I hope we can see more of Brazil in other chapters. I expect in the later decades, Brazil will probably be a more dominant player in South America, they might have to change up their strategy and moderate themselves on certain policies. Would love to see more of how technology has changed and improved ITTL. Keep up the good work.
Let The Eagle Scream Version 2: Star-Spangled-Boogaloo
- Thread starter Murica1776
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The Space Race Part II: Onward to Luna
A little shoutout to @Napoleon53 for inspiring Patton's "interesting" speech about the moon.
The Space Race Part II: Onward to Luna
The Liberty XII rocket
On July 4th, 1961, President George S. Patton issued a challenge to America: to beat the foreigners to the moon. He couched it in his inimitable style. "We will go to the moon in this decade not because it is easy. It is not easy, it is hard. But I say we will go to the moon in this decade, not because it is easy, but because it is rightfully American! We will go to the moon for the same reason we went to Louisiana, to Arizona, to California, to the Philippines and Canada! We will go to the moon to colonize, to spread freedom, to enhance our wealth, and we will go to the moon because if any dumb bastard is going to spread his seed across her face, by God, it will be Uncle Sam!" This colorful and somewhat obscene metaphor only enhanced what many felt was the ridiculousness of Patton's boast. America had fallen badly behind in the Space Race. She had never once been in the lead. How exactly was the United States going to pull ahead so dramatically? Fortunately for the United States, she had two weapons, one secret, one known. These were money and computers.
The United States was the richest nation in the world, in human history. It had the money necessary to fund what Patton was calling "The Liberty Mission to the Moon." However, money alone cannot defy technological gravity. Fortunately for the Americans, they had a genius of their own on their side to counter the likes of Germany's Werner von Braun. Harold Clyburn, the 50 year-old inventor of the Goliath Machine, unveiled the minicomputer alongside his partner, 26 year old Aries Smith in 1961. Patton invited Clyburn, by this point the wealthiest Black man in the world, to the White House and gave him two things: a mission and a $180 million, 4-year contract. His mission was to work as fast as possible to develop cutting edge computers for NASA and the USSC. Patton knew firsthand the utility of these machines and knew that in lieu of German expertise or Eurasia's shocking tolerance for experimental and deadly flights, this technology would be the key to getting Yankee boots on the moon. The contract was essentially a massive preliminary budget to build the best computers conceivable, and Patton tossed the incentive of more money in the future. Clyburn, both a capitalist and a patriot, eagerly assented. He built a new venture, American Computing Equipment, in the deserts of New Canaan. He employed over 4,000 people at his facility, which was a classified location, and got to work building computers for NASA.
The company got to work building ever more powerful computers while NASA began preliminary work on building Liberty I, the first rocket in the Liberty program. Liberty I was a spectacular failure. It exploded on the launchpad during the first test on January 13th, 1962, in front of the national and world media, prompting global derision. However, in its own way, it helped ensure American success. Complacency in Germany and Eurasia set in, and they were content to try and go to the moon on a seemingly more doable 12-15 year timeframe. NASA charged ahead, even as Liberty II and Liberty III were similarly catastrophic, the latter actually killing American Space Trooper Jim Greene. Some Republicans derided the space program as an expensive boondoggle as the Patton-less '64 Election season came upon America, but the de facto leader of the party and soon to be GOP nominee John F. Kennedy mostly quieted such rhetoric as defeatist and un-American. He pledged that he would do everything in his power to achieve Patton's goal, even as he gradually set up the rhetoric to blame Patton if the program failed to accomplish this goal. However, after initial setbacks in everything from the Liberty rockets to spacesuit design had actually been overcome, and while the program was still slightly behind schedule, it could have been much worse. Furthermore, a technological miracle was about to accelerate American progress beyond what was thought possible.
The ACE 2966 mainframe computer was unveiled to NASA on March 11th, 1965. It was a truly space age invention, developed before its time thanks to the sheer concentration of capital and brainpower focused on ACE. A 32-bit minicomputer with a 128-bit accumulator and packing decimal arithmetic, by the standards of the rest of the world it was like a jet aeroplane compared to a handcart. It was the first mainframe computer to use floppy disk technology and the first computer ever to be operated by terminals. The terminals had been made possible by Harold Clyburn's earlier experimentation with cathode ray tubes, such as those that had led to the adoption of color television. Far more powerful than what NASA had been using, and much more efficient than those systems as well, it completely revolutionized the space program. Formulas that might've taken hours to create and solve on chalkboards could be done in much less time with the ACE 2966. Disks were also a more efficient way to store data as opposed to punchcards. ACE also developed some smaller punchcard operated minicomputers that would allow NASA engineers to casually crunch some numbers at home while they showered and shaved. It's hard to overstate how important these breakthrough were to the American space program. Able to make more, and more precise calculations in a shorter time accelerated timetables on everything from fuel acquisition to the design of the lunar module. Now working overtime and with more vigor than ever, NASA managed to catch up to its timetable by February, 1966. By the end of 1966, NASA had pulled ahead.
On April 13th, 1967, NASA launched Liberty VIII as a test. Although the test revealed that additional fuel was necessary due to the weight of the module and prompted some redesigns of the craft, it put Germany and Eurasia on notice. They had once laughed at America's claim that they would land on the moon in this decade. They were no longer laughing, and began accelerating their own timetables. It was too late. Thanks to American computing power, they could simply out-calculate and out-engineer their problems to an extent well beyond that of their rivals. Exactly one year after the Liberty VIII launch, the Americans launched Liberty XI. While there was no landing, Liberty XI became the first craft to successfully complete an orbit of the moon and return to Earth. It was a dress rehearsal for the next launch. Germany and Eurasia panicked, rapidly increasing funding to their own space programs while trying to sabotage NASA. It was of no avail. America was ready. On Jubilee Day, 1968, Dick Armstrong and William Howard Jr, a Scotch-Irish boy from North Carolina and a self-made Black man from Mississippi respectively, became the first human beings to stand on the face of the moon. William Howard Jr's speech from the lunar surface would soon live in American legend: "My grandparents were born in chains. My ancestors lived in chains. Now, I plant the Flag that Makes You Free on the surface of the moon. My fellow Americans, my fellow Black men, know this: our chains are broken!" The American flag and the Jubilee flag were planted on the lunar surface. Down below, already raucous Jubilee Day celebrations erupted as they merged into the general brouhaha of celebration. Across the world, foreigners stood slack jawed in awe, envy, and fear.
There would be 5 more American missions to the moon. They would follow up on observations made by Armstrong and Howard, and concluded that the moon's equator would be an ideal place to put future settlements, as a relative abundance of sunlight meant that budding solar technology could one day power bases or even full-fledged colonies. While it would be decades before the first military bases were established on the moon, the data gathered on these expeditions would provide a strong foundation for future development. Germany would land the Bismarck XV on the moon on June 27th, 1972 while Eurasia would follow on August 11th, 1973 with the landing of Cosmos XII. The First Space Race was over, and the Americans had come up from behind to win in a spectacular fashion. America's Space Race performance also kickstarted the budding Computer Revolution and heralded the dawn of the Computer Age. The Space Race also had a tremendous impact on popular culture, and would inform a generations long American fascination with space and the dashing Space Troopers.
William Howard Jr. becomes the first man on the moon (Jubilee Day, 1968)
ACE 2966 Mainframes like the ones that would help lead NASA to the moon.
The 7500 console attached to the ACE 2966
Dick Armstrong honors the American flag before William Howard Jr. plants the Jubilee Day flag (Jubilee Day, 1968)
The Space Race Part II: Onward to Luna
The Liberty XII rocket
The United States was the richest nation in the world, in human history. It had the money necessary to fund what Patton was calling "The Liberty Mission to the Moon." However, money alone cannot defy technological gravity. Fortunately for the Americans, they had a genius of their own on their side to counter the likes of Germany's Werner von Braun. Harold Clyburn, the 50 year-old inventor of the Goliath Machine, unveiled the minicomputer alongside his partner, 26 year old Aries Smith in 1961. Patton invited Clyburn, by this point the wealthiest Black man in the world, to the White House and gave him two things: a mission and a $180 million, 4-year contract. His mission was to work as fast as possible to develop cutting edge computers for NASA and the USSC. Patton knew firsthand the utility of these machines and knew that in lieu of German expertise or Eurasia's shocking tolerance for experimental and deadly flights, this technology would be the key to getting Yankee boots on the moon. The contract was essentially a massive preliminary budget to build the best computers conceivable, and Patton tossed the incentive of more money in the future. Clyburn, both a capitalist and a patriot, eagerly assented. He built a new venture, American Computing Equipment, in the deserts of New Canaan. He employed over 4,000 people at his facility, which was a classified location, and got to work building computers for NASA.
The company got to work building ever more powerful computers while NASA began preliminary work on building Liberty I, the first rocket in the Liberty program. Liberty I was a spectacular failure. It exploded on the launchpad during the first test on January 13th, 1962, in front of the national and world media, prompting global derision. However, in its own way, it helped ensure American success. Complacency in Germany and Eurasia set in, and they were content to try and go to the moon on a seemingly more doable 12-15 year timeframe. NASA charged ahead, even as Liberty II and Liberty III were similarly catastrophic, the latter actually killing American Space Trooper Jim Greene. Some Republicans derided the space program as an expensive boondoggle as the Patton-less '64 Election season came upon America, but the de facto leader of the party and soon to be GOP nominee John F. Kennedy mostly quieted such rhetoric as defeatist and un-American. He pledged that he would do everything in his power to achieve Patton's goal, even as he gradually set up the rhetoric to blame Patton if the program failed to accomplish this goal. However, after initial setbacks in everything from the Liberty rockets to spacesuit design had actually been overcome, and while the program was still slightly behind schedule, it could have been much worse. Furthermore, a technological miracle was about to accelerate American progress beyond what was thought possible.
The ACE 2966 mainframe computer was unveiled to NASA on March 11th, 1965. It was a truly space age invention, developed before its time thanks to the sheer concentration of capital and brainpower focused on ACE. A 32-bit minicomputer with a 128-bit accumulator and packing decimal arithmetic, by the standards of the rest of the world it was like a jet aeroplane compared to a handcart. It was the first mainframe computer to use floppy disk technology and the first computer ever to be operated by terminals. The terminals had been made possible by Harold Clyburn's earlier experimentation with cathode ray tubes, such as those that had led to the adoption of color television. Far more powerful than what NASA had been using, and much more efficient than those systems as well, it completely revolutionized the space program. Formulas that might've taken hours to create and solve on chalkboards could be done in much less time with the ACE 2966. Disks were also a more efficient way to store data as opposed to punchcards. ACE also developed some smaller punchcard operated minicomputers that would allow NASA engineers to casually crunch some numbers at home while they showered and shaved. It's hard to overstate how important these breakthrough were to the American space program. Able to make more, and more precise calculations in a shorter time accelerated timetables on everything from fuel acquisition to the design of the lunar module. Now working overtime and with more vigor than ever, NASA managed to catch up to its timetable by February, 1966. By the end of 1966, NASA had pulled ahead.
On April 13th, 1967, NASA launched Liberty VIII as a test. Although the test revealed that additional fuel was necessary due to the weight of the module and prompted some redesigns of the craft, it put Germany and Eurasia on notice. They had once laughed at America's claim that they would land on the moon in this decade. They were no longer laughing, and began accelerating their own timetables. It was too late. Thanks to American computing power, they could simply out-calculate and out-engineer their problems to an extent well beyond that of their rivals. Exactly one year after the Liberty VIII launch, the Americans launched Liberty XI. While there was no landing, Liberty XI became the first craft to successfully complete an orbit of the moon and return to Earth. It was a dress rehearsal for the next launch. Germany and Eurasia panicked, rapidly increasing funding to their own space programs while trying to sabotage NASA. It was of no avail. America was ready. On Jubilee Day, 1968, Dick Armstrong and William Howard Jr, a Scotch-Irish boy from North Carolina and a self-made Black man from Mississippi respectively, became the first human beings to stand on the face of the moon. William Howard Jr's speech from the lunar surface would soon live in American legend: "My grandparents were born in chains. My ancestors lived in chains. Now, I plant the Flag that Makes You Free on the surface of the moon. My fellow Americans, my fellow Black men, know this: our chains are broken!" The American flag and the Jubilee flag were planted on the lunar surface. Down below, already raucous Jubilee Day celebrations erupted as they merged into the general brouhaha of celebration. Across the world, foreigners stood slack jawed in awe, envy, and fear.
There would be 5 more American missions to the moon. They would follow up on observations made by Armstrong and Howard, and concluded that the moon's equator would be an ideal place to put future settlements, as a relative abundance of sunlight meant that budding solar technology could one day power bases or even full-fledged colonies. While it would be decades before the first military bases were established on the moon, the data gathered on these expeditions would provide a strong foundation for future development. Germany would land the Bismarck XV on the moon on June 27th, 1972 while Eurasia would follow on August 11th, 1973 with the landing of Cosmos XII. The First Space Race was over, and the Americans had come up from behind to win in a spectacular fashion. America's Space Race performance also kickstarted the budding Computer Revolution and heralded the dawn of the Computer Age. The Space Race also had a tremendous impact on popular culture, and would inform a generations long American fascination with space and the dashing Space Troopers.
William Howard Jr. becomes the first man on the moon (Jubilee Day, 1968)
ACE 2966 Mainframes like the ones that would help lead NASA to the moon.
The 7500 console attached to the ACE 2966
Dick Armstrong honors the American flag before William Howard Jr. plants the Jubilee Day flag (Jubilee Day, 1968)
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Republican President JFK, huh? Will we see any actors ITTL going for the Presidency?
The latest updates have really only reinforced my belief that this timeline is kind of like the American history equivalent to a quadruple cheeseburger. Pure, excessive Americanism wrapped in a thick slab of bacon. Sort of like a less destructive fallout America.
Good update.
Good update.
Over time as demographics change in America, would the idea of a "American Race" be thought of, independent and seen as separate from all other races around the world? Reading the US Demographics chapter got me thinking. Can't wait for the next update from you.
I'm not sure about actors, but there is one bombastic, conservative real estate developer that's going to shoot for the Presidency.
I think 2000 might be a bit soon for a Mars landing, but that's definitely coming. Orbital weapons are too.
Thank you!
I think this is the best compliment I've ever gotten on here
. Hopefully it's not too unrealistic or anything though, lolI've been thinking about that! I'm not entirely sure, but demographics will definitely be getting a mention.
I would love to see Donald's Presidency ITTL (If he even has the same name). If I remember correctly, wasn't his mother from Scotland or Ireland? If his mother came to America after TTL WW2 after experiencing oppression or possibly being a survivor of Mosley's death camps, that could greatly affect the young Donald. Thank you for the reply. Keep up the great work. This is one of my favorite timelines that I constantly check for updates.
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I think he might have channeled Madness!Patton for a second there. Next thing you know he's gonna want gorilla nuts.
It is really cool that a black man gets to plant the flag on the Moon ITTL. It really shows how much more progressive TTL's America is on race compared to OTL at the same point.
Oh no, y'all have the wrong idea. There's a young(ish) Cuban visionary and Father of the Suburbs who does, however, fit the bill......
Liberal, to an extent. Here's something I don't know if anyone's picked up on too much. Notice how, in the overwhelming majority of these groundbreaking events, it's White men or Black men, most of whom have "Anglo-Saxon" surnames? This is something we're going to cover.
So I just noticed something Teddy Roosevelt WCR and Patton are all former military right? They are also were Elicited in what can be considered difficult or extraordinary times. there are also some of this TL‘s best American presidents right? This Would set up a belief that US presidents that are former military officers tend to be to be the best. It also sets a precedent.
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It would fit with the strongmen persona that has been growing within the US for decades. If a president has not been in the military, some other type of service would have to compensate to show they mean business. When will we see the first director of the CIA/OSS become president? Has to happen in a timeline like this.
The Space Race Part III: Space in Pop Culture
The Space Race Part III: Space in Pop Culture
A still from the 1967 film "Destiny in Space I" (Digital Remaster from 1996)
The First Space Race touched every aspect of American, Russian, and German life. No analysis of the First Space Race would be complete without discussing the effect of the Race on pop culture across the world. Storytellers in film, TV, comics, and print novels were fascinated by the beginning of humanity's quest to conquer the greatest, largest frontier in existence. The endless frontier. However far away the settings might have been from Earth, their formulas, stereotypes, and ideologies were firmly rooted in the Great Power competition raging between America, Eurasia, and Germany. Government propagandists on all sides played a role, especially in totalitarian Eurasia where they actually took the lead. This great adventure into the unknown was both shaped by human ideas, and in turn shaped the future of many cultures.
A still from the 1967 film "Destiny in Space I" (Digital Remaster from 1996)
It would be a disservice to neglect the role of the Cosmonauts, Space Troopers, and Weltraumeroberers in shaping this Space Age pop culture. Every nation lionized their explorers as heroes and patriots of the highest order, and this was expressed in many ways. In the United States, Space Troopers and their families became celebrities of the highest order. John Glenn and William Howard Jr. were especially favored by the USSC for press coverage, with both men appearing on the cover of Time magazine and getting front page interviews in the New York Times and Washington Post respectively. This is because, quite simply, both men fit the mold the government wanted all their Troopers to fit. They were devout Protestants (Presbyterian and AME) and fervent patriots. They were devoted, loyal, husbands. They had adorable and functional families. Neither man drank or smoked to excess. Their ideas of a perfect day were, respectively, "Performing my duties as an elder at my church, then leaving to have a nice picnic lunch in the park with the family. Annie makes the best cherry pie, and she packs it with a quart of whole milk for the family" and "Going down to the Gulf Coast with my family and having chicken salad sandwiches with Cherry Cokes on the beach. I also enjoy showing the children memorials to the great Colored Troops that have gone before so they have a fuller appreciation for our hard-won freedoms." The rest of the Troopers were decidedly less wholesome. Dick Armstrong, second man on the moon, was an excellent example. When he wasn't working, his favorite thing to do was hop into his navy blue Ford Mustang (courtesy of the Ford Motor Company) and cruise with attractive young women who were not his wife. He infamously got entangled in an affair with Beaconsfield sex symbol Esperanza Cortez, "The Dark Argentine" who he would later leave his wife and three children for. Most Troopers didn't go quite this far in terms of leaving their wives, but infidelity was rampant among most Troopers. Furthermore, in the younger class, the heavy drug use and partying that characterized much of the Kennedy years was readily apparent. The media ate it up, covering any dalliance with Beaconsfield sex symbols, impromptu drag race, or boozy party they could. The worst of it was somewhat suppressed in the Patton years by heavy-handed censorship, but such things were well-known by the mid-70's.
Germany did not have quite the same celebrity culture as the Americans. What they did have was a cult of aristocracy. The doings of the royal families and aristocracies of Germany, France, Britain, Scandinavia, Bulgaria, the UBD, and the Tripartite Empire were followed as closely by Europeans as the doings of actors and athletes were by Americans. German Weltraumeroberers soon found themselves courting the duchesses, baronesses, countesses, ladies, viscountesses, and even princesses of the European nobility. Kaiser Bernhardt I, now pushing 60, declared all Weltraumeroberers to be members of a new order of "Teutonic Knights of the Cosmos" in 1961. This meant that every Weltraumeroberer was a member of German aristocracy based on "martial merit" and could freely intermarry with the European aristocracy. Most prominently, Elias Scholz married Crown Princess Helena of Bulgaria in 1965, and their wedding was a European obsession. Sofia was crushed by over 750,000 guests and well-wishers on the June 11th wedding date. Many Weltraumeroberers engaged in indiscretions similar to those of their American counterparts, but like in Eurasia, news of these indiscretions was completely stamped out by the state in favor of presenting a solid image of state values. Finally, Eurasia especially made their cosmonauts propaganda tools of the State. Many of the younger ones were actually of the Eurasian Race, and presented as the vanguard of humanity's future going into the stars. Many Russian cosmonauts took Asian brides to help further Moscow's plans to mix the races in Central Asia, Mongolia, Tibet, and Manchuria. There were several cosmonauts who objected to Moscow's control of their personal life in this fashion, who would mysteriously disappear afterwards. All merchandise with their likenesses would be "returned for quality evaluations" and never seen again.
It wasn't just the square-jawed men of the stars who captured the world's imagination, their journey did too. While some imagined that the Space Race could unite humanity, the majority of the American, German, and Eurasian populations didn't see it that way. With explicitly imperialist and expansionist foreign policies a feature of all these nations' lives since the 1860's or before, the Space Race and its future promise was seen in explicitly imperial terms. Many policy experts predicted future Scrambles for Mars and the Moon. In pop culture, this was reflected in an explosion of stories and films about explorers and armies going into the stars to conquer in the name of civilizations that were little more than thinly veiled representations of Earthly nations. In America this was especially reflected in two popular film and TV franchises. The first was the TV show "Captain Roy Lightstar's Adventures." Roy Lightstar, played by brown-haired, green-eyed Texan Buck Champion, was an independent filibuster from the Lightstar Nebula (space Texas), a proud member of the United Federation of Humanity. He traveled around the galaxy with his loyal crew seeking new cultures and races, and then using means both peaceful and violent to incorporate them into the Federation for Country, Freedom, and Glory. Many of the races he did encounter were, again, somewhat veiled versions of various human cultures both ancient and present. Many of Roy's adventures took place in the Del Gloria Galaxy Cluster, filled with a variety of similar but distinct races that closely mirrored many Hispanic cultures, including Mexicans, Hondurans, Colombians, Peruvians, and Chileans. The adventures in these areas would all follow a similar formula: Roy Lighstar would arrive in a part of the cluster torn by strife or poverty, he would use his phaser and wisdom to crush wrongdoers and establish peace, and somewhere along the way he would become involved with a strong, lusty, but ultimately kind local woman. In other adventures, he would fight off rapacious Space Germans, seduce and imprison a spy from Space France, and help protect the ancient Empire of Zondorf (Space China) from traitors and evil neighbors. Although the episodes could be formulaic, the writers were brilliant, and after Lightstar's 1961 debut, the show became one of the most popular on TV, later spawning several film franchises.
Roy Lightstar with his longtime on-off human girlfriend Delilah Friedmann (promotional still for the 1974 film Roy Lightstar: Beyond the Ethereum)
Although the Americans were the most prolific in their output, spawning many books, comics, and series besides these two, the Germans and Eurasians were no slouches. In Berlin, the TV serial "Star Voyage" was immensely popular. Captain Johann Spitta of the Empire of Humanity's Starfleet, led a pan-European crew including an Austrian Lieutenant, a Polish medic, an Italian Gunnery Sargent, and several Ukrainian soldiers, including a female trooper named Anastasia Tereshchenko who Captain Spitta later married. Although several American films and shows had shown women in combat, this was the first German media to do so. This pan-European imperial force voyaged across the stars looking for "savage planets to spread civilization to." While there are some similarities to American TV and film, German TV was much less tolerant and forgiving. While a Roy Lighstar show would obviously celebrate imperial expansion, and depicted foreign/alien peoples in a stereotypical manner, those people were also generally shown to be good people, or to have good people among them. American space heroes frequently befriended, cooperated with, bedded, and even married aliens. Roy Lightstar was famous for being able to adapt to alien cultures as well, even if he clearly preferred "Human" culture. The pan-Europeans of Star Voyage were not so benevolent. Starfleet made it their "Prime Directive" to use all necessary force to overawe and subjugate the "uncivilized creatures of the cosmos." There are several episodes were Spitta, upon judging a particularly savage race to be irredeemable (often these races were mishmashes of Russians and Jihadists), simply exterminates them and declares the opening of the planet to unlimited settlement. When they weren't exterminating natives wholesale, Spitta and Starfleet were "helping" these pitiful savages eliminate their own cultures to begin the process of assimilating into the Empire. There was little intermarriage in German sci-fi, as it instead focused on Berlin's policies of preventing any mixing between races while attempting to assimilate and co-opt them via various mechanisms. One 3 part series actually featured the decaying Republic of Arianas, declining thanks to the mixing of its "pure humanoid strains." The Republic was, of course, a thinly veiled reference to America. Mixing among (white) humans was, however, portrayed positively. Like their American counterparts, Star Voyage would spawn films, toys, and other media.
Eurasian sci-fi was perhaps the most blatant, and sinister, of the cultural products of the three powers. The most famous was Eurasia's TV series "Comrade Orlov's Cosmic Travels," first released in 1968 after much refinement and some panned imitations of German and American serials. This was also an imitation, but the writing and production values were much better. It was also used to justify some disgusting crimes against humanity. As knowledge of Eurasia's gulags and forced race mixing became known, the state didn't confess or deny. Instead, it justified. Comrade Orlov did a lot of work in this regard. Over the course of the second season, Comrade Alexei Orlov of the Union of New Humanity suppressed rebellions in recently "liberated" lands. He was openly depicted as mass imprisoning civilian populations and forcing alien women into marriages with his "New Union Men." These were depicted as good things, with the imprisoned thanking Orlov for enlightening them (they were then freed) and forced mixed marriages were portrayed as leading to harmonious unions. Comrade Orlov was denounced in the United States and banned in the German world, not that it was very popular outside of Eurasia anyway. Within Eurasia, however, the show's abnormally high quality made it a hit among the population. It also absolutely helped justify Eurasia's brutal race policy and ongoing expansionism. Rather than deny what was so plainly happening, Comrade Orlov and other media justified it for the Eurasian people. This propaganda helped steel the country for the downturn of the early 70's as American and European companies pulled some (but not all) investments out of the country. Once the economy picked back up in the latter part of the decade, a full-feature Comrade Orlov film would be made, the first of many.
Admiral Schmidt, Captain Spitta's superior and mentor in Star Voyage (1971)
Comrade Orlov prepares to order the invasion of a "backwards and disharmonious planet" (1973)
Promotional artwork for Destiny in Space I (1967)
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