, which happened at the height of religious tensions; France and Germany have fallen, but now Russia thinks about liberating Christian Europe...

Canada and the Commonwealth

Although with a relatively low population (only 35 million people) and in its foreign and military politics necessarily a close follower of its bigger neighbor, Canada plays the role of a very active nation (comparable with OTL Portugal or Netherlands at their height). In the 19th century, Canada acquired a great Pacific empire and even today holds a disproportionally big influence in this region. Cities like Manila, Jakarta and Fort Knox (OTL Singapore) profited from being members of a big Pacific market, and various immigrants brought cultural influences to Canada, especially on the great harbor city of Vancouver. After World War I, the colonial empire was reformed into the Commonwealth, giving nominal independence to all colonies except for the Rainbow Islands (Hawaii), which stayed part of Canada proper. In recent times however, Canada and China clashed repeatedly about the fate of the Philippines with their strong Chinese minority, and Nipponese terrorist groups hiding in the Indies. One fun fact: Chaos' Canada also has a strong French minority, but they sit in our Ontario rather than in Quebec.

Braseal and Integralism

Originally a British colony, the country went to New Rome after the anti-British War in 1836, who used it as a giant penal colony. Hence, it was used to push unwanted people from everywhere in the Empire (Italian republicans, French and Spanish monarchists and nationalists, Inca noblemen, anti-Imperial Catholics and other Christian minorities, Arab and Berb resistors, ordinary criminals, separatists of all kinds, defeated Indians) to a place where they could be exploited without anyone watching. But the uprisings made administration impossible, which was a reason why emperor Ludovico let the country simply go independent in 1870. Given the ethnic mix, nobody expected anything but chaos to develop out of it. Indeed, the country fell into civil war; in the cities, the various ethnics street- and housefought each other, while on the countryside, every latifundia owner became a little king, and many slaves fled into the jungle. After some years however, in the later capital Novolondon (OTL Salvador) a supposed heir of the French and Spanish thrones named Lui Filip became accepted as king, gaining control first of the capital, then the surrounding province in 1880. In 1888, the whole country was united under his crown. After Lui Filip died, Braseal had to go through yet another for fought for the question of slavery, but now the country enjoyed a time of relative peace and stability. But in 1956, Socialists managed to destroy the royal palace and kill the whole family, and Germany had to interfere. They helped a junta come to power who declared an "integralist" regime: A multi-religious (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism) corporatist state. Still, the new regime wasn't exceptionally stable and always had to rely on German support. Poverty is an even bigger problem than IOTL, despite of the natural riches of the country.

Greater Judea

The Jewish state of this timeline was the brainchild of emperor Alessandro. In 1835, a delegation of rabbis had approached him after some pogroms in North Africa; so, he gave the Jewish people the thinly settled Sinai, to create a buffer state. (According to the belief of orthodox Jews, they weren't supposed to return to Israel proper until the Messiah came anyway.) In the anti-Persian war, they gained the Negev and Aqaba; and after the first World War, they also took Palestine and Syria, lead by Ariel ben-David. Antisemitic pogroms in former New Rome and Russia let the population swell pretty fast. The formerly cool relationship to Germany improved when the judeans fought on their side in World War II. In the second half of the 20th century, they became both a preserve for democracy and a tax haven for Germany. Nowadays, 16 of 24 million Jews live in the state. Having the highest education on Earth, they made several important inventions like the mobile phone and the brain-computer interface. Also, they are leading in solar technology and desert irrigation. Nowadays, many Jewish businessmen work in the neighboring states and return only to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Tirland and New Albion

Being Britain's only colony after the Canadian revolution and the anti-British War, Antipodia (our Australia) became a natural destination for the Irish fleeing from hunger and suppression; during a few years, it tripled its population and got a strong Irish majority. When the monarchy in Britain fell, Antipodia declared itself independent as Tir Tairngire, elsewhere simply called "Tirland". One year later, it also became the new home for the pope who had fled from the socialist government. This started the "era of humbleness", as the church called it. However, when gold was found, the Tir government helped the church with big donations, which she used for missionary engagement - not that successful in the Islamic countries, a bit more in East Asia, but very much in Africa south of the Sahara. After World War II, they also started to convert people in Germany and Canada. Current pope is Patricius XII.

1929, Tir na nOg (OTL Western Australia) became independent with Italian help, since they were in need for a source of iron. After the war, the Germans took their place as the protector of the new state. Nowadays, the country consists mostly of the huge industrial city Neuruhr, and the Irish are outnumbered by other workers from China, the Indies, Nippon, India and Africa. The government is still completely dependent on Germany, which has leased a war harbor which is bigger than OTL's Singapore.

New Albion, our New Zealand, became the place where the royal British family went to exile after the revolution in the motherland happened. Having lost contact to reality, they still claim their right for Britain, their former colonies and other European countries whose royal families married into the Staffords. And if this wasn't yet enough, the North island split off the small country in 1962 under queen Elizabeth I. In the present, the North island has reformed in some ways, while in the south under king Humphrey VII the plethora of princes controls the whole economy of the country, whether they're able or not, similar to our Saudi Arabia.

Aymaria

When the Inca state defeated the Aymara people, parts of them were settled in other parts of the empire - like the southernmost tip of the continent, where they became predominant. When the Inca empire was conquered by New Rome, they didn't care for what they considered a poor unimporant area, so Aymaria became the only native state in Atlantis never colonized by Europeans, which they're very proud of. Sympathizers for the cause of the Atlantean natives tend to have a soft spot for this state; and for the Red Pirates, it is a natural ally.

The empty circle

Roughly the area of OTL Utah and Nevada, it inhabits a small but very mixed population: native tribes like the Shoshones, displaced ones like the Nakotah, religious sects considered heretics by the Russian Orthodox church, descendants of slaves from the New Roman empire, both of African and Arab origin, and outlaws from all the nations represented in Atlantis. After World War I, the New Roman empire had to let this area go, but the Germans didn't bother to subjugate it. This power vacuum and the arms left by the Imperial Roman army made it a pretty lawless area, and Germans used to speak of the "Wilder Süden" (Wild South). Nowadays, its cities are mostly run by corrupt crime bosses, which the German government cares less about than political agitators.

German Antarctica

Originally, the Technocracy had claimed Antarctica in 1934 purely for reasons of prestige. Later however, the continent became important as a source for icebergs which were transported to dry areas like Egypt, Arabia, Texas and Antipodia and used for irrigation. The technocracy also keeps the various mineral sources on the continents in mind.

Werstand

Originally a small firm from Breslau (Silesia) in the telegraph business, Werstand expanded during the 19th century into the new electricity business, and most important, started building relais computers around 1900. And in 1923, they presented the first computer system (network), albeit very primitive yet - things like e-mail would come later. When the technocracy came, they used their connections to the new regime to take out most of their competitors and forge an almost-monopoly for electronics, computers and networks, in- and outside of the German Empire. The Logos and other critical people aren't too fond of this and retaliate by only referring to the firm as "Wersthand" ("Th" being shorthand for "Thaler", the German currency; IOTL, people would write "Wer$tand" instead).

Prince Harald

In the 14th century, the native Waldemar kings of Denmark had sunken to be the puppets of the mighty Schauenburger dukes of Holstein, which held big parts of the kingdom as a fief. Crown prince Harald knew about this and suffered from it. Since crusading had gone out of fashion in his time, he had to find another way to leave his mark on the world. After having heard vague stories by fishermen about a country in the west, he decided to become a discoverer. He found his way to our Newfoundland, which was christened Prince-Haralds-Land in his honor, and on a later journey, he came as far as Manhattan, where Haraldsborg was founded. From his journeys, he brought the new plant of tobacco and several native Atlanteans. Sending those to various European courts, which made him many influential friends - and when he would become king later, the dukes of Holstein wouldn't dare to make a move against him, as long as he reigned. After his death however, it wouldn't take too long until they removed his dynasty and took the throne for themselves. However, in the present prince Harald's name is known better than any other medieval king of Denmark, and people of Danish descent in Atlantis still celebrate Prince-Harald-Day every year.

Maffeo Servitore

In 1400, one man started working as a secretary for the Medici, the rulers of Florence, then one of many small states in northern Italy. Soon, he gained influence at the court and rose to become a diplomat. At this time, Italy was still shaken by the Black Death (although Florence mostly had been spared, for unclear reasons) and religious reform movements. After the reform council of Geneva had cleaned up the worst abuses, Florence went to conquer and annex the Beggars' Republic of Parma in 1404. Now this might have lead to the other states teaming up against Florence, fearing it may become too strong; however, Servitore managed a deal in 1407 with the periphery states of Savoy and Venice, dividing all of Northern Italy except Genoa into spheres of influences, which said three states may conquer. Otherwise, the big three were supposed to live in peace. Until the 1430s, this is what happened: The little city states (which were near collapse after the difficult 14th century) of Northern Italy were "mopped up" one after another. After this done, Florence was ready to use the Medicis' and their subjects' talents to expand further, battle the Rum-Seljuks and even found colonies in Atlantis, and in the long run become first the Italian kingdom and later the empire of New Rome. Also, Servitore had developed the techniques for diplomacy and governance future rulers could draw on. Until today, his name is synonymous with "cunning, shrewd statesman for whom the ends justify all means". As a side result, many Italians left their country (especially those from Pisa and Milan), going to France and Aragon, and some other states too, spreading the Italian Rinascita art.

Prince Alasdair

In 1490, England conquered all of Scotland, and the Bruce kings had to flee to Norway, which they had reigned in personal union. In 1506, the nobleman rebelled and declared an oligarchic republic. They had planned to kill the prince as well (who was only three years old), but he was smuggled by some loyal Scottish followers out of Norway; they fled first to Denmark, later to the Netherlands and France. After coming of age, Prince Alasdair went to Atlantis, where he spent some time around the Caribbean. He also approached the Tenochca and learned about their gold riches. In 1522 he returned to the court of France and warned of the danger that the Quadruple monarchy might be about to conquer these rich lands, urging the French king to act now. During the Great Occidental War, he first fought in Atlantis at the side of the Tenochca; but in 1528, he returned to the old mother country, starting a guerilla war in Scotland against the English. 1531, he also extended the war to Ireland. After giving the English and Spanish a serious defeat, he regained the crown of Scotland and Ireland. Additionally, the charismatic king also managed to become king of all the Scandinavian states; and finally, he even was elected Polish king and Holy Roman Emperor, if only for a short time and more for symbolic reasons. After his death, his Celtic-Scandinavian empire was divided between his sons; but the memory would live on, also among the Mexica, whom he had essentially saved by providing French support, which made Mexico a French ally instead of a European colony.

Alfred Kleiber

Born as the son of an entrepreneur in Wolfsburg in 1848, he entered politics at an early age, for the German-Atlantean Freedom party. In 1885, he became governor of Haudenland (part of OTL Michigan). Having lobbied for acquiring colonies and influence in Africa earlier, he became minister for the colonies in 1890, further expanding Germany's sphere of influence in Africa. Many magnates who made a fortune there (in gold, diamonds, crops, or railroads) became his supporters. One year after him elected chancellor, he managed to make Kalifornien with its until then mixed population a member state of German Atlantis - the first territorial growth since the anti-Russian War. Of course, this inevitably lead to World War I, which despite of the sacrifices made by the Germans only helped his fame further. After winning the war, he managed to fulfill his greatest work, the unification of the three Germanies in Europe, Atlantis and Argentinien into one great, world-spanning empire. Being elected its first chancellor, he died soon after in 1919, never seeing the problems his successors had to deal with. Until today, he still is thought of as Germany's greatest chancellor - and one of the most-hated men in the Italian and Russian lands.

Chandramoorthy

Born in 1869 as a member of the trader's caste, he broke with traditional Hinduism after the death of his parents. Spending some time as the leader of a kids' gang in Puducherry, he decided to become a great teacher later, when he was working as a servant for a New Roman officer. Some people described his "just philosophy for life" that merged Hinduist, Islamic, Christian and some other influences as "anti-Buddhism": Chandramoorthy advocated enjoying life, founding families, considered accumulating power and war legitimate instruments - although not as a mean in itself, pointed out the importance of business flourishing, allowed using tricks of all kind in desperate situations, was generally more concerned with worldly affairs (he didn't condemn the Hindu gods, even prayed until the end of his life to Ganesha, Rama and other gods, but didn't seem to care that much about them in general) and most important, told his followers "not to spoil the joy and fun of others". His followers rose to important positions, were heavily involved in the Indian independence movements, and during the 1960s, his philosophy was spreading even into Germany.

Sophie Stein

In 1910, the owner of a small, not-too-well doing antique shop in Marseille and a teacher for mathematics had a daughter, who got the name of Shayna Löwenpferd. When France became Socialist after WW1, the family had to suffer under the new regime, so Shayna fled to Italy, only to see the country fall to the Socialists after the second World War. So she went to Technocratic Germany, where she changed her name to Sophie Stein, as who she'd become famous. Having become a radical anti-Socialist, and an admirer of Aristotle, she created the philosophy of Veritism, the equivalent of OTL's objectivism. Even average people know her as the originator of phrases as "All the ill in the world comes from empty promises" (often shortened to "No empty promises!") and "No theory, no ideology, and no religion is greater than the Truth!" Her radical pro-Technocrat, anti-Socialist articles in newspapers and the radio were exactly of the kind that made Socialists foam at the mouth. Ironically, she had more things in common with the Socialists than she would ever have admitted - the way she glorified the heavy industry, and railroads, cars and planes in her stories, how she believed in scientific and technical progress, her compromiseless fanaticism, and her general lack of humor. At the end however, she became more and more radical, until the point where she considered Christianity as a fertile ground for Socialism. Still, until the present, she has many fans, many of them in influential positions.

The Logo movement

As said, the "Logos" (from logic) are the hackers of Chaos. When democracy in Germany and Canada was superseded by Technocracy, they continued the democratic tradition in the Weltsystem (Chaos' Internet). Despite living in authoritarian regimes, they found ways to circumvent restrictions - and being essential for the system surviving, they couldn't be treated too harsh. Communicating with each other, even ignoring national borders, they collected all kinds of useful knowledge, later even for areas which weren't that native for Logos, like social sciences. Then in 1975, Logos in Britain, inspired by computer science professor Kilian Houston and his "shockwave rider" manifest, demanded reforms (involving more use of artificial intelligences) and a "truly just society". Although stopped by the Socialist government, the story of their struggle spread through the Weltsystem and inspired many Logos in the world. The changings during the 1980s and the visible hardening of the arteries of the technocratic government convinced the Logos that it became necessary to change the society. Although they were for a long time splintered in anarchist, socialist, radical democratic and libertarian groups, their movement flourished - and in fact, they made many inventions, especially in areas like operating systems, computer networks, computer security/cryptography, computer interfaces and, of course, Artificial Intelligence. Finally, the invention of the neural interface (that was mostly mistrusted by "normal" people and only slowly embraced by the government) gave the Logos a kind of limited telepathy since they now could exchange their thoughts worldwide (and stay undiscovered). Thus, inside the Weltsystem a new network between the Logos was established - which at the end, made the Streich possible, and changing this world forever.

Entertainment in Chaos

For a long time, the high-brow author generally considered the best one was Alejandro Enrique Ruiz Rodriguez, born 1578 in the province of La Mancha. During the Castillian Civil War (1628-34) his plays became popular at the court of the Duke of Aliaga and later king of Spain, Alfonso XII. The apex of his work are the "Bible plays" about the kings Saul, David, Solomon and Rehabeam which are still famous for the beauty of their language, complex characterisation, poetic grandeur and philosophical depth, while at the same time keeping popular appeal. (And just like with Shakespeare, there are many theories around that someone else really authored his works, including the king and the princess.) However, nowadays most people consider the German (coincidence?) Albert Franck Baltzer from Braunschweig the greatest author. Originally seen as an author who only wrote for the common folks and thus neglected by academics, after the German reunification people found the hidden depths in tragedies like Der König von Leer about a Frisian yeoman and his daughters, or a jealous mercenary in Otto Leo, genannt Der Schwarze von Verden. Hence, Baltzer became first the German author and later the most-played in the world. The fact that Paradies (Chaos' answer to Hollywood) remade many of his plays into movies certainly helped this.

Popular culture exists in all the forms OTL invented and several more. Only card games are less popular compared to board games and dice games, except in Russia and China; and Manga are replaced by the Chinese Wan Tu ("ten thousand pictures"). Additionally, Chaos has Märchenwelten (virtual realities) and system movies (movies which allow choosing the flow of the plot or the POV, or showing any background information, as on a very good Extras DVD). Most popular Märchenwelt in Germany nowadays is Altpreußen [Old Prussia], which simulates a medieval world in an area of about 300,000 square kilometers, for example. Most popular TV series is Die Kampfkatze, an action-based show centered around a woman versed in martial arts, wearing a black leather coat. Most popular music style is (still, despite being several decades old) Tech, a percussion-heavy music style invented by African factory workers in German Atlantis. Most popular singers at the moment however tend to be female. In fashion, the latest fad are clothes which can change their color; artificially flying hair (done with some nanotech trick) is already passing away, however. Most popular fantasy series is Midworld (twelve volumes), written by a royalist historian from New Albion, telling the tale of the rise of a former street urchin to the emperor of the world - not too unsimilar to the rise of Prince Alasdair. (Other than Lord of the Rings, it's not set in a mostly wilderness world, but a more sophisticated environment with many great cities, sorcerer guilds and knights in their castles - and anachronistically, some newer elements too.) Most popular childrens' book series is Sebastian der Zauberer ("Sebastian the sorceror" - Chaos' Harry Potter equivalent, as it seems). The newest joke genre can be described as "If X talked like Y" (for example: If managers talked like physicists). In recent times, nostalgia for the Industrial Age with its wave of new inventions has become more popular (compare OTL's steampunk).