Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

Isn't there video on YouTube with a similar plot. I could've sworn that I have seen a video whose plot involved a bomber loaded with WMDs launched by a AI program. At closer inspection it becomes apparent that the bomber shows combat damage and that the crew has long since passed away and is only skeletons.
Not familiar with that one. The idea of a "ghost ship" goes back centuries though, so I am not surprised.

Actually, I was considering it as a spin on the Bomber sequence in Heavy Metal, no zombies though.
 
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As the bomber takes off on the mission, Winter and his Co-Pilot are seen behind the controls before the view shifts to the no-man’s-land ahead. The light shifts and as the camera pans back. The previously pristine bomber is revealed to be a badly corroded wreck. The members of the crew are revealed to still be strapped into their positions, motionless in their pressure suits, helmets closed. The skeletal remains of Winter himself sit motionless in the cockpit as the Bomber climbs away.
That became a lot creepiuer than I thought....

Note: never watched the Twilight zome
 
Interesting premise, as a follow up in one of the revival series there is a peace conference and agreements are made easily but there is one minor point that isn't being resolved.
As the show continues the dialogue becomes more stilted until the discussion becomes stuck in a loop over this seemingly minor point and then the dialogue is fully in "computer speak" until it is revealed that it is computers that are talking to each other and the reason for the this one point of contention not being resolved is because the computers were not programmed on how to resolve it.
The last scene is that the computers start to crash and shut down and because there is no one left alive to reboot the computers the war s truly over and there is real peace at last.
 
This is also similar to a OTL 1 hour episode of TZ, Death Ship. Which did not have Shatner. Jack Klugman was the monomaniacal Captain. Actually I think in 1961 Shatner was not ready for this type of role, even in the OTL TZ episodes he played nervous or certifiable young men.
 
Part 127, Chapter 2153
Chapter Two Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Three



15th July 1972

Mitte, Berlin

As the Oberfeldwebel, Christian had a very important role to play in the guarding of the New Watchhouse. Namely, enforcing discipline among the men while the Officers led the ritual Changing of the Guard at the start and end of every shift. The men in his Squad were all Veteran Soldiers, so that meant that trouble was always brewing. At the same time, Christian seldom had to say anything more than once to get them to cut it out.

Most of the trouble came from the very City that they were symbolically guarding though. Every day there was a briefing that was given to the Noncommissioned Officers about the various groups they needed to keep an eye out for. There were long standing groups like the self-styled Jacobin Movement who had caused so much trouble years earlier or the Far-Right Ultranationalists who seemed to be angry at the existence of the Modern State that the First Foot had oddly become a symbol of. Occasionally, there were members of the White Rose Society who maintained silent vigils near the Watchhouse as they had done for years believing that the First Foot was symbolic of a violent militaristic past that was best left behind but continued in the form of adventurism in places like Mexico or Argentina. Lately, a group of Student Activists calling themselves Finis belli after an episode of an American television show that had aired a decade earlier had shown up and unlike their older counterparts tended to engage in direct action, mostly in the form of graffiti and vandalism but had involved buckets of red paint. Curiously, the incidents in the past had ended with the members of the First Foot having to protect the individuals from Finis belli from the wrath of the crowd who had come to watch the Changing of the Guard. Finally, there were the groups who ostensibly there to support their mission were the cause of headaches. Christian had heard stories about fights breaking out among the widows and mothers of fallen servicemen.

Much of the time though, the trouble came from tourists idiotically trying to get the men of Guard Duty to break their composure. As the Oberfeld, it was a part of Christian’s job to get them to move along. If they continued to cause trouble, he was supposed to call the Police and let them handle it, but the men of the First Foot were allowed to defend themselves if they needed to. Frequently the tourists didn’t fully understand that the weapons they had were not for show. They seemed to think they were actors or something, not professional Soldiers who knew how to use them and had been specially trained to deal with the crowds. Years earlier, there had been an incident where one such tourist had gotten his head split open with the butt of a rifle and a few others one where people had narrowly avoided getting shot. Christian had been required to read the incident reports and had been given training in how to deescalate situations before it got to that point.

Today being a Saturday, the circus was in full swing as Christian marched with the rest of the Column as the Hauptmann led them out of the temporary accommodation after they had been transported from the Potsdam Barracks an hour earlier. Word had come down that there was an Imperial Inspection that was going to happen on Sunday morning, so leaving for a shift on Guard Duty wasn’t exactly a hardship this afternoon. Still, as the Changing of the guard took place, Christian cast a warry look at the crowd gathered near the Watchhouse. If there was going to be trouble, it would occur on a day like today.

As the men assumed their places, Christian watched as those they had just relieved filed back to the accommodation. The Hauptmann and his Lieutenants vanished into the hidden Command Post where the monitors for the closed-circuit television cameras that looked at every centimeter of space around the Watchhouse were set up. Every once in a while, one of the Leutnants would walk a patrol to see if there was anything going on that the cameras couldn’t pick up or just to let the men know that they were being watched. They also had the option of talking directly to Christian who was carrying a small two-way radio and had a plug headphone in his right ear.

Walking as a measured pace, rifle over his left shoulder, Christian looked at each man as he passed. Receiving no more than a nod in return. There was a fine that could be levied against them if they broke discipline. So, there it was something that they seldom did. Of course, there were times when they broke discipline to render first aid, helping a lost child most notably. At that point, the fine was waved because their actions were seen as being a credit to the Regiment.

Feeling the sweat trickling down his back, Christian fought the urge to look at his watch. The wool tunic they wore, even when it was summer weight, did not lend itself to being worn on a July afternoon. To his left was the expected weekend crowd who he did his best to ignore. A rope line had been put up to establish a boundary, but Christian had swiftly learned that it was more of a suggestion.

That was when a boy who must have been five or six ducked under the rope and gave Christian a sloppy salute with a gap-toothed grin. He saw a man who must have been the father looking totally mortified by his son’s actions. He could remember plenty of similar incidents from his own childhood. There wasn’t any ill intent, this was just a silly game but some good could come of it. Christian clicked his heels and crisply returned the salute like if he were saluting the Emperor himself. The look on the boy’s face became one of awe as Christian moved on. Later, he found out that a camera crew had caught the entire incident and Christian was the subject of a Human-interest story that was rebroadcast across the country.
 
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ferdi254

Banned
I always felt sympathy for soldiers in that role. Especially the guys in London with that stupid hat.
 
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I always felt sympathy for soldiers in that role. Especially the guys in London with that stupid hat.
The bearskins look bloody heavy too. The Steel helmets with the plombs(?) aren't too bad by comparison. I found a secondhand bearskin for sale on a militaria stall years ago. I would not want to be wearing that for any length of time.
 
Chapter Two Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Three



15th July 1972

Mitte, Berlin

That was when a boy who must have been five or six ducked under the rope and gave Christian a sloppy salute with a gap-toothed grin. He saw a man who must have been the father looking totally mortified by his son’s actions. He could remember plenty of similar incidents from his own childhood. There wasn’t any ill intent, this was just a silly game but some good could come of it. Christian clicked his heels and crisply returned the salute like if he were saluting the Emperor himself. The look on the boy’s face became one of awe as Christian moved on. Later, he found out that a camera crew had caught the entire incident and Christian was the subject of a Human-interest story that was rebroadcast across the country.
always reminds me of this:
 

ferdi254

Banned
Is the song in the video the Canadian national anthem? Could google it of course but an answer here will save a lot of people from googling.
 
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Part 127, Chapter 2154
Chapter Two Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Four



17th July 1972

Los Angeles, California

This was the first night that Ritchie was back at work after the birth of his son, Steven Johnathan Valenzuela. He had been on shift when Lucia had finally gone into labor more than a week after the original due date. She had not been shy about telling him about how she didn’t like how their kid seemed to already be making a habit of showing up late. He had taken a week off to help out around the house, mostly just to clean up after the party, but after a while he had grown stir-crazy. He had found himself being encouraged to go back to work by his wife, mother, and sisters.

“What you got under the hood of that thing?” The Cruiser yelled out the window of his 69 Chevy Malibu.

“Frankenstein has a Chrysler 440” Ritchie replied as he sat on the hood eating his lunch while Mike was in a nearby convenience store, whose owner he knew, relieving himself. He had learned from one of the mechanics that his car was called Frankenstein by those who had driven it in the past. It was a perfect name.

“Damn!” The Cruiser exclaimed.

“That means that I can outrun you down the quarter mile” Ritchie said with a smile. “Then bust your ass for illegal racing.”

“Not that I would do that Officer” The Cruiser said before driving off. Ritchie knew damn well that he would probably catch that guy and his buddies doing exactly that. They would need to be boxed in before the first car rolled up on them, otherwise they would take off in all directions. The last time that had happened, Ritchie had issued a dozen citations and half of them had been stupid enough to fight it in Court. Having enough of your parent’s money to buy a souped-up hotrod didn’t make you any smarter than anyone else. Ritchie was pleased as punch to go to the Courthouse as they tried to talk their way out of it. Presenting evidence as well as his notes recording every word that had been spoken during the stop proving that the defendant was full of shit certainly amused the Judge.

“Anything happen while I was gone?” Mike asked as he walked back to the car.

“Community relations” Ritchie replied.

“Talking to the neighborhood punks again” Mike said shaking his head, “Lucky for you, stupidity isn’t contagious.”

“I do what I can” Ritchie said as he threw the bag that contained what was left of his lunch into a trash can.

By the time he got into the car, Mike was already on the radio telling Dispatch that they were coming off their meal break. It was a relatively cool night for this time of the year, but the weather report had said that there was a heat wave coming. Ritchie knew that would give the crazies an excuse to really come out. Pulling out of the parking lot, Ritchie figured that they would head towards Downtown through the Fashion District. Unless they got call from Dispatch directing them to go there, he wanted to avoid Skid Row. Word was that Sergeant Wilkinson, AKA Billy the Kid or Wild Bill, was breaking in a new Boot and considering the hairy situations that Wilkinson liked to get into with known scumbags, everyone was avoiding that part of town unless they had been directly told to patrol it or were responding to a call for backup. Ritchie figured that he and Mike would be responding to something that Wilkinson had stirred up at least once tonight.

As Ritchie drove up the darkened streets, the radio came to life again. It wasn’t dispatch though.

“One Adam Twenty-Five, this is Gold drei” Said voice, crackling with static, “Do you copy?”

“Gold Three, this is Adam Twenty-Five” Ritchie said after grabbed the mike, “You do know that you can get in a lot of trouble for being on this band?”

“I think I am a bit out of your normal jurisdiction” Gold Three replied.

“Shit” Ritchie muttered. It wouldn’t just be the LAPD that had a problem with this radio contact. The State Department would have kittens if they learned that Gold Three, better known as Captain Manfred von Mischner of the German Army, had somehow made radio contact with him from halfway around the world. Ritchie figured that it must have had something to do with satellites and powerful radios transmitters. The Germans were wizards when it came to that sort of thing.

“Now just what did you want to talk to me about One Adam Twenty-Five?” Gold Three asked.

“Nothing that cannot be said over a phone call” Ritchie replied, “I just need to know that you won’t hang up on me like you have done with the other representatives from Universal.”

Ritchie had spent weeks trying to get a line through to the German Captain through back channels after it had become clear that Lucia would kill him if he left LA and that his mother would help her bury the body. The German partners of Universal Pictures had discovered that Manfred would simply hang up if they called about the script and that had resulted in an impasse. Ritchie had been hired to see if a compromise could be had. The trouble was that he needed to talk to Manfred personally. That had proven difficult.

“I’ll talk on the phone, if it is you and you alone” Gold Three said. Then the channel cleared of the static had he cut the connection.

“Who the Hell was that?” Mike asked.

Ritchie wasn’t sure exactly how to answer.
 
Manny isn't exactly making a case that the Germans aren't techno-gods here... x'D
Not really, the technology readily existed to do that in OTL in that era. However, it is exactly as Ritchie said, illegal. The US State Department and the Federal Communications Commission will be very irked with whoever did something like that.
 
If Manny is coming out to California maybe Ritchie can take him out to Camp Pendleton on one his drill weekends when they have live weapons training for the National Guard and Reservists in the SoCal area.
I had a friend who was in the California National Guard and they would have to go to Camp Pendleton for weapons training and the Marines would make fun of them so imagine Manny showing off his marksmanship skills in front of the Marines
 

ferdi254

Banned
„When life was just a bet upon a race between the lights“

10 points for anyone who gets the reference without googling and 100 for the PM if the band exists TTL.
 
As I have been thinking how much divergence there is ITTL compared to IOTL the Olympics in Berlin and Munich are basically about the near perfect example of this.
IOTL Jesse Owens winning four Gold Medals was an iconic moment in history with all the symbolism of an African-American defeating the Aryan Race on their home turf.
ITTL there is no Nazis and there is no racial overtones to the Games and the Games itself is on a lesser scale then IOTL.
ITTL Owens wins only three Gold Medals because two Jewish-Americans Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller run in the 4x100 meters relay instead on how the racist, anti-Semitic head of the USOC Avery Bundridge IOTL substituted Owens and another African-American Ralph Metcalfe in Germany their place because Hitler and the Nazis were already embarrassed by the performance of Owens and other African-Americans and Germany didn't need two Jewish-Americans to add to that.
IOTL the Munich Olympics were staged as a counterpoint to the IOTL Berlin Olympics and that led to the security lapses that led to the Black September massacre of the Israelis Olympic Team.
I think that under the direction of King Albrecht I of Bavaria Germany and especially Bavaria will go all out to showcase themselves to the world and that also means they will make sure everything goes right including the security which will be coordinated unlike IOTL.
 
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