Princes of Steel

Ah that's cool. I *may* have been through Grove once or twice. I live in central Oklahoma so don't make my way up around there very often. (lol, I had to go look Grove up on the map just now cause I wasn't totally sure just where it was :p)
 
Ah that's cool. I *may* have been through Grove once or twice. I live in central Oklahoma so don't make my way up around there very often. (lol, I had to go look Grove up on the map just now cause I wasn't totally sure just where it was :p)
Eh, it was a nice place. We had a pelican festival every year they came through. It was pretty decent.
 
Eh, it was a nice place. We had a pelican festival every year they came through. It was pretty decent.

That's different. Interesting. Grove is out near one of the big lakes in Eastern Oklahoma, right? I can't remember the name though :p there are several out that way lol
 
Thanks!

The year at the start is 1972, 35 years after the 1937 revolution that essentially divided what is the OTL USA between the UCC, the PUT, and the rump USA, along with a few smaller players in the southern Mid-west.

I guessed based on 4 generations of Carnegies but I thought the first Andrew Carnegie was younger in the 30s.
 
I guessed based on 4 generations of Carnegies but I thought the first Andrew Carnegie was younger in the 30s.

Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835, and only had one daughter. For this story, one of the PoDs is him having Andrew Carnegie II in 1876. Andrew Carnegie III is born in 1912, and Andrew Carnegie IV is born in 1946, and Joshua Carnegie is born in 1951.
 
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The express to Philadelphia sped along the elevated track along the countryside between that city and the New York metropolis. 75 miles an hour, non-stop, all the way to the UCC capital. The Carnegie family’s private car was towards the back of the 10 p.m. express train. Mrs. Carnegie and her two sons tried to sleep as the train made it’s way south. Well, Mrs. Carnegie slept anyway. Andrew and Josh were too full of excitement, nervousness, and anxiety about what lay ahead. They both knew that their father becoming Executive Chairman would change their lives, but they could only speculate as to how.

“I wonder how father will handle you being off in England for school?” asked Andrews.

“Probably like he always has. He sees me during the summer and over the holidays, and we write to each other. I don’t see what would be different now.”

“Yes, but now father’s the Executive Chairman. He’ll probably want you closer to home, Josh.”

“Why on Earth would he want me back here for school?” asked Josh, slightly panicked. He liked Oxford, and the thought of not going back did not sit well with him.

“Well, look at what happened when Rockefeller became EC after old man Ford kicked the bucket in ’46. He put all three of his sons to work for the Executive Committee.”

“Yes, but they’re all father’s age, or close enough. J.D. Rocekefeller III is only 6 years older. He was 40 when his father took over.”

“Okay, true enough. But if he stays in office for any length of time, he’ll want us by his side. And it looks better when the whole family of the leader is close by.”

“Well, I hope he’ll at least let me finish school. I’m so close. I’d like to finish at Oxford.”

“I guess we’ll just find out when we arrive at the Station.” With that, Andrew got up and headed to his sleeping berth. Josh remained in the car’s parlor. He couldn’t sleep. He knew Andrew was probably right, but didn’t want to admit it. He hated the thought of having to finish up school here in America. It’s not that he thought less of Harvard or Yale or Princeton. It was the fact that, as a Carnegie, he’d be swamped by the press, following him all over. He didn’t have to really worry about that much at Oxford. The British press had their own industrial moguls to follow around to worry much about the American ones. And now with his father becoming Executive Chairman, the attention would be intensified.

Josh switched on the radio on the nearby table. The smooth late-night jazz program helped calm his nerves and worries, and he was slowly able to drift off to sleep.

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I'll expand this later. But wanted to get something posted this morning.
 
Was the Carnegie Institute of Technology (later to become Carnegie Mellon University IOTL) created ITTL? Or did Carnegie abandon the "spend the first half of your life accumulating wealth and the second half dispersing it" idea?
 
Well, I'm not sure. It was founded in 1900, and at that time AC II is still rather young, so it's quite possible. I would say that Carnegie will give some of his wealth away, but possibly not as much as OTL, since he has a male heir and someone to continue the family business.

However, the idea of the UCC's "corporatism" system will be that the corporations take the place of the larger state, so they will help fund social institutions and services that OTL would be the domain of the state and federal governments. (in the UCC, the municipal governments still exist, but that's the extent, and the handle police and schools and such. The cities are kept in line by guidelines from the Executive Committee and the Union Assembly, along with the essentially private militias of the corporations that all answer to the Executive Secretary for Defense).
 
Update! Hope you enjoy! Now time for bed :p
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The sudden change of motion woke Andrew, who had been fast asleep in his berth. He got up and looked out the window. The train was pulling in to Philadelphia’s Carnegie Union Station. He looked around at the familiar sights of his home city. One Carnegie Place towered above the rest of the city, nearly as tall as the Carnegie Spire in New York. This building, however, was the seat of the Carnegie empire. The offices in that skyscraper oversaw the steel mills in Pittsburgh, the railroads along the southern and Gulf coasts, the two airlines, and dozens of other business ventures. And it was not the only building of importance in the city. Out of view from Carnegie Station, the 50 story Union Hall was the beating heart of the United Corporations, the home of the Executive Committee and the Union Assembly. That building was built right on the banks of the Delaware River, and faced the beautiful Carnegie Gardens, a peaceful oasis in the capital.

Like all major cities in North America, Philadelphia boasted it’s own “sky level” city, centered around the appropriately named Cirrus Avenue that connected all the major buildings at about the 40th floor, and had it’s own collection of shops, restaurants, and theaters to serve the cities elite. Though, in Andrew’s personal opinion, the sky level in New York was far more impressive, and unarguably it was far larger than the its counterpart in Philadelphia.

The train entered the upper section of the Carnegie Station, arriving at the VIP platform number 3. Andrew stepped out into the main car, and found his mother and brother both awake and waiting for the train to stop. Andrew looked down at his wrist and checked the time. It was just after midnight. They’d made the trip in just about 2 hours. Andrew thought about an article he’d read in the Times not long ago about how there was talk of cutting that travel time nearly in half with new train developments. He’d love to ride on a train going that fast.

Finally, the train stopped, and the Carnegies disembarked, and were met by UCC Policemen and two Carnegie security guards, all there to escort them to their car, which would take them to One Carnegie Place. The train station was only 20 stories tall, and so the top floor had ramps that gracefully lead up to the sky level. The VIP train platform arrived at the 17th floor, so they all walked over to a waiting elevator and made there way to the 20th floor, where they found the Carnegie’s motorcade ready and waiting. An elegant white limousine, it’s smooth, flowing lines making it seem faster than it really could go, sat idling, waiting for the First Family of Philadelphia, the family crest painted boldly on the side. A chauffer stood by, waiting for the Carnegies, and when he saw them approach, the quickly opened the passenger door and ushered them in. Within minutes, Mrs. Carnegie and her sons were zooming away from the station, headed up to Cirrus Avenue, preceded and followed by police cars, sirens wailing and lights blazing.

There weren’t many vehicles out at this late hour, and so in less than 10 minutes, the motorcade arrived at One Carnegie Place, pulling in under the main portico, where several doormen came up and let the three occupants of the limo out of their car, and also saw to getting their luggage unloaded from the trunk. The family’s security detail also got out of a vehicle behind the limo, and escorted them into the tower.

This lobby was much more ornate and ostentatious than the Carnegie Spire in New York, since this was the family’s seat of power, and the other merely (merely!) and outpost in the nation’s financial heart. The bronze, silver, and gold guilding on much of the walls shown in the artificial lights of crystal chandelliers and artistically placed spotlights. In the center of the 5 story lobby stood Atlas, the rotating globe on his shoulders. Lights from the floor and celling illuminated the massive work of art that seemed to consume the room. To the left and right of the collossus were the elevators, their shafts portruding into the room like pneumatic tubes, ready to shoot the occupants to other parts of the building. Andrew, Joshua, and their mother all entered one elevator, along with two guards, and proceeded to head up to the penthouse. This is where the Carnegie’s stayed for much of the year, though the also had a country residence outside Philadelphia that was officially “home.” In reality though, Mr. and Mrs. Carnegie lived at One Carnegie Place, while Andrew spent most of his time in New York and Joshua had been away in Britain. However, after tonight, all that would change.

Soon, the elevator arrived at the 75th floor, and the occupants all walked out into the foryer of the Carnegie’s city residence. the beautiful white and green marble floors beaconed them towards the black ebony doors, which, after Mrs. Carnegie typed in the security code, opened wide into the two story main room. Opposite the door, a massive wall of glass gave the family a stunning view of greater Philadelphia, which shimmered with the bright lights of the nighttime city. At the window, sillouhetted by the lights of the city, stood Mr. Andrew Carnegie III, soon to be Executive Chairman of the UCC, America’s most powerful man. He turned to great his family.

“My darling, boys, it’s good to see you.” he said with a smile as he walked away from the vista. His wife walked up and they exchanged peck kisses.

“I hope the train ride was pleasant.”

“Sweetheart it always is, thanks to that Pullman that we haul everywhere.”

“Of course of course. The Pullmans really have good craftsmen over in Chicago. Our rail system just wouldn't’ be the same without them. Boys, how was Europe?”

Andrew responded first. “Just swell dad. Loved Rome. the restoration of the colosseum will be quite impressive when it’s done.”

“Yes it will. Berlin was also great,” Joshua interjected. “Speer really outdid himself in the redevelopment plans. The Great Hall is truly a sight to see.”

“Yes I’d imagine. Must be different though, without all the soaring skyscrapers.” the elder Carnegie said.

“True, though the Great Hall is quite tall. And Frankfurt is starting to really resemble Manhattan. They’ve even opened up their own sky level there. Quite impressive.”

“Yes. I’ve read about that. Well, I’d love to stay up and chat with you boys some more, but it’s terrible late, and we’ve all got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. So lets all get some sleep, and I’ll see you at 8 for breakfast.”
 
thanks! The next update will get Mr. Carnegie into the office of Exec Chairman, and will lay out his plans for essentially reunifying America, and will also put Andrew IV and Josh in their new roles, or start to anyway.
Good. Continuation of the last update in mine is up.
 
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