You can be unorthodox in either behaviour or in doctrine they used to say in the Church of England. Just as long as you weren't unorthodox in both.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Part 111, Chapter 1824
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-Four
2nd December 1967
Cape Town, South Africa
The cake had been a lovely addition for after dinner.
Denise Darvall certainly thought so as she listened to the radio while helping with doing the dishes. It had been her mother’s idea and though just getting it had turned into quite an adventure. They had gotten trapped in the bakery by a police action that had been happening just outside. It seemed that a man under the influence had driven into oncoming traffic and had created a real mess outside. When the police pulled him out of what was left of his car, he was astonishingly unhurt. He was also completely plastered. Denise was reminded of how God supposedly loved drunkards and fools, the driver had certainly was both of those things. The police had dragged him off to dry out.
Over dinner, Denise’s father had mentioned that there was talk of making drunk driving a crime unto itself. “What if you or your mother had been in the street when he had come careening down it?” He had asked and he did have a good point. Landing in the hospital and being unable to go back to work for months, or worse, were awful thoughts.
It was then that the radio station that Denise switched from music to a news bulletin. The lead story was about how a young Carpenter had fallen off a roof and had suffered a major head injury that had killed everything about him that made him, him. A team of surgeons wanted to attempt a heart transplant and felt that he would be an excellent donor. It was not without controversy because the Carpenter was colored and the man who would be the recipient was white. Regardless of that, it did sound an incredible feat of medicine if they could pull it off.
Mitte, Berlin
Sitting in his office, Louis Ferdinand was listening to Katherine as she explained the intricate project that she was currently involved with. He could already think of several questions that would need to be answered.
“An airport is not built for the present capacity” Katherine said, “It has to be built with the projected capacity several years from now in mind. The new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport will be a major Airline hub when it opens next year. Focke-Wulf-Dornier, Arado, and Junkers have all selected it to be the site of their assembly centers as well.”
“How far out are you projecting?” Louis asked, “Ten years from now, 1977?”
“More like 1997 or even 2007” Kat replied, “The land around the new airport was purchased with expansion in mind if number of passengers increase beyond current projections.”
“I see” Louis said, thinking about the implications of that. “What do those companies gain by having all three of them at that location?”
“Scale, less duplicate effort” Katherine replied, “The latest designs out of Boeing suggest that a plane carrying three hundred or more passengers could take to the skies within the next few years. We need to have an answer for that when it happens and all three of the companies that I mentioned have different ideas of how to go about that.”
“And about Tegel?” Louis asked.
That was the key question in all of this. Everyone who had any inkling of how the Tempelhof Project a decade earlier had played out was concerned that Katherine was once again planning on using this to massively enrich herself. Louis would have told them not to worry, it was already far too late to stop her this time. Even if she weren’t playing as direct a role this time, it was obvious that she had financial ties to all the companies that would be working on the project. However, if the city benefited from Katherine’s machinations Louis saw no reason to complain. Still though, he did not want there to be any surprises.
“Just were exactly do you fit in?” Louis asked.
“To began with, my brother is excited that his favorite Football team is getting a new pitch out of this” Katherine replied, “Hertha BSC has been playing at the old Olympic Stadium which only seats around twelve thousand people. That was good in 1936 but the team is a bigger deal now.”
“That is all well and good” Louis said, “But not exactly what I was asking.”
“I am not interested in having the sort of exposure I had during the Tempelhof project” Katherine replied, “The consortium that is giving proposals to the city is mostly composed of universities and business interests.”
“And who better than a Fürstin to coordinate the effort of varied interests that might otherwise be at odds” Louis said.
“If you knew that already, why ask the question?” Katherine asked.
“I was interested in seeing how you would answer it” Louis replied.
“All of this is a part of your legacy” Katherine said, “Think about how different Berlin is, and will be by the time you retire, from the way it was at the end of the Soviet War.”
Louis knew that quite well. At the end of the war there had been gaps in the skyline where Russian bombers had gotten through the city’s defenses and entire blocks had been leveled. Now with Berlin reaching the limits of its outward expanse, it was starting to be built upwards. That was a real challenge considering the sort of ground that it was built on.
2nd December 1967
Cape Town, South Africa
The cake had been a lovely addition for after dinner.
Denise Darvall certainly thought so as she listened to the radio while helping with doing the dishes. It had been her mother’s idea and though just getting it had turned into quite an adventure. They had gotten trapped in the bakery by a police action that had been happening just outside. It seemed that a man under the influence had driven into oncoming traffic and had created a real mess outside. When the police pulled him out of what was left of his car, he was astonishingly unhurt. He was also completely plastered. Denise was reminded of how God supposedly loved drunkards and fools, the driver had certainly was both of those things. The police had dragged him off to dry out.
Over dinner, Denise’s father had mentioned that there was talk of making drunk driving a crime unto itself. “What if you or your mother had been in the street when he had come careening down it?” He had asked and he did have a good point. Landing in the hospital and being unable to go back to work for months, or worse, were awful thoughts.
It was then that the radio station that Denise switched from music to a news bulletin. The lead story was about how a young Carpenter had fallen off a roof and had suffered a major head injury that had killed everything about him that made him, him. A team of surgeons wanted to attempt a heart transplant and felt that he would be an excellent donor. It was not without controversy because the Carpenter was colored and the man who would be the recipient was white. Regardless of that, it did sound an incredible feat of medicine if they could pull it off.
Mitte, Berlin
Sitting in his office, Louis Ferdinand was listening to Katherine as she explained the intricate project that she was currently involved with. He could already think of several questions that would need to be answered.
“An airport is not built for the present capacity” Katherine said, “It has to be built with the projected capacity several years from now in mind. The new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport will be a major Airline hub when it opens next year. Focke-Wulf-Dornier, Arado, and Junkers have all selected it to be the site of their assembly centers as well.”
“How far out are you projecting?” Louis asked, “Ten years from now, 1977?”
“More like 1997 or even 2007” Kat replied, “The land around the new airport was purchased with expansion in mind if number of passengers increase beyond current projections.”
“I see” Louis said, thinking about the implications of that. “What do those companies gain by having all three of them at that location?”
“Scale, less duplicate effort” Katherine replied, “The latest designs out of Boeing suggest that a plane carrying three hundred or more passengers could take to the skies within the next few years. We need to have an answer for that when it happens and all three of the companies that I mentioned have different ideas of how to go about that.”
“And about Tegel?” Louis asked.
That was the key question in all of this. Everyone who had any inkling of how the Tempelhof Project a decade earlier had played out was concerned that Katherine was once again planning on using this to massively enrich herself. Louis would have told them not to worry, it was already far too late to stop her this time. Even if she weren’t playing as direct a role this time, it was obvious that she had financial ties to all the companies that would be working on the project. However, if the city benefited from Katherine’s machinations Louis saw no reason to complain. Still though, he did not want there to be any surprises.
“Just were exactly do you fit in?” Louis asked.
“To began with, my brother is excited that his favorite Football team is getting a new pitch out of this” Katherine replied, “Hertha BSC has been playing at the old Olympic Stadium which only seats around twelve thousand people. That was good in 1936 but the team is a bigger deal now.”
“That is all well and good” Louis said, “But not exactly what I was asking.”
“I am not interested in having the sort of exposure I had during the Tempelhof project” Katherine replied, “The consortium that is giving proposals to the city is mostly composed of universities and business interests.”
“And who better than a Fürstin to coordinate the effort of varied interests that might otherwise be at odds” Louis said.
“If you knew that already, why ask the question?” Katherine asked.
“I was interested in seeing how you would answer it” Louis replied.
“All of this is a part of your legacy” Katherine said, “Think about how different Berlin is, and will be by the time you retire, from the way it was at the end of the Soviet War.”
Louis knew that quite well. At the end of the war there had been gaps in the skyline where Russian bombers had gotten through the city’s defenses and entire blocks had been leveled. Now with Berlin reaching the limits of its outward expanse, it was starting to be built upwards. That was a real challenge considering the sort of ground that it was built on.
Please please please leave enough room for a motor racing track. Berlin deserves a Tegelring!
Absofuckinglutley. My offer still stands, @Peabody-Martini , if you want me to do up a Tegelring, I'm down.
Not too sure about a motor racing track on tegel. Berlin could still have the avus(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVUS#Race_track) maybe even extended with dedicated modern racetrack(similar to nürburgring after the big round became unsuitable to newer races) since germany after ww1 is so different to otl. So a new race track isnt necessarily in the planners ideas.
Avus wasn't a keeper track.
I've done an alt-Nurburgring and alt-Hockenheimring in The Man from Sao Paulo.
Alt-Nurburgring
Alt-Hockenheimring
The Man from Sao Paulo - Senna to Williams in 1992
^ Cool. This work has been fantastic so far. :) Anyways, I looked at my team list and figured what would be a good list of drivers for that list of teams: -Team Penske (2 cars) #2 Emerson Fittipaldi, #31 Al Unser Jr. - Target Chip Ganassi Racing (2 cars) #55 Nigel Mansell, #88 Bryan Herta -...
www.alternatehistory.com
Alt-Hockenheimring
The Man from Sao Paulo - Senna to Williams in 1992
Track Revisions - Hockenheim While I was a bit thrown off by how this would look from an airplane, I decided on something like this for two reasons: -OTL will be similar to TTL, in that outside of Spa, there's going to be a push to shrink the tracks enough to get more laps for the paying...
www.alternatehistory.com
It is not so much of a dedicated race track but a grandstand, race pits, and garages complex at the Start/Finish line with the racecourse laid out on the project's streets with room for temporary stands.
I must have missed it but apparently the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium was built only with a limited number of permanent seats as a cost cutting measure.
i wonder if Hertha BSC is going to have to share the new stadium with FC Berlin Union?
I must have missed it but apparently the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium was built only with a limited number of permanent seats as a cost cutting measure.
i wonder if Hertha BSC is going to have to share the new stadium with FC Berlin Union?
A lot of people wonder why so many cities don't have towering skyscrapers dominating the skyline. Turns out it depends entirely on the underlying rock formations. Even in cities that do have them, they are only built in areas with suitable bedrock. You do not build massive edifices on swamps. Not unless you want them to sink. See also the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
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Random Thoughts:
What we have seen of Franz and Victoria when they are together it seems that they are becoming good friends which will go a long way in selling their upcoming Nuptials to the public.
The scene with Interior Minister Moczar is ominous as it is pointing to an Anti-Semitic campaign along with an effort to expel the non-Polish farmers in Galicia.
The failure of the League of Nations to do anything about the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans may make the Polish government think that they can do the same thing and no one will stop them.
Organ transplants should be on the same path ITTL as it is IOTL the main thing that should change is a possible earlier understanding about the need for better compatibility matching and the drugs needed to prevent organ rejection.
What we have seen of Franz and Victoria when they are together it seems that they are becoming good friends which will go a long way in selling their upcoming Nuptials to the public.
The scene with Interior Minister Moczar is ominous as it is pointing to an Anti-Semitic campaign along with an effort to expel the non-Polish farmers in Galicia.
The failure of the League of Nations to do anything about the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans may make the Polish government think that they can do the same thing and no one will stop them.
Organ transplants should be on the same path ITTL as it is IOTL the main thing that should change is a possible earlier understanding about the need for better compatibility matching and the drugs needed to prevent organ rejection.
Part 111, Chapter 1825
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-Five
17th December 1967
Mitte, Berlin
The displays of multicolored lights, smell of cinnamon, and Nella’s unfortunate tendency to overindulge defined the Christmas season. This year was proving no different. Kiki had spoken to Charlotte about Nella doing that and it seemed that there was something about the Holiday Season that caused her little sister to lose all control. It was noticeably something that Nella didn’t do the rest of the year and no matter how much Kiki attempted to get her to moderate her intake of sweets, Nella always managed to eat enough to make herself sick.
The annual outing to the Christmas Market had grown over the years. It had originally been just Kiki and Nella. Then Nan had tagged along last year. This year, Marie Alexandra von Mischner and Sophie Sommer had joined them as planned with Louis Junior joining them at the last minute. Kiki had spent the night before visiting with Suga who was chafing under the ironfisted rule of Doctor Nora Berg who was determined to see the latest addition to the family born healthy. Nella and Nan had been watching all this unfold with wide-eyed amazement. Kiki had been surprised to learn that Berg was rather different when she was dealing with two eight-year-olds, patiently explaining to them what was going on in terms they would understand.
The impending birth was just one thing that Kiki’s father intended to talk about on Christmas Eve during his radio and television address this year. There was also the announcement of Victoria’s wedding as well as the who is doing what where. Rea was regarded as something of a complication. Just how inclined was she to go along with the whole thing? Kiki was concerned about Victoria because she feared that the whole thing might come tumbling down. It was all too easy to imagine that Rea might enjoy running the wrecking ball. Kiki’s father had resorted to the most effective and time proven means of keeping Rea on side, bribery. Not by offering her money, that would have offended her, instead he had publicly backed one of Rea’s causes even if it created a diplomatic headache in the process. Of course, Kiki found it incredibly strange that Norway would get so bent out of shape over the mere suggestion that whaling should be regulated. Not only was that not a radical notion, but there was a growing consensus that the practice should be stopped altogether.
That was how Kiki found herself once again watching Nella gorge herself on sweets and feeling the weight of the jar of ginger root in the pocket of her coat knowing that she would need it soon enough. She had gotten to know the kind Russian woman who had sold it to her extremely well over the last few years. This year Kiki had bought several other items from her as well. At first, she was surprised at just how many of the preserves and pickled items contained medicinal value, but then when she had a chance to think about it, Kiki remembered that there was a tradition of folk remedies that went back centuries.
Silesia
Niko’s cousins were coming in a few days, until then he had the house and grounds all to himself and he intended to make the most of it. When everyone else got here, it seemed like someone always wanted in on whatever Niko had going. It wasn’t as fun once that started happening. Squeezing the trigger of his rifle, Niko saw a puff of dust from the plywood backing the paper target. This afternoon, he was out shooting at targets, the cold was making his fingers numb which was a distraction. The slate grey sky and low clouds suggested that it might snow, which was both good and bad depending on how the grownups reacted to it.
The hunting rifle had been an early Christmas gift from Opa. It was chambered in the same 6.5 x 38mm cartridge that the military used, and Niko was still getting used to how it kicked harder than the old rimfire rifle he had used up until now. He fired at the target before working the bolt and ejecting the cartridge. He wasn’t nearly as good as his cousin Manny, but Opa had told him that Manny had gotten as good as he was by practicing a lot. To emphasize that point, Opa had given Niko earplugs and a large box of cartridges and told him to work at being as good as his cousin.
While it was a fun gift, Niko was aware of why he had gotten it early. Opa was happy with his interest in going to school in Wahlstatt and it was basically a bribe.
When he had learned that Bas was going to be going to school at the same one that Poppa and Opa had attended it had seemed like an opportunity. Living with Bas all the time as opposed to only seeing him during holidays because he lived in Flensburg had sounded fun. It hadn’t been until his father had returned that he had figured out that this was another case of failing to focus on the details that Opa had warned him about.
“For the first time in your life, you have a momentous decision to make” Niko’s father had said, “While the choice is not yours alone to make, what you want will be a part of it. Just understand that you are old enough to understand that your choices can have real consequences.”
His father had then described his own time at that school and Niko had realized that being with Bas there would not be fun and games. Particularly because Bas saw his getting sent there as a punishment after that little stunt that he had pulled with the paint and the giant ship’s screw that was part of a public monument in the center of Flensburg. According to Bas, he hadn’t done anything that most people looking at that monument hadn’t thought to themselves while looking at it. He also couldn’t figure out how they had known he was the one who had done the deed.
Where exactly did that leave Niko? As much as he had complained in the past about having his parents make all the decisions for him, having them tell him that he needed to make one for himself made a complete mess of things. It is so unfair, Niko thought to himself.
17th December 1967
Mitte, Berlin
The displays of multicolored lights, smell of cinnamon, and Nella’s unfortunate tendency to overindulge defined the Christmas season. This year was proving no different. Kiki had spoken to Charlotte about Nella doing that and it seemed that there was something about the Holiday Season that caused her little sister to lose all control. It was noticeably something that Nella didn’t do the rest of the year and no matter how much Kiki attempted to get her to moderate her intake of sweets, Nella always managed to eat enough to make herself sick.
The annual outing to the Christmas Market had grown over the years. It had originally been just Kiki and Nella. Then Nan had tagged along last year. This year, Marie Alexandra von Mischner and Sophie Sommer had joined them as planned with Louis Junior joining them at the last minute. Kiki had spent the night before visiting with Suga who was chafing under the ironfisted rule of Doctor Nora Berg who was determined to see the latest addition to the family born healthy. Nella and Nan had been watching all this unfold with wide-eyed amazement. Kiki had been surprised to learn that Berg was rather different when she was dealing with two eight-year-olds, patiently explaining to them what was going on in terms they would understand.
The impending birth was just one thing that Kiki’s father intended to talk about on Christmas Eve during his radio and television address this year. There was also the announcement of Victoria’s wedding as well as the who is doing what where. Rea was regarded as something of a complication. Just how inclined was she to go along with the whole thing? Kiki was concerned about Victoria because she feared that the whole thing might come tumbling down. It was all too easy to imagine that Rea might enjoy running the wrecking ball. Kiki’s father had resorted to the most effective and time proven means of keeping Rea on side, bribery. Not by offering her money, that would have offended her, instead he had publicly backed one of Rea’s causes even if it created a diplomatic headache in the process. Of course, Kiki found it incredibly strange that Norway would get so bent out of shape over the mere suggestion that whaling should be regulated. Not only was that not a radical notion, but there was a growing consensus that the practice should be stopped altogether.
That was how Kiki found herself once again watching Nella gorge herself on sweets and feeling the weight of the jar of ginger root in the pocket of her coat knowing that she would need it soon enough. She had gotten to know the kind Russian woman who had sold it to her extremely well over the last few years. This year Kiki had bought several other items from her as well. At first, she was surprised at just how many of the preserves and pickled items contained medicinal value, but then when she had a chance to think about it, Kiki remembered that there was a tradition of folk remedies that went back centuries.
Silesia
Niko’s cousins were coming in a few days, until then he had the house and grounds all to himself and he intended to make the most of it. When everyone else got here, it seemed like someone always wanted in on whatever Niko had going. It wasn’t as fun once that started happening. Squeezing the trigger of his rifle, Niko saw a puff of dust from the plywood backing the paper target. This afternoon, he was out shooting at targets, the cold was making his fingers numb which was a distraction. The slate grey sky and low clouds suggested that it might snow, which was both good and bad depending on how the grownups reacted to it.
The hunting rifle had been an early Christmas gift from Opa. It was chambered in the same 6.5 x 38mm cartridge that the military used, and Niko was still getting used to how it kicked harder than the old rimfire rifle he had used up until now. He fired at the target before working the bolt and ejecting the cartridge. He wasn’t nearly as good as his cousin Manny, but Opa had told him that Manny had gotten as good as he was by practicing a lot. To emphasize that point, Opa had given Niko earplugs and a large box of cartridges and told him to work at being as good as his cousin.
While it was a fun gift, Niko was aware of why he had gotten it early. Opa was happy with his interest in going to school in Wahlstatt and it was basically a bribe.
When he had learned that Bas was going to be going to school at the same one that Poppa and Opa had attended it had seemed like an opportunity. Living with Bas all the time as opposed to only seeing him during holidays because he lived in Flensburg had sounded fun. It hadn’t been until his father had returned that he had figured out that this was another case of failing to focus on the details that Opa had warned him about.
“For the first time in your life, you have a momentous decision to make” Niko’s father had said, “While the choice is not yours alone to make, what you want will be a part of it. Just understand that you are old enough to understand that your choices can have real consequences.”
His father had then described his own time at that school and Niko had realized that being with Bas there would not be fun and games. Particularly because Bas saw his getting sent there as a punishment after that little stunt that he had pulled with the paint and the giant ship’s screw that was part of a public monument in the center of Flensburg. According to Bas, he hadn’t done anything that most people looking at that monument hadn’t thought to themselves while looking at it. He also couldn’t figure out how they had known he was the one who had done the deed.
Where exactly did that leave Niko? As much as he had complained in the past about having his parents make all the decisions for him, having them tell him that he needed to make one for himself made a complete mess of things. It is so unfair, Niko thought to himself.
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A race track, with pits and garages eh?
If only we knew of someone involved in motorsport via a large manufacturing company who could see a strategic opportunity, (because, for example, their entire military career was founded on such a move), that others might miss to position that company as a world No1 as a race team and as a manufacturer of, oh, I don't know, sports motorcycles maybe?
If only we knew of someone involved in motorsport via a large manufacturing company who could see a strategic opportunity, (because, for example, their entire military career was founded on such a move), that others might miss to position that company as a world No1 as a race team and as a manufacturer of, oh, I don't know, sports motorcycles maybe?
It wouldn’t be Christmas without Nella getting sick at the Farmers Market, it is good to see Sophie with Nan and Nella but Marie may be thinking that she is too old to hang out with the younger girls but at the same time is wondering why she didn’t get to go earlier with Nella in the years past.
LF Jr may be wanting to get Kiki’s opinion about him and her BFF Zella.
Bas sounds like real fun to hang around with until the consequences kick in.
Is the school that Niko is going to has plans to go Co-Ed in the future?
If not a certain Education Minister may have some ideas of her own.
If there is a racecourse planned for the Tegal Project then both Emil and Kaiser Louis Ferdinand will have their say in it.
LF Jr may be wanting to get Kiki’s opinion about him and her BFF Zella.
Bas sounds like real fun to hang around with until the consequences kick in.
Is the school that Niko is going to has plans to go Co-Ed in the future?
If not a certain Education Minister may have some ideas of her own.
If there is a racecourse planned for the Tegal Project then both Emil and Kaiser Louis Ferdinand will have their say in it.
That has already been done, probably better than I could do it by Damon Wayans a couple decades ago.
I thought so. The Schultz genes are as strong as they are disruptive.