"What Madness Is This?" Volume I: The Union Forever

[Time Enough]

Quick Question @Napoleon53 how is New Zealand and the Maori's doing?

I know New Zealand is occupied by Fascist Australia but I doubt it see's much action, also I have feeling there aren't as many white settlers as OTL so there's more friendly interaction with the Maori before Australia goes fascist leading to the Maori's being considered valuable partners in the Australian/New Zealand alliance (kind of like the blacks in America).

Of course I bet there are some Maori tribes that have been ethnically cleansed by the Fascists because they aren't Christian, and knowing this world the Aussies probably got there fellow Maori's to do the purging.

 

[Napoleon53]

So, instead of just calling Custer/President "Head of the Party" or the like. I got creative. Instead of Fuhrer, the Party calls its head "the Atheling," the title of an Anglo-Saxon Prince. This means he is a "Prince of God," not a worldly king. Even though... he's basically king guys. lol

Instead of Deputy Reichfuhrer or what have you, there is the Thane of the Party, who is second-in-command of the party. I suspect this is the rank Nixon will eventually hold. In 1.0 he was the Chief of the Party if I recall correctly.

Quick Question @Napoleon53 how is New Zealand and the Maori's doing?

I know New Zealand is occupied by Fascist Australia but I doubt it see's much action, also I have feeling there aren't as many white settlers as OTL so there's more friendly interaction with the Maori before Australia goes fascist leading to the Maori's being considered valuable partners in the Australian/New Zealand alliance (kind of like the blacks in America).

Of course I bet there are some Maori tribes that have been ethnically cleansed by the Fascists because they aren't Christian, and knowing this world the Aussies probably got there fellow Maori's to do the purging.

This will require research! It's a beautiful country but I probably know less about NZ than pretty much anywhere else. lol

 

[Time Enough]

This will require research! It's a beautiful country but I probably know less about NZ than pretty much anywhere else. lol

I can help if you like, I've been looking up New Zealand and the Maori so I can provide some ideas.

I have some suggestions also for a "Maori" Custer of sorts (whose background would be quite funny as the leader of Anti-Irish etc. New Zealand Government) which helps Australia during the Great War retaking the West Australia.

 

[Napoleon53]

More professional photos coming later. Behold, Sergeant Charles Oswald's ORRA 13th Mechanized Unit helmet, complete with his unique graffiti. He's lettin' you know he's a God-fearin' Pinnacle Man with "loved ones in the glory," and if you know what happened to his family in 1.0, you'll know that is super duper effed up. He also sports an illuminating cross beneath the spade, and Revelation 19:11, which is: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." I went over the blue spray paint job with black shoe dye, which gave it that warbled dirty used look, and accentuated the original dings, then scraped it in spots that would have paint wear from handling with a sander block. I was reading how they painted them in WWII and they almost never used stencils of any kind, so I thought this was about as realistic as it gets. He even has a little hand-drawn MDP badge on the back.

"There are Loved Ones in the Glory" comes from this classic spiritual:

I also considered "Undertaker Please Drive Slow," but the eff-up creepo value of Loved Ones was too good to pass up.

 

[Born in the USSA]

More professional photos coming later. Behold, Sergeant Charles Oswald's ORRA 13th Mechanized Unit helmet, complete with his unique graffiti. He's lettin' you know he's a God-fearin' Pinnacle Man with "loved ones in the glory," and if you know what happened to his family in 1.0, you'll know that is super duper effed up. He also sports an illuminating cross beneath the spade, and Revelation 19:11, which is: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." I went over the blue spray paint job with black shoe dye, which gave it that warbled dirty used look, and accentuated the original dings, then scraped it in spots that would have paint wear from handling with a sander block. I was reading how they painted them in WWII and they almost never used stencils of any kind, so I thought this was about as realistic as it gets. He even has a little hand-drawn MDP badge on the back.

View attachment 437121 View attachment 437122 View attachment 437123

That's super cool

 

[Born in the USSA]

So, instead of just calling Custer/President "Head of the Party" or the like. I got creative. Instead of Fuhrer, the Party calls its head "the Atheling," the title of an Anglo-Saxon Prince. This means he is a "Prince of God," not a worldly king. Even though... he's basically king guys. lol

So it's something ironically similar to Chinese beliefs about the Mandate of Heaven then? The *emperor is just a deputy of a celestial monarch, and the *peasants have a right to rebel if the leader grows weak, taking it as a sign of heaven's disfavor. If NUSA eventually breaks up (somewhere far into the future, I hope) I could see a similar pattern to the Chinese one, where the faction able to reconquer all the territory declares themselves Atheling/President until the country has another civil war and the whole cycle starts all over again.

*Edit- That actually reminds me: are divisions within the MDP primarily regional or ideological? Are Southron branches of the party significantly different on "acceptable" points, for example, or do you end up with a blend of party positions regardless of where you look?

 

[Napoleon53]

I can help if you like, I've been looking up New Zealand and the Maori so I can provide some ideas.

To quote Rowan and Martin: Sock it to me! I feel that Maori would definitely be considered Inferior though. They're basically an exact match for the Union's definition of "asiatic mongoloids."

That's super cool

Thank you my dude! I worked very hard on it. I had to run to Walmart three times just to get all the stuff I used. lol

*Edit- That actually reminds me: are divisions within the MDP primarily regional or ideological? Are Southron branches of the party significantly different on "acceptable" points, for example, or do you end up with a blend of party positions regardless of where you look?

This is a very interesting question. I feel like definitely at first the MDP will have a different flavor in the Old South. I suspect that by the 1920s at the latest that we'll see a total unification of party beliefs. That's basically what the CYB is for to begin with. They know nonconformity breeds nonconformity. So brainwash 'em all young and you won't have that problem as much.

 

[Napoleon53]

UNION HOLIDAYS AND RANKS OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, MANIFEST DESTINY PARTY, AND THE AMERICAN FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCH

Great World War period photograph of the RU Capitol Building in Philadelphia​

To understand the evolution of the American chain of command in the latter years of the Custer Administration and the era of the Great World War, it is important to understand the layout of the systems used. Upon seizing power initially, Custer was extremely anti-bureaucratic and hated politicians, whom he viewed as largely to blame for the years of stagnation following the Great American War and the martyrdom of A. A. Lincoln. But as the world rolled into the cesspit of violence and destruction of the twentieth century, more and more political positions and offices popped up. This is not even to mention the growth of the MDP and the Reverend-Colonel Sunday's establishment of numerous new offices and titles within the Church. It was during the wartime period that the Union government would change for essentially the last time, with very few offices created thereafter.

- RANKS OF THE UNION GOVERNMENT -

- NATIONAL LEVEL -

THE OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF:

The President


THE CABINET
(CURSUS HONORUM):

Number denotes line of succession to the Presidency

THE OFFICE OF RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
The Supreme Chief (1)
The Under-Chief (10)
The Minister
The Deputy Minister
The Headmaster-Marshal of the Custer Youth Brigade

THE OFFICE OF THE MILITARY POLICE
The Supreme Chief (2)
The Under-Chief (11)
The Deputy Chief
The Watch

THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
The Supreme Marshal (3)
The Under-Marshal
The Coucil of Legate Generals


THE UNION NAVY
The Supreme Admiral (4)
The Grand Admiral
The Chiefs of Naval Operations
The Supreme Commander of the Marines
The Supreme Commander of the Coast Guard
The Chiefs of Marine Warfare Operations


THE UNION AEROFORCE
The Sky Marshal(5)
The Sky Chief
The Chiefs of Aerial Operations

OFFICE OF VETERAN AFFAIRS
Supreme Chief of Veteran Affairs
Surgeon-General of Veteran Hospitals


THE OFFICE OF THE TREASURY
The Supreme Chief of the Treasury (6)
The Quartermaster General
The Postmaster General
The Chief Minister of the Treasury
The Deputy Minister of the Treasury
The Chief Spokesman for the Economic Clans
The Chief Minister of the Union Mint


THE OFFICE OF JUSTICE
The Supreme Justiciar of Law and Order (7)
The Under-Justiciar of Law and Order
The Chief Minister of Inferior Law
The Chief Minister of Better Law
The Council of Law and Order


THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
The Supreme Chief of Education (8)
The Under-Chief of Education
The Inspector General of Academia
The Council of Academia


THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC WORKS
The Supreme Chief of Public Works (9)
The Under-Chief of Public Works
The Chief Minister of Labor
The Deputy Minister of Labor
The Chief Minister of Agriculture
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture
The Inspector General of Highways and Infrastructure
The Inspector General of Railways
The Inspector General of Port Authorities
The Inspector General of Public Parks and Reserves


THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENTIAL POLICY*
The Supreme Policy Advisor to the President
The Deputy Policy Advisor to the President


* The Office of Presidential Policy was forbidden from the line of succession
to keep Advisors (essentially Chiefs of Staff) focused on accomplishing the current President's goals
and helping to carry on a "smooth" transition to the next President should
something happen to the one currently in office


- THE STATE LEVEL -

THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
The State Governor
The Deputy Governor

THE STATE CABINET
The Chief Comptroller of the State
The State Minister of Law and Order
The State Minister of Internal Affairs
The State Minister of Veteran Affairs
The State Minister of Societal Harmony
The State Council of Elders


- THE LOCAL LEVEL -

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR
The City Mayor
The Deputy City Mayor

THE CITY LEADERSHIP
The City Chief of Military Police
The Chief Comptroller of the City
The City Council of Elders
The Chief Minister of Local Ordinance and Zoning
The Chief Lawyer


- RANKS OF THE MANIFEST DESTINY PARTY -

Headquarters of the Manifest Destiny Party in Philadelphia circa 1925

- NATIONAL LEVEL -

The Atheling* of the Party (always the President)
The Thane** of the Party
The Deputy Thane
The Secretary of the Party
The Under-Secretary of the Party
The National MDP Women's Chapter Secretary
The National Treasurer of the Party
The National Labor Ambassador
The National Council of Party Bannermen
The National Secretary of the Veterans of Patriotic Wars Association

* Title of ancient Anglo-Saxon princes eligible for kingship, but in this case meaning "below the King," Christ himself
**Thane is the ancient Anglo-Saxon title meaning "one who serves," in this case meaning "one who serves Atheling, party, policy, and God


- REGIONAL LEVEL -

The Bannerman*
The Deputy Regional Bannerman
The Regional Chapter Secretary
The Regional Chapter Under-Secretary
The Regional Chapter Treasurer
The Commander of Regional Morale and Public Affairs
The Regional Labor Ambassador
The Regional Secretary of the Veterans of Patriotic Wars Association


* Bannerman was a reference to Medieval Britain, where warlords pledging fealty to a prince were referred to as Bannermen


- LOCAL LEVEL -

The Cell Leader
The Women's Cell Leader
The Local Secretary of Party Affairs
The Local Secretary of the Veterans of Patriotic Wars Association
Party Member



- POSITIONS AND TITLES OF THE AMERICAN FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIAN CHURCH -

Painting of the Chapel of the New Jerusalem in Shicagwa


- NATIONAL LEVEL -

- THE CHIEF CROSS-BEARERS OF THE AFC CHURCH -

The Reverend-Colonel
The Defender of the Faith (always the Supreme Atheling of the Party/President of the Union)
The Council of Jehovah
The Church Secretary of Coin and Tithe
The Church Secretary of Public Outreach and Charity
The Church Chief Demonologist*
The Church Chief of Christian Magicks*
The Church Council on Studies of the Other Side*
The National Council of American Fundamentalist Christian Pastors

* The office of the Chief Demonologist, of Christian Magicks, and the Council on Studies of the Other Side were all parts of the Mr. Tobias Institute, a modern castle in the Poconos Mountains about two hours from Philadelphia/ The Institute was often ridiculed by Europe as "The Citadel of Merlin." It was rarely documented or ever photographed on the inside, but stories about "occult rituals" and "ceremonies to summon the phantasmagoric powers of the Other Side" would float about for years. One young pastor in training there, a gaunt oddball named Howard Lovecraft, even claimed to have stepped into the "Void" itself.

- THE REGIONAL LEVEL -

The Regional Deacon
The Regional Secretary of Public Outreach and Charity
The Regional Demonologist


- THE LOCAL LEVEL -

The Pastor of the Church
The Deacon of the Church
The Church Secretary of Internal Affairs and Community Outreach
The Sunday School Headmaster
The Church Demonologist
Church Member


- HONORARY OR SPECIAL TITLES AND POSITIONS -

Founding Father

Patriot-Saint

Martyr

Colonel

Servant of Christ (Ser.)

Hero of the Church

Zealot


- OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS OF THE REPUBLICAN UNION-


January 1st: New Year’s Day
January 20th: AFC Day [1]
January 22nd: Constitution Day
February 6th: Aaron Burr II’s Birthday
February 12th: Abraham Aaron Lincoln's Birthday
February 14th: Valentine's Day
February 20th: Martyrdom Day [2]
February 22nd: George Washington's Birthday
March 1st: Welsh-American Pride Day [3]
March 12th: Day of the Great Peace [4]
April 1st: March on Philadelphia Day
May 1st: Isrealite-American Pride Day [5]
June 1st: African-American Pride Day
July 4th: Liberty Day/Restoration Day [6]
July 26th: Dutch-American Pride Day [7]
August 14th: Willard Crawford’s Birthday [8]
August 24th: Manifest Destiny Day [9]
August 30th: Consolidation Day [10]
September 3rd: English-American Pride Day [11]
September 15th: German-American Pride Day
October 1st: Green Mountain Day [12]
October 12th: Lief Erickson Day/Scandinavian-American Pride Day [13]
October 31st: Thanksgiving
November 22nd: Veteran's Day [14]
November 30th: Scottish-American Pride Day [15]
December 5th: George Armstrong Custer’s Birthday
December 18th: Joseph Steele’s Birthday
December 25th: Patriot Saint's Day Eve/Remembrance Day
December 24th: Patriot Saint's Day
December 29th: Charles Goodyear I’s Birthday
December 31st: New Year’s Eve

[1] Commemorating the official establishment of the AFC in 1820.

[2] Commemoration of the day Benedict Arnold ascended to martyrdom by taking a bullet for the Prophet Burr at Valley Forge.

[3] The same day as St. David's Day.

[4] Commemorating the surrender of the last Virginian armies to the Union in 1861 and the end of the Great American War.

[5] Invented by the Republican Union government under President Custer in 1901 due to increased Jewish immigration to the Republican Union and in an attempt to "foster better relations between the Anglo-Saxon-Tuetonic-Nordic Pinnacle Man and his Israelite Cousins and For-bearers." This statement reflected the belief of the AFC and MDP that Ashkenazi Jews were directly related to and the same race as the Germanic peoples of Europe, and that the Ancient Jews of the Bible were the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxon-Tuetonic-Nordic peoples.

[6] Commemorating the Execution of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton and the other Federalists and the restoration of the Union in 1861.

[7] Intentionally on the same day as the 1581 Act of Abjuration.

[8] Ironically the same birthday of Caesar Napoleon III, born on the same day in 1839.

[9] Commemorating the start of the Great American War and the beginning of Union expansionism and Manifest Destiny in earnest.

[10] Commemorating the formation of the RU's government in 1801.

[11] The same day the Treaty of Paris was signed and the American Revolutionary War ended.

[12] Commemorating the beginning of the Green Mountain War in 1832.

[13] Invented by the Republican Union government under President Custer in 1884 as a replacement for Columbus Day, a holiday which was seen as too Catholic for the government's liking. While many Union historians claimed that Columbus was really a Scotsman named Christopher McCullough, or an Englishman or Welshman who served the Spanish crown while still a spy in the service of King Henry VII of England, most in the Union still viewed Columbus Day as a "Papist Holiday." Scandinavian-American American Pride was juxtaposed as Lief Erickson was Scandinavian.

[13] The same day that the Republican Union declared war on Europa and Quebec in 1911.

[14] The same day as St. Andrew's Day.

​

 

[Napoleon53]

So I created a few very... interesting... things here.

The Church... oh man, the Church. The Mr. Tobias Institute is extremely interesting. As soon as I invented it, I wanted to write about it. I can imagine a definite "Thule Society" feel crossed with Lovecraftian nonsense. I can see it now. Up in the Poconos, there a is a massive Victorian er, I mean, Pax Napoleonic style castle-mansion. It is surrounded by Zealots 24/7 to make sure their "research" is not interrupted. They might be doing nothing but playing Bloody Mary in the mirror, but the Institute takes itself seriously and they are basically the "Area 51" for supernatural, even if these "supernatural" things are just them taking drugs and meditating on the Pinnacle Man. I could imagine the Institute eventually being the organization that formulates LSD...

"EVERYBODY WATCH OUT. I'M ABOUT TO SUMMON PINNACLETHULU, OF THE PURE BLOOD OF THE FIRST BORN OF THE ELDER ONES, DEVOURER OF THE VOID AND FERRYMAN OF THE RIVER STIX! ANCIENT PRIMORDIAL WIELDER OF UTHER'S BLADE, EXCALIBUR, AND THE ORIGINAL ANGLO-SAXON GOD OF CHAOS."

*drops acid*

"Oh man, get maintenance in here. Reverend Leeds just crapped himself again."

 

[John Spangler]

So I created a few very... interesting... things here.

The Church... oh man, the Church. The Mr. Tobias Institute is extremely interesting. As soon as I invented it, I wanted to write about it. I can imagine a definite "Thule Society" feel crossed with Lovecraftian nonsense. I can see it now. Up in the Poconos, there a is a massive Victorian er, I mean, Pax Napoleonic style castle-mansion. It is surrounded by Zealots 24/7 to make sure their "research" is not interrupted. They might be doing nothing but playing Bloody Mary in the mirror, but the Institute takes itself seriously and they are basically the "Area 51" for supernatural, even if these "supernatural" things are just them taking drugs and meditating on the Pinnacle Man. I could imagine the Institute eventually being the organization that formulates LSD...

Yes, please!

 

[Napoleon53]

Yes, please!

It's beautiful.

 

[Vuu]

Tobias institute member: *summons Cthulu*
Cthulu:

$100 that suddenly appeared on the floor: ..........

 

[Worffan101]

Praise be!

Amazing work on the helmet, and that AFC worldbuilding sounds insane!

 

[Born in the USSA]

This is a very interesting question. I feel like definitely at first the MDP will have a different flavor in the Old South. I suspect that by the 1920s at the latest that we'll see a total unification of party beliefs. That's basically what the CYB is for to begin with. They know nonconformity breeds nonconformity. So brainwash 'em all young and you won't have that problem as much.

So what's the ideological spread of the Party? I mean it's obvious everyone despises Inferiors, but are there different factions about how to deal with them (muahahahaha), or on issues such as the social safety net, taxation, art, those sorts of things? I'm thinking of something like the Strasserite faction of Nazism, although perhaps not divergent enough to require a Night of the Long Knives.

Two other notes: Will Lovecraft get a future role? The idea of him as a priest is entertaining, but having a priest who entered the afterlife could have all kinds of sway in an insane theocracy. Elder Signs as far as the eye can see! They're like a cross with hooks, the better to snare spirits with and protect the faithful. Ironically his shock at having a Welsh ancestor that inspired The Shadow Over Innsmouth (where the Elder Sign first appeared) would be probably nonexistent in TTL.

Second question, could the Council of Jehovah excommunicate the President in the current governmental structure or would only the Reverend-Colonel as an individual have the authority for that? I know it happened when Custer carried out his coup but now that the AFC and the government are joined at the hip it seems like the dynamic has changed due to the cross-pollination of organizational hierarchies.

*Edit/third note: Does the President appoint state/territorial governors, or merely approve/veto governors selected by the inhabitants of free states (as opposed to military-governed territories that obviously wouldn't get a say)? I know there are state/local elections and I'm wondering where exactly the cut-off is.

 

[Victor Hatherley]

Dare I inquire what a "State Council of Elders" does?

 

[TheImperialTheorist]

Great to see more world building for our favorite kooky theocratic dystopia! Funny to see Lovecraft being part of the Mr. Tobias Institute. I wonder if he still has a hate for colored people as OTL or he only hates different ethnicities. I also wonder if he’s going to write any books. Perhaps they describe what he saw in “the Void” and is basically a self-insert.

 

[Born in the USSA]

Great to see more world building for our favorite kooky theocratic dystopia! Funny to see Lovecraft being part of the Mr. Tobias Institute. I wonder if he still has a hate for colored people as OTL or he only hates different ethnicities. I also wonder if he’s going to write any books. Perhaps they describe what he saw in “the Void” and is basically a self-insert.

So basically a whole series of Randolph Carter novels?

 

[Vuu]

Anyways, some good AFC material would be The Language Crystal by Lawrence Lyons, but if you purge every single notion of transhumanism, equality, and generally the nice parts

 

[Leon Trotsky]

Dare I inquire what a "State Council of Elders" does?

Perhaos a analogue to the Mullahs's Assembly of Experts in Iran, only this time in a Christian fundie robe?

 

[Born in the USSA]

Perhaos a analogue to the Mullahs's Assembly of Experts in Iran, only this time in a Christian fundie robe?

They dress up like judges out of the Old Testament