The Flag of Our Union: The Story of the Second Republic

Mathuen

Banned
Uhh... Hi guys! This is my first true time line/story so feel free to give me suggestion, criticisms, or tell me to go die in a fire. :D

I hope you all enjoy it!
___________________

Mead, Michigan

United States of America

5/12/74 A.N.P*

Jason Marx fell back into his reclining chair for the 1577th time and drew in a large breath, savoring the Michigan air around him. He knew it was the 1577th time he had fell back because he had counted every time he had. He counted because frankly, he was bored out of his mind. Not even the beautiful vista offered to him by his place in a guard tower gave an escape from his boredom. As he leaned forward in his chair awaiting the 1578th time he would fall back he looked down below to see the work town of Mead before him.

Mead was a town of prefabs in perfect rows like every other work town in the union. It had a movie theater to the east, a pub to the west, a town hall in the middle and little stores sprinkled all around its otherwise drab self. The only thing that made Mead even worth mentioning was the Mead nuclear reactor. Supplying power to eleven surrounding communities and an air force base in Ohio, because of this Mead had some significance.

Jason stood up, accidentally knocking over his M-37**. He thought that maybe he could go to the pub and relax for a while. Jason walked over to his partner Lupin who was on the other side of the guard tower. Lupin was engrossed in a book and took no notice of Jason.

“Hey Lup!” Jason said. “Do you want to join me and get hammered?”

“Of course not.” Lupin said. “Besides we are still on…”

Lupin was cut off from the beeping of a nearby comm terminal. That meant only one thing, someone was approaching Mead. Both Jason and Lupin rushed over to the comm terminal. Jason touched the terminal’s screen activating two way communications with whomever was approaching.

“Bravo” said Jason into the terminal.

No response.

“Bravo” said Jason again.

“Lima” responded the terminal.

“Present verification code” said Jason in a monotone voice, as if he had this conversation a thousand times before.

“Charlie 76 Foxtrot Bravo Bravo 1138 Delta 5” responded the terminal. The code was for a vehicle transporting materials for the nuclear reactor.

“You are approved” said Jason before shutting off the terminal.

Jason turned around to see Lupin with a puzzled look on his face.

“I know” Jason said. “That code was only valid 2 months ago”

Jason and Lupin quickly exited the guard tower with their rifles and side arms ready in case anything were to happen. They entered the nearest humvee and drove to intercept the transport vehicle. They eventually came to meet the transport vehicle and blocked its path to Mead. The transport vehicle stopped and a single man exited from the driver’s side. He walked slowly toward Jason and Lupin as if he had no idea why he had been stopped. As the man moved forward, Jason spotted something moving around his neck. It was a necklace with a little t at the end… wait, not a t but a crucifix. What the hell was he or any of his kind doing outside of a free practice zone? Jason thought. However, this was not the time for contemplation, so the instant Jason saw the crucifix he raised his M-37 and pointed it at the lone man.

“On the ground!” Jason shouted. “Show me your FRID***!”

The man was startled but didn’t drop to the ground. Instead he said “What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?”

“I said on the fucking ground! Show me your FRID or I will shoot!” Jason yelled, paying no attention to the man's question.

While Jason was preparing to shoot Lupin walked around to the back of the transport. The man noticed this and quickly pulled a gun on Lupin.

“Damn you!’ the man shouted.

That however was the last thing the man said as Jason quickly unloaded on him. His head was blown open after the first shot and his bloodied corpse fell to the ground.

“Shit!” Jason yelled furiously. “Lupin, check out whatever that wacko was hiding back there.” As Lupin moved to the back of the transport, Jason walked over to the corpse that lay before him. He kneeled down and took off the man’s shirt to see a crucifix necklace around his neck. Yes, he was a Christian alright. The real question was, what was he doing out here?

“Hey Jason check this out!” Lupin called from behind the transport. Jason followed Lupin’s voice to the back of the transport only to wish he hadn’t.

“Damn…” Jason said under his breath. Inside the transport were enough explosives to destroy both the reactor and half of Mead. At that moment the same thought ran through both Jason and Lupin’s minds.

Why?

* After Nuclear Power is now the standard time scale used. It sets 1937 C.E as year 0 with everything before as B.N.P (So yes this takes place in 2011)

** Standard American assault rifle

*** Free Roam Identification Device… it is necessary for any monotheist to have one if they wish to leave a free practice zone.
 
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Mathuen

Banned
A map of the world showing the more important nations... as I have said before, someone made the eagle that I used to make my flag. If the person who made the eagle sees this map tell me. I can't give you credit if I don't know who you are.

accccw2.png
 
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Scipio Africanus

Wow, very interesting! What a radically different America! Its hard to believe this tl must occur with a POD after 1788, and from the state borders it looks like a post-1865 POD. The atheist in me likes the immediate suspicion of an openly religious person. The U.S is obviously still the dominant world power or at least a superpower of some kind. Beyond that, nice start, I am intrigued and look forward to more.
Scipio
 

Mathuen

Banned
Thanks! I intend to write more.

Scipio Africanus, here's something to think about... Can you imagine a world war in which the US and UK are allies?

Yet the US and Canada are enemies!
 
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Mathuen

Banned
Antony Stuart
Ms. Angelo
US History 2
8/25/72

A Short History of Saganism

Saganism was the philosophical and social ideology created by Carl Sagan, while today it is hard to fathom an America without it, there was once a time when Saganism hadn't been accepted by any American. Around the time that Carl Sagan began his philosophical musings which would become the core teachings of Saganism, the mythologists* were being pushed out of America and the Darwinianists** had a firm control of the national assembly. The birth of Saganism however, would change everything.

In 58 A.N.P., just 4 years after the Second Civil War, Carl Sagan escaped to the deep forests of Vermont to reflect on his life. While there he couldn't help but observe and plot out patterns in the night sky. Realizing that his scientific pursuits might hamper his self reflection, he abandoned all of equipment, knowing that his life as a scientist would be waiting for him when he returned home. For the next 5 months Sagan lived as a hermit with only nature to keep him company.

It was during his life as a hermit that Sagan watched the animals live in relative harmony with the environment. Sagan wondered if this cooperation between all manners of species for one goal could be applied to people as well. When Sagan returned to civilization he wrote down all of his experiences in the forests of Vermont and the conclusions about life that he reached. His works were titled "An Observation on the Cooperation of Species and its Meaning for Humanity" but later came to be known as the Saganist Manifesto

Saganism was a form of humanism that was atheistic and naturalistic in substance. It established a set of basic morals and how society should order itself around said morals. Originally popular only amongst American intellectuals Saganism came to be known to the American public during the rather autocratic rule of the 2nd Director Morris. Saganism's main appeal was that it starkly contrasted the dog eat dog, ruthless ideology of Darwinianism***.

At around the same time as Saganism was becoming popular, a coup of the American government was being planned. Christopher Hitchens and his followers (known as the Hitchensians) felt that Director Morris was turning the US into a dictatorship. On July 4th 63 A.N.P Director Morris was assassinated and the Hitchensians took control of the government in a coup costing 27,000 lives. Hitchens having heard of the growing Saganist movement and having a positive view of Sagan and his work offered to split the directorship of the new government between them and the national assembly between Saganists and Hitchensians. Sagan however refused, instead continuing his life as a scientist, philosopher and artist.

Since the Hitchens directorship began Saganism, has climbed up to be the most popular and widely practiced ideology by Americans with over 62% of registered citizens marked as Saganists. It should not surprise anyone that Saganists are the most vocal group for international aid, education, the uplifting of women, environmental regulation and social services. It should also not surprise anyone to hear that I myself am a Saganist.

9/10 Good Work!

However, you forgot to mention that impact that Sagan's wife and the English Dawkinsians had on the spread of Saganism.

* Religious people
** Darwinianists... Not Darwinists but, followers of Darwinianism.
*** Darwinianism... Ruthless social Darwinism.
 
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Mathuen

Banned
Mead, Michigan (Fort Quabbin)

United States of America

5/17/74 A.N.P

Investigations Officer Matthew Pierce looked down at the sprawl of papers before him. The papers were scattered across a glass table with an engraved eagle in the center. From the eagle came a deep blue light that flowed through the glass table and lit up the translucent papers upon it. Without the unique eagle light bleeding through the papers they would quickly become and opaque gray and obscure any of the information on them. Pierce chuckled, thinking about the brilliance of the whole idea. After realizing he was paying too much attention to a table his mind quickly focused by the more pressing matters that brought him where he was. That being 2 stories underground, alone, with a mess of papers and a car bomb in the next room.

Guardsmen Jason Marx and Lupin Santos had encountered a hostile mythologist driving a transport packed with explosives who was heading towards Mead. After seizing the rigged transport and running a check on the dead "mystery man" it was discovered that he was one Alex J. Stevenson. He had lived in Gibson, Indiana; which was part of Free Practice Zone 4. He was registered as a member of the United Wesleyan Church of Indiana which had moved to the neighboring county of Pike after the Second Civil War.

What struck Pierce as odd thought was that the Wesleyans were generally pacifists. They were one of the mythologist groups that didn't fight against the government during the war. What was a Wesleyan doing, making bombs and plotting to kill people? Pierce thought. Pierce had learned a day ago that the nuclear fallout from the destruction of the mead facility would be about as large as the one in Falkenhagen* twenty years ago. Whatever the man's motives were, he definitely wanted a lot of people to die.

One thought kept running through Pierce's mind. It was that even though they had obtained the rigged transport and the would be suicide bomber, there was no sign of a detonator. The bomb in the transport was sealed in a way that neither a collision nor a fire would set it off, so that meant that a detonator had to be somewhere. Yet no matter how hard they searched a detonator could not be found. The team that was assigned with searching the transport became so frustrated that one member suggested that the whole incident was a prank on them. A part of Pierce almost believed that.

It was then that Pierce remembered what one of his assistants told him after the entire bomb transport had been searched. Pierce felt his hands moving slowly into his left pants pocket as if of their own will. He then pulled out a small cellular phone and turned it on, the slight activation beep disturbing him even though he had used this phone for years. He dialed rapidly as if to not give himself enough time to reconsider what he was about to do. After several rings a person picked up.

"Yes?" asked a voice from the phone.

"Begin the autopsy" said Pierce, with the words just barely leaving his mouth. "But you better find the detonator".

"Right away sir" said the voice who then hung up.

* In 54 A.N.P a German nuclear reactor in Falkenhagen had a catastrophic melt down. Radiation from the reactor spread across a third of Brandenburg and almost covered Berlin. A total of 8,455 people died.

You may have noticed that Pierce is a slightly squeamish man, as in the thought of dead bodies let alone cutting one open and poking around freaks him out.
 
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Mathuen

Banned
A map of Indiana to give you an idea of the situation regarding Free Practice Zones...

BTW: The Zone of Transition is the place where the following message comes out your radio:

"Attention Citizen! You are approaching a Free Practice Zone. Please be prepared to show your ID, or if you are a mythologist, your FRID to your FPZ Guardsman. If you live in the Zone of Transition please call the Federal Zone Service at 884-2837 or go to www.FZS.gov and inform them to have this automatic message disabled for your automobile. Thank You!"

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Scipio Africanus

Wow, this timeline is getting very interesting. But perhaps these free practice zones are going too far. Religion is responsible a huge amount war, destruction and evil but freedom of religion is a founding principle of America. When will you reveal more about the backstory about all this, I'm quite curious. And also, what is the "Brotherhood of Saint Reagan"-I hope not a religion based around Ronald Reagan (yikes).
Scipio
 

Mathuen

Banned
Scipio Africanus said:
Wow, this timeline is getting very interesting. But perhaps these free practice zones are going too far. Religion is responsible a huge amount war, destruction and evil but freedom of religion is a founding principle of America. When will you reveal more about the backstory about all this, I'm quite curious. And also, what is the "Brotherhood of Saint Reagan"-I hope not a religion based around Ronald Reagan (yikes).
Scipio
Click to expand...

This America far from perfect, it has problems with class systems and discrimination like ours only coupled with paranoia. For example, "Work Towns" are places that the government sends the homeless in order for them to preform either tiresome or dangerous labor (farming, mining, dealing with nuclear reactors). As for Religion, yes the treatment of the religious (or mythologists) is disturbing. Most Americans believe however, that it was religion (mainly monotheism) that almost destroyed the country. It was after all, a christian end times group that nuked Washington D.C and started the Second Civil War.

The Free Practice Zones were seen as a compromise between those who wanted to preserve the "Spirit of America" and those who didn't want to hear or see the religious again. You can't kick out, detain or kill everyone who might be religious but at the same time most Americans find the idea of the religious having the same rights as them let alone running for office, living next door, or marrying their children disgusting. So the idea was to let them have their way in special zones were they can be "protected". There are a total of seven zones in the United States with there being talk of forming an eight one. So far however, no one has taken those proposals seriously. Suggestions for an eight zone are usually met with "Haven't they caused enough trouble already" Or "I suppose you want to get rid of FRIDs as well" or "What next? Let them join the military?!" It's very easy to seal people off in zones and suppress them, because the number of religious people in America only numbers about 7 million out of the 320 million total population of the U.S.

As for the Brotherhood of Saint Reagan... yes, yes it is. It has obvious Christian influences, but it focuses around Reagan being a prophet and a savior of those trying to flee the "Tainted West".

As for the back story, I will give you a little bit right now. The POD is in 36 B.N.P (OTL 1901) and has to do with a very important person named Lukas Schwarz (who doesn't exist in OTL) coming to America after his father allegedly killed a man. It also involves a nuclear war in the middle east, a fascist Iberia that tries to conquer Europe, a war between America and Canada, a very different Korean War and an independent Ireland. Getting back to Lukas Schwarz, he is important not so much for anything that he did as much for what the people he inspired did. For example, one of the people who often went to Schwarz's "rallies" (which were little more than him standing at street corner and preaching) went on to kill Woodrow Wilson. Think of him as a walking, talking, Catcher in the Rye. He's loud, controversial, vulgar, has very vague and shaky morals, but doesn't mean anyone harm. If you listen to him long enough however, you might just want to kill someone.

Ah yes! to respond something you said earlier. Yes, the U.S is the world superpower. It is also more advanced than ours, as you will soon see...
 
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Mathuen

Banned
A document from the United States Department of Nuclear Safety on the possession of nuclear weapons by global powers...

SOBM: Sub-Orbital Ballistic Missile
ITBM: Inter-Terrestrial Ballistic Missile
ACB: Aircraft Carried Bomb

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Mathuen

Banned
I should have updated sooner, but stuff happens. This is a past piece, taking place 11 years after the POD.
____________________

New York City, New York

United States of America

7/2/25 B.N.P

Joseph Himler stood perplexed in the middle of a crowd of perhaps eight or nine people. All of them were watching a lone man* preach from a street corner. It had become commonplace for people to stop and speak their minds for all of New York to hear, it was almost election season after all. Joseph had stopped dead in his place when he saw this lone man, which was odd. Joseph had never stopped for anyone before, as he was not a man too interested in the world around him let alone politics. There was something about this man though, that captivated Joseph. Was it his eyes full of fire, passion and a dash of insanity? Was it his loud yet gritty voice that was unmistakable no matter how large the crowd he might be in? Was it his posture, that of a leader, a commander, that starkly contrasted his rather ragged clothes and unpleasant odor? Or was it perhaps that hidden and ineffable quality that some men posses, that ability to dig into your soul and speak everything you felt, but you could never muster?

Joseph listened as the strange man on the street corner spoke.

"What are we as a nation, but the sum of the works of our greatest men and the failures of our worst enemies?" The man spoke. "We have fought kingdoms and toppled empires, we have seized what is ours and beaten those savages which dared to stand against us! We are a new Rome, a citadel which the profligate empires of the world cannot hope to topple. This leaves us only one true enemy, ourselves. It is perhaps the traditions of our republic that give power to all noble and worthy that will be our undoing? You doubt this? You say this is impossible? Look around you! Our nation, indeed the very parties within our nation are divided against themselves. Such a way of existence, such a division cannot continue..."

People began to jeer at the lone man, but Joseph's eyes stayed transfixed and his mouth shut as if any word from his mouth would cause the world around him to shatter. The people around him meant nothing, all that mattered was this man and the bittersweet truth he spoke.

"Only one man can rule and yet four seek the opportunity! There is a clear choice as to who should lead us into the future. He is a leader, a warrior, a hero**. He has lead our nation to glory and upon his back our great empire has been forged. Of the other three that stand against him only one man can challenge him. This man is a fraud and a traitor! He is a profligate and will spell our doom! Yet millions flock to him and hang on his every word."

By now the meager crowd that Joseph was once in had shrunk to just himself. He did not notice however, as all of his attention was focused upon the man in front of him. As far as Joseph was concerned, they were the only people that existed.

"There is only one choice for us as a people! There is only one choice for us as an empire! There is only one way to treat traitor and that is the way that this traitor must be treated!"

The lone man slowly dissipated from Joseph's senses and Joseph began to question if he was even real. There was one thing he knew though. The strange man was right about everything he said. This profligate, this traitor that he spoke of must be dealt with. He must be wiped off the face of the earth, like the taint on a handkerchief.

This traitor must die.

Woodrow Wilson must die.

* Lukas Schwarz

** Theodore Roosevelt of course!
 
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Jajax

Mathuen said:
A map of Indiana to give you an idea of the situation regarding Free Practice Zones...

BTW: The Zone of Transition is the place where the following message comes out your radio:

"Attention Citizen! You are approaching a Free Practice Zone. Please be prepared to show your ID, or if you are a mythologist, your FRID to your FPZ Guardsman. If you live in the Zone of Transition please call the Federal Zone Service at 884-2837 or go to www.FZS.gov and inform them to have this automatic message disabled for your automobile. Thank You!"
Click to expand...
Em, regarding your percentages....
Why so many Muslims, and no Jews at all?
 

Mathuen

Banned
Jajax said:
Em, regarding your percentages....
Why so many Muslims, and no Jews at all?
Click to expand...

The large number of Muslims has a direct connection to the formation of the Islamic union with many (mostly Sufi) moderate Muslims fleeing the Israeli-Arab war zone. This was durring the war that formed the Caliphate/Pan-Islamic Union. Like many remaining Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, etc, after the second civil war they were put in the zones.

As for the Jews... If you want to see them, then you should go to the New York FPZ.
 

mrmandias

Scipio Africanus said:
The atheist in me likes the immediate suspicion of an openly religious person.
Click to expand...

Typical.

Sometimes I wish humankind could commit to tolerance on some basis other than 'tolerance for me but not for thee'.

This TL is both ASB and also a wank in the true sense, but its at least inventive.
 
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