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alternate_history:alien_space_bats [2017/08/16 04:36] – [See Also] petikealternate_history:alien_space_bats [2018/07/06 00:04] – [Strict definition of ASB timelines and scenarios] petike
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 Often abbreviated to [[ASB]], this is a term given to a subgenre of alternate history concerning points of departure which aren't actually based on the course of factual human history. These include alternate history scenarios based on fictional or fantastical worlds, and more contentiously, on deviations in the evolution of life on Earth and on the Earth's geology. Simply put, any sort of event or timeline which would be impossible, or ludicrously unlikely, without divine intervention or "the activity of alien space bats" Often abbreviated to [[ASB]], this is a term given to a subgenre of alternate history concerning points of departure which aren't actually based on the course of factual human history. These include alternate history scenarios based on fictional or fantastical worlds, and more contentiously, on deviations in the evolution of life on Earth and on the Earth's geology. Simply put, any sort of event or timeline which would be impossible, or ludicrously unlikely, without divine intervention or "the activity of alien space bats"
  
-The name predates AH.com and comes from the now defunct alternate history site  [[offtopic:Soc-History-What-If|Social History What If]]. One of the main creators of the term was the late, great [[https://web.archive.org/web/20070611004248/http://www.flin.demon.co.uk/|Alison Brooks]], a British member of said site and long-term AH fan.+The name predates AH.com and comes from the now defunct alternate history site/newsgroup [[offtopic:Soc.History.What-If]]. One of the main creators of the term was the late, great [[https://web.archive.org/web/20070611004248/http://www.flin.demon.co.uk/|Alison Brooks]], a British member of said site and long-term AH fan. This hasn't been overlooked in more wider fiction-writing and fiction-reading circles, and the term even appears [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_space_bats|on Wikipedia]]. Ken MacLeod's 2005 SF novel //[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_the_World|Learning the World]]// outright uses the ASBs as side characters and an in-joke part of the novel's cast.
  
-The wide umbrella of ASB includes scenarios involving magic and, by AH.com convention, also any AH writings based on divergences from existing fictional universes, such as Star Wars.+The wide umbrella of ASB includes scenarios involving magic and, by AH.com convention, also any AH writings based on divergences from existing fictional universes, such as //Star Wars//. Nowadays, this particular subset has its own separate forum, though in the past it was lumped under the ASB forum.
  
 Probably the most common ASB scenario involves the [[alternate history:ISOT]] and variations thereof. The [[shared worlds:Mosaic Earth]] concept developed from the ISOT.   Probably the most common ASB scenario involves the [[alternate history:ISOT]] and variations thereof. The [[shared worlds:Mosaic Earth]] concept developed from the ISOT.  
  
-There is a heated debate as to whether scenarios that involve small or large geological changes in the world count as ASB or not. A good example of such a geological change is the [[http://rocketpunk-observatory.com/tarrantry.htm|eponymous island]] of the [[timelines:Tarrantry]] series.  +There is a heated debate as to whether scenarios that involve small or large geological changes in the world count as ASB or not. A good example of such a geological change is the [[http://rocketpunk-observatory.com/tarrantry.htm|eponymous island]] of the [[timelines:Tarrantry]] series. As a rule of thumb, AH.com administration considers geological PODs and works with such PODs to be a form of ASB scenario, so they should be posted in the ASB forum.  
 + 
 +More on the basics of the ASB concept in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-uuofTKwbI|this video]] from [[offtopic:Mitro]]'s site [[offtopic:The Alternate Historian]].
  
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   * //**1. ANYTHING involving aliens**//   * //**1. ANYTHING involving aliens**//
   * //**2. ANYTHING involving massive geological changes**//   * //**2. ANYTHING involving massive geological changes**//
-  * //**3. Things so unlikely that they would require the intervention of deity**//+  * //**3. Things so unlikely that they would require the intervention of deity**//
   * //**4. Fantasy**//   * //**4. Fantasy**//
  
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 **The [[offtopic:ASB Forum]]** - Where scenarios like this show up. **The [[offtopic:ASB Forum]]** - Where scenarios like this show up.
  
-**[[offtopic:Soc-History-What-If|Social History What If]]** - The lads and ladies who coined the term.+**[[offtopic:Soc.History.What-If]]** - The lads and ladies who coined the term.
  
 **[[offtopic:Who_s_who_of_asbs|Who's Who of ASBs]]** - A [[offtopic:Running jokes|tongue-in-cheek list]] of the most often reccuring Alien Space Bats characters. Meet the annoying but cute chiropteran pals of AH.commers ! ;-) **[[offtopic:Who_s_who_of_asbs|Who's Who of ASBs]]** - A [[offtopic:Running jokes|tongue-in-cheek list]] of the most often reccuring Alien Space Bats characters. Meet the annoying but cute chiropteran pals of AH.commers ! ;-)
alternate_history/alien_space_bats.txt · Last modified: 2021/05/20 20:47 by petike

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