A Shift in Priorities - Sequel

It just seems to me now that Germany is a country that no longer has a direction as to where it wants to go as a nation. It accomplished COMECON and established its economic sphere, but now what? There just seemed to be a malaise that settled onto the German political psyche, but nothing to really focus the nation.

Pumping huge money into the space program just seemed like a thing to distract the German populace and try to buy time to figure it out, but the whole nuclear arms deal to the Ottomans ended that. Because of the various internal disorders within the state, the German Space program is going to be put on hold.
 
It is an armed insurrection. IMHO it is only a matter of time until bullets fly. In any case, the internal security apparatus has fucked up big time. To do to a country what has obviously been done in this case, there has to be a lot of coordonarion and planning.

yes, and in this case it seems to legit to get in the armed forces
Still sounds like 68s to me. Even the names are the same.
 
Destruction, evil represent – That is my proper element.
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – Faust)

"That's it?" Tsai Xuě-bái was staring blankly at the strange object she had been led to. She was panting a tad; after tippling three cups of báijiǔ at lunch she now felt a little bit dizzy and soggy. But there was reason to celebrate, wasn't there? – The object was a huge metallic grey cylinder, about three metres high, with a spherical bulging in the middle. There were many apertures, some closed by caps, others open yet without the conduits or cables required for making the object work.
"Yes." replied Doctor Wú Jiànxióng. "That's Object One. – We just completed it the day before yesterday. Getting it ready for operation will require about four hours."

"It's huge." said Xuě-bái. "And I suppose it's also heavy."
"Eight-point-seven tons." answered Wú. "You said size and weight were irrelevant; so, we built it without regard to diminishment and weight reduction."
"Are you certain it will work?"
"Absolutely. There's no doubt about it. – We have complete redundancy of systems, every failure will be compensated. And all components have been tested thoroughly. Object One will work."

"So, if I understood you correctly, you're now waiting for more steropium to become available?"
"That's correct, madam. The component parts for Objects Two, Three and Four are ready. Only the steropium is missing. – Or rather: most of it is missing still."
"So, we're talking about when?"
"With Chongqing, Sānménxiá and Qīngyuān operational, we're expecting to complete the series in October."
"Which means we could fire the Fēilóng Device in November?"

"Yes, that should be possible, madam."
"Have you already done a computation of the yield?"
"That's our major problem. We simply don't know. Although we will corner the deuterium tank with the four objects, we can't predict how much of it will go into fusion. – But we can tell it will be huge, very huge..."
 
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A first visit to a madhouse is always a shock.
(Anna Freud)

The riots had taken Paula G'Norebbe downright aback. Out of the blue, the environment had taken on a very raucous air. At the university, lectures had stopped abruptly; there had been frantic student meetings; posters and banners had appeared everywhere. Then, groups of people had left for the roads, hooters had wailed all the time, and leaflets had been distributed indicating where to go to. – Paula hadn't gone for the action. She had hurriedly gone home to her little roof flat in Friedrichshain. That had been easy, because the busses and the U-Bahn, the Berlin metro, had still been working. In the Jungstraße, everything had appeared normal. So, Paula had done her homework – and had expected that affairs were going to cool down within short time.

But that hadn't happened, as the newspaper headlines – and the neighbours – had told her from day to day. The university was closed – and was serving as a staging post for the anti-government forces. The Jungstraße was not affected, but soon fresh milk and fresh eggs had failed to arrive. Soon, people had started panic buying. Then, electricity broke down for hours, only to come back for short periods thereafter. – Paula had exploited the Christmas Truce to flee to the Middle African embassy at the Zietenplatz, only to discover that several hundred folks had had the same clever idea. – But the embassy staff had resourcefully improvised: they had rented a bunch of hotels on the Baltic coast, ordinarily closed because of the season of the year, and had transferred the refugees in a bus convoy.

At Kühlungsborn, the riots had been far far away. Paula had spent her time talking with other Middle Africans and learning about their experiences in Germany and with the Germans. Almost everybody was surprised and shocked by this sudden outburst of violence. Well, there seemed to be a darker side of the German soul, something one had dismissed because of the generous uplift Middle Africa had been treated. – Nevertheless, it had been a great holiday. – But then, the holiday wouldn't end, as the urban centres were hit by the New Year's insurrection – and the subsequent events. At least, Paula had been able to send a cable to her parents in Deygbo and tell them she was in a safe place.

By the end of the second week of January 1950, the riots had died down – or rather had been suppressed by overwhelming force – and the refugees had been driven back to Great Berlin. – Someone had broken into her flat, ravaged it and stolen everything not nailed down. One of the neighbours was dead, had been killed in an accident, the other neighbours claimed. In the Jungstraße, many windows were broken, but the shops were open. – The university buildings were gutted by fire, as were a lot of houses downtown. Soldiers and police were dominating the streets, where cleaning up was still first priority and traffic was duly restricted.

Yes, lectures would be resumed, Paula learned after two days. In Charlottenburg, at the Technical University; the civil engineers had agreed to host the architects. Money arrived from Deygbo via the embassy, enabling her to make good the losses from devastation and theft. – People were fervently discussing recent events. The state had eventually won, but only after the armed forces had been called in. Scores of rioters had been killed by the soldiers, and many thousands of them were in custody, but others certainly had only gone into hiding. The general expectation was that there was more to come, that this wasn't the end – but only the beginning...
 
and there probably will be an investigation if they had external support (britain might just do that ittl)
 
Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence.
(Edgar Allan Poe)

This is going to be tough, thought Joan Beauchamp, while her saloon approached the checkpoint at the entry to Whitehall. The PM will not like what I have to tell him. – The MI5 chaps on guard knew the operatives of her escort and were waving the car and the motorcycles through. – He has become so difficult and diffident. – The watchdogs at the mouth of Downing Street, however, insisted on the full programme: ID check, mirror, sleuth-hounds. Beauchamp sighed. At the gate of Number Ten, the procedure would be duly repeated. Curse Rowley and her gunmen!

Finally, she was admitted to the Prime Minister's study. Tom Wintringham looked haggard and tired. He didn't rise from his arm chair – and motioned her to sit down vis-à-vis.
"Well, Joan, what's up?"
"Now, Sir, I hate to say that, but our operation to eliminate Edith Rowley has failed. We've lost half of the agents deployed; four of them have even been captured alive. We thus must consider all teams compromised."
"I see... – What now?"
"As the covert operation has come to nothing, you may ponder a direct military strike."

"Can't you try again?"
"The US have detected our secret channels – and are monitoring them. They don't know that we know that they know, but nevertheless, we can't hope to smuggle our operatives through any longer."
"Bother! – Another route? Via Japan?"
"No, definitely impossible, Sir. – It's the US and the green line – or nothing. And right now, it's rather nothing..."
"Damnation! – Okay, I'll consult the military. – Another issue: what's your reading of the situation in Germany?"

"It's over, Schumacher has won. Our comrades of the KPD – those that have not been killed or apprehended – have gone into hiding. We can expect a bunch of them to arrive over the next weeks. Perhaps also some peaceniks. – The wider consequences are difficult to assess yet. Basically, there's a deep divide going through German society. It is doubtful whether Schumacher can act as conciliator. He's not a peacemaker, he rather polarises, a gruff Prussian. – My analysts think an underground movement will form, or rather two of them: one of the left, formed by KPD and DFU; the second one formed by the ultra-blockheads of the DVP."

"So, will this paralyse the Huns?"
"No, not likely. It will keep the police and the secret services busy, but hardly the politicians, at least not for very long. – There will be an act of grace, most probably on July 4th, the Kaiser's birthday, releasing most of the detained, those who are rated tag-alongs. The ringleaders will be convicted. – And the underground may end up throwing bombs. – But basically, the middle part of the society, those represented by the ruling coalition, have pressed home their position. The forces of the real left and the völkischen have been smashed..."

"You mean it will strengthen them?"
"There's a good chance for that. – You never know what the SPD will do in the end; they may even split over the issue. But the other parties will certainly gain."
"Annoying... – Next issue: Gold Coast..."
 
I expect some form of RAF that lays bombs and assassinates important peoples. It happened in OTL. It will stop when the diehards are cought. They will cause a lot of damage until then though.
 
Couldn't the British land their agents on the coast from subs and have them trek in from the wilderness? Canada's really big and empty.

It'll be strange if the German situation doesn't cause trouble for the COMECON at large, considering it provides most of the moving parts for the economy of Europe and it's been functionally shut down for a couple months. Even shutting down for a day you'd expect some economic consequences.

Politically, we're hopefully seeing the problems imperial Germany had to face IOTL finally dealt with. The disturbing remnants of nationalism have been hovering around the edges for too long. Throwing in the left along the way seems completely odd to me, but I understand it kind of very roughly mirrors the left split in Germany today.
 
Good humour may be said to be one of the very best articles of dress one can wear in society.
(William Makepeace Thackeray)

It was unjust, utterly unjust – and irrefutably a violation of the constitution, thought Erich Koch, looking down at the convict uniform he was forced to wear. – The ruling clique with their puny 272 seats in the Reichstag had repealed his parliamentary immunity, although a two-thirds majority – thus 313 votes – was required for such a step. They were arguing that in a state of emergency only the assemblymen present counted. This was evidently bullshit, said his lawyers. However, the executive powers, the police and the military, were heeding their orders – and had arrested him.

Well, they hadn't arrested him alone; all völkische deputies, who hadn't gone into hiding in due course, had been seized. – And the folks of DFU and KPD were sharing their fate. – It was an egregious attempt of the ruling clique to cancel out the opposition. – He, Erich Koch, chairman and whip of the DVP, had not participated in the riots; nor had he called for staging them. From the 124 DVP deputies in the Reichstag, perhaps two dozens had joined the rioters; the majority had been at home for Christmas and the New Year. – It had been irresponsible junior elements, who had banded together with the filthy scum of the left.

Yeah, on the quiet he had to admit that he had lost control of his outfit. The aggressive youngsters had acted autonomously, stupid and hot for action. – He would never have endorsed co-operation with the shoddy peaceniks and the pig-headed commies. – Therefore, there was a fair chance to navigate the DVP through these troubled waters without suffering major harm. After all, the vast bulk of DVP voters was living outside the riot zones. They were dwellers of small towns and rural places, where neither the peace freaks nor the fanboys of Karl Marx could ever hope to make a trick.

Once he got out of this godawful jail, he had to take the party in hand again. His lawyers were working frantically to achieve release. – Koch was a genius when it came to diverting party funds into his pocket. His domestic standard of living was truly gargantuan. Being imprisoned was a major hardship for him: no staff, no paramour, no luxury. Thank goodness that his cell mates were Völkische as well, three submissive chaps from the Berlin-Brandenburg branch. Well, they had briefed him about the role which the junior DVP leaders had played in shaping the riots; that had been helpful.

Koch was a talented organiser and a sweeping orator. He was down-to-earth, hardwired for action and uninterested in theoretical knowledge. Hence, having been sidelined during the riots – he would never concede to have missed the opportunity to intervene – did hurt him. – Damn, he – once having been released – would reorganise the party, truly bring it under his control. This contemplative congregation of xenophobes and hyper-Germans must be transformed into a punchy mass party. – Well, thinking of it: these juvenile spitfires, who had fought in the riots, might be needed for this process. He had to ponder the question...

There was noise in the hallway. Lunch was being handed out. – Pigswill was what they were serving. He motioned his cell mates to receive his share as well, while he stood at the cross-barred window and was contemplating the situation...
 
God is bad, truth is a cheat, and life is a joke.
(Jack London)

Simon Fraser saluted snappishly upon entering the room. Secretary of State for War William 'Willie' Gallacher repeated the salute with a weary beckon – but remained firmly seated behind his desk. Fraser smelled whisky. There were rumours that Gallacher, altogether out of his depth in this new tenure, had taken to drinking. Yeah, the buzz seemed to be true: Willie Gallacher was unambiguously bungalowed. Well, thought Fraser, even if alcohol is not the answer, it at least makes you forget the question...
"Uh-huh! Scotsmen among themselves! Splendid!" muttered Gallacher. "Have a seat! – Want a drink? – You may need it..."
"Yes, thank you, Sir." Fraser took place, while Gallacher hoisted two glasses and an opened bottle of single malt out of a drawer.

Gallacher poured generously. "Cheers! – To your health!"
Startled, Fraser watched Gallacher empty his glass – only to refill it immediately.
"I guess you don't know why you're here..." drawled the war minister. Fraser nodded in agreement. He had had no upfront indication of what to expect.
"All right... – There's a deep divide between our distinguished prime minister and the chief controller for Canada, a certain Edith Rowley... – When the late PM Palme Dutt was still alive, our current PM was sent to Halifax in order to replace Rowley." Gallacher chuckled. "But that bitch Rowley didn't even allow him to make landfall. – Palme Dutt ordered MI6 to eliminate Rowley. – You weren't aware of this?"

Fraser shook his head. This was all new to him.
"Now, Rowley didn't appreciate being shot at – and replied in kind. – He, he... Palme Dutt wasn't killed by Churchillians, but by Rowley's gunmen – who managed to escape... – MI6 sacrificed a bunch of agents, but Rowley's still alive..."
Gallacher emptied his glass, poured again.
"When Rowley was tired of assassins, she simply stopped supplying Britain. – Yeah, that wasn't in the news either. – Anyway, MI6 have shot their bolt..."

Gallacher made a face.
"Right, good man, you guessed it. – Now, after the horse has bolted, the PM wants the military to shut the stable door. – Your commando brigade, dear sir, has been chosen to eliminate Frightful Edith. You'll get all the information we have – which isn't much... – For example, our specialists – Alas! Experts! – have no inkling where these elite troops came from Rowley deployed recently..."
Gallacher tossed several photographs over to Fraser.
"These were copied from US television. – They look quite impressive, these lads. Rowley must have channelled off the funds to establish these five or six divisions. Whitehall didn't know about them..."

Gallacher drank again.
"Now, MI6 operated via the US. But the Yanks have discovered the routes. – So, you'll have to conceive something else, I guess. – You can have what you want: submarines, airplanes, men o' war... – Just go and kill Rowley..."
Good grief, thought Frazer, what a mess!
"Would you mind to pour me another slug, Sir?" he asked meekly.
"Of course... – Didn't I tell you so? Sober, you can't stand it..."
 
Man! So is no one in Britain planning a contingency for when their reserve supplies run out? Downfall could be mere weeks away!:eek:
 
Man! So is no one in Britain planning a contingency for when their reserve supplies run out? Downfall could be mere weeks away!:eek:

One of the "advantages" of running a heavy inflexible top-down command economy is that there tends to be truly massive amounts of materials in the pipeline, stored at various depots and redistribution points. In normal conditions, this is simply wasted capital that could be used productively but produces nothing for anyone, and the losses sustained by slow decay in warehouses are ridiculous. However, in time of supply crisis they can provide a substantial buffer to draw down before anyone further down the chain even knows that there is a problem.

Knowing how it worked in Soviet Russia, I would not be surprised if Britain could manage 6 months to a year without major shortages that are visible to the average worker.

However, after the ships start traveling again, it will take time for materials to percolate down the pipeline, so the shortages will still hit, even after the root cause is fixed.
 
However, after the ships start traveling again, it will take time for materials to percolate down the pipeline, so the shortages will still hit, even after the root cause is fixed.

Well, that makes no sense at all... that's communism for you. :D
 
One of the "advantages" of running a heavy inflexible top-down command economy is that there tends to be truly massive amounts of materials in the pipeline, stored at various depots and redistribution points. In normal conditions, this is simply wasted capital that could be used productively but produces nothing for anyone, and the losses sustained by slow decay in warehouses are ridiculous. However, in time of supply crisis they can provide a substantial buffer to draw down before anyone further down the chain even knows that there is a problem.

Knowing how it worked in Soviet Russia, I would not be surprised if Britain could manage 6 months to a year without major shortages that are visible to the average worker.

However, after the ships start traveling again, it will take time for materials to percolate down the pipeline, so the shortages will still hit, even after the root cause is fixed.

I'm totally with you when it comes to most supplies, but what about food? Isn't Canada their breadbasket these days?
 
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