Map Thread XIX

Status
Not open for further replies.
A map for a timeline where Crockett doesn't die during the Siege of the Alamo, which leads to different Texan and Territorial Borders. Resulting butterflies include a lack of a gambling industry in Las Vegas, the 48th state of Dinedeh being admitted in the 1920s, and Arizona being seen as the heart of the "Wild West".
I like this, but the fact that you got rid of Arizona's cool flag is one that I don't likie
 
What is the dotted area between/around Trieste and Vienna?

.
Correct! I failed to properly mention that aspect on the map, but these areas are usually a bit depopulated due to Magyar incursions which ITTL are still going on although less frequently since the Carolingians suffered from a decisive defeat in one of these Hungarian raids. You can find more information on that in this post and the following ones.
 
A map for a timeline where Crockett doesn't die during the Siege of the Alamo, which leads to different Texan and Territorial Borders. Resulting butterflies include a lack of a gambling industry in Las Vegas, the 48th state of Dinedeh being admitted in the 1920s, and Arizona being seen as the heart of the "Wild West".
Poor Albuquerque....split up between Dinedeh, Oklahoma, and Texas. What's life like in Dinedeh?
 
Cross-posting from the MotF contest

The island of Nollop
a nation of letter-writers



skZRelT.jpg
The people of Nollop, Nollopians, are a very proud folk. Their island nation might not be very large, with all its 63 square miles, 21 miles to the southeast of Charleston, but they certainly feel a deep national pride for their petite nation, one marked especially in comparison to their American kin, just across the shore. Your average Nollopian will look at the American people with contempt; they are loud, obnoxious and ill-mannered, and worst of all uncultured and illiterate, a great sin for the islanders who pride themselves on, above all things, their literary renown. After all, it was in literature that came what, until very recently, was seen as their greatest (and only) achievement. But more on that later.

In the eloquent words of native Nollopian Tassie Warren (née Purcy), "Nollop is still to enter the twentieth century". And this is certainly something that can sometimes be felt in the island, where at times the two existing settlements can be isolated from each other and the rest of the world due to weather conditions leaving the roads tarnished, the sparsity of postal services (with the fastest services being carried by the sewage teams on their way around towns), the poor quality of their phone lines, on which Nollopians simply don't trust enough to rely on, preferring to commit themselves still to letter-writing to carry messages across, even between neighbours, the spotty electrical grid, whose failures don't surprise anyone, and the simple inexistance of any digital technology within the island.

The economy of Nollop is equally... rustic. A good number of the citizens are employed in State maintenance, as officers or civilian auxiliaries for the Law Enforcement Brigade or for the various levels of bureaucracy of the island, as teachers for the children, or otherwise work the land or practice a handcraft trade. Among the family which hosted me during my stay, there was a wood-carving craftsman whose main source of income came from speciality deliveries to American stores, a laundress, a school teacher and a teacher auxiliary. Most industries are organised in guilds and a single business monopolises each of them. A WalMart supply boat arrives at the island each day with produce, and generally much of the resources are imported from the American mainland.

The relationship between Nollop and its titanic neighbour is relatively calm, the islanders having always minded themselves and not caring for the outside world, being aware of their own troubles surviving in the outside world. They find American life alien, and Americans themselves generally feel Nollopians to be queer people, with strange accents and too uptight. The recent events showed many of the Nollopian refugees just how precious their tiny island is to them, as many found themselves simply incapable of surviving in American society. Their skills, their tastes and their ways are often incompatible with the way our own country works. That being said, the ties that bind Nollop and the continent are great, both familial and cultural, run deep, and most in the island have family members in the States, who they'll visit ever so often. The cultural resemblance itself is quite noticeable in many of the island's dishes, such as their adored hushpuppies and buttered corn-on-cob, and in their tradition of Gullah folk songs, which immediately betray their Southern heritage, not that different from their neighbouring states.

This ties in to the history of the island: settled in the 1840s by disposessed Southern Americans, of both white and African heritage, who established a communal society they called Utopianna, seeking to live peacefully, away from the corrupting influence of mainstream society, and cultivate their arts, naming their colony Utopianna. In 1870, they peacefully declared themselves indepedent from the United States, something which frankly the federal government never bothered to look into, and established their own government, based on a High Council of five elected Members, with a Constitution that, beyond giving the people their fundamental rights and freedoms, gave to the Council full powers for government, not bothering to think too much about how it would be handled or in a true system of checks and balances.

The island History would, until recently, then tell of its most glorious day, when Nevin Nollop put the island on the map by his genius, crafting the shortest possible sentence using only 35 letters to write a coherent sentence using all letters of the alphabet: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog". To honour this genius discovery, the High Council would, in 1904, build a cenotaph to Nollop in the centre square of the town, which would henceforth be known as Nollopton, while the Village would be known as Nollopville. The island itself would be named Nollop, its largest beach Nevin Beach, its main road Nollop Pass and even its currency would be the Nollopian Nevin. With time, Nollop would go from man to god for many in the island, who truly believed the genius of Nollop guided them after death, and the High Council went from a truly democratic institution to a priesthood to Nevin Nollop, acting by interpretation of His will.

The true scope of the rise in the cult of Nollop would rear its ugly head in 2004, when a sort of Nollopian apocalypse took place: the letter 'Z' from the legendary sentence, placed on the cenotaph, fell, leaving the sentence without a Z. The scientific explanation for this was later ascertained, by chemical analysis, to be a weakening of the glue used in 1904, after one hundred years of weather (which, in Nollop, will ever so often be hurricane). However, the High Council saw it in another light: they interpreted it as a sign of Nollop's displeasure, and as a call by him for the letter 'Z' to be thereby removed from all forms of communication.

In a very controversial move, which displeased many in the island, a crusade began against the letter Z. Suffice it to say it involved the burning or otherwise removal of all books, except those that happened not to have the letter 'Z' (so mostly image books), the extermination of the renowned bee colonies in the island, the changing of names and the institution of draconian policies to ensure the citizens would follow the law: each citizen was given three strikes to say or write the forbidden letter: upon the first, they'd be publically reprimanded, on the second they'd be either kept in a headstock through the night or be flogged, while on the third they'd be banished forever from the island, on the pain of execution. It took mere days for it to become clear the measures would be followed. The police agents were set to surveill the people, as were neighbours, who were encouraged to report on each other, and even the private mail was checked for illegal Z's. A situation that would only worsen as the glue from other letters would falter, leaving the island ever more reduced in their vocabulary, and in their population, as many of its citizens left voluntarily or were banished, becoming refugees in the United States, their property nationalised and divided among Council members. At the darkest hour, only five letters remained - LMNOP.

Now, this was not the first sign of the growing authoritarianism in the island, as other scholars had noticed. Already the High Council had forbbiden entrance to the island to American scholars and journalists, which forced myself to investigate in the island anonymous, with the help of the Purcy family, who recommended my visa application in the guise of a family friend. And their relationships with the United States were becoming tenser, as American cruise lines showed interest in the island, which the Council was very obtuse in negotiating. Among the Nollopians, it was common for people to avoid expressing their disagreement with Council policies too loudly, out of fear of being persecuted. And in fact, during the "extraconstitutional period" following the fall of letters, the LED police was particular vicious persecuting suspected leaders of citizen resistance groups, such as the Minnow Pea family. They were accused, by High Council and fellow citizens alike, of being blasphemous and enemies of Nollop.

Despite the omnipotence of the High Council, several grassroots organisations existed in Nollop that contributed to the resistance during the period, from the various guilds and general worker groups, who would often cooperate to elect a representative to be present at open Council meetings (which, until the extra-constitutional situation, were the norm), the Parents-Teachers Association in the schools, which would be often used as an open platform for expressing grievances, reading groups hosted at private residences, and even the occasional party or poker game, which during the crisis were essential in bringing together citizens to discuss strategies to resist.

The High Council has now fallen, its leaders resigned (and afterwards arrested) and a New Order installed. The agents of the LEB have also been arrested and await trial for their role in empowering the tyranny of the Council. The Constitution will be reformed entirely as well, to provide a true system of checks and balances. Many propose direct democracy even, inspired by the groups that helped them resist and in the possibilities modern communications offer. As to the nomenclature of the nation, after the unpleasant episode, the stuate of Nollop has been removed from the center square of the town and a part of the constitutional conference to be held will have to deal with the new name of... everything in the island, preferably one that won't create a similar situation a century forward.

But the people of Nollop can breathe easily again, and enjoy their Shangri-la. They are importing books from the American mainland, and bees as well, to restart their lives here. The prohibition on American journalists and academics is already rescinded, as are, obviously, all restrictions imposed on free speech. A lot has changed in Nollop. But the people remain the same. They still scorn modern technology, and prefer to write letters back and forward.
- Nathan Warren, editor-chief, Nollopiana





So, this was actually the third idea I worked on, but the one that I finally liked. The background story comes from the novel Ella Minnow Pea, in which the setting as described is set. I could only cover some of the strangeness of the island, so I can really recommend the book, as it is rather fun and does a good job at making its message across. It eerily reminded of the stories my parents and grandparents tell of their lives during and immediately after an authoritarian dictatorship: people whispering and looking out for which words they use, and prefering to simply not talk on some things out of fear of being persecuted. The fear of having someone listen to your conversations. Of wanting to resist but knowing resistance is futile. All in the context of a small island nation who guides its policy by what it believes are the wishes of a dead writer (if you can call him that) and stop using letters of the alphabet as they fall out of a monument. It's delightfully absurd.

On a final note: I was a bit unsure of whether this is a weird government or a weird religion, but I suppose it falls under the non-separation of Church and State, since the people enforcing the religious mandate are State officers. And the ridiculous comes from the police going after people for speaking certain letters and putting someone going through mail to search for particular letters. And the fact that, beyond all the religious veneer, it is clear that most of the Council Members are doing it for all that nationalised property and not because they are true believers is really that universal constant for the leadership of authoritarian states.
 
aekjrQt.png

A request by @JK2004 for a take on the world of Colony, a TV show which portrays an alien takeover of Earth but rules it Vichy France style.

THE ARRIVAL

In a world not too different from our very own 2014, life went on as normal. Despite that things looked normal, on November 13, 2014, two days before the “Arrival”, the “Hosts” were already planning their grand scheme to take over all of Earth. The hosts are an alien species who fled their home planet after it was taken over by another hostile species, and they needed a new planet to call home and why not here on Earth. The Hosts reached out to collaborators and helped establish the Institute of Global Advancement and in secrecy, recruited loyal collaborators to run Earth who knew about their upcoming Arrival.

At 5:30 PM, the Institute for Global Advancement began the takeover. The IGA swiftly detained and purged major world leaders, generals, and major heads of corporations to make sure there would be no interference or resistance to the Arrival. Next, the Hosts turned off all of Earth’s satellites to cripple communication by unknown means. At 7:00 PM, the Host ships then launched a very strong EMP attack on all of Earth, as strong as a solar flare. This caused planes to fall from the sky, train crashes, and nuclear power plant meltdowns.

As chaos began to take root from 7:00 PM to 10:15 PM, the Hosts then launched their final phase of the Arrival. At 10:15 PM, massive orbital walls were lowered down on every major city on the globe. By 12:00 PM, all of Earth’s major cities and large towns were isolated and cut off from outside control. The IGA then took over the majority of Earth’s major countries as new leaders and surrendered control of their countries to the Hosts. Despite this, resistance still did continue but all of Earth was now at the mercy of their new masters, the Hosts.

A VICHY EARTH

Despite all of Earth being ruled by the Hosts, life continues as normal. Think like how Frenchmen during the German occupation continued on with their lives instead of grabbing the nearest gun and running into the forest to resist. Life continues as normal as can be, with people trying to make the most of it. The Hosts were no typical alien invaders wanting to establish direct rule, they were much smarter. Using collaborators they installed to power across Earth, they ruled indirectly and in terms of direct territory they rule, it is very little.

After the takeover, the Hosts sponsored the creation of the International Global Transitional Authority, making the United Nations no longer a meaningful organization. The IGN is more like a “evil” United Nations with only the most loyal collaborator nations running the show. The IGA security pact leaders is the United State of America, Argentina, Britain, France, Switzerland, UAE, and China. Next, there are “Region Leaders”, the USA leads North America, Argentina leads South America, Switzerland leads Europe, Russia leads Eurasia, Egypt leads North Africa, Ethiopia leads Africa, UAE leads the Near East, India the India Region, China leads East Asia, Indonesia leads Southeast Asia, and Austria leads the Australasia region.

Most of the world’s governments are under a crapsack totalitarian regime who play second fiddle to the Hosts. There are no more actual democracies on Earth anymore and governments vary from dystopian totalitarian states to hybrid “fake democracies. The Hosts would not tolerate any democratic government, in the case that a government would elect an anti occupation government. Also, most religions are also under close surveillance to make sure no “radicals” try to start trouble (such as in Iran).

The IGA is also built to preserve status quo on Earth and prevent conflicts between nations, the Hosts don’t want their puppets fighting each other. In order to impose peace, the IGA created “mandates” for contested or controversial regions on Earth. This is to increase cooperation and not make too much nations designated as they already are. If some are too pissy, they can share the fate of Brazil and Iran. The IGA is also committed to help stabilize other failed states stuck in eternal conflict. This program is more mediocre in terms of success, but at least Somalia and Libya have one government now right?

Despite what the propaganda says as the Hosts being benevolent overseers of peace and prosperity to Earth, that is far from the truth. The Hosts act with brutal means when a country or city dare challenge their rule. This happened in Dallas in which the city attempted to start an insurrection against Host rule. As a result, Host ships nuked Dallas from orbit, reducing the city to a sheet of glass and proving that the Hosts would take any means to secure domination. Dallas isn’t the only victim, other cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Volgograd, Tehran, and Tianjin also share the same fate as Dallas.

The dots on earth represent the major Host city bases across earth. They are not the only cities occupied though, numerous other cities across Earth also share the same fate. The cities are under direct rule from the Hosts, but they let local leaders, warlords, and collaborators run business (The Hosts are really hands off). The Hosts also occupy not only cities, but also many important trade routes to hold a monopoly on trade. They also even took over Antarctica, maybe for science purposes? We don’t really know either.

Using cunning techniques, the Hosts managed to control all of Earth at it seems it might stay that way. There is still resistance but the hardcore resisters flee to the forests and rural areas to cooperate and plan attacks. Most people practice passive resistance, such as ranting about Host occupation in private, like how Soviet people made jokes about the ineffective Soviet economy. It is now 2016 at the Hosts are not going to leave anytime soon, making their presence on Earth permanent, for now, forever? Who knows. We’ll have to see...
 
Cross-posting from the MotF contest

The island of Nollop
a nation of letter-writers



skZRelT.jpg
The people of Nollop, Nollopians, are a very proud folk. Their island nation might not be very large, with all its 63 square miles, 21 miles to the southeast of Charleston, but they certainly feel a deep national pride for their petite nation, one marked especially in comparison to their American kin, just across the shore. Your average Nollopian will look at the American people with contempt; they are loud, obnoxious and ill-mannered, and worst of all uncultured and illiterate, a great sin for the islanders who pride themselves on, above all things, their literary renown. After all, it was in literature that came what, until very recently, was seen as their greatest (and only) achievement. But more on that later.

In the eloquent words of native Nollopian Tassie Warren (née Purcy), "Nollop is still to enter the twentieth century". And this is certainly something that can sometimes be felt in the island, where at times the two existing settlements can be isolated from each other and the rest of the world due to weather conditions leaving the roads tarnished, the sparsity of postal services (with the fastest services being carried by the sewage teams on their way around towns), the poor quality of their phone lines, on which Nollopians simply don't trust enough to rely on, preferring to commit themselves still to letter-writing to carry messages across, even between neighbours, the spotty electrical grid, whose failures don't surprise anyone, and the simple inexistance of any digital technology within the island.

The economy of Nollop is equally... rustic. A good number of the citizens are employed in State maintenance, as officers or civilian auxiliaries for the Law Enforcement Brigade or for the various levels of bureaucracy of the island, as teachers for the children, or otherwise work the land or practice a handcraft trade. Among the family which hosted me during my stay, there was a wood-carving craftsman whose main source of income came from speciality deliveries to American stores, a laundress, a school teacher and a teacher auxiliary. Most industries are organised in guilds and a single business monopolises each of them. A WalMart supply boat arrives at the island each day with produce, and generally much of the resources are imported from the American mainland.

The relationship between Nollop and its titanic neighbour is relatively calm, the islanders having always minded themselves and not caring for the outside world, being aware of their own troubles surviving in the outside world. They find American life alien, and Americans themselves generally feel Nollopians to be queer people, with strange accents and too uptight. The recent events showed many of the Nollopian refugees just how precious their tiny island is to them, as many found themselves simply incapable of surviving in American society. Their skills, their tastes and their ways are often incompatible with the way our own country works. That being said, the ties that bind Nollop and the continent are great, both familial and cultural, run deep, and most in the island have family members in the States, who they'll visit ever so often. The cultural resemblance itself is quite noticeable in many of the island's dishes, such as their adored hushpuppies and buttered corn-on-cob, and in their tradition of Gullah folk songs, which immediately betray their Southern heritage, not that different from their neighbouring states.

This ties in to the history of the island: settled in the 1840s by disposessed Southern Americans, of both white and African heritage, who established a communal society they called Utopianna, seeking to live peacefully, away from the corrupting influence of mainstream society, and cultivate their arts, naming their colony Utopianna. In 1870, they peacefully declared themselves indepedent from the United States, something which frankly the federal government never bothered to look into, and established their own government, based on a High Council of five elected Members, with a Constitution that, beyond giving the people their fundamental rights and freedoms, gave to the Council full powers for government, not bothering to think too much about how it would be handled or in a true system of checks and balances.

The island History would, until recently, then tell of its most glorious day, when Nevin Nollop put the island on the map by his genius, crafting the shortest possible sentence using only 35 letters to write a coherent sentence using all letters of the alphabet: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog". To honour this genius discovery, the High Council would, in 1904, build a cenotaph to Nollop in the centre square of the town, which would henceforth be known as Nollopton, while the Village would be known as Nollopville. The island itself would be named Nollop, its largest beach Nevin Beach, its main road Nollop Pass and even its currency would be the Nollopian Nevin. With time, Nollop would go from man to god for many in the island, who truly believed the genius of Nollop guided them after death, and the High Council went from a truly democratic institution to a priesthood to Nevin Nollop, acting by interpretation of His will.

The true scope of the rise in the cult of Nollop would rear its ugly head in 2004, when a sort of Nollopian apocalypse took place: the letter 'Z' from the legendary sentence, placed on the cenotaph, fell, leaving the sentence without a Z. The scientific explanation for this was later ascertained, by chemical analysis, to be a weakening of the glue used in 1904, after one hundred years of weather (which, in Nollop, will ever so often be hurricane). However, the High Council saw it in another light: they interpreted it as a sign of Nollop's displeasure, and as a call by him for the letter 'Z' to be thereby removed from all forms of communication.

In a very controversial move, which displeased many in the island, a crusade began against the letter Z. Suffice it to say it involved the burning or otherwise removal of all books, except those that happened not to have the letter 'Z' (so mostly image books), the extermination of the renowned bee colonies in the island, the changing of names and the institution of draconian policies to ensure the citizens would follow the law: each citizen was given three strikes to say or write the forbidden letter: upon the first, they'd be publically reprimanded, on the second they'd be either kept in a headstock through the night or be flogged, while on the third they'd be banished forever from the island, on the pain of execution. It took mere days for it to become clear the measures would be followed. The police agents were set to surveill the people, as were neighbours, who were encouraged to report on each other, and even the private mail was checked for illegal Z's. A situation that would only worsen as the glue from other letters would falter, leaving the island ever more reduced in their vocabulary, and in their population, as many of its citizens left voluntarily or were banished, becoming refugees in the United States, their property nationalised and divided among Council members. At the darkest hour, only five letters remained - LMNOP.

Now, this was not the first sign of the growing authoritarianism in the island, as other scholars had noticed. Already the High Council had forbbiden entrance to the island to American scholars and journalists, which forced myself to investigate in the island anonymous, with the help of the Purcy family, who recommended my visa application in the guise of a family friend. And their relationships with the United States were becoming tenser, as American cruise lines showed interest in the island, which the Council was very obtuse in negotiating. Among the Nollopians, it was common for people to avoid expressing their disagreement with Council policies too loudly, out of fear of being persecuted. And in fact, during the "extraconstitutional period" following the fall of letters, the LED police was particular vicious persecuting suspected leaders of citizen resistance groups, such as the Minnow Pea family. They were accused, by High Council and fellow citizens alike, of being blasphemous and enemies of Nollop.

Despite the omnipotence of the High Council, several grassroots organisations existed in Nollop that contributed to the resistance during the period, from the various guilds and general worker groups, who would often cooperate to elect a representative to be present at open Council meetings (which, until the extra-constitutional situation, were the norm), the Parents-Teachers Association in the schools, which would be often used as an open platform for expressing grievances, reading groups hosted at private residences, and even the occasional party or poker game, which during the crisis were essential in bringing together citizens to discuss strategies to resist.

The High Council has now fallen, its leaders resigned (and afterwards arrested) and a New Order installed. The agents of the LEB have also been arrested and await trial for their role in empowering the tyranny of the Council. The Constitution will be reformed entirely as well, to provide a true system of checks and balances. Many propose direct democracy even, inspired by the groups that helped them resist and in the possibilities modern communications offer. As to the nomenclature of the nation, after the unpleasant episode, the stuate of Nollop has been removed from the center square of the town and a part of the constitutional conference to be held will have to deal with the new name of... everything in the island, preferably one that won't create a similar situation a century forward.

But the people of Nollop can breathe easily again, and enjoy their Shangri-la. They are importing books from the American mainland, and bees as well, to restart their lives here. The prohibition on American journalists and academics is already rescinded, as are, obviously, all restrictions imposed on free speech. A lot has changed in Nollop. But the people remain the same. They still scorn modern technology, and prefer to write letters back and forward.
- Nathan Warren, editor-chief, Nollopiana





So, this was actually the third idea I worked on, but the one that I finally liked. The background story comes from the novel Ella Minnow Pea, in which the setting as described is set. I could only cover some of the strangeness of the island, so I can really recommend the book, as it is rather fun and does a good job at making its message across. It eerily reminded of the stories my parents and grandparents tell of their lives during and immediately after an authoritarian dictatorship: people whispering and looking out for which words they use, and prefering to simply not talk on some things out of fear of being persecuted. The fear of having someone listen to your conversations. Of wanting to resist but knowing resistance is futile. All in the context of a small island nation who guides its policy by what it believes are the wishes of a dead writer (if you can call him that) and stop using letters of the alphabet as they fall out of a monument. It's delightfully absurd.

On a final note: I was a bit unsure of whether this is a weird government or a weird religion, but I suppose it falls under the non-separation of Church and State, since the people enforcing the religious mandate are State officers. And the ridiculous comes from the police going after people for speaking certain letters and putting someone going through mail to search for particular letters. And the fact that, beyond all the religious veneer, it is clear that most of the Council Members are doing it for all that nationalised property and not because they are true believers is really that universal constant for the leadership of authoritarian states.

Ah this is excellent! Didn’t know about this novel sounds interesting
 
Poor Albuquerque....split up between Dinedeh, Oklahoma, and Texas. What's life like in Dinedeh?
Dinedeh is cut into three pieces: the Navaho* Reservation, the National Parks, & Dinedeh State proper.
The Reservation takes up nearly half of the entire state, and National Parks take up half of what remains. The State features the Grand Canyon and Barringer Crater, with Rio Grande National Forest licking the north and eastern borders. In non-reservation land, the largest portion of workable land is used for ranching and dry farming. In the cities, transportation and utilities make up a majority of the economy, with Walmart being the largest employer in the entire state (followed by the Boy Scouts and the Bureau of Land Management). The Land is famous for its scenic views, and is a common filming location for westerns due to its close relationship with the California film industry, and the relatively untouched countryside.

Historically, the State relied on Railroad Companies for both supplies and employment (the state capital Williams being built around a Union Pacific train yard), before these, the only settlements were rest stops through the desert. It is also a stop along Route 66. Until Dinedeh was made a state in 1927, Williams and Flagstaff were in close competition for dominance over the region. Ultimately, it was nothing more than chance which of the two became the dominant city.

Politically, the state is dominated by the Navaho* Nation and the Williams-Flagstaff Metropolitan Area. Prior to 1940, the state largely ignored the Navaho* (despite their legal rights & sizable population) seeking to assimilate the population into the state, however due to radical shifts in the national approach to Native Americans in the 50s and 60s, the Navaho* Reserve became a major- if unofficial- player in State politics, with Dinedeh being the second state to elect a Native American as Governor

*The spelling of "Navajo" as "Navaho" is intentional. ITTL Davy Crockett lived out the rest of his days in OTL New Mexico, advocating for the Navajo and Apache. As a result, the anglicized "Navaho" overtook "Navajo" became the standard spelling for the word.
 
Poor Albuquerque....split up between Dinedeh, Oklahoma, and Texas. What's life like in Dinedeh?

Which seems a little unlikely to me: it was so small a place in the 19th century that splitting it in three seems like carving a pea. [1] I'd think there would be at least one panhandle to keep it down to a two-way split, Dinedah and either Texas or Oklahoma.

[1] Less than 4,000 in 1890.

Edit: I can't recall: was Albuquerque solely east of the Rio Grande before the Mexican Cession? I suppose it's possible it was all in Texas territory to start with and the parts of it in Oklahoma and Dinedah are all post-border drawing growth. Are there US cities like that? I thought if your city expands across a border into another state, you had to incorporate as another city or something, unified metro area or not?
 
Last edited:
Which seems a little unlikely to me: it was so small a place in the 19th century that splitting it in three seems like carving a pea. [1] I'd think there would be at least one panhandle to keep it down to a two-way split, Dinedah and either Texas or Oklahoma.

[1] Less than 4,000 in 1890.

Edit: I can't recall: was Albuquerque solely east of the Rio Grande before the Mexican Cession? I suppose it's possible it was all in Texas territory to start with and the parts of it in Oklahoma and Dinedah are all post-border drawing growth. Are there US cities like that? I thought if your city expands across a border into another state, you had to incorporate as another city or something, unified metro area or not?
This is news to me!

For the split in Oklahoma and Texas, it is meant to be a result of the Compromise of 1850, with the expansion into Dinedeh being urban sprawl, but I suppose I'll have to look into the town's history to see if that would make sense. Thanks for the heads up!

As for cross-border cities, it doesn't necessarily require incorporation in all states, only incorporation in one state and the creation of city-counties in the other states which together form a unified metro area.
 
Another map from my timeline, showing the three crowns of the North after the Recess of Stockholm (reform of the Kalmar Union) and the Treaty of Åbo (territorial exchanges in Finland and Norway between the Oldenburg conglomerate state and the Grand Duchy of Muscovy).

ddztjlg-7fad6417-10da-4674-8806-69b368fdea52.png
 
Last edited:
A request by @JK2004 for a take on the world of Colony, a TV show which portrays an alien takeover of Earth but rules it Vichy France style.

THE ARRIVAL

In a world not too different from our very own 2014, life went on as normal. Despite that things looked normal, on November 13, 2014, two days before the “Arrival”, the “Hosts” were already planning their grand scheme to take over all of Earth. The hosts are an alien species who fled their home planet after it was taken over by another hostile species, and they needed a new planet to call home and why not here on Earth. The Hosts reached out to collaborators and helped establish the Institute of Global Advancement and in secrecy, recruited loyal collaborators to run Earth who knew about their upcoming Arrival.

At 5:30 PM, the Institute for Global Advancement began the takeover. The IGA swiftly detained and purged major world leaders, generals, and major heads of corporations to make sure there would be no interference or resistance to the Arrival. Next, the Hosts turned off all of Earth’s satellites to cripple communication by unknown means. At 7:00 PM, the Host ships then launched a very strong EMP attack on all of Earth, as strong as a solar flare. This caused planes to fall from the sky, train crashes, and nuclear power plant meltdowns.

As chaos began to take root from 7:00 PM to 10:15 PM, the Hosts then launched their final phase of the Arrival. At 10:15 PM, massive orbital walls were lowered down on every major city on the globe. By 12:00 PM, all of Earth’s major cities and large towns were isolated and cut off from outside control. The IGA then took over the majority of Earth’s major countries as new leaders and surrendered control of their countries to the Hosts. Despite this, resistance still did continue but all of Earth was now at the mercy of their new masters, the Hosts.

A VICHY EARTH

Despite all of Earth being ruled by the Hosts, life continues as normal. Think like how Frenchmen during the German occupation continued on with their lives instead of grabbing the nearest gun and running into the forest to resist. Life continues as normal as can be, with people trying to make the most of it. The Hosts were no typical alien invaders wanting to establish direct rule, they were much smarter. Using collaborators they installed to power across Earth, they ruled indirectly and in terms of direct territory they rule, it is very little.

After the takeover, the Hosts sponsored the creation of the International Global Transitional Authority, making the United Nations no longer a meaningful organization. The IGN is more like a “evil” United Nations with only the most loyal collaborator nations running the show. The IGA security pact leaders is the United State of America, Argentina, Britain, France, Switzerland, UAE, and China. Next, there are “Region Leaders”, the USA leads North America, Argentina leads South America, Switzerland leads Europe, Russia leads Eurasia, Egypt leads North Africa, Ethiopia leads Africa, UAE leads the Near East, India the India Region, China leads East Asia, Indonesia leads Southeast Asia, and Austria leads the Australasia region.

Most of the world’s governments are under a crapsack totalitarian regime who play second fiddle to the Hosts. There are no more actual democracies on Earth anymore and governments vary from dystopian totalitarian states to hybrid “fake democracies. The Hosts would not tolerate any democratic government, in the case that a government would elect an anti occupation government. Also, most religions are also under close surveillance to make sure no “radicals” try to start trouble (such as in Iran).

The IGA is also built to preserve status quo on Earth and prevent conflicts between nations, the Hosts don’t want their puppets fighting each other. In order to impose peace, the IGA created “mandates” for contested or controversial regions on Earth. This is to increase cooperation and not make too much nations designated as they already are. If some are too pissy, they can share the fate of Brazil and Iran. The IGA is also committed to help stabilize other failed states stuck in eternal conflict. This program is more mediocre in terms of success, but at least Somalia and Libya have one government now right?

Despite what the propaganda says as the Hosts being benevolent overseers of peace and prosperity to Earth, that is far from the truth. The Hosts act with brutal means when a country or city dare challenge their rule. This happened in Dallas in which the city attempted to start an insurrection against Host rule. As a result, Host ships nuked Dallas from orbit, reducing the city to a sheet of glass and proving that the Hosts would take any means to secure domination. Dallas isn’t the only victim, other cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Volgograd, Tehran, and Tianjin also share the same fate as Dallas.

The dots on earth represent the major Host city bases across earth. They are not the only cities occupied though, numerous other cities across Earth also share the same fate. The cities are under direct rule from the Hosts, but they let local leaders, warlords, and collaborators run business (The Hosts are really hands off). The Hosts also occupy not only cities, but also many important trade routes to hold a monopoly on trade. They also even took over Antarctica, maybe for science purposes? We don’t really know either.

Using cunning techniques, the Hosts managed to control all of Earth at it seems it might stay that way. There is still resistance but the hardcore resisters flee to the forests and rural areas to cooperate and plan attacks. Most people practice passive resistance, such as ranting about Host occupation in private, like how Soviet people made jokes about the ineffective Soviet economy. It is now 2016 at the Hosts are not going to leave anytime soon, making their presence on Earth permanent, for now, forever? Who knows. We’ll have to see...
Your screenplay is very interesting, however I find the comparison with Vichy France a bit shaky, can you say more about it?
Edit: Why is there no radioactive fallout in Volgograd compared to Dallas, Rio de Janeiro, Theran and Tianjin?
Also what do the hosts look like physically?
 
Last edited:
ddzjurg-84d9611a-2ff6-4a47-a0da-d3f0f5a5aa0b.png

PoP - Austro Bavaria
Just like my last map, this one is made for another alternate history TL. I won't claim to know anything about it other than the fact that both Austria and Bavaria voted in favour of unification in 2020.

---

DeviantArt | Tumblr | Twitter
 
8qn9v11.png

This is a cover of scenario #9 from here by talented @Goliath .

#9-Bod-
In the late 8th Century, a series of different rulers of the Tibetan empire ensured that Tibetan would remain united.
After half a millennium of Tibetan rule, the Bengal Delta region and the Tarim Basin were both hugely Tibetanified (in culture, language, and religion, though not in ethnicity).
By the year 2013, Tibet is the ‘Twin Kingdoms of Bod and Nanzhao’, having united dynastically with the Kingdom of Nanzhao which controls South-western China and much of OTL Laos and Burma (coastal Burma is part of Tibet). Tibetan rule over Kashmir and much of Central (OTL Kyrgyzstan in particular) has been solidified. The Bangla and Nepali regions are directly controlled from Lhasa. The independent states of the Indian subcontinent are mostly Tibetan vassals (Hinduism petered out, and now the Indian subcontinent is entirely Muslim or Buddhist). A different wave of alt-Mongol invasion in the 1500s successfully conquered Northern China, and North and South have been divided since (conveniently played off against one another by the Tibetans who’re slowing gobbling up more and more of China). Tibet’s colonial empire also includes Somalia and a chunk of Australia. Unlike our Tibet (or what an independent Tibet would look like), this Tibet’s leadership is nowadays fairly secular (though Buddhism may still dominate politically), as the government is ruled by national Kings rather than Lamas. The kingdom of Mahajayvai in Western Indonesia and Malaysia, is Buddhist and a strong Tibetan ally.
Much of the world is still dominated by European empires. In Europe, the first major butterfly was the failure of the Norman invasion of 1066, leading to a much more Germanic England (with an alphabet containing 30 letters!). Instead, the Normans were able to successfully unite France, and later create a united Italy. Germany in this world never successfully united, but Italy has been a united kingdom since 1312. The black plague was worse than in OTL, and produced much more radical changes in Europe (namely, technology actually went backwards for a brief time, but the importance of science was noticed far earlier, much of the older nobility lost its powers in peasant revolts that created much more constitutional governments). Although there is still a pope in Rome, and to this day the church is theoretically united, Ceasaropapism has been the norm and the church is anything but united.
Spain first discovered the Americas, and much of it is still controlled by Spain, while England (which directly includes Ireland and OTL Brazil, and is the puppet master of Scotland), France, Italy, and some of the German states control all of Africa, portions of the Middle East, and the areas of South-East Asia and Australia outside of Tibetan control. Nueva Catalonia, an alternate Canada of mixed Spanish and English heritage, is a minor power, if fairly isolationist. Russia is still backwards, very isolated from Europe, and has repeatedly been beaten by European coalitions, the Mongols of North China, and Tibetan-backed revolts of native Siberian peoples.
The world is still mostly under English, Spanish, French, Tibetan and Italian control (with approximately two-thirds of the world under those empires). The more or less openly racist intellectuals of Europe admire Tibet as one of the few non-western spots of true civilization in the world (indeed, many Westerners learn to read and write in Tibetan). Currently the second biggest economy in the world, Tibet is neck and neck with England. Tibetan Buddhist missionaries and Western Catholic missionaries travel the world (sometimes coming close to conflict).
While the other powers range from mildly right wing and definitively conservative to centrist (say, imagine the OTL U.S. politics of the 1920s), the Tibetan parliament is the only parliament with left wing parties (albeit still traditionalist). Tibet increasingly sees itself as the liberator of oppressed peoples, the motivator of science, and the bringer of Buddhism to the world (Tibet is more religious than the now secular governments of Europe, save for Spain and Italy).
 
Is the inset map the Channel Islands?

What happened to Northern Ireland?

Has more than just Britain turned communist?
1) Yes
2) Reunification
3) Definitely what is currently known as the USA and Canada (Some kind of decolonial socialist confederation), Eastern and Southern India too, not sure about the rest of Europe
 
(crossposting from the Oneshot Scenarios thread)

Hey guys - this is a reworking of one of my earlier settings, based on the idea of Earth in the Star Wars universe, with a slight twist (also, a map thrown in this time round - my first try ever, sorry it's nothing special). It's sort of a hodgepodge of Canon, Legends, and some of my own ideas thrown in. Hope you enjoy!

View attachment 554206

A Galaxy Not So Far Away

During the Late Republic Era, one of the galaxy's best-known smugglers was one Teglad 'Teg' Fomen. A complex figure, Fomen was loathed by many for his sadistic nature, but loved by many more for his numerous charitable acts in some of the Galaxy's more impoverished systems. Fomen was an Asgredi, a species native to a ringed, moonless planet, large by terrestrial standards (13,579 km in diameter) called Quimm, situated in a four-star system on the outskirts of the Banthahead Nebula. Quimm is noted as one of only a hundred or so worlds (others examples including Glemptooine and Mon Cala) in the Galaxy to host more than one native sentient species, the other being the Wolzhef, an aquatic race the Asgredi first encountered shortly after developing steamships, with whom have a relatively peaceful relationship (aside from a few off-shore skirmishes about deep-sea mining). The Asgredi are physically humanoid, sporting large crania, and possessing twelve fingers and toes. Averaging at around four feet tall, Asgredi have bright green skin and tails (which males can use to deliver a powerful venom to their prey)[1], as well as a third, inner eyelid to protect their vision from the harsh light of Quimm's four suns.

Fomen was the last (and only male) of five children born to a family of immigrants on the small city-planet Denon. His mother, a former slave of the notorious Magga the Hutt, was heavily disabled following years of mistreatment, while his father, a renowned droidsmith, passed away from illness shortly after his son's birth. As a result, Fomen took up petty crime barely out of his joey stage in order to support his family (he would get his revenge on the slimy hermaphrodite that had enslaved his mother almost a century later, cementing his status as one of the Galaxy's most cunning outlaws). Teglad's name, ironically enough, originates with an ancient Asgredi legend - the character of Teglad was an angel who ferries souls of the devout and charitable up the River of Light (Quimm's thick planetary ring) to the Great Above, a realm of endless summer (just as his brother Domec brought souls of the wicked down to the Great Below, a land of eternal winter).

As well known as Fomen may have been in life, his level of infamy would only increase after the unusual circumstances surrounding his death: in the year 30 BBY, Teg Fomen and his human partner-in-crime, Grexeb Calrissian, took part in an ill-fated trade deal on Ord Vraang in which Calrissian was killed by an Ithorian bounty hounter, and Teg narrowly escaped with his life. However, after making the jump to hyperspace in his transport, an old but fast-moving Corellian THX-1138 light freighter (a class nicknamed Soup Bowls for their saucer-like appearance), Teglad was never seen again. The smuggler's fate has long been speculated upon by conspiracy theorists and holowrights alike, but the truth was, as always, far stranger than fiction.

It is now accepted amongst galactic historians that Teg Fomen met his end shortly after an unfortunate encounter with an astronomically rare phenomenon known as a hypertyphoon (blamed for the loss of several previous starships of note, possibly responsible for the infamous vanishing of the Flying Ortolan), causing his freighter to be thrown over ten thousand lightyears off course. Fomen's craft was yanked out of hyperspace after bouncing too close to the gravity well of a binary pair (known to Earthlings as Zeta Reticuli) in a largely unexplored region of space within the Rectangulum Minor constellation[2]. His ship's hyperdrive and life support systems had sustained heavy damage from the typhoon, forcing the lost smuggler to seek out the nearest inhabited planet (albeit at a much slower speed than a THX-1138 would usually allow). After limping some forty lightyears, Fomen's freighter arrived at a podunk planet showing signs of civilization (curiously, no orbital infrastructure). With little other option, Fomen initiated landing procedures, although with his ship in less than ship-shape, wound up crashing into a desert roughly fifty km outside of a human settlement called Roswell, New Mexico, its sole occupant narrowly surviving.

It wasn't long before Fomen's ship (at least, what was left of it) had been salvaged by the United States government, while the smuggler dying several hours into military custody. Teg Fomen's death is likely to have been caused by a number of factors: on top of the injuries he sustained during the crash, American doctors' efforts to save his life with no knowledge of Asgredi biochemistry probably did more harm than good. Fomen may also have overdosed on drugs - he is known to have struggled with addiction to a variety of spices such as deathsticks, Mustafarian firefungus, and even psychadelic mynock droppings - in fact he is believed to have been high on Asogian seasponge at the time of the crash (one of the side effects of which includes severe swelling of the head). Lastly, it is believed that Teglad attempted suicide during his capture, intentionally stinging himself with his tail (although death from Asgredi venom is usually instantaneous, it is possible that the various drugs in his system may have delayed its effects, resulting in a more drawn-out death for the smuggler). Despite the government's best efforts, this secret proved impossible to contain, and it wasn't long before word got out that the US had recovered a damaged spacecraft and its deceased passenger (who was nicknamed 'Rosie' after the location of his discovery), with Fomen's lifeless green face plastered over the front page of every newspaper at home and abroad.

As the salvaged saucer was found to contain no shortage of stolen weaponry, the assumption that Teglad Fomen was an scout sent in advance of an oncoming invasion was not an entirely unreasonable one. The 40s and 50s saw a period known as the Green Scare, where two billion pairs of eyes turned skywards, fully expecting a fleet of spaceships to begin vaporizing our precious national monuments from orbit any day now - some even suggested a preliminary sterilization of the planet Mars with atomic bombs (Mars being considered the most likely candidate for the saucer's origin at the time). There was also some brief panic over (what were later revealed to be falsified) reports surfaced that the Russians were in possession of their own alien spaceship (this one supposedly recovered from the Tunguska region). In the 1950s, two oceanic explorers, Doctors Milo Thatch and H.W. Jones, discovered a long-sunken plateau in the Atlantic Ocean (creatively named Atlantis), which subsequent investigations found to be home to structures apparently of both human and extraterrestrial origin, proving that Fomen was not our first interplanetary visitor, although the full significance of this discovery would not be known for decades later.

Although one might expect that proof of alien visitation both past and present would lead to an explosion of UFO sightings and alien abduction claims, this was not the case: with space creatures now seen by the military as a far greater threat than even communism, those who reported any close encounters could expect an immediate government response, with those who spread UFO-related hoaxes facing the severest of consequences. That's not to say weird shit doesn't happen at all, however: there was that lady Florida who claimed to be in a sexual relationship with Teglad Fomen's ghost, and in 1966, well over a hundred people died during a siege at a compound belonging to the Church of Orion, who worshipped the dead outlaw as humanity's saviour. A growing number of kooks are of the belief that the reptile-like visitors found on sunken Atlantis never left, but have in fact learned to disguise themselves as humans, entering positions of political power and manipulating society from behind the shadows.

Despite the craft's extensive damage, Earthling scientists were able to reverse engineer various alien technologies, leading to a rapid (and very one-sided) space race, with Chuck Yeager becoming the first human (ha!) to enter space in 1951, and Alan Shepard landing on the Moon just a couple years later, returning home in time for dinner. Before the decade was out, a manned Venus flyby had taken place, and John Glenn (despite some opposition) had taken the first cautious steps on the planet Mars, proving it to be lifeless once and for all. By the 1960s, the US no longer held a monopoly on space travel (Soviet espionage in the United States having revealed a great many secrets, such as repulsor tech and artificial gravity), and with no Outer Space Treaty, space militarization (up to and including orbital death rays) is in full effect. It isn't just the field of space travel that's benefitted from the wreckage at Roswell, however: hovercars are, at long last, a thing, and the holotelephony was a brief fad in the late 60s. Despite many arguing that civilian ownership of laser weapons is protected under the Second Amendment, by the 1970s, their usage is restricted for police and military personnel. Many submarines and aircraft are equipped with forcefield generators.

The political landscape is rather different: Thomas Dewey was elected over Harry Truman in 1948 (cue Korean War fought with blasters - one of the easiest devices to reverse engineer), and is remembered as a fairly popular president, serving two full terms, having easily defeated Estes Kefauver in 1952. The 1956 Presidential Election proved to be one of the most memorable of the twentieth century - on 3 November, just three days before the election, Republican candidate Robert A. Taft died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage. As his running mate was a largely unknown figure to the American public, he was ultimately beaten Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II who, despite middling approval ratings, was re-elected over Nelson Rockefeller 1960, although would not live to see out his second term: on 2 June, 1962, during a state visit to Texas, President Stevenson was shot by an unknown assailant, and died en route to hospital. Shortly thereafter, 23-year-old Ernest Naylor, a African-American with several previous convictions and a history of mental illness, was arrested by police on suspicion of assassinating the President, although was ultimately acquitted (which was seen as a major victory for the growing civil rights movement).

Years later, the true identity of Stevenson's killer remains unknown (hats and t-shirts bearing the message 'I Shot AS' were popular amongst youth subcultures for a while, to parents' horror). This mystery has proven to be an unending source of frustration and embarrassment for the CIA, and there are countless conspiracy theories suggesting that Vice President John F. Kennedy was behind his predecessor's murder. Despite these suspicions, Kennedy won against Barry Goldwater in 1964, and was succeeded in 1968 by California Governor Richard Nixon. While there was nothing akin to the Watergate Scandal ITTL, 1971 saw the impeachment of Chief Justice Hoover, who passed away during the proceedings. Before unforeseen circumstances caused the abolition of the United States government in 1972, the presumptive Democratic nominee was the hugely popular Robert F. Kennedy (who's family's reputation was somewhat tarnished after his brother Teddy killed himself and several others in a drunken hovercraft accident).

The United Kingdom also went quite a different direction from OTL, with an Anglo-French Union established in the mid-1950s. The Troubles in Northern Ireland proved to be even more, er, troublesome than OTL: in mid-1971, Princess Louise, the younger twin sister of reigning monarch Anne II of Great Britain (who's mother, Princess Elizabeth, died in childbirth, with her husband Philip serving as prince regent between 1951 and 1966 - much to the chagrin of Princess Margaret) was kidnapped by armed members of the Irish Republican Army, resulting in the largest manhunt in British history. Prior to her kidnapping, Louise was not an especially popular figure with the British public - in 1969, rumours were confirmed that she had received a termination for an unplanned pregnancy, resulting in much outrage from pro-life British conservatives. Roughly nine hours after her capture, the Princess suffered a fatal heart attack (undoubtedly caused by the immense stress of her situation), with her captors found and arrested mere minutes afterwards. The aftermath of Louise's death, which came just a few days shy of her and the Queen's 23rd birthday, saw a huge in anti-Irish sentiment across Great Britain, as well as increased violence in the North (Bloody Sunday, Bloody Monday, Bloody Every-Day-of-the-Bloody Week). The incident is also widely credited with ending Queen Anne's controversial engagement to the Dublin-born Patrick McGrath (their marriage, it was hoped, would mark a new dawn in Anglo-Irish relations), who's extended family was rumoured to have Republican sympathies.

Unsurprisingly, the most piece of technology most difficult to reproduce from the Roswell wreckage was its faster-than-light drive, and it was not until the 1970s that the first hyperspace experiment took place. Earth's first FTL vessel, the Liberty 1, was launched in 1972, piloted by Captain Gordon Webster. Despite the engineering team's best efforts, Liberty, although capable of breaking the light barrier, was woefully underequipped for withstanding hyperspace travel, and was flung more than two hundred lightyears away, in the direction of Spica. Miraculously, Captain Webster survived this excursion, but was left stranded in deep space, and due to the weakness of his craft's forcefield generator, had been exposed to huge amounts of radiation. While rescue seemed impossible, his prayers were answered, although not in the way he might have hoped: the Liberty 1's sudden shunt into realspace caught the attention of a nearby Imperial cruiser, the Intrepid, stationed around the gas giant Chuskapang Prime. Intrigued by the quaint little starship, which matched no known make or model and did not respond when hailed, Captain Queck Kaiter[4] ordered it drawn to Intrepid's docking bay via tractor beam. The barely conscious Captain Webster received immediate medical attention, although despite onboard doctors' best efforts, succumbed to his radiation poisoning.

The Intrepid's engineering team were amazed that such a bare-bones vessel was able to withstand post-light velocities, and were able to determine its origin point with ease by dissecting its crude FTL drive and making a rough starmap of its ill-fated journey, finding its point of origin in a small, relatively uncharted sector. The following events are remembered in history holobooks as the 'War of Galactic Aggression': while the Earth's orbital laser defences were capable of fending off against smaller fighter craft, they were easily overwhelmed by the might of the Imperial Navy, and the Earth, like so many worlds before it, was absorbed into the Galactic Empire, a three-million-worlds strong dictatorship established after the fall of the (relatively) peaceful and democratic Galactic Republic, which had stood for more a thousand years. Already having evidence of two separate alien races, Earthlings weren't surprised to learn that the Milky Way was home to more than 10,000 intelligent species (all of which, oddly enough, have only emerged in the last hundred thousand years), although the revelation that humans have existed by their quadrillions on countless other worlds for millennia was startling - indeed, mankind has dominated much of interstellar politics for centuries, one reason for this being that they're one of the few sentient races immune to the Unnameable Plague[3]. After humanity, the Milky Way's most populous species include the Duros in (distant) second, with the Gran and Sullustans tied for third.

The Earth was initially assumed by Imperial scholars to be one of the dime-a-dozen lost colony worlds founded after the Coruscantine Diaspora, although exploration of the Atlantean plateau later confirmed the slowly growing suspicions that Earth was, in fact, the birthplace of humanity, whose Atlantean ancestors were spread across the galaxy by Rakata slavers between twelve and thirteen thousand years BBY. It should be noted that excavations of Atlantean burial sites have revealed its indigenous inhabitants to be mostly pale-skinned, explaining why the galactic population of humans is overwhelmingly white. That's not to say that people of colour were treated much differently however - stormtroopers are less interested in pushing around humans with a different skin colour than they are in aliens - some Earthling minorities even claim to have received fairer treatment under Imperial rule than under their old governments. That said, a great many Earthlings (many belonging to oppressed groups who sympathized with non-humans subject to slavery and genocide) went on to joined the Rebel Alliance - there's even a memorial for the small number of Earthlings who sacrificing themselves in the Battle of Yavin in 1977, a pivotal moment in galactic history which saw the destruction of the Empire's most feared weapon, the first Death Star.

The Empire finally collapsed after Palpatine's death in 1981, and much has changed in the last forty years. Earthlings can now be found in enclaves all across the galaxy, while many of those shipped offworld during the Imperial era have returned home (some of them, having left in service the Empire, did not receive much in the way of a warm welcome). The Earth is not an official member of the New Republic, and many of the nation states which existed prior to the War of Galactic Aggression have been restored, although the borders are almost unrecognizable from OTL (in the chaos following the Empire's downfall, some countries leapt at the opportunity to gobble up their smaller, poorer neighbours -- such as the Soviet Union, which is now capitalist in all but name). The United Nations has been replaced with a much more powerful organization called ALENA (ALliance of Earth NAtions), a major section of which is the Department of Extraplanetary Affairs, which handles trade with other star systems. Unlike its predecessor, ALENA has a standing army (whose armour many find a little too close to those of Stormtroopers for comfort).

There has been a growing movement to 'Make Earth Great Again', a pushback against so-called 'galacticization' by those who believe that Earth should remain independent from the affairs of the galaxy at large. Most countries have returned to their original languages, although Galactic Standard remains common. Aliens suffer a lot of discrimination - species segregation is common in most countries, and non-humans are often target of violence, one doesn't have to wander far to find graffiti bearing such lovely messages as 'EARTH FOR EARTHLINGS', and 'SPACE FREAKS OFF OUR STREETS'. Although a must-visit for monks and scholars, Earth is largely seen by the wider universe as a backwater, more famous as the home of tobacco and chocolate[5] than the home of humanity.

Footnotes

[1] Asgredi folklore claims that in the ancient past, this ability was also possessed by females, until King Tat the Blessed was fatally stung by his consort, Kemigaga, resulting in the gods rescinding this gift from all Asgredi women.

[2] Smallest of the 101 constellations visible from Coruscant's night sky.

[3] The most devastating pandemic in galactic history, the Unnameable Plague (called 'unnameable' as more superstitious sentients believed that merely speaking its name would cause one to contract it) is believed to have wiped out as much as one-quarter of the Galaxy's biological population, causing the extinction/near-extinction of countless races (including Yoda's species). Indeed, it was so devestating that many ascribed a supernatural origin to the pandemic, suggesting that it may have been a curse unleashed due to archeologists excavating Rakata tombworlds.

[4] Queck 'Steelfinger' Kaiter first achieved galactic fame following his actions at the Battle of Rogomathu, but ultimately betrayed the Empire following its destruction of his home planet of Alderaan.

[5] Remember, Wookiees -- chocolate kills! Say no to Herschey!

Hope I'm allowed to crosspost this here - have made a sequel-of-sorts to this scenario for anybody interested, focusing on various fairy tales and folk stories from across the Galaxy. Hope you enjoy:

Galactic Folklore & Mythology
Just as planet Earth is rich in mythological tradition, so too are the millions of other inhabited worlds found throughout the Galaxy. These folk stories can range from the odd (like the Guliguli, a race of fish-headed, clown-like monsters from Gungan mythology, said to kill their victims not by weapon, but by laughter), to the strangely familiar (as with the short, hairless monster claimed to stalk the northern woodlands of Kashyyyk, which the Wookiees call wraquand, literally translating as Smallfoot), to the downright bizarre (such as the shaftsnappers, a species of furry, phallic-shaped creatures from Endorian folklore, which subsist on the reproductive organs of male Ewoks who have sex with unmarried partners)[1]. Some myths emerge as a means for more primitive cultures to explain natural phenomena - for instance, some ancient Toydarian clans revered a spirit known as Wing Giver, who (as his name suggests) gave early Toydarians the ability to fly, thus allowing them to escape their sinking homeland (which was surrounded by leviathans and megashrimp, meaning sailing ships weren't an option), and colonize the surrounding continents.

Even in our current age of hyperdrives and artificial intelligence, mythology and superstition still plays an important role in daily life on many civilized worlds - a lot of Rodians, for instance, still believe that they can tell their sex of their unborn child by whether there's an odd or even number of speckles on its eggshell. The following are a selection of four dark myths from various species around the Galaxy:

Nana Jebhanye: Originating in the folklore of the Asgredi people from the planet Quimm, Nana Jebhanye is an ancient witch who is said to reside in a house made of bones on a cold, distant island at the bottom of the world, where the suns do not rise and the stars cannot shine. Her only companions in this endless night are said to be her pet amphibian, and a black, magical conch, through which she is able to hear the ceaseless screaming of the drowned (which, like a grim lullaby, helps put her to sleep). Nana Jebhanye's most distinctive trait is her tail, which is said to be much times longer than average, ending with a third eyeball at its tip. Unable to withstand the light of the four suns, Nana Jebhanye only ever emerges from her hut and leaves her island for the first fourteen nights of the new year (colloquially known as Iardunkaram, a time the Asgredi generally associate with music, feasting, and animal sacrifice). It is during this time that she travels all around Quimm on her enchanted flying spoon (according to some variations, she carries a fork or a spatula while flying, which she uses like an oar) in search of newborn infants, which she finds by landing on rooftops, and extending her long tail down house chimneys. Should the eye of her tail spot a newborn babe, it will wrap itself around the child like a snake, always making sure to cover the mouth in order to silence their screams. Nana Jebhanye then drops the captured newborn into the sack she keeps at the back of her spoon, filled to the brim with other wailing infants, before flying back to her island to devour them whole - this, it is said, is how the witch has maintained her longevity across the centuries.

The story of Nana Jebhanye is credited with spawning a popular Asgredi New Years' tradition: families that have recently been blessed with a new baby have been known to create dolls out of straw towards the end of the year, and leave them in cradles next to the fireplace, in the hopes of tricking the old witch into stealing the straw baby instead, and leaving their real child unharmed.

nana.png


Corpseborne: One of the more disturbing myths the Outer Rim has to offer, the Corpseborne (also known as Corpsechilde, or Neverborn) are a Jawa legend likely inspired by the grizzly phenomenon of the coffin birth, and one which has not helped their reputation as 'disgusting creatures' in the droid community. Many Jawa cultures believe that an unborn child develops a fung, or soul after three months, and when a pregnant Jawa dies, their child may continue to live on inside their belly, escaping through the vaginal passage in search a replacement for their dead mother (for this reason, Jawa women who died whilst pregnant were often buried with sharp rocks inserted in their genitals - a rather unsettling find for early archeologists). Corpseborne are commonly described as having unnaturally sharp teeth and nails, having no skin, and are said to produce a wail more terrible than that of any beast as they drag their small, skinless bodies across the sands, leaving a trail of blood and Jawa juice behind them in search of a new 'host'. Upon finding a pregnant Jawa, the Corpseborne will crawl inside her, consuming and replacing the child inside her. Women who have become host to a Corpseborne will grow sicker and sicker until they die.

In many Jawa cultures, it was believed that a Corpseborne could be expelled by stripping the unfortunate woman of her robes, leaving her unprotected in the heat of the twin suns, and placing a ceramic pot between her legs, in the hopes that the monster in her womb would begin to succumb to the intense heat, and attempt to escape, becoming trapped (more often than not, this resulted in the victim dying from dehydration). Historically, pregnant Jawas were often advised to rub their crotches with medicinal herbs each night before bed, which were said to repel any potential Corpseborne from taking an interest in her womb. It has been suggested by sentientologists that stories of the Corpseborne may have emerged on Tatooine as a pre-scientific method of rationalizing the various complications that can arise during pregnancy (although in fact, a sizeable number of Jawas who were suspected of carrying a corpsechilde are believed to have been sick with diseases entirely unrelated to their pregnancy, although the fear of these creatures were so great that shamans were unwilling to give them the benefit of the doubt).

Myarp the Mischief Maker: The story of Myarp stems from the hot and humid world of Devaron, a planet whose inhabitants are noted for their resemblance to demons from Earth folklore, possessing blood red skin, hooved feet and forked tails, with males sporting long horns, which the upper castes often decorated with paint and jewellery[2]. Myarp's tale begins with his father, Papko, a skilled craftsman who lived during the Ugoth Period, an era of Devaronian history widely remembered as an unfortunate one[3]. Papko desired nothing more than a son, although because as wife, Norexa, was unable to conceive, the craftsman prayed to the Maker each night for a month, begging Him that his wife might deliver a son. Miraculously, Papko's prayers were answered - ALL of his prayers - and, eight moons later, Norexa (who's belly had grown so large that she was unable to leave her bed) gave birth to a grand total of thirty-two sons, all of whom (with the exception of the youngest boy, Myarp) died within days. As Myarp grew older, he developed a love for pranks and mischief, regularly playing tricks on his friends and neighbours, and as he was the only one of their thirty-two children to survive infancy, was scarcely punished by his doting parents, much to the dismay of the other townsfolk.

On a hill not far from Myarp's home, there lived a elderly, hunchbacked farmer, who's wife had passed away many years ago from the dreaded indigo fever (or so he claimed...). He was often the target of mockery from the local children, and one dark, moonless night, Myarp made the fatal choice of making him the victim of his latest trick. After tiptoeing out of bed and making his way up to the hill where he lived, Myarp opened the release hatch on the old hunchback's animal pen, releasing his livestock into the wild. The farmer, who woke up in the midst of the commotion, rushed outside and chased the fleeing boy down the hillside. Grabbing the terrified child by his horns, the hunchbacked farmer hauled the boy, kicking and screaming, back to his workshed, where young Myarp received the same treatment the hunchback's wife had gotten all those years ago, and was chopped to pieces, his innards made into Devaronian stew. It is said that the child's spirit continues to roam the hilly plains of his homeland, and even in death, has maintained his penchant for pranks and mischief. Some common tricks that Myarp has been known to play on mortals include stuffing their shoes with straw, dropping insects down their clothes to cause rash and itchiness, and yanking on their tails while they sleep. Myarp's story serves as a cautionary tale for Devaronian parents and children alike (on top of warning younglings about Stranger Danger, it also teaches parents the importance of household discipline), and he remains one of the best-known characters from Devaronian folklore (indeed, to this day, his is often given as a nickname to mischievous children).

The Voice-Taker: Undoubtedly the best-known entry on this list, the story of the Voice-Taker can be traced as far back as the ancient Notronian Empire, one of the most powerful human civilizations found on pre-spaceflight Coruscant (based around the great city-state of Notron, one of many Coruscantine settlements nicknamed 'the City That Swallowed the World'). The Voice-Taker is described as a ghost or revenant, and has been consistently depicted as a tall, rotting figure sporting a beard made from flies and maggots, and dressed in tattered clothing, with a heavy sack slung over its shoulder. The creature is said to have been born with a mouth two sizes too big, a deformity which most tellings attribute to his gossiping mother. Because of this, his cries during infancy were so loud and frequent that they would regularly keep his family and neighbours awake at all hours of the night, prompting his father to seek the help of a local cleric, skilled in the art of alchemy. The priest provided him with a magical elixir (one of the ingredients of which was blood from a slithering silence (an extinct, serpent-like creature native to Coruscant, so named for its perfect silence while stalking its prey), which he swore by the gods would silence his son's screams until the next Alignment[4], allowing his family some much-needed sleep. Unfortunately, this potion proved to be far more effective than the old priest thought, leaving the boy permanently mute. In his eighteenth year, the boy's life was cut short after he tripped and fell down an old well, and while his family searched and searched, because their son was unable to shout for help, he was never rescued. Because he could not be afforded the traditional Notronian funerary rites, his spirit, like so many others, is forced to wander the material realm for all eternity.

The Voice-Taker's experience has given him a strong appreciation for the value of speech, and an even stronger disdain for children who take theirs for granted by yelling, swearing, and being rude to their elders. Unruly children are warned that if their behaviour does not improve, the Voice-Taker will visit them in the night. Upon awakening to the pungent stench of decay, the child will inevitably scream upon catching gory glimpse of the maggot-bearded monster looming over them. This is where the creature strikes, extending one bony arm down his victim's throat, and stealing their voice away before stuffing it into his sack. Precisely what the creature does with its stolen treasure tends to vary between interpretations. Many tellings claim that the stolen voices are hidden in locations where their owners can never retrieve them, such as down wells and deep inside caves (children sometimes being told that the echo they hear upon shouting into a cavern is in fact a child's stolen voice, in its disembodied state, only able to repeat what is called to it). Others claim that they are given as presents to good children who were born mute on St. Frike's Day, or fed to baby aurorabirds[5] in the spring. Some variations maintain that once nine years have passed, the Voice-Taker may decide to return a voice to its owner (provided they have been on their very best behaviour), although as the creature has a tendency towards carelessness, this often results in embarrassing situations where boys are mistakenly given girls voices, and vice versa.

voicetaker.jpg

Footnotes

[1] Fornication is seen as evil in many Endorian cultures, primarily because Ewok shamanism regards marriage as sacrosanct, and teaches that infants born outside of wedlock (commonly known as sinborn) do not have souls, and as such, cannot be reunited with their ancestors in the Netherworld (the Ewok term for the gas giant which their homeworld orbits, believed to be the realm of the dead). However, there are stories of some sinborn, such as the folk hero Wawek the Wistieheart (who was born from rape), being granted souls by the Spirits as a reward for heroic deeds.

[2] A small number of female Devaronians (~0.25%) are born with horns, although sadly, these individuals have been subject to much discrimination throughout the species' long history. Indeed, in a number of cultures, horned females were considered to be witches, and ritualistically slaughtered after birth, with their remains fed to livestock or, depending on local custom, their (often less than enthusiastic) mothers. Additionally, for thousands of years, dehorning males was a common method of punishing Devaronian criminals.

[3] Named for King Ugo IV of Adabbon, who assumed the throne after his brother, Krink II (better known as Krink the Longtailed) was assassinated by the widow of a man he had executed for treason. Ugo's ascension to the throne was controversial, as he was born via caesarian section, something members of the Adabese Church argued made him ineligible to rule. Nonetheless, Ugo was king for over fifty standard years, his reign seeing several large-scale calamities befall the Devaronian people, which some saw as divine retribution from the Maker against an unnatural king. These include two volcanic eruptions occurring within mere days of each other (causing an extended period of global cooling known as the Long Winter), and three decades later, a small meteorite collided with the Green Sea, causing tsunamis to devastate many of Devaron's costal settlements, killing countless thousands (this tragedy is remembered by future generations as the Great Drowning).

Ugo IV outlived seven of his eight children (who died from various causes, including disease, suicide, choking, and hunting accident). As his only living child, Prince Ahuk't, was born blind and deaf, and was therefore ineligible, the King's death sparked a secession crisis which escalated into the First Adabese Civil War (2378 - 2374 BBY). The Adabese monarchy narrowly survived, although would finally come to an end nearly three centuries later following the country's Second Civil War (2101 - 2096 BBY), which saw King Krink V (or Krink the Loathed) overthrown by his subjects. This new period of prosperity did not last long however - in 2084 BBY, the planet Devaron was conquered by an expansionist race of matriarchal, hog-like creatures known as the Gamorreans. Following the collapse of the Gamorrean Empire a hundred or so later, Devaron (along with countless other conquered planets, such as Yarkora and Rogomathu) were absorbed into the Galactic Republic.

[4] Period where all four of Coruscant's moons are aligned. Historically, this time has been associated with bad luck and supernatural occurrences. In antiquity, each of the planet's satellites were named for the shape of the markings on their surface - in order from largest to smallest they are Mebna (skull), Gubo (hammer), Razqueb (a mythical bird of prey), and Nivoa (a flowering plant, which Coruscantine alchemists believed to be one of eleven ingredients for the fabled Elixir of Youth).

[5] A species of small, beautiful birds with rainbow-coloured feathers, whose singing is somewhat reminiscent of that of human children (indeed, a number of Coruscantine cultures believed aurorabirds were the reincarnations of stillborn babies, or children who died before they could be baptized).
 
Last edited:
Top
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top