ASB or not?

[NHBL]

I was wondering where people would put an idea I have for a timeline. In the 1890's, a virus mutates into a petroleum eater. As it metabolizes petroleum, it converts light grades, such as gasoline, into heavy sludge, useful for lubrication, but not easily usable in an engine. (Think axle grease)

Aside from that one little complication, I plan on sticking as close as I can to real world technology and society as I develop the timeline.

Is this ASB or pre-1900?

 

[Evil Opus]

I would say ASB.

 

[Jared]

I was wondering where people would put an idea I have for a timeline. In the 1890's, a virus mutates into a petroleum eater. As it metabolizes petroleum, it converts light grades, such as gasoline, into heavy sludge, useful for lubrication, but not easily usable in an engine. (Think axle grease)

Aside from that one little complication, I plan on sticking as close as I can to real world technology and society as I develop the timeline.

Is this ASB or pre-1900?

As you've written it, it's pure ASB. But, by one of those vexful coincidences which proves that there's not really any original ideas, a version of this which is only slightly verging on ASBish is the basis of the next timeline I have outlined if I ever finish DoD.

The short version is that viruses won't work - they need to replicate using existing cells. What you need is a bacteria, and more specifically an oil-eating bacteria. What it would do is the opposite of what you describe. It would break down _large_ hydrocarbons into useless non-hydrocarbon compounds whenever the hydrocarbons in question were exposed to the air. In the version of the TL I have outlined, there's a mutated form of oil-eating bacteria which emerges in 1905 and spreads across the globe. Oil wells basically get infested with the stuff inside of a couple of years of drilling. This leaves real-world society in, ah, a lot of trouble. And the technology which will develop is rather different than OTL. So is society. Basically, you're looking at more public transport - electric trains/trams powered by coal, and later nuclear, power stations - and no car culture as it emerged in OTL. Being a teenager is very different thing, since cars are a luxury of the very rich. What cars there are have steam engines (since it doesn't matter so much what fuel you put in em) and mostly run on alcohol. The air in the cities is a lot cleaner, too.

 

[CalBear]

There is a series of short stories written in the '80's based on this very idea. The bacteria is used as a bio-weapon by the USSR during WW III to destroy NATO's fuel supply (the Soviets have a vaccine for the bug which they add to their fuel).

The stories were printed in, among other places, the "There will be war" anthologies.

 

[Thermopylae]

@Jared

While Ethanol fuel has fewer greenhouse emissions, IIRC it creates worse smog problems. Maybe your world would be wracked by global dimming..?

 

[DuQuense]

Don't see the no Cars. up to the invention of the electric starter, steam and Electric cars out sold the ICE.
Without Petrol for the ICE. Steam and Electric would continue, with the price coming down as inprovements continued.

 

[Tyr]

Why does it matter if its ASB?
ASB is seemingly heavily stigmatised on this forum.

 

[aware of emptiness]

Doesn't ASB refer to things that break the laws of physics (magic, time travel etc.), so then technically if it is something that could happen in real life, then it isnt ASB.

Anyways, isn't it hard to draw the line between plausible and implausible, one could argue all AH is implausible because it is all theoretical speculation and not exactly a science (we can't test rigorously and scientifically whether one event could or could not have happened).

 

[CalBear]

Why does it matter if its ASB?
ASB is seemingly heavily stigmatised on this forum.

That's because there is an ASB forum for ASB threads. I enjoy the ASB concept, but it has it's place & it's not this forum IMHO.

 

[Jared]

Don't see the no Cars. up to the invention of the electric starter, steam and Electric cars out sold the ICE.
Without Petrol for the ICE. Steam and Electric would continue, with the price coming down as inprovements continued.

Steam engines, ah, need some sort of fuel. For the early cars, that was often alcohol (although you could put other things in it). For mass fueling of them, you need some form of petrol or other hydrocarbons. Hence, no effective use of hydrocarbons means that you're either using coal or coke, or alcohol. Electric engines require a lot of technological improvements over OTL before they can be used effectively in cars. Hence, while cars would still be around, they'd be quite expensive.

 

[Tyr]

Doesn't ASB refer to things that break the laws of physics (magic, time travel etc.), so then technically if it is something that could happen in real life, then it isnt ASB.

Anyways, isn't it hard to draw the line between plausible and implausible, one could argue all AH is implausible because it is all theoretical speculation and not exactly a science (we can't test rigorously and scientifically whether one event could or could not have happened).

Not quite.
It is that but it aslo covers highly unlikely events and things beyond our knowledge.
i.e. contact with alien life is always asb no matter how well done it is and is totally scientificly plausible and all that.
I suppose a good way of defining ASB is its fantasy, sci fi and unlikely AH.
I guess thats where the bad connection with ASB comes from- the unlikely AHs, unlikely ones most often being bad/downright terrible ones.
Seriously though this forum really needs stricter moderation on that sort of thing (wow, me wanting stricter moderation...odd) or to abolish AH sub forums all together.

edit: Oh and convergant AH. That falls heavily under the unlikely category really but its enough to stand out on its own.

That's because there is an ASB forum for ASB threads. I enjoy the ASB concept, but it has it's place & it's not this forum IMHO.

...huh?

 

[NHBL]

How can I plausibly get a lack of oil fuel

What I'm trying to get is a lack of petroleum based fuel, but retain an adequate supply of lubricant, so that steam engines, turbines, railroads and streetcars, etc ate all available, but the internal cumbustion engine either never happens, or, better yet, is killed in its infancy as the bacteria spreads.
Perhaps there will even be people who lament the vast potential of the internal combustion engine. AH.com with threads like, "What if the internal combustion engine had developed?"