Jesus Walks: A History of the War on Terror, 1979-1992
- Thread starter DStecks
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Chapter 12
San Francisco, 1978 (one year prior to the Embassy Massacre):
At 3 in the morning, Congressman Leo Ryan stands on the runway tarmac with his suitcase, about to board a chartered flight to Guyana. Accompanying him are a group of 18 people; journalists, government officials, and some relatives of the people they are going to visit. The November morning is bitterly cold by Californian standards, but the weather is the congressman's last concern. As he prepares to board this plane, an ominous feeling of dread falls over him. The group plans to travel to the People's Temple Agricultural Project, also known as Jonestown. They will never arrive.
Louisville Kentucky, 1977 (one year earlier):
Billy Carter sat in the meeting room of the Falls City Brewing Company. He hadn't been looking forward to the meeting, but as a fairly down-on-his-luck guy, now thrust to prominence, he decided he wouldn't mind finally achieving the second part of fame and fortune.
Billy reached for the rightmost pint glass. He took a sip. It was a light beer. He was revolted.
There was a long silence.
He took a sip. Slightly better. Still disgusting. He made a sour face.
Billy took the one in the middle. Sipped the beer. Still disgusting. He took the fourth glass. Still disgusting.
Billy Carter took the final glass of beer. Hesitantly, he took a sip from it. The beer trickled into his mouth, washing over his tongue. He let it flow around in his mouth, taking in the full taste of the beer. Then he spat it out.
There was a long, awkward silence.
The Congressman's plane takes off, an hour late. One of the reporters forgot to set his alarm early, and Ryan refused to leave without him.
A few hours into the flight, while the plane is over the Carribean, south of Cuba, it begins to encounter fierce turbulence. The plane has flown directly into a storm, one the pilots were not prepared for, as the plan expected them to be over land already. The plane is caught hard by the winds of the storm, and goes into a spin. The pilots never recover the plane from it. All aboard are killed on impact with the ocean. Their bodies are never found, and no one will ever know exactly what happened to them.
The manager returned, carrying a glass of foamy, nut-brown ale. Billy's eyes watered as he gazed upon it.*
Carter took the glass and drank from it. The beer was rich and full-bodied; the interplay between the subtle sweetness of the malt and the ever-so-slightly bitter hops felt like the Russian Bolshoi Ballet on his tongue, and it went down his throat smooth as a baby's ass.
*Ladies and Gentlemen, the true POD. ITTL, Billy Beer does not suck. Every other change thus far has been butterflies from that.
Chapter 12: The Times They Are a-Changin'
"Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone"
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone"
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San Francisco, 1978 (one year prior to the Embassy Massacre):
At 3 in the morning, Congressman Leo Ryan stands on the runway tarmac with his suitcase, about to board a chartered flight to Guyana. Accompanying him are a group of 18 people; journalists, government officials, and some relatives of the people they are going to visit. The November morning is bitterly cold by Californian standards, but the weather is the congressman's last concern. As he prepares to board this plane, an ominous feeling of dread falls over him. The group plans to travel to the People's Temple Agricultural Project, also known as Jonestown. They will never arrive.
---------------------------
Louisville Kentucky, 1977 (one year earlier):
Billy Carter sat in the meeting room of the Falls City Brewing Company. He hadn't been looking forward to the meeting, but as a fairly down-on-his-luck guy, now thrust to prominence, he decided he wouldn't mind finally achieving the second part of fame and fortune.
"Here they are, Mr. Carter," said the manager as he carried in a tray with five pint glasses full of beer on it. He set the tray down on the table in front of Billy.
"My Daddy's Mr. Carter," Billy chuckled, "and he's dead. Just call me Billy."
"Sure thing, Billy," the manager said. "Now, these are samples from the five test batches we've brewed. One of these will become Billy Beer."
"My Daddy's Mr. Carter," Billy chuckled, "and he's dead. Just call me Billy."
"Sure thing, Billy," the manager said. "Now, these are samples from the five test batches we've brewed. One of these will become Billy Beer."
Billy reached for the rightmost pint glass. He took a sip. It was a light beer. He was revolted.
"Oh, Jesus, no, not that one."
"Was it not to your liking, Mr... I mean Billy?"
"I don't drink light beer."
"Uh..." the manager stammered. All of the beer samples were light beer. "Why not?"
"Not enough calories."
"Uh, OK..."
"Are they all light beers?" Billy asked.
"... They might be."
"Was it not to your liking, Mr... I mean Billy?"
"I don't drink light beer."
"Uh..." the manager stammered. All of the beer samples were light beer. "Why not?"
"Not enough calories."
"Uh, OK..."
"Are they all light beers?" Billy asked.
"... They might be."
There was a long silence.
"Why don't you try another, Billy," the manager said, "maybe you'll find a light beer that you like."
"Doubt it," Billy said, reaching for the next glass.
"Doubt it," Billy said, reaching for the next glass.
He took a sip. Slightly better. Still disgusting. He made a sour face.
"I don't like that one either."
"Please, Billy, try them all before you make up your mind."
"Please, Billy, try them all before you make up your mind."
Billy took the one in the middle. Sipped the beer. Still disgusting. He took the fourth glass. Still disgusting.
"Are we secretly playing a game of 'guess which glass is actually diabetic horse piss'?" Billy asked, "Because if we are, your assistant fucked up, because I'm pretty sure every glass so far has been diabetic horse piss."
"There's still one glass left, Mr. Carter-"
"Billy."
"Billy. Please do try it."
"There's still one glass left, Mr. Carter-"
"Billy."
"Billy. Please do try it."
Billy Carter took the final glass of beer. Hesitantly, he took a sip from it. The beer trickled into his mouth, washing over his tongue. He let it flow around in his mouth, taking in the full taste of the beer. Then he spat it out.
"Nope, I was wrong," Billy said, "that one was definitely the diabetic horse piss."
There was a long, awkward silence.
"Is that all there is?" Billy asked.
"Yes," the manager said. Then he remembered something. "Actually, Billy, just wait one minute..."
"Yes," the manager said. Then he remembered something. "Actually, Billy, just wait one minute..."
---------------------------
The Congressman's plane takes off, an hour late. One of the reporters forgot to set his alarm early, and Ryan refused to leave without him.
A few hours into the flight, while the plane is over the Carribean, south of Cuba, it begins to encounter fierce turbulence. The plane has flown directly into a storm, one the pilots were not prepared for, as the plan expected them to be over land already. The plane is caught hard by the winds of the storm, and goes into a spin. The pilots never recover the plane from it. All aboard are killed on impact with the ocean. Their bodies are never found, and no one will ever know exactly what happened to them.
---------------------------
The manager returned, carrying a glass of foamy, nut-brown ale. Billy's eyes watered as he gazed upon it.*
"What is that?" he asked.
"This is a little secret recipe we've been brewing up. Try it." The manager replied.
"This is a little secret recipe we've been brewing up. Try it." The manager replied.
Carter took the glass and drank from it. The beer was rich and full-bodied; the interplay between the subtle sweetness of the malt and the ever-so-slightly bitter hops felt like the Russian Bolshoi Ballet on his tongue, and it went down his throat smooth as a baby's ass.
"I think we've got a winner."
---------------------------
"Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside and it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."
-Bob Dylan
---------------------------
"Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside and it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."
-Bob Dylan
---------------------------
*Ladies and Gentlemen, the true POD. ITTL, Billy Beer does not suck. Every other change thus far has been butterflies from that.
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"What mighty contests from trivial things!" Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock. I suspect the reporter who forgot to set his alarm early had been drinking a bit more Billy Beer than was good for him...and it'll be fascinating, to say the least, to see what effect the survival of Jim Jones and his People's Temple will have, not just on Guyana, but on the world at large, including American religion...
Oh lord.
Billy Beer succeeding means everything else goes to royal shit?
Oh mylanta.
And does this mean Jonestown is still alive and kickin'?
Billy Beer succeeding means everything else goes to royal shit?
Oh mylanta.
And does this mean Jonestown is still alive and kickin'?
South America doesn't get much love on this site. I aim to rectify that, but it might be a while before I can get to it.
And yes, this means that the People's Temple is still alive and well in the present of the story. Not to be too spoilery, but as the age of terrorism begins, the Jonesites (as they'll come to be called) may discover a whole new definition of "revolutionary suicide".
OTL, it was truly awful according to anybody who actually tried the stuff. Billy Carter thought it was awful, and he loved Pabst Blue Ribbon (not to be too negative about it, PBR is probably the best tasting cheap beer there is).
TTL, I't just an above average beer. I imagine it would be something like an attempt to adapt Guinness for American tastes in the 1970's. So, a watered down Guinness I guess.
Seriously? That's your point of divergence? Is this a late April Fool's Day Joke?
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That's what I'm using to justify some of the just-barely-pre-1979 changes I integrated into the plot before realizing they happened before the hostage crisis. Looking at how I wrote the TL from the beginning, it really does look like I was setting something else up to be the true POD, being so vague about what caused the embassy attack to go wrong; but Billy Beer succeeding being the true POD was just a silly idea I had when I realized that I had written a jokey cameo for it, while it had been discontinued before the story began.
If it's any justification, most of those changes (i.e. surviving People's Temple) won't come into play during the 79-92 time period. As I've already said, post-1992 is so altered as to be impossible to predict with any meaningful accuracy; the TL at that point just becomes an excuse to tell a fun story.
So, for all intents and purposes, the Iranian Hostage Crisis going wrong is the real POD for our story. Billy Beer is just convenient plot spackle, and its presence in a chapter is an indicator that it shouldn't be taken entirely seriously. There is going to be some serious wackiness later on, but since it's separate enough from the main plot, you can consider it optionally canon.
EDIT: this is not to say that the People's Temple surviving is optionally canon. Just consider it a secondary POD, or if you want, just consider the Embassy Massacre to be butterflies from the plane crash.
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That would be an AMAZING!!!!
I mean, it would make me sad that Sherlock doesn't exist...
It would mean that I'd actually love James Bond...a series I didn't really care for until Daniel Craig came around.
The only C.E. I could think of was Cary Elwes who is only a little older than Daniel Craig is now. That would be interesting. Unless someone went and made an American, Clint Eastwood into James Bond.
Christopher Eccleston?
I can see why it'd only be one film, weird fit.
Cool to see this, I was just working on tinkering with Alt-Bonds for my TL.
The Beatles?! In 2008?! And a surviving Kurt Cobain?!
Hopefully Madonna will make a better contribution than the bilge that was Die Another Day in OTL...
In my book, a good ?!?!?!
Cool idea. I think I'd like Eccleston as Bond, but can understand why others might not...
There is something to be said for a Beatles reunion in the 80s or perhaps 90s, continuing for a few years. Then again...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Gr5YAliLo&t=02m51s
Thankfully, he didn't go the route of the Beatles like all the other perpetual bands or the ship of Theseus bands where they keep going on and on, shed old members over time, bring on new members over time, and perhaps get to the point where the band isn't the same except for one person or doesn't have the same people as it started with at all. Such was the fate of the Beach Boys, to name just one, and Guns n' Roses to name another (and it's gotten to the point where more of the actual Guns n' Roses is in Velvet Revolver than is in the current Axl Rose group). That's a big part of the reason I'm such a fan of the Beatles is that they never went that route ever (I view it as a sign of hacky old men who sold out their artistic integrity and work state fairs now, and should let it go). They were what they were, kept going as long as they could, and ended as what they were.
Thankfully, the POD of the late 1970s doesn't allow for such a thing as the ship of Theseus or the perpetual band together since 1962, never with a time off.
I do doubt they'd make it to 2008 in reunited form. If they reunite in the 80s, say 1983, that's like 25 or so years together. If the 90s, say 1995 per Anthology, that's 13 years together or so. In their actual OTL run, and ATL first run, they were only together as "The Beatles" for 10 years, and on the world stage for 8 (World) to 6 years (US). That's also taking into account potential deaths of Lennon and Harrison from natural disease, which we know Harrison suffered from and Lennon could have potentially died of given that they would have been getting to be old men (various accidents or assassinations are never measurable as they are always the wild card).
But, the Rolling Stones are together, have been for half a century, and still haven't died off so it's all up to the author.
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The Beatles 2008 reunion is a one-shot. Perhaps there were abortive reunions before, but by the end of their run IOTL, John and Paul were on bad enough terms that it would have been decades before a reunion would be thinkable.
However, weird as this sounds, I could easily see John Lennon being a prominent figure in the early grunge scene.
However, weird as this sounds, I could easily see John Lennon being a prominent figure in the early grunge scene.