Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II

Not just the British scientists. France had the man who conceived the ramjet and some very good people who designed their land based nuclear missiles OTL. Including one of the OAS team who attempted to assassinate De Gaulle in 1963 and who was a very talented missile designer in his day job.
 
Part 71, Chapter 1041
Chapter One Thousand Forty-One


8th January 1954

Berlin

This week Mistress Maeda was returning to Japan and Zella was understandably upset. Natsumi Maeda had been teaching how to really fight and not by half measures either. The week before, Gräfin Katherine and Mistress Maeda had gone head to head in order to display what was possible if the girls applied themselves and it was unlike anything that any of them had ever seen in their lives. Zella had seen such displays before, but it had been with men who tried to overpower each other. With the Gräfin and Mistress Maeda it had been about skill and form. Them trying to go punch or kick the other but done with a dancer’s grace. Then Mistress Maeda had announced that it was an honor to have taught such a wonderful group of students and that she was leaving. The result was that Zella had been sulking on the couch all evening.

Nothing that Kiki had said had cheered her up, not even poking fun at the news reports. Kiki would have thought that for Zella the news about color television being approved for use in broadcasts would have sparked dozens of sarcastic comments about TV stations broadcasting signals that no one could pick up because no color televisions were currently being sold in the German Market. Instead, Zella just sulked. Aurora fell asleep partway through the news report and she had made Kiki and Zella promise that they would wake her when the variety show came on. The news concluded with the weather report, snow in the forecast over the weekend.

“Snow will be fun” Kiki said, “Right Zella.”

“Whatever” Zella said, “I will probably spend all day Sunday watching Poppa work on his motorcycle, then get tormented by my mother about what I will be doing all week over dinner. A whole lot to look forward to.”

“Every silver lining comes with a black cloud?” Kiki asked, and Zella went back to sulking.

The news ended, and the variety show finally came on. Kiki nudged Aurora awake. The first act was a stand-up comedian who wasn’t as good as he thought he was.

“If I wanted to hear this I could have just stayed home and listened to my father’s jokes” Aurora said.

Zella and Kiki found that amusing. Their fathers were incredibly prominent, but the sorts of awkward jokes that they would tell their children were universally awful. The stand-up act ended, and the next act came on.

“Our next act is a young man from Memphis, Tennessee” The Host said, “Who I understand is quite the crooner, please welcome Elvis Presley.”

The studio applauded politely.

Kiki saw a man wearing a black suit walk out onto the stage. He was young, late teens or early twenties with slicked back hair and what Zella’s father described as a “fuck you” attitude.

“Thank you” Elvis replied in English, coming off as arrogant as his attitude suggested. He had no idea that the show wasn’t going out live, the subtitles gave that away.

“So, what do you have for us tonight?” The Host asked.

“This number has had a bit of time getting on the radio back home” Elvis said, “The lady who asked me to be here tonight said that you would let the audience be the judge of that.”

“We are all familiar with Lady Lagertha von Wolvogle” The Host said.

“That’s funny” Elvis said, “She told me her name was Gerta.”

“I overheard Gerta talking about him with Helene a couple months ago” Zella said, “She said that he had a needlessly high opinion of himself, but he supposedly is a good singer.”

“Well then” The Host said, “Let’s introduce your band.”

With that the banter continued as the guitarist, bass player and drummer were introduced. Then the host announced that it was time for the song. It was certainly different from anything else that she had heard before, Kiki had to give it that much. A choppy guitar lick that sounded like a steam train chugging down the tracks and the drummer doing an approximation of the rhythm of the rails. Then the first verse…

“The man lay down on a barroom floor,

having drunk so much he could drink no more.

So he fell asleep with a troubled brain,

to dream that he rode on a Hell-bound train.”


Kiki noticed that after each verse the tempo of the song increased a bit. It would make it impossible to dance to, but it was effective in telling the story.

“The engine with blood was red and damp,

And brilliantly lit with a brimstone lamp;

While the imp for fuel were shoveling bones,

The furnace rang with a thousand groans.

The Devil himself was the Engineer

The boiler was filled with lager beer,

The passenger made up a motley crew-

Church member, atheist, Gentile and Jew.

Rich men in broadcloth and beggars in rags,

Handsome young ladies and withered old hags.

Yellow and red men, brown, black and white,

All chained together what a terrible sight.”


Kiki noticed that the song was gathering in intensity as the band got deeper into it and the verses described the train hurtling towards its fiery destination. The passengers begging the Devil to stop the train.

“Why my faithful friends you’ve done my work,

The Devil could never a payday shirk.

Why you’ve bullied the weak and robbed the poor,

And a starving brother you’ve turned from the door.

You’ve laid up gold where the canker rusts,

And given free vent to your fleshy lusts.”


Kiki was rather surprised by this song, it didn’t seem like the sort of thing that an American might write.

“Justice you’ve scorned and corruption you’ve sown,

While you’ve trampled the laws of nature down.

You’ve drunken and rioted, murdered and lied,

And mocked at God in your Hell-bound pride.

You’ve paid your full fair, so I’ll carry you through,

For it’s only right you get your just due.”


With that the song concluded with the Devil promising the passengers an eternity of torment and the man waking up from his nightmare. The audience applauded, like Kiki, Zella and Aurora they were wondering exactly what they had just seen. The three of them argued about if the song was good or not for the rest of the evening.
 
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Yes I could see a song with those lyrics having difficulty getting airplay in the US. Is that an original Elvis song?
 
Huh, so I was right, it was Elvis.

Skeptically and disbelieving as I was, I might add.

EDIT: even at the end of the day, although most people will argue "BUTTERFLIES it seriously does not bother me if said story is well written and entertaining.
 
Not at all implausible either. Elvis originally wanted to be a gospel singer. He could do a lot better career wise TTL if Gerta keeps him out of the clutches of Colonel Tom Parker
 
So Dad jokes transcends time, place, and nationalities.
Early Rock and Roll music was called "Race Music" because the first ones to make it popular was African-Americans and when white performers became popular they could only be heard on radio stations that were targeted to blacks, it took singers like Pat Boone and Rick Nelson to make it acceptable to Middle America.
Another person who would be alive in this timeline is Glen Miller and from what I know about him he would have incorporated some of the music from Rock and Roll into his arrangements.
If the movie Catch a Tiger by the Tail has been released in America, that would give us an idea on how real the Kraut Scare is.
The United States Coastal Artillery Corps should be starting to transform it self into Air Defense Artillery units and IOTL the ADA units carry the lineage of the Coastal Artillery Corps units.
 
The United States Coastal Artillery Corps should be starting to transform it self into Air Defense Artillery units and IOTL the ADA units carry the lineage of the Coastal Artillery Corps units.

Nuclear shells and some Nike batteries are what, a decade out at this point?
 
From what I've gathered the carping about proper spelling and grammar and word choices started almost immediately after publication. Yeah, I'm kinda picky about it when in the author's voice but dialogue is a whole 'nother thing.
Oh, you mean people took issue with the spelling? I thought you were talking about the book's prominent use of the N-word (are we allowed to actually use that word here?) and couldn't figure out why 1950s US would have an issue.

This depends on how public Jonny's arrest and agreement with the DA was. If it's in the public record that he re-enlisted in the Army they will need to discharge him again for his cover. You can be sure that as soon as he sets foot in Europe the Germans will have someone checking if he is still in the Army or not assuming they don't already know. From everything that happened I always thought he was going to be a more overt agent. Smash and grab is more his style and that is not something you want undercover officers doing. It would be a much better use of his skills to scout out and infiltrate German overseas facilities and operations.
Honestly I don't think Johnny's reason to join the CIA makes sense. He was speeding, a minor offense even at his habitual speeds. No way he was getting any real jail time, so why would he agree to the deal?
 
Honestly I don't think Johnny's reason to join the CIA makes sense. He was speeding, a minor offense even at his habitual speeds. No way he was getting any real jail time, so why would he agree to the deal?

There were also the small matters of public intoxication, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
 
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Part 71, Chapter 1042
Chapter One Thousand Forty-Two


11th January 1954

Washington D.C.

“With me doing the business of the Country, a film is hardly the sort of thing that you would think I have time for” Truman said, sidestepping the questions about the film itself.

The gathered reporters found that amusing. The truth was that Harry Truman had seen the movie that had been released in American theaters the previous Friday after he had learned that it had certain individual’s panties in a twist. It had also been out for over a month in Europe already, so arranging a screening wasn’t difficult.

Catch a Tiger by the Tail was probably one of the few foreign films in recent years that could be considered hit. It was also extremely controversial. Fast cars, beautiful women and a Rock & Roll soundtrack. There was plenty in that to alone to set off a moral scold, but then there was the rest of the film that left them truly aghast. One of the character introductions was of the aristocratic Felicitas sneaking out the back door of her own wedding reception to take part in the car race. When her friend Tiger picked her up, a ribald joke about the wedding being in the nick of time got said. The result was instant outrage because it was obvious what was being implied. Then came the party scene on the beach just before the race, Truman figured that must have so offended the moral arbiters that they must have considered leaving the theater. In the place where the film was made swimwear that bordered on being nonexistent was apparently considered normal enough to appear in what must be a mainstream film.

The rest of the film was a fairly conventional action/comedy. A dastardly British spy and a stuffy German Officer who are actively hunting each other. The son of the German Officer and the character Anna being star-crossed lovers. The desire of Tiger and Felicitas to be seen as serious competitors. The film itself did a good job depicting the sort speed and danger of the race itself. Cameras at low angles, narrow mountain roads with questionable surfaces and overhead shots that must have been filmed from helicopters. Truman had to admit that part of the film was thrilling, but a phone call he had received from Charles Wilson at General Motors had revealed something about the nature of the film. The real star had been the Volkswagen Rabbit, a car that was being built in Canada that GM was trying to find an answer to. Truman found it a relief that none of the journalists asked about that.


12th January 1954

Tempelhof

The demolition of the terminal had already begun, and fences had been put up to keep people out. The runways, which had only been paved a decade and a half earlier were going to be torn up as well. The whole airport complex had taken decades to construct, now it was going to be erased in a matter of weeks. Kat was discovering that it was a million headaches. She knew that Ilse was trying to help but after what had just happened Kat had not wanted to hear another word. Soil contamination? That was what Ilse had been on about, along the flight line and in the hangers, petrochemicals mostly. There was no law against building over it, but Ilse had suggested that would probably change in the future, so they needed to act.

“Our expert says that we need to dig down a few meters in the marked areas and haul it off” Kat said as she looked at the map that Ilse had put together, “Then put down fresh fill.”

“That isn’t necessary Ma’am” The Foreman from the construction company said.

“It’s about public appearances” Kat said, “Environmental science is a big part of the University campus that is going to be built in the north-west quarter and if the site is found to be polluted it could be an issue.”

The Foreman just laughed at that, but Kat had a sinking feeling that a man like this wouldn’t be laughing for long. Helene had said that she was working with Sophie Scholl and her father to start something new and environmental protection was a big part of it. That meant politics.

“That won’t be a problem” The Foreman said, “It’s your money.”

That was a reminder that this whole project was a massive undertaking as vast as a military campaign. Kat had found herself having to take on the role of coordinating the various parties involved because no one else wanted to. Construction, surveying and architecture firms, demolitions, the City and University all wanted different things. Most worrying of all, Kat found herself having to deal with people who were connected with her father and questions were being asked. Especially when she had turned away a perspective builder who she knew would skim on both ends. If questions started to be raised about where the money came from then it would be Kat’s worst nightmare come true because there were no safe answers.

A series of articles that had outlined the master plan had run in the papers and the public was actually enthusiastic about the project. This was the first new neighborhood in the city center in decades and they saw that it would mean lots of decent jobs with good pay for the foreseeable future. It was something that put Kat on edge because she knew that if she couldn’t deliver then they would be calling for her head.
 
President Truman is most likely to reply to Charlie Wilson by saying to him, "Build a better mousetrap or in this case a Rabbit trap".
Maybe ITTL Detroit will take up the offer that the head of the UAW Walter Reuther made that in return for labor peace, the Union will take an,ownership stake in the automotive industry and share the profits and risks.
With the movie being an international hit, Nancy is going to get offers by other companies to do for them what she did for VW and get their products in the movies.
Also other countries will want the sequels filmed in their country to promote tourism, for Mexico may I suggest Tiger and the Baja Buggy Blitz.
 
Part 71, Chapter 1043
Chapter One Thousand Forty-Three


17th January 1954

Berlin

Recently, a colleague had commented about Doug being the only man in a house with a number of women. He had joked about it as if it were a luxury, clearly having no idea the amount of drama that Doug had to take in stride. Today being a Sunday, Kat had vanished to speak to the Empress like she did for a couple hours every week. Then when Kat got back she was on the phone trying to keep the project on track, even on the weekends. He had tried to get her to ease off a bit, or at least hire an assistant. Then he had made the mistake of saying that a man would have hired a dozen people to handle these things for him if he had her resources. That had been a major mistake and it had triggered a major argument that had devolved into a shouting match. The project was something that she had never wanted to take it on in the first place, but she had still gotten upset when Doug had said that she would need to do something different this time because the project was going to last for years and she couldn’t keep up such direct involvement without burning herself out.

Then there were the other women in the house. Anne had a stack of rejection letters from publishers that was growing to alarming heights. Ilse had somewhat overcome her fears but was burying herself in her work again, which was what had probably triggered those irrational fears to begin with. Nancy had come back from Flensburg where she had attempted a romantic weekend with Tilo Schultz that had turned out badly because the subject of Tilo’s father had come up. According to Kat, Johann Schultz was pure poison and everything he touched died. This time the result had been a brutal spat between Nancy and Tilo where they had pulled no punches as years of frustration and anger boiled over. Nancy had been back that morning after spending the night in the Flensburg train station and taking the first train back to Berlin. She had been crying on Kat’s shoulder before Kat had to leave for the palace.

Stepping into the kitchen, Doug saw Tatiana and Malcolm playing on the floor as Petia was preparing dinner and Eha was helping where she could while keeping an eye on the twins. Malcolm had a hand carved wooden horse that he was playing with and Tatiana had decided that it was what she wanted to play with too even though there were plenty of other things for her to play with. To avoid the inevitable squabble, Doug scooped Tatiana up and she was a bit heavier than he expected. It was a reminder that the twins were going to turn three in another month. Where did the time go?

“Poppa” Tatiana said happily as she realized who had picked her up.

“Please do me favor Tat” Doug said to his daughter, “Don’t ever grow up.”

Eha snickered and Petia said, “Spoken like every father since the dawn of time” in Russian.

“I’m sorry” Doug said, “Just things have been complicated around here lately.”

“That is a polite way of saying that it has been a bloody fucking mess” Petia replied, “Things had been going a bit too well around here, so it was all overdue.”

Doug wished that Petia was wrong about that, but it seemed like every year they went through a time where there was some sort of crisis. It was certainly here now.


Pskov Oblast, Russia

“Gospozha Sasha!” Gia heard the children yelling that excitedly as she arrived at the Yelizarov Convent. They remembered clearly remembered her though she had never had a chance to return over the last few years. To her amazement, all the children were now nine and ten years old, but that had also been what had necessitated Gia’s return. She had provided warm clothes, money, and the occasional treat for these children. But they were aging out of orphanage and would soon be sent elsewhere, to either learn a trade or further their education, if either were possible. Gia was trying to see to it that these children wouldn’t fall between the cracks as Ilse had said that she had seen again and again while growing up in similar situation.

There was one case here that stood out. Anya Maksimova, an intelligent girl with big brown eyes and short cropped brown hair who was prone to wild flights of fancy. Big dreams of pirate treasure and long-lost family coming for her. Both were fantasy, there was no treasure and Anya’s entire family had either been slaughtered by the NKVD or had died in the war, used as cannon fodder in the Shtrafbat Battalions. In her letters to Gia she had remained fanciful and optimistic. Gia knew that the system would destroy her one way or another and even if Anya survived the optimistic little girl would be gone forever. Gia had decided that she needed to act, but Ilse had warned her about what she was getting into. This was the only world that Anya had ever known. Now that Gia was moving into a place of her own in Potsdam, she knew that she would have room for Anya, but it would be a difficult adjustment.

“I brought goodies for everyone” Gia said, “In the recreation room.”

With that the children rushed into the other room. “Not you though Anya” Gia said, and Anya stopped.

“Did I do something wrong?” Anya asked, her voice full of trepidation.

“No, of course not” Gia said.

“What do you want then?”

“How would you like to go on a real adventure?” Gia asked, “To a magical city.”

“The Abbess says that magic isn’t real” Anya replied.

“I’ll tell you a secret” Gia said, “I’ve seen museums with dinosaurs, libraries with a million books or eaten food from around the world. If that isn’t magic, then what is?”

“What’s a dinosaur?” Anya asked.

Gia smiled, “Animals, big lizards, that were around ages ago” she said, “We find their bones.”

Anya looked at her quizzically.

“There are also my sisters and cousins” Gia said, “They would like to meet you, if you came back to Berlin with me.”

Anya looked at Gia in astonishment, that was the last thing she had ever imagined would ever happen.
 
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Is Anya going to be the start of a tradition where all the girls take other young girls in bad situations under their wing? Could see many of the others doing it as well, at least when they themselves are a bit more stable in life.

And I wonder what Kat is going to do after the Tempelhoff project. Is she going back to the federal police? Or is she going to tackle more of these problems? At the moment she doesnt seem to be too interested in continuing her career with the police.

Anyway keep up the great work PBM! I keep on looking forward to chapters. I still religiously check for updates multiple times a day.
 
Is Anya going to be the start of a tradition where all the girls take other young girls in bad situations under their wing? Could see many of the others doing it as well, at least when they themselves are a bit more stable in life.

And I wonder what Kat is going to do after the Tempelhoff project. Is she going back to the federal police? Or is she going to tackle more of these problems? At the moment she doesnt seem to be too interested in continuing her career with the police.

Anyway keep up the great work PBM! I keep on looking forward to chapters. I still religiously check for updates multiple times a day.

Isn't Kat currently the operations officer (or at a similar post) of the 1st Imperial Foot Guards? She could choose to pursue her military career although this would most likely mean serving with a different unit / attending more staff / general courses in the not so distant future.
 
She is, and she could. But from what I've gathered she doesn't really want to be in the military. She was mainly in it because it allowed her to do things she wanted to do. (And a part as penance for what she perceived to be her own failures.) So while she might keep her commission in the military, I doubt she really wants to be actively involved.

I think she might just hit her 'mid-life crisis' after the Tempelhoff project is over, because she won't know what to do, and she'll have reached an age where the things she used to do aren't always physically possible anymore. But we'll have to see what PBM comes up with!
 
Kat is the ops officer for a regiment and an elite one at that. That position is no sinecure. I can’t believe she is in that position solely because she is a confidant of the Empress. Indeed her previous military service suggests she is very good at it (The Stalin grab for example). So I am struggling to find the angst over the redevelopment of Templehof realistic. She would know all about delegation and holding direct reports accountable. They do teach you that sort of thing as a new officer let alone a senior member of the regiment command team. The latest installment suggests she is trying to do it all herself. Which is astonishingly stupid.
 
Kat is the ops officer for a regiment and an elite one at that. That position is no sinecure. I can’t believe she is in that position solely because she is a confidant of the Empress. Indeed her previous military service suggests she is very good at it (The Stalin grab for example). So I am struggling to find the angst over the redevelopment of Templehof realistic. She would know all about delegation and holding direct reports accountable. They do teach you that sort of thing as a new officer let alone a senior member of the regiment command team. The latest installment suggests she is trying to do it all herself. Which is astonishingly stupid.

Concur. She's ignoring a resource tailor-made for the task: ex-Pioneeren officers. After somebody calms Kat, Doug, Ilse and Gia down I can see Kat unfolding the plans in front of a General and a handful of Obersts, "Gentlemen, this is the project for the redevelopment of Templehof Airport. I've found that it exceeds my expertise as S3 of the 28th Regiment and the 1st Foot. Please lend me your experience."

Edit: Something I came across:

"Functionality is a beauty all its own."

"The difference between a box of crayons and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel."​
 
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