Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Though odds are even once they’re finished with him he’ll have enough to live in decent comfort. Certainly enough to support a wife... I doubt anyone could say a Burggraf who’s part of two military orders wasn’t worthy of Kiki’s hand.
You would be wrong. They exist in the Establishment and in the rags that pretend to be proper media. They may not be very open about it, but they would say it. The actual fake news that specialises in rumours and outright lies will definitely say it, if they think it will sell a few more sheets of TP with words & pics on.
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When the ESA mission to the returns the question is going to be "Now What" ?
Germany is going to have to pay out a lot of Deutsch Marks if the situation in Poland goes hot and the space program is first on the chopping block.
But if the program can keep it's funding the question still stands as one one things that is going to become very apparent is that it takes a lot of resources to go to the moon and stay for an extended time.
It is very logical for me to think if the United States can solve their heavy booster problem that a one and done mission to the moon just to show that they can do it also but afterwards an Earth Orbital Laboratory orientated mission is the priority.
If that happens and the operative word is IF then the ESA and NASA can trade slots in each other's programs and end any duplication of efforts and maximize the strengths of each others efforts.
Germany is going to have to pay out a lot of Deutsch Marks if the situation in Poland goes hot and the space program is first on the chopping block.
But if the program can keep it's funding the question still stands as one one things that is going to become very apparent is that it takes a lot of resources to go to the moon and stay for an extended time.
It is very logical for me to think if the United States can solve their heavy booster problem that a one and done mission to the moon just to show that they can do it also but afterwards an Earth Orbital Laboratory orientated mission is the priority.
If that happens and the operative word is IF then the ESA and NASA can trade slots in each other's programs and end any duplication of efforts and maximize the strengths of each others efforts.
Higher income tax rather than land tax following the first World War is generally credited with this result, accompanied by death duties (inheritance tax). Landed estates weren't particularly profitable (unless urban or had mines and quarries) since around 1870. But the aristocracy and gentry lived on credit to a great extent. Higher income tax reduced their capacity to take on new debt (couldn't pay as much interest) and death duties (by reducing their collateral regularly) weakened their capacity to take on cheaper long term multi- generational loans.
Part 109, Chapter 1786
Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Eighty-Six
5th February 1967
Kreuzberg, Berlin
Writing in her diary late at night, Anne tried to put her thoughts about the day’s events into perspective.
Letting her children watch television after they got home from school had been a mistake. Lina and Otto had been adamant that they needed to watch as the Taxidiotis IV Mission had concluded with the Hansa Capsule splashed down into the Pacific. They had also promised to turn it off as soon as it ended and return to their studies. What they had neglected to mention was that the news presentation leading up to the main event took several hours and included a recap of the entire mission. Anne had needed to return to the manuscript that she was rewriting and had not been able to pay too much attention until Martin got home from his job at an Accountancy Firm in Mitte and had asked what was going on. The children had been entirely too satisfied with themselves as they explained it, knowing full well that they had put one over on Anne. That had made for a rather tense evening meal later. They shouldn’t have been surprised when they had been informed that the television was to remain off for the rest of the month, but it was the nature of children to protest their treatment no matter how much they deserved their punishment.
Before that came, they had watched as the crew of the Hansa had been picked up by the Navy as aircraft had filmed the capsule’s landing. One of them, identified as Yuri Gagarin and apparently the Russian equivalent of a Hauptmann, slipped off the raft and fell into the ocean. He pulled himself back onto the raft with surprising speed and the others seemed to be having a laugh about it. What did surprise Anne was the presence of Sigi Grimmelshausen. Over the previous days she had been aware that Kat’s former Aide was involved in Taxidiotis, to see her on television though was a different matter. In Anne’s thinking, Sigi was still the oblivious teenager with the bleached hair and an ill-fitting uniform. The sisterhood had rather mercilessly picked her apart at the time in a way that they hadn’t done with the other Aides who had been appointed to Kat, but the others had not been young women and Kat herself had moved out of the Kreuzberg house shortly after that. It seemed that Sigi had come a long way in the eleven years since then. During a brief interview, Sigi had mentioned that Gagarin was scared of a shark or a school of mean tuna and Anne got the impression that must have been something that the crew must have joked about while they had been in orbit.
Anne wondered if Sigi had a publisher because she must have quite the story to tell.
Anne had mentioned that to Martin and like always, that was a bit of a mistake. He had rarely said it to Anne but the clouded expression he got when she mentioned her relationship with the Empress and Fürstin of Berlin troubled him. Anne had been a Lady of the Imperial Court before she had met him, her induction into the Order of Louise with Kat’s sponsorship had come a few years later while she had had been pregnant with Lina. Otto would be a bit of a surprise a year and a half later. Martin saw those relationships as a reminder of everything that they didn’t have. For the life of him, Martin couldn’t fathom the relationship that Anne maintained with the sisterhood. Most of them were orphans and they had always looked at Martin with a bit of disdain, as if they thought that Anne could have done better. Anne profoundly disagreed.
Between Martin’s career in accounting and Anne’s success as a Novelist they enjoyed a comfortable Middle-Class existence. It was just his ambition that they should have more and that was what frequently drove Martin Krause. Hearing about Anne’s personal connections to those with a great deal of wealth and power troubled him. It hadn’t always been like that though. They had been University Students when they had met, with Anne having just published her first novel and him having been accepted into an entry level job at the Accountancy firm where he still worked. Back then, all that had mattered was that they had found each other.
Anne had changed the topic to a hopefully safer topic by mentioning that she had heard back about their vacation plans for the summer. Greece, where they had gone the year before, was clearly out of the question because of the war and Martin had decided that the climate in Italy was not for him. The Baltic Sea resorts were a different story, the trouble was that it seemed like everyone else had the exact same idea. That was the call that Anne had received had involved. One of the hotels that they had been put on the waiting list for a room had called back and asked if they were still interested in making a reservation.
Of course, they were still interested.
Anne paused from her writing. Martin had fallen asleep and was snoring on the couch, she would need to wake him so that he could come to bed. Anne understood that her life wasn’t perfect, but no one’s was.
5th February 1967
Kreuzberg, Berlin
Writing in her diary late at night, Anne tried to put her thoughts about the day’s events into perspective.
Letting her children watch television after they got home from school had been a mistake. Lina and Otto had been adamant that they needed to watch as the Taxidiotis IV Mission had concluded with the Hansa Capsule splashed down into the Pacific. They had also promised to turn it off as soon as it ended and return to their studies. What they had neglected to mention was that the news presentation leading up to the main event took several hours and included a recap of the entire mission. Anne had needed to return to the manuscript that she was rewriting and had not been able to pay too much attention until Martin got home from his job at an Accountancy Firm in Mitte and had asked what was going on. The children had been entirely too satisfied with themselves as they explained it, knowing full well that they had put one over on Anne. That had made for a rather tense evening meal later. They shouldn’t have been surprised when they had been informed that the television was to remain off for the rest of the month, but it was the nature of children to protest their treatment no matter how much they deserved their punishment.
Before that came, they had watched as the crew of the Hansa had been picked up by the Navy as aircraft had filmed the capsule’s landing. One of them, identified as Yuri Gagarin and apparently the Russian equivalent of a Hauptmann, slipped off the raft and fell into the ocean. He pulled himself back onto the raft with surprising speed and the others seemed to be having a laugh about it. What did surprise Anne was the presence of Sigi Grimmelshausen. Over the previous days she had been aware that Kat’s former Aide was involved in Taxidiotis, to see her on television though was a different matter. In Anne’s thinking, Sigi was still the oblivious teenager with the bleached hair and an ill-fitting uniform. The sisterhood had rather mercilessly picked her apart at the time in a way that they hadn’t done with the other Aides who had been appointed to Kat, but the others had not been young women and Kat herself had moved out of the Kreuzberg house shortly after that. It seemed that Sigi had come a long way in the eleven years since then. During a brief interview, Sigi had mentioned that Gagarin was scared of a shark or a school of mean tuna and Anne got the impression that must have been something that the crew must have joked about while they had been in orbit.
Anne wondered if Sigi had a publisher because she must have quite the story to tell.
Anne had mentioned that to Martin and like always, that was a bit of a mistake. He had rarely said it to Anne but the clouded expression he got when she mentioned her relationship with the Empress and Fürstin of Berlin troubled him. Anne had been a Lady of the Imperial Court before she had met him, her induction into the Order of Louise with Kat’s sponsorship had come a few years later while she had had been pregnant with Lina. Otto would be a bit of a surprise a year and a half later. Martin saw those relationships as a reminder of everything that they didn’t have. For the life of him, Martin couldn’t fathom the relationship that Anne maintained with the sisterhood. Most of them were orphans and they had always looked at Martin with a bit of disdain, as if they thought that Anne could have done better. Anne profoundly disagreed.
Between Martin’s career in accounting and Anne’s success as a Novelist they enjoyed a comfortable Middle-Class existence. It was just his ambition that they should have more and that was what frequently drove Martin Krause. Hearing about Anne’s personal connections to those with a great deal of wealth and power troubled him. It hadn’t always been like that though. They had been University Students when they had met, with Anne having just published her first novel and him having been accepted into an entry level job at the Accountancy firm where he still worked. Back then, all that had mattered was that they had found each other.
Anne had changed the topic to a hopefully safer topic by mentioning that she had heard back about their vacation plans for the summer. Greece, where they had gone the year before, was clearly out of the question because of the war and Martin had decided that the climate in Italy was not for him. The Baltic Sea resorts were a different story, the trouble was that it seemed like everyone else had the exact same idea. That was the call that Anne had received had involved. One of the hotels that they had been put on the waiting list for a room had called back and asked if they were still interested in making a reservation.
Of course, they were still interested.
Anne paused from her writing. Martin had fallen asleep and was snoring on the couch, she would need to wake him so that he could come to bed. Anne understood that her life wasn’t perfect, but no one’s was.
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It's good to know that outside of espionage, Polish insurgencies (?) and Lunar landings, life still goes on for normal people (well, I mean, for all that Anne Frank can be counted as a "normal" person).
Marc A
Marc A
I thought Martin was Martin Bormann Jr. until I saw his surname mentioned near the end.
Edit: Never mind, she broke up with him after his father objected.
Edit: Never mind, she broke up with him after his father objected.
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There are some small red flags waving between Martin and Anne that could become serious later if not addressed. But then they've been together for a while, so if they're constant, it could just be a niggle of inferiority that Martin needs to resolve.
Besides, he's an accountant, that's likely to lead to a decent opportunity if it turns out he has a flair for auditing or forensic accounting. Could be a decent way to make partner.
Besides, he's an accountant, that's likely to lead to a decent opportunity if it turns out he has a flair for auditing or forensic accounting. Could be a decent way to make partner.
Even today, the change in that dynamic can cause issues. It's far more acknowledged now. ITTL, at that point, Equality for women is probably ahead of the curve in some areas, career is one of them. That could cause issues as we saw with Nancy's friend in thread II if I remember correctly. Hopefully this will be one of those moments where the other path is taken, and Martin gets over feeling emasculated by his wife's previous life.
Martin seems to me is setting himself up to justify an embezzlement scheme, first he steals from Anne then from his clients all the time telling himself that it is his due.
Martin if he really wants to get more money and become a partner at the firm should go out and hustle for more clients instead of just waiting for his superiors to "Recognize His Genius" and bellyaching to Anne.
I don't know how successful Anne is but she should have some extra income as a visiting writer at various universities writers workshops and some lecturing gigs.
Martin if he really wants to get more money and become a partner at the firm should go out and hustle for more clients instead of just waiting for his superiors to "Recognize His Genius" and bellyaching to Anne.
I don't know how successful Anne is but she should have some extra income as a visiting writer at various universities writers workshops and some lecturing gigs.
Agreed. Also, if he tries embezzling from Anne he’s in for a short life...
I'd like to make one point tot the Martin discussion,
while all that is said is true, I think there could be another angle, namely that he fears loosing Anne as she "married down" to him. So he is forced to compare everything they have with others that he hears from. Like the Kaiser and Kat...
So I think, there is a chance, he fears loosing her if he can not provide the same standart has those have.
while all that is said is true, I think there could be another angle, namely that he fears loosing Anne as she "married down" to him. So he is forced to compare everything they have with others that he hears from. Like the Kaiser and Kat...
So I think, there is a chance, he fears loosing her if he can not provide the same standart has those have.
No, no, did you not read the totaly scientific manuals that the various USAmerican organisations have published?
In them it is made clear that the typical German male is a beer guzzlin, football loving evil mastermind... like Schulz Sr.
If Martin is a Forensic accountant he might just be mad or dumb enough to have a go at unravelling a certain set of feline accounts!!!! Now that would end badly, for him.
Or, with an offer of employment to protect said accounts. And the accounts of certain powerful friends...