Revolution! Or, A Victorian Cold War
- Thread starter KitFisto1997
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KitFisto1997
Banned
Spain and Portugal had a better 19th century, despite the former losing most of their colonial empire by the early half of the century. Portugal ended up flourishing during the Scramble for Africa and have federalised their Empire. The dictatorship period of the 1930's-1970's was butterflied away too.
Interrupting this thread with a note from a friend:
"Hey to whoever is reading this thread/post,
I'm one of the Kit's friends who is also the creator of the "Agency" concept. I'm one of his writing buddies and I let him borrow my Agency stuff for the story aspect of this trend. I occasionally help out with bits of the story including details of the Agency mainly.
Due to recent events, Kit was kicked out of the forum by the mods... I'm still trying to understand why he's kicked out. Something about making a Confederate America map for a map trend with info that was considered as "racist" by the mod. (Even though this an "alternate history" forum. Politics and sensitive/hot-button-topics are always favourites...)
However I won't make any further comments about the circumstances.
Until then, this trend is suspended for now. Kit did have a lot of content and story posts made for the Rev-verse.
Hopefully things get resolve soon..."
- Aufi -
---
UPDATE: Kit's coming back...soon.
I'm one of the Kit's friends who is also the creator of the "Agency" concept. I'm one of his writing buddies and I let him borrow my Agency stuff for the story aspect of this trend. I occasionally help out with bits of the story including details of the Agency mainly.
Due to recent events, Kit was kicked out of the forum by the mods... I'm still trying to understand why he's kicked out. Something about making a Confederate America map for a map trend with info that was considered as "racist" by the mod. (Even though this an "alternate history" forum. Politics and sensitive/hot-button-topics are always favourites...)
However I won't make any further comments about the circumstances.
Until then, this trend is suspended for now. Kit did have a lot of content and story posts made for the Rev-verse.
Hopefully things get resolve soon..."
- Aufi -
---
UPDATE: Kit's coming back...soon.
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KitFisto1997
Banned
I think it's safe to say that everybody hates me now... But anyway, I've apologised and I just want to leave the events of the previous week in the past.
Still feeling kinda shitty over it anyway, but it's my burden to carry now.
Semi-regular updates are to come soon.
Here's a rough guide to what I plan to put out in the near future - University permitting:
Also hosting this TL on another website as an ad-hoc backup. Read it here.
Still feeling kinda shitty over it anyway, but it's my burden to carry now.
Semi-regular updates are to come soon.
Here's a rough guide to what I plan to put out in the near future - University permitting:
- Geopolitics Update #2 (China and Co. - A huge one.)
- Oil Crisis (In the early stages)
- More maps
- Continuing the revised TL (1860-1970)
- Finishing that Kennedy-Agnew Saga (prepare for feels )
- Write-ups about pop-culture and the life of the average citizen ITTL (Heavily borrowing from Cyberpunk 2020: Eurosource Plus, Pacific Rim and Home of the Brave Sourcebooks)
- A list of the various cults (a continuation on the current Cults list), subcultures (Vampires, Alien Worshippers, esoteric African-American groups (sorta like the Nation of Islam but without the Islam part), neo-Crusader outfits and much, much more) and the legality of biotechnology and cybernetics by nation state.
- Moar Kowloon goodness :3
Also hosting this TL on another website as an ad-hoc backup. Read it here.
GeoPol II
KitFisto1997
Banned
GEOPOLITICS 101: AN OUTSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE.
A.K.A: A SNARKY AGENT’S GUIDE TO THE GLOBAL GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION.
CIRCA 2015 A.D.
CIRCA 2015 A.D.
PART II: ASIA
- China and Co.
The Qing are a very conservative bunch and are quite attached to their Emperor in a very Middle Eastern sort of way. The Qing Chinese have been able to modernise at a moderate pace and is now home to a rapidly growing middle class. But the bulk of the populace are rural farmers who live either somewhat middling life to what can be considered borderline poverty, meanwhile the upper classes continue to promise that every peasant will have a DataTerm (PC) in their shack by 2020.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is an interesting country located in south-central China, being born from the fever dreams of one Hong Xiuquan. Xiuquan believed back in 1851 that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ himself and led a huge revolt across the Qing Empire that eventually led to the dumpster fire that the region is in the modern era. The Empire has managed to hang onto its territory and is now nothing but an agrarian, theocratic backwater where foreigners are executed if they even try to enter the country. The majority of those in the Heavenly Kingdom live their lives in a medieval-esque state of fear as the clergy dictate the course of the nation from their base of power in Tianjing. All modern technology (read, anything from the 1930’s and onwards) is banned aside from the upper classes who live decadent, modern lives that could be comparable to that of Brazil, the British Raj or Dai Nam. Rumours of very primitive nuclear weapons continue to circulate…
The Manchurian Republic is a shining example of democracy in the East - barring the more well-known states like Japan, Formosa and Korea – and has flourished in complete contrast to the poor or semi-developed Chinese states to the south. The Manchus prefer to be separated from the rabble down south and only want to be known as Manchurians and not Chinese.
The International City of Shanghai is another kettle of fish entirely. The modern state was originally formed from a local garrison of anti-Qing, but also later anti-Taiping rebels who were later backed by both the Russian and British naval fleets who docked at the Port of Shanghai and proclaimed the city to be a joint territory in 1865 – later transferred to a shaky alliance between the Mayor of Shanghai and the Consortium
The Cantonese are also another interesting bunch and are as fervently anti-Han as the Manchurians are. Canton is seen by many as the so-called ‘Gateway to Asia’ and has become quite the spot for illegal trade, much like the Maltese in the Mediterranean or the various European-owned islands in the Lesser Antilles. Almost anything and anyone can be found here from Aum Shinrikyo begging for nuclear weapons, the Red Army Faction looking for some new computer virus or even just your average run-of-the-mill human trafficker who specialises in delivering *mostly* European women to prospective Triad, Yakuza or whoever else is in the market for a warm body. You’ll never find such a hive of scum and villainy than the ports of Canton – places that put Kowloon or Port Arthur to shame in the levels of debauchery that can be found there.
Speaking of Port Arthur (or Lüshun City if you’re one of the few Chinese people left), the small metroplex of around three million denizens is one of the most morally bankrupt places on Earth, where some of the more unscrupulous MegaCorporations make their homes. From various Russian arms companies to supposedly legitimate business that are just fronts for the Triads or Cosa Nostra, the latter of which remain surprisingly well hidden unless one can dig through enough of their ‘products’, either that or the same result can be achieved by seducing the secretary, whatever works for you…
Formosa is also another state that’s worth mentioning. If one travels to what we would know as *Taipei one may find that the nation has more of a native population than what one may find in Contemporary-verse Taiwan. With the impending collapse of the Qing Empire in the 1890’s and the rise of an earlier Warlord Era to boot, numerous states seceded from either the Qing or the Heavenly Kingdom with the Cantonese and the Formosans being the most well-known out of the numerous successor states. Formosa is also known here as one of the five ‘Asian Tigers’ with a booming economy, democratic government and solid relations with their neighbours – barring their former Qing masters (who still claim dominion over all of China + Mongolia) and the Heavenly Kingdom. The Formosans also hold the ambitious claim of the ‘Silicon Valley of the Orient’ and produces some of the best technology that rivals not only California, Britain or Scandinavia but surpasses even their Japanese neighbours.
The rest of China can only be described as nothing but a hole in the ground, with that hole in question full of corpses and other detritus that has been fermenting for about a century or two with the local warlord, pirate or roaming nomadic family dumping more corpses, rubbish and other unmentionables into the fermenting pit of Central China. Most of these ‘Warlord Zones’ tend to bleed over the borders of the established states in Western and Eastern China, making them hard to accurately map – most modern day maps just use the old Chinese regions of Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu and Sichuan as the borders. The groups that inhabit this area are diverse in both ethnicity, faith and occupation. From disaffected Euro-American mercenary groups to nomad families of Uyghurs, Mongols or even a few disparate Han Chinese that have taken their homes on the road. These groups drive through these regions in either disused motorhomes, ordinary cars or just horseback when petrol becomes scarce, which is an awfully common occurrence on the roads. The nomadic movement isn’t just limited to the steppes, deserts or mountains of China however. In the past decade or so, tales of old, disused trains being pressed into service have intensified, only to then be found under the rule of a man who goes by the name of ‘The Iron Khan’. The identity of the Khan is unknown, but has already been making a name for themselves in the disparate communities that rely on these primitive steam-powered locomotives. The main lifeblood of the Warlord Zones are checkpoints which run supplies to-and-from Consortium owned checkpoints located on both sides of the border between civilisation and the steppe beyond it. The Kahn has proven to be a benevolent leader, but isn’t afraid of leading the infamous ‘War Train’ into battle alongside a small contingent of cavalry to destroy a village that tries to rebel against their rule. Stories of the Khan pressing some of these Euro-American mercenaries into service has led to thousands of young men and women making the trek (sometimes literally) out to the unofficial capital of Linxia (not as big as the Contemporary-verse version of it however since a good century of near-anarchy has left the region in a pseudo-medieval state) as to find jobs that range from mere guard duty to that of running supplies across some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world.
Despite the prevalence of ground-based transport and the factions that use them, there are two more domains that have since been conquered by the denizens of the Chinese Warlord Zones – that of the sky and the rivers. The first reports of river-based piracy came in the 1940’s when small, PT-boat style craft were found to have made their way down into the more ‘civilised’ parts of China and began to harass domestic and international shipping. The Yellow, Huai and Yangtze Rivers have been the nexus for this activity with boats of all shapes and sizes being pressed into service. From small fishing boats, to old disused attack craft and even an entire cruise ship has been spotted on these vital waterways that can provide a skilled sailor with both means of travel through the Middle Kingdom and a way to feed themselves, potentially for life. Those that live on the rivers can go their entire lives without setting foot on land, barring the occasional stop-off for food and bartering other supplies with either land-based nomads or their fellow sailors. Many different occupations and nationalities can be found here from native Chinese merchants, fishermen, pirates or those pesky Laowai who can hold those jobs and then some. Numerous family structures, codes of conduct and stringent cultural practices have been either formed from this lifestyle of living on the rivers or have been adapted from those living on the land. An entire set of laws that supersede most of the traditional cultures and whatever they may hold dear to them have been established after a few rather hectic meetings between community heads. The so-called ‘Universal Laws’ deal with the punishments for theft, piracy and other harsh crimes – but most of these are usually ignored by anyone and everyone.
Fishing stocks are regulated as to allow certain species to survive. It is now possible that one may find plenty of River Dolphins in the Yangtze because of some NGOs stepping in in the late 1990’s and there are many other ecological success stories that have sprung out of the Chinese Warlord Zone.
The other realm that man has conquered in the wastes of Cathay is that of the air. The proliferation of Zeppelin technology occurred in the 1980’s when the Indian government found the idea of using them to monitor the then-porous Indo-Tibetan Border to be more efficient than the clunky, prototype UAVs that were originally in use. Nobody really knows how these mysterious ‘Air Pirates’ got access to these airships, either a couple of defecting Indian Air Force personnel took one for a joyride over the Himalayas and forgot to give it back or an organised raid on a few anchored Zeppelins led to some of them being hijacked. Regardless of how they got there in the first place, the problem of airship piracy is a minor, if awfully persistent and annoying problem for both the Raj and their civilised neighbours. At this very moment, the British Raj counts at least six or seven of these rogue airships floating above the Chinese Warlord Zone, but there could easily be more of them as such lighter-than-air technology is very cheap and easy-to-build for any small nation with a medium-sized industrial base. Attempts to shoot the defected RIRAF (Royal Indian Raj Air Force) craft down have failed as HM’s Gov’t would rather have these craft back intact and their crews arrested for treason. The Zeppelins have a tendency to float over small villages and forts, dropping any manner of ordinance onto the heads of the poor sods below, be they hand grenades, disused bombs from the Japanese War or the Qing Civil War or just rocks when all of the above are out of the question. These airships also dock at makeshift ‘airports’ (if such a term could be used) where supplies, hostages and crew are swapped. Many now wonder how long it would take for the nuclear engines on these ships to fail, seeing that they’re reaching the end of their use-by-date of late 2016…
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II: ASIA (Japan, Korea, SE Asia et. al)
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Hong Kong Arc: Chapter 8
KitFisto1997
Banned
“She's a model and she's looking good… I'd like to take her home, that's understood…. She plays hard to get, she smiles from time to time… It only takes a camera to change her mind…”
The walk from the makeshift changing room to the living quarters took only a few seconds, but to Marcus, the whole thing seemed to take an eternity as he trudged through the winding, poorly lit corridors to where his superiors were located. The Prussian watched as Alicia, the American Agent that he’d been ever-so-abruptly ‘assigned’ with, walk into the room first and sat down on a chair that had certainly seen better days. Marcus then did a brief salute toward his superiors, before taking his own seat with an exasperated sigh, only to then meet the gaze of his superiors who were less-than amused at his most-recent antics.
“We’re very happy to see you alive and well, Mister Wright… Despite the mandatory tracking devices, we honestly thought we’d lost you and Agent Davis to your erstwhile kidnappers…” said one of the four men who were present. The higher-ranked French Canadian gestured towards Alicia before taking a sip from a hot cup of tea.
“Thank you for considering our safety… But I think its best to get down to business.” Alicia spoke up, taking charge of the situation as Marcus was content to relax in his chair, albeit trying to pay at least some modicum of attention to his superiors.
“Agreed” said another higher-ranking Agent as a holographic projector in the middle of the large table flickered to life, showing a birds-eye-view of Hong Kong Island with a red line that seemed to cut straight through the winding roads of the metropolis. Marcus and Alicia studied the map intently before the Quebecois Agent spoke up once more.
“This is the route of the upcoming Royal tour of Hong Kong… We’ve been contacted by the local authorities and we’ve taken up their offer of providing some extra muscle for the event. The Prince and Princess of Wales mentioned you specifically, Viscount and are they’re hoping that this mission succeeds… We don’t want a dead heir on our hands, don’t we?”
“No we don’t, sir...” Marcus gave a curt nod as a he thought of the possibilities. This mission was riding on the success of his outfit working together with both the local Hong Kong Police and the Royal Guards as to keep the situation under control, all the while two of the most famous individuals on the planet made their way through a winding metropolitan maze of apartment blocks and corporate headquarters.
“You have approximately 36 hours until Operation Pearl River goes ahead. You’re free to explore the Walled City and Hong Kong itself. In fact, use the time you have to get some intelligence on any potential attacks. Just don’t get into trouble with some of the Triads, or the local government. Sometimes those two go hand-in-hand… Agents dismissed!”
Marcus then stood up and saluted his superiors once more before making the attempt to walk out of the room, only to be stopped by one of the Agents. The man also got Alicia’s attention as well as the younger man proffered a few wads of cash from his overcoat and handed them to the pair.
“Have some spending money, this is around five thousand Hong Kong pounds each with some extra foreign currency if you need to bribe someone… Good luck you, two… Oh, and Alicia, stay behind for one moment...”
The American quickly nodded and gestured for Marcus to walk out of the room, muttering something about being there in a few moments. The Prussian shot her a suspicious glare but quickly acquiesced to her demands and waited for her a few metres from the door. The French Canadian then spoke to Alicia in a harsh, but equally worried tone.
“You keep that boy under control… He’s one of, if not the best men we have and I know he has the guts to do this… But if Monsieur Wright goes on another one of his killing sprees, you know how to sedate him. Just pray that he doesn’t turn on you, then your sanity may be at risk too...”
“I get the message… I’ll keep a close eye on him, that is if his other friends aren’t doing the same...” Alicia nodded, glancing over her shoulder to see Marcus leaning against a nearby wall with his Walkman in hand and headphones planted firmly upon his head.
“Good…” the Canadian said, but not before gesturing for her to leave. “We’ve uploaded some maps of the surrounding area onto your TS Bands. I think you can use the boy’s affinity for liquor to our advantage. Good luck and God speed.”
Alicia then turned to exit the room and caught up with Marcus after a few seconds. He was waiting for her already and quickly stopped the tape he was listening to, hanging his headphones around his neck as to show some level of chivalry toward the young lady.
“Where to now?” Marcus asked, a confident smile crossing his lips as he held out his arm for her, which Alicia reluctantly took with a similar expression upon her face.
“How does a drink and some snooping around the city sound? We got nearly a full day to ourselves and we can meet the rest of the team while we’re at it.”
“I’d enjoy that, fraulein… Now lead the way...”
Cool flags!Have some flags while I'm too lazy to write anything.
KitFisto1997
Banned
Have a snippet from the revised TL, concerning Alaska...
"
1879: German-backed Communalists (mostly serfs, factory workers and other lower class members) storm the residence of Alexander II and overthrow the government, murdering the Tsar in the process. Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich announces what is now known as ‘The Gathering Order’ whilst on tour of New Archangel in then-Russian Alaska. The Order stipulated that any loyalist non-combatants, military personnel are to evacuate and find safe passage to their American colonies. A policy of scorched earth is also implemented to give the Communalist rebels nothing to work from. It is later reported that nearly everything - from factories, cities, military and naval barracks to farms – in the Caucuses, to the Urals and the bulk of European Russia go up in smoke…"
Have a snippet from the revised TL, concerning Alaska...
"
1879: German-backed Communalists (mostly serfs, factory workers and other lower class members) storm the residence of Alexander II and overthrow the government, murdering the Tsar in the process. Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich announces what is now known as ‘The Gathering Order’ whilst on tour of New Archangel in then-Russian Alaska. The Order stipulated that any loyalist non-combatants, military personnel are to evacuate and find safe passage to their American colonies. A policy of scorched earth is also implemented to give the Communalist rebels nothing to work from. It is later reported that nearly everything - from factories, cities, military and naval barracks to farms – in the Caucuses, to the Urals and the bulk of European Russia go up in smoke…"
Revolution! There's a Victorian Cold War - i.e. a Cold War in Victorian times.
Definitely interesting...
KitFisto1997
Banned
Revolution! There's a Victorian Cold War - i.e. a Cold War in Victorian times.
Definitely interesting...
Kek
This is the reason why Russia was unable to challenge the Germans for dominance of the Rec Bloc until the 1960's or so as nearly everything had to be built from scratch.
Moscow and St Petersburg are sorta like Dresden or any other ex East German city IOTL that got bombed heavily during WWII. Other cities like Berlin, Krakow and Warsaw still have a lot of their original buildings around, especially Dresden.
Oh the irony... :3
There's very little in terms of traditional architecture and has a lot of skyscrapers that are kinda neo-futuristic in design. There's also plenty of Socialist Realist styles of buildings and art scattered around the former Red Bloc with Brutalist designs being very
prevalent in many areas as well, although there is a concerted effort by both the State and various MegaCorps to tear them down and restore both the older buildings and build new ones wherever possible. Some of the rebuilt Orthodox Churches in Moscow would be pretty futuristic methinks.
If you thought Russia IOTL was a heaven for TradCons, hardline Nationalists and the like... Russia ITTL might give the AnCaps, Ultranationalists and Right/Left Corporatists a run for their money.
I assume Alyaska is kind like a Taiwan in this world. It should be more populated than OTL.Kek
This is the reason why Russia was unable to challenge the Germans for dominance of the Rec Bloc until the 1960's or so as nearly everything had to be built from scratch.
Moscow and St Petersburg are sorta like Dresden or any other ex East German city IOTL that got bombed heavily during WWII. Other cities like Berlin, Krakow and Warsaw still have a lot of their original buildings around, especially Dresden.
Oh the irony... :3
There's very little in terms of traditional architecture and has a lot of skyscrapers that are kinda neo-futuristic in design. There's also plenty of Socialist Realist styles of buildings and art scattered around the former Red Bloc with Brutalist designs being very
prevalent in many areas as well, although there is a concerted effort by both the State and various MegaCorps to tear them down and restore both the older buildings and build new ones wherever possible. Some of the rebuilt Orthodox Churches in Moscow would be pretty futuristic methinks.
If you thought Russia IOTL was a heaven for TradCons, hardline Nationalists and the like... Russia ITTL might give the AnCaps, Ultranationalists and Right/Left Corporatists a run for their money.
KitFisto1997
Banned
It is, seeing that it takes up the bulk of the North-Western Coast of North America. Cities like New Archangel (Sitka), Vancouver*, Victoria* and *Seattle are some of the largest Russophone cities outside of Russia ITTL.
Russia and Alaska are one somewhat good terms, seeing that the Russian people don't really want to rejoin the now-gone-native Romanovs. Plus most of the populace in Alayska find the Russians to be corrupt and the level of influence that both the MegaCorporations and the Orthodox Patriarch of All Russians has over the Duma is making them really concerned. But at least they have Korea, Japan, Transamur (a Russian breakaway state that was made up of ex-Russian Navy Forces that mutinied during the Revolution and declared neutrality) and the Chinese states to trade with.
I assume that Alyaska exports tons of oil, and has a big entertainment sector. Is that a good guess?It is, seeing that it takes up the bulk of the North-Western Coast of North America. Cities like New Archangel (Sitka), Vancouver*, Victoria* and *Seattle are some of the largest Russophone cities outside of Russia ITTL.
Russia and Alaska are one somewhat good terms, seeing that the Russian people don't really want to rejoin the now-gone-native Romanovs. Plus most of the populace in Alayska find the Russians to be corrupt and the level of influence that both the MegaCorporations and the Orthodox Patriarch of All Russians has over the Duma is making them really concerned. But at least they have Korea, Japan, Transamur (a Russian breakaway state that was made up of ex-Russian Navy Forces that mutinied during the Revolution and declared neutrality) and the Chinese states to trade with.
KitFisto1997
Banned
I assume that Alyaska exports tons of oil, and has a big entertainment sector. Is that a good guess?
Yep! There are plenty of Russian-speakers in *Hollywood (not sure where it would be ITTL) and the bulk of them are from Aleyska - barring one Vladimir Putin, action movie star and frequent critic of the Moscow government.
If you want I can easily do some 'Where are they now' type lists if I get some names of celebrities, politicians and anyone else you want me to do.
I'll have to do them in the morning though since I'm about to sleep. Just post a reply and I'll get to it first thing.