=Eternal National Glory, - A cyberpunk-themed Timeline and Taiwan's Invasion of the Mainland=

[BigBoy88]

Eternal National Glory

Kein Ende in Sicht für den Nationalstaat

Guójiā róngyù yǒng wú zhǐjìng - 国家荣誉永无止境

Kokka no meiyo wa kesshite owaru koto wanai – 国家の名誉は決して終わることはない

Великая нация продолжает свой долговременный путь

For as long as man has been on this earth, change has been a constant factor. The 20th century in particular was a century of defining moments that came right after the latter half of industrial development, with 2 world-spanning wars having been waged in 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. Increasingly in the proceedings of each world war and other events of the times, technology was observed to play a greater and greater role in these instances. The proceedings of events after 1945 would be no different.

Saturday, 8th October

It was a breezy Autumn morning in Taipei, at around 8am, and the Generalissimo was seated in his office. He in one hand was flicking through the morning papers and with the other, taking a sip every now and then of his tea, the taste was watered-down and weak, not too strong, just the way he liked it. Normally he would have been drinking water as usual, but unfortunately he needed to keep active and awake, times had become stressful as of recent, all indicated with the reports in the papers on what shady inner-affairs were taking place back on the mainland. The communists, the PLA, the CCP, and the head of it all, Mao, all of them were at the top of his thoughts, the Generalissimo was constantly immersed in the ins and outs of what feuds and tribulations were going on between this clique of radical dogs. All this constant reporting from countless sources supplied by upper echelons of his government, to even the local reporter wasn’t for vain reason though, it was there for one reason. That reason being so that the Generalissimo and his advisors could spot cracks in the decrepit communist regime. That crack finally had been spotted.

The Generalissimo took another sip of his tea, emptying the porcelain tea cup and placing it on the saucer, flicking through the papers once more, he made sure that whatever he was reading in these papers alligned with his expectations, anything too far against his nation would be nothing more than possible subordination. The Generalissimo knew that Mao Zedong’s second set of 5-year plans, this one called the “Great Leap Foward” had been nothing but a failure so far, millions of people across the country were starving, dissidents were building up in anger, even those in the party themselves had begun questioning the legitimacy of their supposed “enlightened” leader and the time had become ripe for the taking. As the Generalissimo put down his papers, satisfied with the local headlines of the day, he received a knock on his door to which he responded, “come in,”. His secretary opened the door to his office, telling him that mister Allen Dulles and his interpreter were finally there, the Generalissimo nodded his head telling her to let the Americans in. For a moment Chiang observed his two maps hanging on the walls of his office, one of the island of Taiwan and the other displaying all of China. His dream was ever closer in reach, to return back to the mainland that he had once controlled, the middle kingdom which had stood proudly in history as one of the world’s greatest powers. The visits from American diplomats and advisors in particular from the CIA, and the US military had become more and more common over the years. These visits and diplomatic dialogues held between the highest echelons of the KMT and US governments had been in many ways a double-edged sword, on the one hand, they were greatly appreciated since his ideas for the future would require external support, but on the other, the Generalissimo was “encouraged” more and more to compromise with others he would’ve normally held grudges against, such as his top general, Sun Li-jen or the “Eastern Rommel” as many westerners referred to him as. And as the steps from the hallway came closer and closer to his office doors, he turned to the windows, looking out momentarily, having thought of the name for the project that would become his masterwork. He turned his seat back to the opening door… a thought arose, a project to restore China’s National Glory…

The mighty National Army guarantees the rescue of our compatriots on the mainland!​

Friday, 7th October 1960

At about the same time as Chiang Kai Shek was going through morning errands, the sun had set in Washington DC as the two candidates for the presidential run of 1960 got their last few minutes of preparation in for their second live debate. The first candidate was Democrat nominee, senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Kennedy was born and raised by the well-off and diplomatically prominent Kennedy family in Massachusetts. Owing to his Irish heritage, he was also one of the only politicians in government who was a holder of the Catholic faith, something that was unusual with regards to the typical WASP establishment of the United States and something that campaign managers were aware of if Kennedy was to gain sufficient votes from the American Catholic population to make up for the loss of Protestant voters. His early life up until this election was that of the American role-model archetype, having served heroically in the pacific theater of WW2 and publishing works in reporting that even earned him a Pulitzer Prize! Kennedy though, was facing an uphill battle for this election, firstly having challenged the “party bosses” like Adlai Stevenson II and even Harry S. Truman, but he was pragmatic enough, utilising his youth as one of his greatest assets in refute of having inexperience. One other strength that was foreseen with Kennedy was his willingness to work more liberally with the countries’ minorities, signified by his running mate for vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, something that would come in very handy when the black population would cast their votes. One other aspect about the senator that remained of particular note was his admiration for the former general MacArthur, despite his Democrat position, Kennedy had come to see MacArthur’s role in the White House as generally excellent, Kennedy having come to think that keeping staunch international peace was the best approach in carrying out MacArthur’s legacy. This line of thought was best signified by his campaign slogan: “We Can Do Better”. And with his liberal albeit tough against communist appearance, Kennedy was going to make this uphill battle count.

The second opposing candidate was Republican nominee, vice president Richard M. Nixon of California. Nixon was of a more typical American background with his early childhood having been defined by his Quaker heritage, his parents were both keen on instilling many traditional values into the young fellow and taught him much of the resourcefulness that would end up serving him well when he entered politics and gained the nickname of “Tricky Dick”, something that always humoured Nixon. Akin to his political opponent, he too had served in the military’s Pacific campaigns during WW2 ending up with a commander rank to his name by 53’. Unlike Kennedy however, Nixon had a far smoother path to go through to end up as the current presidential candidate, his shrewd and charismatic youthfulness of the 50s such as his famous Checkers Speech, garnered the admiration of the public in spite of reportings of having a political fund propelled him to end up serving as the 36th vice president during the MacArthur days, his position to be that of a younger partner to the oldest president up until that point. Nixon was for many, due to his greater prominence in American politics compared to Kennedy, seen as the more likely or traditional candidate for the election, with Nixon encouraging this thought process with his emphasis of wisdom and experience over Kennedy, summarised by his party slogan: “Experience Counts”, making him more likely to gain votes from the traditionally conservative Anglo population. Despite his more conservative appearance, he could be just as pragmatic as Kennedy. This was highlighted with how Nixon saw the continuation of MacArthur’s doctrine, unlike Kennedy, Nixon was on the mind that the Communists in China, who had become far more ideologically motivated compared to their Russian counterparts under Khrushchev, would have to be staunchly faced, and none more was this stance clearer than with Nixon’s selected running mate for vice president, a recommendation from Douglas MacArthur himself, Walter Judd.

Both candidates were speaking with their campaign advisors behind the TV set, Kennedy chuckling every now and then, more confident now than ever since the sucesses of his first live television debate against the Republican. The more stern Nixon discussed with his campaign group about the importance of emphasising the good economy that had been maintained since Douglas MacArthur’s foray into politics. However, for both candidates, as much as their confidence carried them in their respective campaigns, the two knew that no matter how much they opposed one another on the party line basis, at the end of the day, they were both advocating for what were nearly the same political initiatives and one thing above all else, showing their opposition to the Soviet giant behind the iron curtain. Nixon checked his watch, it was currently 7:10 pm, he adjusted his tie momentarily as he was beckoned to get on stage, in 20 minutes, the 2nd live debate for millions to watch would be taking place on the NBC’s 4th Channel. Kennedy, the younger candidate also got off his chair as he walked up to the television set. He saw the large television cameras pointed in his direction, producers and more producers setting everything up for the two and their upcoming debate as other reporters for the live event were seated on set too, discussing amongst each other about the most recent American politics as they then greeted senator Kennedy and then vp Nixon. As the two candidates exchanged formalities and greeted each other in kind, at the back of their minds, they were thinking of many of the key-issues they’d have to discuss. Policies with regards to approaching the USSR, necessary improvements to the US’s space capabilities to tackle the Soviet space program, the issues and aftereffects of the Korean crisis, the emerging industrial-defense-complex, the problems closer in America’s, backdoor: Cuba, and of course the ongoing “straits situation” between China and the KMT on Taiwan. The debate was to be tough between Nixon and Kennedy, Nixon shook the senator’s hand and the two engaged in small-talk before their debate.

Thank you for reading the introduction ladies and gentlemen, this is the beginning of my Alternate History Timeline “Eternal National Glory”. The events that shall take place will mainly be from the focal point of divergence of 1962, the beginning of Chiang Kai Shek’s carrying out of Project National Glory. Project National Glory, known as Guóguāng Jìhuà-國光計劃 was a dream of the former dictator of China, Generalissimo Chiang, then in Taiwan for a reconquest and liberation of the Chinese mainland. In this timeline this general plan becomes a reality due to a variety of very small and seemingly minor changes, that don’t change much of the general world-trends as we know it in the 40s and 50s, but have a far greater effect later on and lead to the huge butterfly-outcomes seen from the focal point of 1962. The technologies and geopolitics that develop will be quite different to our own, with the plan being to have the TL end in the year 2022 in a worldwide landscape not too dissimilar from fictional worlds seen in Ghost in the Shell or the Bladerunner franchise. Some countries in this diverging TL will also have more prominence than others, China for one will be a major player a lot earlier than in OTL, and expect some great leaps in the fields of biotechnologies, computer hardware and space sciences and a generally competitive attitude between the nations of Eternal National Glory…

Just to put it briefly, these secondary changes before the main narrative are as such:​

• Beginning of reductions in Western Allied lend-lease to the Soviets around the very end of WW2 when Nazi Germany was in full-retreat.
• Change in Anglo-American approach to Stalin’s demands during the conferences of the last years of WW2.
• Some changes to Germany’s post-war situation due to the decisions made earlier as well as an earlier approach to Germany’s recovery in the West rather than deindustrialisation.
• Increased scepticism, as if it couldn’t get worse by Stalin against the west, gets worse from events mentioned above, including increased Soviet intervention in Korea.

The general written style of each chapter will vary, with the plan being for the first 3 chapters to be “prelude” chapters, which will go through many of the events highlighted above in greater detail to fill out the gaps between 1945-1960. The written sections for these prelude chapters will be more documentative in style as well as (hopefully) immersing the reader into this universe I’ve been thinking up of for some time now. If you dear reader have any ideas, thoughts you’d like to suggest, I’d love to hear em’ out! Anyways, hopefully I can succeed in bringing this underutilized topic in alternate history to reality, bringing people’s interest to said subject-matter!

​

 

[L'amateur d'aéroplanes]

For once, an uchronia where Mac Arthur is not killed or exiled? it's rare here 😅
Good luck with the job. A big space station in the 70s?

 

[BigBoy88]

Good luck with the job. A big space station in the 70s?

Thanks, and yes, you bet there'll be some space stations 😎

 

[arrowiv]

Looks very promising. Count me in!

 

[BigBoy88]

Looks very promising. Count me in!

Nice, just gonna let you guys know that I'm uploading the first prelude chapter, later on today. I'm also nearly done with the 3rd written prelude

 

[BigBoy88]

Digitised excerpt from Gerard Gandolfini's "The End of Nazi Germany and the Building of Europe’s Borders"

"Drafts for how the post-war borders of Germany and Europe as a whole would look like were proposed across multiple differing conferences between allied powers throughout the end of the war when victory seemed ever more likely. The main conferences were typically composed of the "Big 3" Allies, with each of their Leaders, Roosevelt for the United States, Stalin for the Soviet Union, and Churchill for Britain, there to give a say as to what should and shouldn't be ratified for the treaty in the upcoming new order.
The postwar division of Germany in particular, following the cataclysmic second world war was seemingly more favourable to the Western Allied forces of the United States and the United Kingdom than to their Eastern Ally of the Soviet Union. To understand why this was, one must look behind the scenes in the buildup to victory. It seemed inevitable to the two western allied leaders that a new conflict was brewing, with the two increasingly having met up in separate conferences lacking the presence of "Uncle Joe" as the war was coming to a close between the months of 1944-1945. The first of which, the 2nd Atlantic Conference in late June of 1944 was based on the propositions by Churchill primarily, alongside other military officials of lowering proposed supplies and lend-lease equipment for the Soviets as their progress on European soil became ever more impactful, with their nearing towards the German homeland in their Bagration campaign. Roosevelt along with Churchill agreed that if the Soviets would have less logistical supplies through the lowering of lend-lease materiel, that the Red army might slow down just enough to let the western forces of the US Britain, and later on, the Liberated French Army in 1945, move further into central Europe were the lines for occupation would be drawn. Roosevelt summarised the outcome of their secret discussions regarding Soviet lend-lease policy pretty accurately: "I have no doubt in my mind that when Stalin hears of lowering our material supply, he'll likely see more red than usual in the Kremlin,"
After the major successes and the nearing of the end for operation Bagration, with the coming Vistula-Order campaign, Joseph Stalin received a letter from Roosevelt himself about the changes in lend-lease via trusted US diplomat Averill Harriman. Harriman's account seemed to have contradicted Roosevelt's predictions at first with him having told a reporter in Washington: "Well, when I presented him the President's change in policy, Stalin wasn't angry actually, in fact I think he was calmer than I would've expected him to be from the news,"

Roosevelt turned out to be right though, as reports from members of Stalin's politburo, and other higher-ups in the Soviet government later recounted Stalin's rage at the news behind closed doors. Rumours also circulated about a handful of lower party officials having disappeared shortly after. Supplies began to be cut delaying the Soviet progress by a few months. General Dwight D. Eisenhower estimated that it even slowed the next Soviet campaign by up to 2 months as those same supplies and materiel were instead transported to the frontlines of operation Overlord with progress maintaining a rapid rate as France was being quickly liberated. The outcomes of this decision by the Western Allies would only serve to exacerbate Stalin's paranoia however, with his distrust to the west taking more and more prominence as the Cold War was setting in with Germany's loss. This distrust by Stalin would come back to bite the Western powers in the next few years with the Korean War. The secretive Malta Conference began in January of 1945, and for what was supposed to originally be an event for Churchill, Roosevelt and other allied bureaucrats to originally discuss how the upcoming Yalta Conference should go, became more and more about the formation of a united front against Stalin and the curbing of Red Army gains across the European continent. The impact of the discussions of Soviet confrontation in the Malta event, would be felt in Yalta. By the time of the Yalta Conference in the South of Crimea. The 3 big leaders met up for one of the last discussions regarding the war's finality. There, the proposals of borders for what would be 20th century Europe were ratified with regards to Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Baltics, etc. And despite Stalin’s often confrontational approach to discussions regarding policies and border changes, Western Allied leaders made sure to stand their ground on their “balanced” approach with the final changes added being Germany's to-be Silesian province having a dividing line going down the Eastern Neisse rather than the more extensive Western Neisse, something that many Polish nationalists including Stanisław Mikołajczyk of the Polish exile government found disappointing. Zones of influence between the two sides of Europe would soon become a reality in the successive months

Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill and later in these meetings, the wild-card himself, De Gaul, had agreed that their partition of Germany would be such that Berlin would be jointly occupied by all forces. The Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg regions would be occupied by France, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony would be occupied by Britain, and the United States would come to occupy Bavaria, Thuringia, Hessen, Saxony Anhalt, West-Saxony and Bremen. The Soviets under the guidelines and agreements made during the Tehran Conference would occupy everything East of the Western-occupied zones from Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Saxony and up to Silesia to the edges of the Oder River. That final border at the river line of which had been ratified in the Potsdam Conference. Everything east of the Oder was then occupied and subsequently handed to the Soviet-backed Communist Polish government to compensate for the loss of former eastern territories behind the Curzon line as confirmed at the Yalta Conference.
However, despite these concessions regarding the fate of a Communist eastern Europe that Roosevelt and Churchill gave into. The immediate damage caused by their foreign policies regarding Soviet Lend-lease had already set in a division that would bring the world into a bipolar ideological conflict, The cold war had begun,”

Digitised excerpts from David Irving’s “Germany: Rebuilding the Titan, 1945-1955”

“The state of chaos that had subsumed Germany in the second world war were truly apocalyptic in scope, cities and remaining industries, akin to Japan, had been reduced to piles and piles of dirt and rubble, all of which had to be rebuilt in the initial years leading up to the beginning of the 50s. The postwar situation of the German heartland was not only occupied after victorious conquests by the Allied powers but was split into two zones of direct occupation, which in 1948 would both become separate entities under the ideology imposed on them by the occupying powers; the German Democratic Republic in the communist eastern Soviet “Iron Curtain”, and the earlier formed Federal Republic of Germany in the western Anglo-American capitalist zone. The policies that defined occupation with regards to what became West Germany are seen in a typically positive light, but aspects of that occupation and rebuilding through policies like the well-known Marshall Plan in 1947, the Steel and Coal Agreement between America Britain and France in the last month of 1946, peddled by then Secretary of State, James F. Byrnes and former president Herbert Hoover, who before had become critics of the Morgenthau Plan, were only possible due to public disapproval of the aforementioned Morgenthau plan in 1944 and the penultimate rejection of JCS 1067 in 1945 by President FDR.
Alongside the realisation by the Western occupiers that rebuilding Germany was to be priority number 1 if Europe was to recover, especially with regards to General Marshal’s critiques and counter-solutions to Morgenthau’s proposals. In early 1946 when asked about the proposal by the Allied Control Council about their plans to cap Germany’s industry to 50% of pre-war levels, Churchill succinctly put it as,“Feeding a walking corpse that will become Germany will do us no good,”. Another well-known aspect of interest to the occupiers of Western Germany was also Germany’s unique and advanced technology that had brought it so far in the second world war. This technology didn’t just include the famous “Wunderwaffen” projects but also more civillian or common technologies. The chemical plants across the defated nation that could turn solid dirty fuels like black and brown coal into useful liquid and gas petroleum products like kerosene, gasoline, diesel, naphtha, LPG etc.. through methods like the Fischer-Tropsch or Bergius process were later decided by the ACC to be kept around in Germany rather than be totally dismantled. Germany’s next most important coal sector right after agriculture in the late 40s would see much of these technologies be used to great effect in the 50s after initial stunts of growth in 1945-46. Many German Companies which had held these chemical facilities and the know-how in operating them, like the modern company BRABAG, were allowed to exist and have a second-chance as modern enterprises akin to the split of IG Farben into Bayer and BASF.
The first chancellor of the newly formed western German government, Konrad Adenauer succinctly summarised the situation of rebuilding in 1957, saying,“If it had not been for the change in policy, -The changes regarding how the Allied powers approached their occupation of Germany all those years ago, going from crushing our industry to the choice of rebuilding it, then I would be sure that Communism would have come to all of Germany by now. Something that would’ve been the death of Germany’s second chance at democracy and liberty...,”. In the subsequent years of Germany’s first elections and victory of the CDU/CSU in the new German parliament, with statesmen like Ludwig Erhard and Fritz Schäffer, Germany’s economy began its process of quick recovery and rigid, conservative fiscal budgets, with tax reforms that liberalised the ecpnomy and encourage business, the “Wirtschaftswunder” as it was known, would be marked by the introduction of Germany’s social market economy based on the Rhineland-economics proposed by Adenauer and Erhard, the latter who became known as the “author of the German miracle”. Fritz Schäffer, one of the most right-conservative figures and most outspoken for Catholic and Bavarian nationalism in the CSU faction would go on to spur Germany’s early rearmament process in the early 50s. Despite the fact that he would eventually lose favour in the party, his impact would continue to ripple throughout the political party in subsequent years...,”

​

Professor Jack Tian “China in Flames, the Red Scare and the US’s Foreign Policies” Part of a seminar held in UCLA

“Many know of the Red Scare during the 1950s as one of the defining events of the Cold War, figures like Senator Joseph McCarthy and Head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover brought the fear of communism and socialist infiltration to forefront of public attention with scandals and trials that shook America to it’s core! The Hooverist anti-communist movement gained traction due to the convicted spies like Klaus Fuchs.., the Rosenberg couple, and accused officials like Harry Dexter White.
However, what many don’t know is that much of this “scare” was because of a loss, the “Loss of China” as it was known. Put into context, the end of the first phase during the Chinese Civil War involved a truly massive retreat in a scale to which millions of civilians and retreating Kuomintang forces fled south via ships or airlifts across the Taiwan Strait. The Great Retreat (大撤退) to the island of Formosa as it was known then, was a series of operations carried out through Chiang’s orders on the suggestions of future education minister Chang Chi-yun. The great infrastructure setup by the Japanese earlier and relative material abundance of the island were important considerations for Chiang and his military planners when it came to seriously considering the island as a base. Another aspect of this retreat, were the famous generals and commanders of the nationalist movement who were airlifted out of the mainland. Military figures for the nationalist movement like Du Yuming, Dai Li, Zheng Donguo and Chiang-Ching-Kuo were brought safely to Taiwan just barely escaping communist advances as was the case with Du Yuming, who was recalled prematurely by command from moving to Huang Baitao’s encircled army, and Zheng Donguo, who was replaced by Fan Hanjie in Manchuria before the Seige of Changchun began. And as the PLA hung it’s red banners on more and more rooftops across the country after a slurry of victories across Manchuria and then further down into the mainland in the Ping-Jin campaign and the blitz down south after the fall of the Li Zongren line. The successes of the Communist movement headed by Mao Tse-Tung were unexpected by the American government and by extension it’s public and the West at large! The beginnings of what we call the China-Lobby began in this period as a political movement that rallied for the interests of the Republic of China against Mao’s communist movement on the mainland. Just a fascinating sidenote, but it has even been rumoured over the years that famous Kuomintang Intelligence leader Dai Li, had a part to play in the lobby after he safely reached the island of Taiwan in the Nationalist retreat.

Many important diplomatic figures like Owen Lattimore.., and David D. Barret and John Paton Davies of the Dixie mission, were accused of Communist, specifically, PLA or Soviet cooperation, all in a time were America’s biggest backing was towards Chiang-Kai-Shek’s anti-communist government. Now, soon after these perceived failures, the Truman administration, in response to the “loss of China” had Dean Acheson, a close aide to Truman himself, publish the infamous White Papers defense which ironically only made the failures of the American government’s response to China seem worse in the eyes of the public! The Truman government handling faults of America’s position against global Communism and their affairs in China and then Korea abroad would end up in furthered loss of public approval. Many of these scathing problems for the Democratic Party would signal to most that the end of their role in the White House was coming. And taking hold of opportunity, the Republican Party made plans for a candidate who would be perfect for the 1952 presidential vote. And after much debate and scouring for candidates, they finally found someone. It seemed as if no one was better suited for the job, than the 5-star general of the Orient…,”

​

 

[L'amateur d'aéroplanes]

''LE'' Lost for De Gaulle 😅

Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill and later in these meetings, the wild-card himself, De Gaul, had agreed that their partition of Germany would be such that Berlin would be jointly occupied by all forces.

 

[BigBoy88]

''LE'' Lost for De Gaulle 😅

De Gaulle will be known, not just for his role in WW2, but for his decisions in the post-war European economy. A bit similar to his actual OTL career in post-war France, leading to a Europe that will face many changes that'll compound together over time... I'm trying to build up the foundations of this to-be altered Europe at the moment, and the impending events in China will, just like everywhere else be affected from it...

 

[BigBoy88]

Might post the next prelude tomorrow, and for anyone watching, ask me anything you'd like about the TL I'll try to answer whatever comes up!

 

[karlos2075]

Would there be robots and cyborgs ?

 

[BigBoy88]

Would there be robots and cyborgs ?

There will be some aspects of robots, automatisation will follow along closely to how things ended up irl, but the tech won't resemble fully human-like androids like in other sci-fi worlds.
Cyborgs likewise won't be all that common, cybernetic augmentations will exist to some extent, but won't be as advanced or as commonplace as in worlds like that of Cyberpunk 2020.

 

[BigBoy88]

Archived digitally recorded piece (Possible Date: 1969) “Courtney Whitney – Interview about MacArthur and conflict in Asia” University of Tokyo(東京大学), Intranet Database

Interviewer: "Good evening dear ladies and gentlemen, for this session of our radio broadcast, we will be interviewing one of the most significant military-men in our country's history to date, major-general, diplomat, lawer and aide to the former 34th president, Courtney Whitney! How are you doing on this fine night sir?,"

Whitney: "I'm doing quite fine myself, it's a pleasure to be on your show,"

Interviewer: "Thank you very much Mr Whitney, likewise for me too. Now from what most know of your career, it's quite sure to say that you've had your fare-share of life-experiences, especially as an important aide to MacArthur during the wars in Korea, the Philippines, Japan and the diplomatic efforts with the Chinese on Taiwan,"

Whitney: "Oh yes, certainly, I wouldn't disagree with you on that,"

Interviewer: "Now then, sir, as a decorated officer of the US army, many are curious first and foremost, what was it like working alongside the general during the second world war?,"

Whitney: "Boy, where to start...haha, well I guess when we were assigned to work with Douglas during the Filipino campaign against the Japanese, there was an understanding that he was the right man for the job, especially considering his military career before Pearl Harbour. Knowing now what he ended up doing in politics, the Philippines seems only like a small part of things. But eitherways, he was smart, he knew well how to conduct himself and what strategies to take, even in what seemed to be a total loss of the Philippines in 42’ and then coming back to liberate the island-nation after deafeating the Japs in New Guinea... Me and him saw eye-to-eye on many issues, even when it came to liberalising Japan after it’s defeat. I might have a bit of bias from my years of work in that time, but... it's no feat becoming a 5-star general, and he showed his abilities in getting there. He was attentive enough and heard out advice given by other officials, but still, he could be very dogged at times, his insistence on keeping the emperor around after Japan had been whacked out was surprising! Most advisors of the army and diplomats from the US recommended to put the emperor to justice, try him as a war criminal! But Douglas wouldn't have any of it, which I think most can agree now, was actually a rather smart move,”

Interviewer: “Well it seems you hold the man in very high regards, and on that note, what did you think when MacArthur was dismissed by President Truman in Korea?,”

Whitney: “It was disgraceful, a real shame... I think there was widespread disapproval with the president’s decision to remove him at that time, myself included and from the way I see it, he was the only one who gave us in the army tangible successes, in a war that we otherwise would have lost in an instant, Incheon was a stroke of success by Douglas that few could have replicated and then his dismissal from command only a year after the fact seemed more like a slap to the face more than anything. I would also put more emphasis on how the military high command at the time... the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also had a part to play in the event. Thankfully though, I would say, that the bridges between MacArthur and the rest of the military were fixed later on, especially when Communist China took a big part of the military attention during the late 50s and only a few years ago too for that matter,”

Interviewer: “I see, erm- interestingly enough, you mentioned that the “bridges” burnt between much of the high-command here in the US and MacArthur were repaired after a bit of time. I imagine that this might have been very useful when MacArthur continued his career in politics,”

Whitney: “Oh it did, for sure...I-I actually wrote quite a bit on this subject in my 2nd biography of Douglas MacArthur,”

Interviewer: “And on that note, in your second published work; MacArthur: His Undertaking of America.., you mentioned how the eventual Sino-Soviet intervention in Korea shaped his views in his lead up to becoming the Republican front-runner, could you summarise this for our listeners?,”

Whitney: “Well I sure could. If I were to put it simply, I’m quite sure that anyone who fought and lead armies in war to the extent that Douglas did, would be hard-pressed to want peace in the long run. Now many may disagree with what I will say but, I believe earnestly that Douglas during his military career wanted nothing but peace in the long-run, hell, that’s what he told me himself!
He followed orders to the best of his ability, and utilised advice supplied to him by other commanders, advisors and agencies like the CIA, minimising American deaths as best he could. After all, in total victory, as was achieved in Europe and Japan during the second world war... peace and prosperity were and still are guaranteed to last for a very long time, -But! The direct military intervention of the Soviets shortly after the Chinese, across the Yalu-Tumen Riverline in November made Douglas’ worst fears a reality... That fear having been Soviet troops entering the frontline. Total victory was as good as gone knowing what Truman would have to say about it. Anyone in Douglas’ position would have seen that having to keep the war going and making decisive moves to keep the initiative were necessary to end an expanded Soviet sphere of influence... But.. the administration failed in giving Douglas the chance needed to end the conflict. I could go on and on about how the high command back in Washington had provided misinformation and how many generals, even general Omar Bradley had disagreed with dismissing MacArthur...,”

Interviewer: “And how.. -exactly does this relate to MacArthur’s views..?,”

Whitney: “Well, I'll cut to the point, the US administration at the time instead wanted to abandon the peoples of the northern Korean peninsula... unfortunately culminating in our general Douglas MacArthur’s dismissal by Truman’s administration back home... now to put this into context of MacArthur’s Republican run in the 50s, he hadn’t ever been as politically involved in his career as he ended up becoming prior to 1951.. Now if you had seen the failure of your regime right there and then as I did too at that point in 51’, you would of course feel determined to bring a needed, positive, change to that government you served your whole life, and that, I believe, was achieved by MacArthur when he won the 1952 election...,”

Courtney Whitney (right) during the Incheon landings, with MacArthur (centre) and A.D. Struble (left)​

Digitised excerpt from Jack M. Breen’s “MacArthur: Peace and Doctrine, A Short Account of the 34th President’s Affairs in Formosa”

“One of the most significant policies during the tenure of the popular President MacArthur from 1953-1961 was the long-kept policy of Chinese containment. Having firsthand witnessed the extent to which the Chinese forces under Zhou Enlai and Peng Dehuai pushed back his UN force during the Korean war, he and the rest of the American administration knew that containment of Communists from further exerting their force in the most-populated continent of Asia was of high-priority, in the process, many in Washington were sometimes worried that not enough attention was being focused on Europe and by extension NATO, the recently formed alliance against the Soviet “Iron Curtain” as Churchill described it. Eisenhower, first Supreme Allied Commander of NATO summed up much of this early worry in the administration, saying,
“Although quite a few of us were worried about MacArthur’s future approach being overly focused on East-Asia and Formosa, even General Handy telling me that “dugout-Doug” was gonna cut NATO funding and support, even I held some worries, but.. thankfully, that didn’t happen,”.

Just a few months after MacArthur’s inauguration, Stalin died on March of 1953, a great boon for the US at the time and an event which no doubt made it easier for a ceasefire to be commenced in the ongoing Korean conflict. In the days shortly after a ceasefire had been signed by either side of Korea in Panmunjom, MacArthur gave his famous “Firm Peace and the Future Speech”, shortly after his addressal of Stalin’s death a few months prior. In the speech he gave the public a message of how the future of worldwide peace lay in the responsibility of the United States in providing the means and ability by which countries across the world could defend themselves as deterrents to Communist and Radical threats, citing the Republic of Korea as the most recent highlight of this responsibility in the face of what he called “hardliner aggression” by the former Stalin and current Mao regime. In the speech, he also concluded that while the use of weapons and financing of weapons industries and technology was “a terrible thing” to civil America as he put it, he continued, saying that they were a necessary wrong to maintain the United States’ peace and way of life with many of the nuclear and jet-plane developments of the USSR still fresh in the public’s perception. It would be inevitable, after Korea and a renewal of the Mutual Security Act in 1953, that President MacArthur was then poised to make a diplomatic visit to Formosa. During the war in Korea, the UN forces under MacArthur and then later commanders had received multiple requests and proposals by the Nationalist government situated on Formosa for offers that they would get militarily involved so as to expand the war to mainland China and escalate the ongoing operations in Korea. While MacArthur had denied these proposals by the nationalists himself due to the conditions at the time. In the past few years, and especially after becoming president, it seemed as if the Communist regime was to escalate the situation in the Formosa strait soon. And after meeting with Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek in Winter of 1953, a formal agreement between the two leaders was observed with MacArthur having given Chiang a guarantee that the CIA and the US navy would “do all it can to support your plans for China”. In the next few years, more visits on Formosa would be held between the Nationalist Chinese government and the president, advisors and diplomats of the United States. These diplomatic meetings were only heightened during the two Straits Crises of 1954 and 1958, with each agreement only cementing American military presence on the island with men, jets, technicians, and even nuclear weapons as the ultimate deterrent.

The first Formosa Straits Crisis in 1954 to 1955, which lasted about 6 months, saw the Yijiangshan and Dachen islands on the coast of Taizhou City be captured by the Communist forces on the mainland, resulting in the deaths of nearly 1000 people including all Nationalist forces and their leading commander Yang Sheng-ming, some Americans having died in the onslaught as well, namely Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Medendorp and Lieutenant Colonel Frank Lynn, both of them having been in the China Military Assistance Advisory Group (C-MAAG). With such brutal fighting to the death in the initial push by the PLA on the Yijiangshan islands, the decision was made under combined Sino-American cooperation, to navally evacuate the population and active military personnel of over 10,000 men from the Dachen islands in operation King-Kong. The operation would be spearheaded by the Far East Command and US Navy, in particular the 7th fleet, then under command of Vice Admiral Alfred Pride, who would go on to be the first commander of the United States-Formosa Operations Office. The US navy maintained absolute supremacy in this regard, preventing further amphibious attacks by the PLA on the Kinmen and Matsu islands closeby, redirecting the Nationalist forces onto the islands and using it’s naval power to cut off the Communist forces. This crisis between the two Chinas would end after a series of discussions commenced in Geneva between the US and PRC officials in the onset of September of 1955. An official ceasefire was commenced a few months later on April 1st when the Communist forces on the mainland stopped shelling the Kinmen isands, with the Nationalist forces on the islands following suit thereafter. One of the primary figures who was able to mediate these talks was Premier Zhou Enlai who simultaneously acted as a foreign affairs diplomat. Considered by many in the US government at that time to have been a more pragmatically-focused official to counterbalance Mao’s radicalism, according to the MacArthur administration’s secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, he put it as such,”The Communist forces on the mainland would’ve continued escalating the crisis in Formosa had it not been for the one official (Zhou Enlai), who actually took the power of our nuclear option seriously,”. Despite the easing of international tension brought on by a peaceful resolution achieved after discussion in Geneva. The crisis only sowed the seeds for another in 1958.
The Beidaihe Conference (北戴河会议) of 1958 in early August was a re-escalation of the straits conflict. Mao Zedong, the lead speaker, made the final decision to initiate bombardment of the Nationalist-held Kinmen and Matsu islands in the hopes of liberating them, sending an order to General Peng Dehuai to commence artillery shelling.

However, unlike the last straits crisis, the US and it’s Chinese allies who had built up the military defense would be more prepared than estimated...

The establishment of the United States-Formosa Operations Office in 1955 upon the ratification of the president’s 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of China, was initially slated as a means of defense for the island that the Nationalist forces held. But after the Second Formsa Straits Crisis in Summer of 1958, much of the Joint Chiefs of Staff highly advised the president to consider further militarisation and support in Chiang Kai Shek’s goals, expanding the Treaty’s terms due to the “unpredictability” of the Mainland’s government, to which president MacArthur agreed. MacArthur would go on to discuss the matter of Formosa such as placing Nike Hercules SAMs on the island with advisors in his cabinet, such as John F. Kennan and even alongside general Eisenhower, who on occasion, had been to the island over military matters despite his more Western focus in NATO leadership. Eventually, further changes were made to the treaty, with articles in the treaty being added or changed, such as the infamous 11th Article in favour of continued support of Nationalist Chinese ambitions. The explicitely anti-communist organisation SEATO would also be expanded after the crisis, turning from a unilateral to a more NATO-like multilateral organisation. South Korea and Japan, after multiple meetups with American diplomats and president MacArthur himself, would follow suit in SEATO. Another important aspect in the buildup of the second crisis and afterwards, were the more covert operations undertaken by the US. Rather than outright intervention, supply of technology was also commenced under the CIA’s “Operation Black Magic”, both for field-testing and observation of the effectiveness of US weapons and modern materiel in the hands of their anti-communist Chinese allies, namely weapons such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air mssiles, U-2 spyplanes, and even a directly CIA-operated 34th reconnaissance squadron. Other then-classified technologies would be utilised later on in the Chinese theater after a CIA report, declassified in 1983, stated that “...no confirmations of US military equipment of note, used in Formosa from 1958-1959, having ended up in enemy hands”, sealing the apparent danger of losing the technologies tested. However the report did outline one near loss of an intact Sidewinder air-to-air missile during the crisis, in which a missile shot at an enemy MiG-17 without exploding, the same MiG-17 however crashed into the ocean after another Chinese Nationalist Sabre jet shot it down, preventing what may have been a possible capture of the technology. The world would come to a standstill however as president MacArthur gave open threats aimed at China by the 1st of October of 1958, namely the use of the US’s nuclear arsenal if the PLA continued it’s operations both in the air and on sea. Everett F. Drumright, then Ambassador to China commented on the event saying,”We were this close... -and we would’ve launched our arsenal to eliminate China’s capabilities... There. And. Then,”. The powers of the world held their breaths watching as the United States and the MacArthur Administration prepared it’s nuclear arsenal, both in the US, Europe and in Asia, and Taiwan in especially. But the PRC eventually gave in only a few days later, announcing a ceasefire on October 7th, deescalating the crisis until it’s end in December of that year. Both sides claimed victory in the status quo peace, with MacArthur giving a speech dedicated to the US’s “Strength & Fortitude in Times of Crisis”.

However despite these investments into the island by the US government during the 50s, major conflict wouldn’t break out until Chiang’s government had finally spotted the perfect “Crisis-Opportunity” or “wéijī-危機”moment in the early 60s.

Digitised Entry from the EuroNet - Digipedia Online “Nuclear Based Rocketry”

-Datasource Select-
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>Article
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>>History
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>>>Beginning Years (1955-1960) >Project Orion

“Project Orion began first as a study from 1955-1961 on the feasibility and viability of nuclear propulsion systems for rocketry, with the original concept dating back to 1946 based on concepts and ideas from Manhattan Project scientist and father of the Hydrogen bomb, Stanislaw Ulam. Ulam at this point, would also work alongside fellow physicist Frederick Reines for the necessary preliminary calculations required for such rocketry. Stanislaw Ulam and C.J. Everett would go on to author their first written report in 1955, titled,“On a Method of Propulsion of Projectiles by Means of External Nuclear Explosions”, which as the title suggests, the then-classified report highlighted the use and feasibility of Project Orion’s nuclear “Pulse” propulsion in future stellar travel. The original papers were deemed promising and soon enough over the next 2 years, via the contribution of small funds and a new leadership headed by physicists Ted Taylor and his good acquaintance Freeman Dyson, the project would continue under utmost secrecy, with only a handful of other rocket scientists like Kurt H. Debus & Werner Von Braun, then busy with the Redstone line of rockets, in the-know of the projects’ developments. The project was made officially a part of US government support when ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) committed 1 million dollars a year for the research. In the years of 1958 and 1959, coinciding with the founding of NASA by President MacArthur under first NASA Director Debus as well as the beginning of the Von Braun group’s feasibility studies into Heavy and Super-Heavy lift launch vehicles, Project Orion would gain funding from both NASA as well as the US Air Force, the major funds supplied by these organisations would allow the group of physicists to test out their theories in conventionally explosive pulse-tests. These early experiments proved the validity of the group-leaders’ theories and soon enough, further demonstrations of these tests such as the Hot-Rod test in 1959, would convince former sceptics. Werner Von Braun who was also sceptical of the idea, was described as having been “wowed off of his seat that day”, during another Putt-Putt test. He would end up becoming one of the programme's biggest supporters. The supposed ridiculousness of using explosives to propel rockets intact, was now proven to be a realistic approach for future endeavours. Freeman Dyson would gain more and more leadership of the project in those later months as the lesser known Ted Taylor became busied with practical designs of the pulse-systems for soon expected nuclear tests.

Freeman Dyson, Abraham Silverstein, Werner Von Braun, and Kurt H. Debus were among the significant figures which met together under the wishes of and with president MacArthur in 1960 in a meeting about the importance of using nuclear weapons for peace, with Project Orion’s goals of fission and then possible fusion source of propulsion cited as the “most beneficial” of all current options with regards to peaceful nuclear detonation. MacArthur, who knew Werner the best out of all the scientists, in the meeting, having seen many of the Redstone Rockets tested and used during the mid-50s, would have additional discussions with Werner throughout the meetup, with Werner highly recommending the continuation of Project Orion. Werner had stated later on that MacArthur told him,“I’ll make it so, for the sake of the United States”. The project would continue gaining funding from ARPA and NASA with the US Air Force dropping out after their priorities where shifted to other matters. Orion would continue its development under project director Dyson as Von Braun continued his Saturn programme. Despite original scepticism towards the concept early on, the hurdles of funding, the worries of nuclear fallout, and more, the early combustion Putt-Putt tests and approval by top-officials in the US government due to Space-Race concerns, would allow the Orion-affiliated line of Space-craft to cement itself as a major part of the Space Race...,”

​

 

[BigBoy88]

new post up bois and girls, check it out!

 

[L'amateur d'aéroplanes]

Good Sunday. I know the 35th Squadron Black Cats using U-2s in Taiwan - I made the French Wikipedia little article - but a 34th? Is it an imaginary or real unit? I am working in the mountains on a very isolated site, I do not have access to my documentation.

Black Cat Squadron — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

Orion ? Mars Direct !

 

[BigBoy88]

Good Sunday. I know the 35th Squadron Black Cats using U-2s in Taiwan - I made the French Wikipedia little article - but a 34th? Is it an imaginary or real unit?

Good morning to you too, nice job on that wiki article by the way, and yes, there was a 34th reconnaissance squadron named the Black Bat Squadron, it was a precursor to the 35th Black Cat Squadron, and was used during the Taiwan Straits Crisis. The unit was operated by the CIA for the most part until more control was handed over to the Taiwan Chinese.

Orion ? Mars Direct !

Project Orion is going to play a part in Mars for sure..
But its going to be even more important for future "Space Infrastructure", that's all I'll say for now.

 

[BigBoy88]

Also, for anyone who's actively watching the timeline as of now, expect the next prelude chapter to be a little more... different from the documentative style...
I'm going at this with a different narrative approach that's building up to something...

 

[BigBoy88]

3rd February 2022 – 6pm Neu-Bernau

The evening sun was setting down upon the horizon of the expansive urban cityscape known only as the Berlin-Brandenburg Megadistrict. Oskar was seated down on one of the Megadistrict’s many extensive, although decaying public transport systems, this one being the region’s Schwebebahn system. As he rode on the hanging monorail, he looked out into the city, the great rays of evening sunlight pouring into the windows causing him to squint a bit. The urban expanse was vast with taller and taller buildings seen in the background as the train he was on moved further away from the densest centre of Berlin, the old centre or “Alter Mitte” as it was referred to by the citizens. But just because the train was further away from the centre of Berlin-proper didn’t mean that the buildings on the outside get any smaller. High-rises and skyscrapers were very much the norm in these portions of the country. Like much of the rest of youths his age, Oskar was one of many who gained their education through the typical German hybrid approach to higher education typically based on support from one of the many “Megafirmas” and was on his way back to his small student flat. But as he looked out at the scenery of grey, dark grey and more grey, his thoughts wandered... To be one of over 30 million people living in this urban expanse was to be living in one of the densest population centres of all time, all in a world that lost its empathy and advanced technologically at rates that constantly superseded the last estimates. Before Oskar could keep on looking out at the setting sun and its pink-red skies which became more and more dark with each passing moment, his ride had reached his stop. Quickly getting up upon seeing the screen display the location being Neu-Bernau and moving out of the transport alongside a dense collection of others who followed suit, he walked down an elevated walkway towards his apartment complex. The grimy unkempt walkways had seen better days since their construction in the 90s. And with each step forward, he looked up and saw one of the large electronic billboards that scattered the cityscape. Advertisements and bright neon imagery had become a norm for him as he walked by it all, more enthusiastically focusing his sights on the setting sun as all became darker. As he turned a corner and went through an alleyway, a homeless man sat and beckoned anyone passing by to spare some change, Oskar reluctantly tossed the man some change, Oskar trying to keep any empathy he could, because just like anyone else in the current time, he too would soon carry on in the corporate workspace were calculated decisions and tough resolutions were the typical agenda of the day.

Still though, he always had hopes that his upcoming career in the bio-chemical field would yield tangible improvements for mankind. But just like so many other inventors and innovators of the 20th and the 21st century, mankind’s natural state, one of eternal struggle was constant, and no matter how much one could mitigate this struggle with graceful innovation, the constant struggle between all nations’ own destined glory carried on, crushing the populations into machines destined for continued growth. Despite the world having become so globalised like never before, peoples of the nations and their economic leaders had more distrust to one another than in any other time of the preceding 20th century. Despite the hustling and bustling of the city, the apartment block he lived in was as quiet as could be in any loud and bustling cityscape, that is to say, it was still surrounded by noise inside and out, which wouldn’t have made much of a difference, but to Oskar, it was better than no difference at all. Making his way to the entrance of the tall, brutal building, he could hear the cars rumbling by from the elevated stretch of highway above, the noise of those cars hadn’t bothered him in a while since he’d gotten used to it. Entering the creaky doorway, he made his way into the elevator. Pressing the button to the 24th floor, the metal cage began to move up the elevator shaft. It was a miracle the thing worked as well as it did, considering the constant noises it made and general state that had befallen it over the years, with graffiti imprinted on the walls and a flickering old CRT screen which advertised older lines of BRABAG Medizin™ products and mid-range work at Chinese corporations on the Von-Braun Belt. Glancing at the screen momentarily as the elevator finally screeched upon having reached his floor, he went onwards and through the complex hallway, cluttered wires and other plumbing above him going all the way to the end of the stretch, where his apartment door stood. The maintenance of the complex was clearly lacking from the makeshift way things had been left in, the droning light of the fluorescent tubes above adding a slight sense of unease. And as he opened the door to his flat, suddenly, a great burst of sound was accompanied by an engulfing fireball with a blast that hurled debris of concrete and glass into Oskar’s periphery!

4th February 2022 – 2am Yokohama

Akio Kusunoki was sitting behind his desk, one situated closer towards the higher levels of the building he worked in. His job was as a typical night guard by the elevated walkway entrance from the neighboring JGC skyscraper. He had held this job for 20 years and didn’t expect much to change, he was a good employee after all, he knew the building inside and out, from details of each floor compartment, the electrical and water-work schematics to the population capacity of over 120’000 people, and thus far throughout his career, not once was there a successful break-in. A loud humming and buzzing sound approached the exterior of the building, Akio however knew it was a drone whizzing by, having been stationed here for a few years made him used to all the sounds of drones, a general pattern noticeable from their flights every night. But as his glance out from the glassy exterior of the building to the drone waned as it passed by, his focus shifted, and sights went to Yokohama’s nightscape. The whole expanse of light, industrial smog and loud traffic, trains and other transport was by all means near-indecipherable from the surrounding Tokyo cityscape further up, the whole Kanagawa-Tokyo prefecture like so many, an urban “metropolis” to the United States’ Baltimore-Washington Megapolis or France’s Grand-Paris. But upon looking out, he felt uneasy, almost having a sense of Deja-vu, but why at this time, why in the night...? But as Akio turned back to face his computer screens, the old monitors displaying live security feed, his attention was caught off-guard by a sudden explosive bang!

He looked back up from the screens before turning his head towards the sound’s origin! With the sound having seemingly come from the JGC building opposite to the one he was in, he quickly reached for his pockets with the door keys, barging through the doorway after opening the lock and hurried outside onto the elevated walkway, his eyes wide in astonishment as he took in the scene of the catastrophe! On one of the executive offices, the windows had been utterly shattered as a giant electronic billboard below, damaged by the eruption was now flickering wildly, distorting the images of the TIMET Aerospace logo playing on it! Akio quickly picked up his telecommunications device from his pockets and alerted the Japanese precinct authorities about the accident. Other figures could be seen through the now-lit windows of the partially tarnished JGC building, presumably security rushing towards that office where the explosion took place to assess the situation. Another guard rushed outside of the doors at the elevated walkway between the two skyscrapers, the bright radiant lights shining to put the figure in full view of Akio. The man like Akio himself, was in much the same situation, only difference being the fact that he had an actual breach to deal with and was about 5 years older. The security man asked Akio of what he’d seen, and Akio described what he had heard and seen in, in as honest a fashion as possible. Akio, discussing these matters with the fellow guard, noticed the blaring sirens further down below with the response having been swift with police and other emergency vehicles, top of the line, arriving in less than 10 minutes as a helicopter hovered overhead and hosed down whatever electrical fires or infernous damage was still going on at the skyscraper’s side. Soon enough, whole groups of police officers and corporate security had flanked all sides of the building inside and out, assessing the damage and most importantly who had been hurt. Amidst the panic and flooding of security and more into the whole area, Akio simply could not look away, his mind racing as to how such an event could have taken place despite the whole building and it’s connected sister building being under the watchful eye of security personnel and some highly advanced surveillance, who could have been behind this...? But as he turned his head to another electronic billboard within the skyline, the logos of multinationals omnipresent as always, and then back to the broken one with the distorted image of the TIMET Aerospace logo, he began to let his mind drift... this couldn't have been caused by a lone man, no... rather, it could only have been the result of some sort of larger clique.... Akio would end up being one of the first people that night, to find out about the single casualty of the assassination at the JGC building.

3rd February 2022 – 5pm Dublin

The rains were pouring down heavily upon the city of Dublin, and along with those rains, was accompanying condensation, giving a misty fog-like precipitation across Dublin’s largest skyline: the Dublin Docklands District. Shauna was one of the many millions that worked in Irish capital, a hard worker, she always strived to fulfil her obligations exactly on time. The harsh competitive environment was one that she, unlike others, was able to deal with and sometimes even thrive in, her will to power was for sure her best and most beneficial trait. However, it was on rainy days like these that the 24 year old go-getter wished that she hadn’t been in for work today, or at the very least had a car of her own. Leaving the massive office block of the financial institutions, she moved through the automated double doors, saying bye to the porter at the lobby. It was in these brief moments where she could smile, wave and say hello, that she felt most joyful, the little expressions of conventional kindness brought her further than any material wealth could bring. Still though, there was no more time for pleasantries and if she didn’t get back home, the downpour, according to the weather report, would only get worse. Wanting to get back home, she held back her annoyance and huffed through the city streets, getting through the huddled masses with thousands holding their umbrellas up as lashing rain poured down from the heavens. Shauna was getting closer to the Tara Train Station. The station being her first stop that she took to get the train into Coolmine, an area further out west in Dublin that neared neighbouring County Meath more so than inner-city Dublin. Still though, everything further west had become amalgamated into Dublin over the last 10 years, officially the Greater Dublin Area. Upon entering the station, a relief from the damp rain that was constantly pouring, she went up the stairway and stood by the railway lines, with ticket in hand for pass, she waited for her train to finally show up. Noticing that there was a live news report on RTE playing above her, she turned around a little, and looking up, she spotted the bulky television playing behind her. The voice of the TV presenter was present,"Last night, famous American nuclear research and atomic technology corporation General Atomics signed a 12-billion-dollar aerospace deal with the Japanese industrial giant IHI Industries. IHI Industries put out an official statement and described the deal as a Great-Boon not only to the global economy but to all mankind, the two corporations have stated that they have plans of expanding their business opportunities further outside of Low-Earth-Orbit, and as far as Mars, utilising state of the art nuclear thermal thrusters to do so. The two enterprises also have stated that their plans for nuclear fusion thrust development are nearly complete. However, despite these deals, concern remains for the deals’ future due to the ongoing corruption case within the Japanese courts involving IHI Industries”. Shauna eventually turned her head back to the station as her train finally came in, the loud sounds of moving industrial machines grasping her attention as they screeched to a halt. Taking a quick swig of her water bottle, she carried on.

Entering the train, she looked around the passenger carriage to spot any free seats, but just like it often had been before, she would have to stand again, cluttered up against masses of people like sardines in boxes of tin. The steel bearings of the train’s moving parts went straight back into action as the vehicle left the station and continued on moving towards it’s next destination. It wouldn’t be long before Shauna would reach her endpoint at Coolmine Station, which was close to the large central hub of Greater Dublin’s west, Blanchardstown. The massive urban sprawl like so many across the world, was a recent endeavor of the Irish government during the 2000s boom to house hundreds of thousands outside of the overpopulated Dublin metropole. As she stood on the train and put in her earphones, plugging in the audio jack into the device socket, she began to listen to her music from her portable audio player. Her favourite music from Chopin played as she looked out as the rainfall clashed upon the roof and side windows of the moving transport. Looking out, she thought about many things, her work, her future, her errands... But the soothing sonatas that played in her ears thankfully drowned out the noise that so often cluttered her psyche. And as the train cruised upon the rails of the Dublin city centre she felt off... but why? She couldn’t point out this feeling, where it was coming from... but as she looked ahead, behind the edges of the crowd, she noticed something... peculiar... A man clade in dark-brown leather with a pair of red-tinted spectacles. He stood at the end of the carriage, close to the doorway to the next carriage. He carried a simple black briefcase with metal casings on each corner. This wouldn’t have normally caught Shauna’s interests since many wore similar attire to him, rather what caught her sights was his mannerisms. He looked all around him, almost analysing the train carriage, noticing the flickering lamp lights that hung from the sides and the doors for platform exit, checking his watch every now and then. His cap cast a shadow on the rest of his face as he did this. But as the train neared an elevated pass over a road, Shauna for just a moment, glanced at one overhead screen before turning her attention back towards the man. However, the man had seemingly vanished, instead, all that lay in his place was the briefcase! For a moment, Shauna’s heart sank, and in a single second, her vision was blurred with a flash before going dark! The attack brought her to an instantaneous end.

​

3rd Febuary 2022 – 10:10pm Low Earth Orbit

-Datasource Select-
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-Private Extranet Server - Chat log Number:REDACTED -
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> User: Hawk_1 joined
> User: Faust_2 joined
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> Faust_2: «We’re available as of now, the operation has been completed in the last 5 minutes.»
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> Hawk_1: «Have you been able to carry out the operation under our precise parameters?»
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> Faust_2: «Yes, my group’s operations were carried out exactly as you have requested, all three targets have been dealt with via combustion detonators, all within 3 minutes of one another. When can we expect our payments?»
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> Hawk_1: «Very good, you will be compensated for your efforts in the next 3 successive months. Remain on high alert though, we cannot let suspicions arise and let REDACTED seize any opportunities.»
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> Faust_2: «We will do as you say, our security is in optimum condition as of now. Our digital Network is strictly under the safety parameters. Is there anything else we need to know?»
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> Hawk_1: «Yes, expect articles, reports and other such media to roll out in the upcoming days. Government agencies and global corporations will look into this with extensive means. Be especially careful of any possible REDACTED collusion. Follow the agreed-on plan. Stay in-line with the plan’s measures.»
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> Faust_2: «We’ll keep your measures in mind, any more recommendations for us to follow?»
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> Hawk_1: «No, our business is done here for now. Simply await for the payment via the accounts we setup for you. We will organise an in-person meetup at the REDACTED when we have another offer available.»
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> Faust_2: «We understand. Goodbye.»
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> Hawk_1: «Goodbye.»
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Chat Terminated <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

 

[BigBoy88]

The newest post is up now, lemme know what you guys think about it, any recommendations or thoughts?

 

[L'amateur d'aéroplanes]

William Gibson approves of this chapter.

Technology progresses, humans and their faults always remain the same.

 

[BigBoy88]

William Gibson approves of this chapter.

Technology progresses, humans and their faults always remain the same

Niicee! And yep, as much as we may progress, we are humans at the end of the day, bound by our fallible nature.

I'm trying to brainstorm the future corporations and organisations of this alternate timeline and I found some particularly fascinating stuff regarding the Lockheed and Commodore businesses, that'll definitely make an appearance in the TL.