Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
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Part 69, Chapter 1000
Chapter One Thousand
9th February 1953
Potsdam
“Birthdays are important milestones” Louis Ferdinand said to Freddy as they walked through the Kronprinzenpalais which sat across the river from the Hohenzollern Palace. Later, they would return for Freddy’s birthday party, but this needed to be done first.
The Crown Prince’s Palace had sat empty for a number of years and there had even been talk of converting it into a museum. Today, plans were being made for it to be refurbished and modernized for when Freddy came of age. From the look of things, they would probably have just enough time for that. However, walking through this immense pile of stone with his father reminded Freddy if the things that he had wanted for as long as he could remember. For years Freddy had dreamed of being a paratrooper, perhaps a sailor or a professional Footballer. These days he realized that he was expected to follow his father and that would make being out seeking adventures difficult. Not that he wasn’t planning on going on plenty of adventures when he had the chance. Instead, Freddy had realized that for him the future would involve going to University. Gräfin Katherine had been to only one who he had told his plans to and she had seemed incredibly relieved when she had heard that. She had then said that everyone had figured that he would run off to join the Fallschirmjäger the first chance he got.
Katherine had discussed with him the various options he had, then Kat had told Freddy about what his father had done in his youth. Spending time with business leaders and industrialists. Dating movie stars in Hollywood. Learning how the world worked. The rub was that Louis Ferdinand had done all of that before he had been heir to the throne and the death of Freddy’s Uncle Wilhelm had changed everything. Freddy had realized that he would need his Abitur at the earliest possible date. Then University for Law, Economics and International Relations plus anything else he could think of. Katherine had said that he should take his time and study what he wanted because no one knew what the future held. Freddy knew that Katherine was referring to Gia, who had wanted to be a Journalist but now just seemed lost these days. Katherine had then pointed out that Freddy wasn’t exactly the greatest of students. For him that was a bit embarrassing, everyone who knew him was aware of that.
“I lived here with your Aunts and Uncles here while your Grandfather was still Crown Prince” Louis said.
“Uncle Wilhelm didn’t use this much?” Freddy asked.
“He wasn’t Crown Prince for long” Louis answered, “He preferred to be an Officer in the Heer and lived in Posen.”
That was an odd bit of family history. Freddy’s Great Grandfather had decided that his name was cursed after the untimely death of Wilhelm the III and the death by misadventure of Crown Prince Wilhelm in Spain. He had made the entire family swear that there would never be another Wilhelm in the family. In the years since, that had been compounded by the publishing of the memoirs of Duchess Cecilie. She had made sure that the whole world knew that Wilhelm the III was a womanizing libertine. Crown Prince Wilhelm on the other hand had put aside privilege and volunteered to fight in Spain. He had died after getting shot on the road to Madrid. An investigation had concluded that it had it had probably not even been aimed at him, Uncle Wilhelm had just been unlucky that day.
“What am I supposed to do with this place?” Freddy asked, knowing that it wasn’t what he wanted.
“Whatever you want” Louis said, “Consider this a larger version of that room you have in the attic.”
Freddy had to laugh at the absurdity of that comparison. “I didn’t think you knew about that” He said.
Gia and Katherine were the only two people he had shown it to.
“There’s not a whole lot you do that I am unaware of” Louis said, “A couple weeks after you set it up Matthias Schmied went to see where you were going and found it.”
“And no one said anything?” Freddy asked.
“There was no point, and everyone thought it was good for you to have.”
Nevada Test Range, North-West of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Despite the continuous delays the project had ground forward slowly. This time it had been done in the upmost security with the personnel carefully screened. The issue they had run into that they had not foreseen was that they had been getting increasing amounts of pushback from the scientific community. Even when presented with the idea that original tests had been sabotaged, Doctor Robert Oppenheimer had said that perhaps they had been saved from themselves. He had steadfastly refused to work on the project, sighting the dangerous presence of Edward Teller in the prior incarnation. While Oppenheimer himself was considered politically suspect, the hundreds who had followed his lead were not. Then when the British had conducted their test radioactive particles had been found for thousands of kilometers downwind. That had seemed to validate many of their concerns.
However, the realities of the global balance of power had held sway. The German and British Empires were old world monarchies, where hereditary Kings were still a way of life had acquired nuclear weapons first and that was unacceptable. The United States needed to shore up its position as a world power and there was only one way to do that.
On the early morning hours of the 9th of February, the device which fired a uranium slug into the core in the static test mount. As the resulting explosion lit up the night sky and the shockwaves raced through the globe, the world became an ever more dangerous place.
9th February 1953
Potsdam
“Birthdays are important milestones” Louis Ferdinand said to Freddy as they walked through the Kronprinzenpalais which sat across the river from the Hohenzollern Palace. Later, they would return for Freddy’s birthday party, but this needed to be done first.
The Crown Prince’s Palace had sat empty for a number of years and there had even been talk of converting it into a museum. Today, plans were being made for it to be refurbished and modernized for when Freddy came of age. From the look of things, they would probably have just enough time for that. However, walking through this immense pile of stone with his father reminded Freddy if the things that he had wanted for as long as he could remember. For years Freddy had dreamed of being a paratrooper, perhaps a sailor or a professional Footballer. These days he realized that he was expected to follow his father and that would make being out seeking adventures difficult. Not that he wasn’t planning on going on plenty of adventures when he had the chance. Instead, Freddy had realized that for him the future would involve going to University. Gräfin Katherine had been to only one who he had told his plans to and she had seemed incredibly relieved when she had heard that. She had then said that everyone had figured that he would run off to join the Fallschirmjäger the first chance he got.
Katherine had discussed with him the various options he had, then Kat had told Freddy about what his father had done in his youth. Spending time with business leaders and industrialists. Dating movie stars in Hollywood. Learning how the world worked. The rub was that Louis Ferdinand had done all of that before he had been heir to the throne and the death of Freddy’s Uncle Wilhelm had changed everything. Freddy had realized that he would need his Abitur at the earliest possible date. Then University for Law, Economics and International Relations plus anything else he could think of. Katherine had said that he should take his time and study what he wanted because no one knew what the future held. Freddy knew that Katherine was referring to Gia, who had wanted to be a Journalist but now just seemed lost these days. Katherine had then pointed out that Freddy wasn’t exactly the greatest of students. For him that was a bit embarrassing, everyone who knew him was aware of that.
“I lived here with your Aunts and Uncles here while your Grandfather was still Crown Prince” Louis said.
“Uncle Wilhelm didn’t use this much?” Freddy asked.
“He wasn’t Crown Prince for long” Louis answered, “He preferred to be an Officer in the Heer and lived in Posen.”
That was an odd bit of family history. Freddy’s Great Grandfather had decided that his name was cursed after the untimely death of Wilhelm the III and the death by misadventure of Crown Prince Wilhelm in Spain. He had made the entire family swear that there would never be another Wilhelm in the family. In the years since, that had been compounded by the publishing of the memoirs of Duchess Cecilie. She had made sure that the whole world knew that Wilhelm the III was a womanizing libertine. Crown Prince Wilhelm on the other hand had put aside privilege and volunteered to fight in Spain. He had died after getting shot on the road to Madrid. An investigation had concluded that it had it had probably not even been aimed at him, Uncle Wilhelm had just been unlucky that day.
“What am I supposed to do with this place?” Freddy asked, knowing that it wasn’t what he wanted.
“Whatever you want” Louis said, “Consider this a larger version of that room you have in the attic.”
Freddy had to laugh at the absurdity of that comparison. “I didn’t think you knew about that” He said.
Gia and Katherine were the only two people he had shown it to.
“There’s not a whole lot you do that I am unaware of” Louis said, “A couple weeks after you set it up Matthias Schmied went to see where you were going and found it.”
“And no one said anything?” Freddy asked.
“There was no point, and everyone thought it was good for you to have.”
Nevada Test Range, North-West of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Despite the continuous delays the project had ground forward slowly. This time it had been done in the upmost security with the personnel carefully screened. The issue they had run into that they had not foreseen was that they had been getting increasing amounts of pushback from the scientific community. Even when presented with the idea that original tests had been sabotaged, Doctor Robert Oppenheimer had said that perhaps they had been saved from themselves. He had steadfastly refused to work on the project, sighting the dangerous presence of Edward Teller in the prior incarnation. While Oppenheimer himself was considered politically suspect, the hundreds who had followed his lead were not. Then when the British had conducted their test radioactive particles had been found for thousands of kilometers downwind. That had seemed to validate many of their concerns.
However, the realities of the global balance of power had held sway. The German and British Empires were old world monarchies, where hereditary Kings were still a way of life had acquired nuclear weapons first and that was unacceptable. The United States needed to shore up its position as a world power and there was only one way to do that.
On the early morning hours of the 9th of February, the device which fired a uranium slug into the core in the static test mount. As the resulting explosion lit up the night sky and the shockwaves raced through the globe, the world became an ever more dangerous place.
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Thank you for your efforts PM! I must admit, I was looking forward to Nancy and Tilo going "bang" in post 1000, but this chapter, like all your others, did not disappoint in the least. You sir, are a master at your craft.
I will just have to be patient with Nancy and Tilo. It was a case of premature ebangulation.
Just out of curiosity, is Stoltz still rotting in prison near Stuttgart?
I will just have to be patient with Nancy and Tilo. It was a case of premature ebangulation.
Just out of curiosity, is Stoltz still rotting in prison near Stuttgart?
Russia is just too big to not get it. Japan I think could go either way, if they are as tech advanced as OTL, then the technical capacity is there without the national phobia of it. At the least, I could see them having the capacity, even if they don't actually have them.
Also a question, but how is Nuclear Power coming along? They could be something Ilse might be a proponent of in favour of coal burning power plants.
Let's see...France, I'd say likely. Especially since they now have two nuclear neighbors.
Russia: Not for a while at least. They are still rebuilding after a fairly disastrous war.
Japan: Same. Assuming they aren't under something of the OTL treaty.
China: Difficult to say. Don't know what the status is on them. They took something of the Japanese chewing, though I don't think it was as bad as OTL.
I think that the Bremen is a nuclear power testbed
You can not shove the nuclear genie back in the bottle, but there are ways to control it.
What we must remember is that so far all the nations that have successfully tested nuclear devices are liberal capitalist democracies who have no reason to go to war with each other and they all understand that they will make more money with peace.
The reasons for the nuclear race is this, nations do not want to be left behind and nuclear weapons are a way to protect their own sovereignty, there is a new naval spending war coming soon and nuclear weapons are going to be seen as a way to cut down on costs by trading the number of ships that need to be built for the destructive fire power that each ship has.
What could help is that the Kaiser Louis Ferdinand armed with advice of Ilse could go before the League of Nations and propose a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that bans above ground tests and a new Naval Treaty that limits the sizes of the navies of the world that allows for the defense of their own nations but make it so that no nation can credibly threaten another nation on its own.
A couple of other proposals should be an "Atoms for Peace" program and a call for the peaceful exploration of spaces with a ban on weapons in space.
Congratulations on a achieving 1,000 posts may the next thousand posts being us more thrills, laughter, romances, surprises and tears.
What we must remember is that so far all the nations that have successfully tested nuclear devices are liberal capitalist democracies who have no reason to go to war with each other and they all understand that they will make more money with peace.
The reasons for the nuclear race is this, nations do not want to be left behind and nuclear weapons are a way to protect their own sovereignty, there is a new naval spending war coming soon and nuclear weapons are going to be seen as a way to cut down on costs by trading the number of ships that need to be built for the destructive fire power that each ship has.
What could help is that the Kaiser Louis Ferdinand armed with advice of Ilse could go before the League of Nations and propose a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that bans above ground tests and a new Naval Treaty that limits the sizes of the navies of the world that allows for the defense of their own nations but make it so that no nation can credibly threaten another nation on its own.
A couple of other proposals should be an "Atoms for Peace" program and a call for the peaceful exploration of spaces with a ban on weapons in space.
Congratulations on a achieving 1,000 posts may the next thousand posts being us more thrills, laughter, romances, surprises and tears.
As are milestones such as a One Thousandth story post.
Well deserved congratulations @Peabody-Martini for keeping this timeline fresh and entertaining for so long.
Bravo Sir, Bravo.
So, about post 2000...
I just remembered these.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_fan
I can imagine if Suga visits and her and her retinue get a chance to meet Kat, would make an interesting addition to her arsenal and an exchange of ideas if she gets a chance to teach Suga and receive training from Suga's people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_fan
I can imagine if Suga visits and her and her retinue get a chance to meet Kat, would make an interesting addition to her arsenal and an exchange of ideas if she gets a chance to teach Suga and receive training from Suga's people.
Indeed, this is one of the best timelines here. The characters are all very engaging and exceptionally well drawn.
This should be made into a TV series!
I look forward especially to the usual late night / overnight update that I read with breakfast ... critical world news & events ... pah! ... it can wait. I have to bring myself update on SL&HS first.
This should be made into a TV series!
I look forward especially to the usual late night / overnight update that I read with breakfast ... critical world news & events ... pah! ... it can wait. I have to bring myself update on SL&HS first.
Part 136, Chapter 2000
4th July 1978
Boston, Massachusetts
It was a hot, humid summer night which made most of the disguises that Tatiana might have employed impossible, as it was the blond wig was itching. At the moment she was trying to get out of the city because the dead drop in the Boston Commons had been empty. That meant that Billy was compromised, and the FBI would be only minutes behind her. Entering the station Tatiana was thankful to be off the street. The relief was short-lived as several policemen walked onto the platform. It could have been that they were looking for her or they might be here in anticipation of the crowds going home after watching the fireworks display. Fortunately, the train rolled into the station, Tatiana boarded and found a seat. A minute later she saw that two policemen were walking down the car checking IDs.
“Identification Miss?” One of the policemen asked.
Tatiana handed him the ID, she had been told that as far as Law Enforcement was concerned, it was real.
“Margret Anne Morgan” The officer asked, “From Lynn?”
“Salem” Tatiana said, with as much attitude as she could muster.
It had been a clumsy attempt to trip her up. She had worked hard to have the right sort of accent for here in Massachusetts. The one she had been born with tended to get noticed. When the policeman handed back her identification and continued down the car she caught a glimpse of the flyer in his other hand. Suspect, white female, age 27, 5'6", 125 pounds, blue eyes, short brown hair, considered extremely dangerous.
The leak, the one that her mother had said that Aunt Asia was hunting had struck again and it couldn’t have come at a worse time…
Just kidding... Or am I?
4th July 1978
Boston, Massachusetts
It was a hot, humid summer night which made most of the disguises that Tatiana might have employed impossible, as it was the blond wig was itching. At the moment she was trying to get out of the city because the dead drop in the Boston Commons had been empty. That meant that Billy was compromised, and the FBI would be only minutes behind her. Entering the station Tatiana was thankful to be off the street. The relief was short-lived as several policemen walked onto the platform. It could have been that they were looking for her or they might be here in anticipation of the crowds going home after watching the fireworks display. Fortunately, the train rolled into the station, Tatiana boarded and found a seat. A minute later she saw that two policemen were walking down the car checking IDs.
“Identification Miss?” One of the policemen asked.
Tatiana handed him the ID, she had been told that as far as Law Enforcement was concerned, it was real.
“Margret Anne Morgan” The officer asked, “From Lynn?”
“Salem” Tatiana said, with as much attitude as she could muster.
It had been a clumsy attempt to trip her up. She had worked hard to have the right sort of accent for here in Massachusetts. The one she had been born with tended to get noticed. When the policeman handed back her identification and continued down the car she caught a glimpse of the flyer in his other hand. Suspect, white female, age 27, 5'6", 125 pounds, blue eyes, short brown hair, considered extremely dangerous.
The leak, the one that her mother had said that Aunt Asia was hunting had struck again and it couldn’t have come at a worse time…
Just kidding... Or am I?
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It would be ironically a deterrent for another military buildup, and will possibly make things shift more to a technological renovation of the Naval Fleets of the Western Powers rather than an upsizing of fleet numbers.
After all, the Germans made clear with their defeat of the IJN in the Asian Front of World War II, that Battleships are in the way Out, and the Carriers are to be the new Queens of the Seas, While the Battleships are mostly retired, with one or two units still being kept modified or replaced as more than likely they pass of being pure Battleships into Battleship/Missile Battlecruiser, emulating the Soviet Kirov BattleCruiser of OTL
The Pandora's Box menace implicit in the use of Nuclear Weapons it will certainly make Louis Ferdinand call for a League of Nations emergency Conference in Geneva to add new articles to the Geneva Convention in order to regulate and LIMIT the production and use of WMD, be Nuclear, Chemical or Biological.
The Germans will concede the fact that several nations WILL make now the effort to get nuclear weapons. And will concede the right of a Nation to have a Nuclear Arsenal for "Dissuasive Purposes" . However its likely that he will not stop negotiating until the British and Americans concede on limit the nuclear Weapons to a set number of Warheads. Also it may be proposed the concept of "Dual Authorization" Meaning that a Government in order to use Weapons, has to have Two individuals from the chain of leadership with the authorization codes sets to actually authorize a vessel or unit to activate and use their weapons.
In this way they certainly would be preventing the case of a President or Royal acting irrationally and firing in anger such weapons. Its highly likely that Schdmit will give his aid in this case to fully design the system of safeties and orders to prevent the firing of nuclear weapons in any way that isnt after cold and rational calculus.
Epically Evil Troll its EVIL.
Again......For the daughter of the Crimson Baroness to even LET her daughter join the world of Black Ops unless she was six feet under i doubt it.
Unless Tatiana somehow PROVED to have surpassed her mother in all the fields that she would judge as needed to successfully infiltrate and keep an alter ego identity deep into a country hostile to the Germans and possibly the unified European Nations. As such, for Tatiana to even let such gaff of keeping her hair natural and alike to her original cut photo, it would be pretty much impossible.
Unless Tatiana somehow PROVED to have surpassed her mother in all the fields that she would judge as needed to successfully infiltrate and keep an alter ego identity deep into a country hostile to the Germans and possibly the unified European Nations. As such, for Tatiana to even let such gaff of keeping her hair natural and alike to her original cut photo, it would be pretty much impossible.
Agreed on that. If I were her, I'd be changing that often enough so that nobody is sure what color my hair is.