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Alternate Wikibox Thread

The President looked out to his mass of supporters waiting with bated breath for him to speak.

He was in a rough position. He shocked everybody when he managed to win the last presidential election, but after a hard-fought victory, winning the top job that he'd always wanted, his controversial figure made it difficult for anybody but your strongest supporters to stick with you during your Presidency. Even people in your party murmured that they could have had someone better, anybody could have won against the nominee they put up last time around, why did it have to be him, of all people? He'd kept those voices quiet with his pick of a running mate, but still, those murmurs still floated around.

But now, he was angry. He felt that his detractors in the party had cost him what he believed to be a winnable election. He knew it would be tough when the other party decided to run the former Vice President against him, but in his heart of hearts he just knew the people would stick with him. But now, the election was stolen from him, everyone here recognized that, and he was going to do what he could to take back the country before the former Vice President could usurp him from power and turn this country into a hellhole.

The President walked up to the podium and began to speak. As he spoke, the crowd grew angrier, and angrier. This was good. He needed them good and angry for what he wanted them to do. Today was January 6th, and Congress was about to start the counting of electoral votes. Oh, he'd tried to get the Electoral College to vote in his favor despite his loss, tried to get them to see reason, but alas. Now was his final, last ditch attempt to hold on to the office of the Presidency, and he was going to win, he was sure of it. The tree of liberty had to be sustained with the blood of patriots, after all.

The crowd was good and angry now, and he was about to say what his followers wanted to hear: "Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. After this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you. We’re going to walk down. We’re going to walk down any one you want, but I think right here. We’re going walk down to the Capitol-"

The crowd was in a furor now, and they were ready. The President wrapped up his speech, and stepped off the stage. He was ready to march, and they were going to march on the Capitol.

The crowd, led on by the President himself, walked onto the National Mall, where a group of Senators and Representatives were gathered for the counting of electoral votes. Security at the Capitol was slim, thanks to a few choice contacts the President and his advisors had within the Capitol Police. Once the large crowd had amassed in front of the Capitol, the President stood at the front steps. "We are going to take back this country, and it starts now!"

Chaos ensued. His supporters started to run towards the Capitol. The token police officers put up around the building suddenly faced hundreds, no thousands, of angry rioters. Some police officers tried to fight them off, others who were more sympathetic began opening the barriers, making way for a stream of rioters to enter the Capitol.

In the House chamber, the Speaker of the House was interrupted by the terrified whispers of an aide who had come running into the chamber. "The Capitol has been breached! The President is leading his men here!"

The Speaker of the House took action, and immediately moved to adjourn the current session. The Vice President was rushed out, with Secret Service agents rushing to get him out of the building.

Meanwhile, protestors banged on the doors of the Senate chamber, where the unlucky Senators had been unable to evacuate before rioters took control of the Capitol. The Vice President-elect was among the trapped Senators, and when the protestors finally broke into the chamber, they made sure that the Vice President-elect would not be allowed to escape.

Soon, the President himself was in the Capitol. He marched to the office of the House Speaker, guarded now by some of his supporters. This coup was turning out fantastically for him. He received word that the Vice President-elect and a handful of Senators were now dead. His own Vice President, it was reported, was killed during a shootout between the Secret Service and his own supporters.

However, things would not turn out so well for the President as he had thought. The Governor of Maryland and the Governor of Virginia, both of different parties to each other, were nevertheless horrified as they received reports of the coup ongoing at the Capitol. Both deployed their states' National Guards, and they marched to Washington, ready to put down the coup.

Hours later, the President was seized by officers of the Maryland National Guard. The Speaker of the House, who had mercifully escaped, along with most of the House and a small group of Senators, quickly reconvened at a nearby football stadium.

Speaker of the House Gerald Ford, who had just won the position he had desired for a long time a mere three days ago after the Republican Party won control of the House in the last election, assumed the office of Acting President under the newly passed 25th Amendment, replacing the now detained President George Wallace. Ford would go on to serve as the official President of the United States for a period of ten days after the swift impeachment and removal of President Wallace, and thus serving the shortest presidential term in history, beating out President William Henry Harrison by 20 days. Ford would go on to be re-elected Speaker after Lodge was sworn into office. New Senators were appointed in the coming days to replace those killed, including the now deceased Vice President-elect, Thruston Morton, who had been happy to join the ticket of former Vice President Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.. Vice President Stuart Symington, defiant to the last against the coup launched by the man he'd reluctantly served with, was honored with a burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Nelson Rockefeller, the man who'd outmaneuvered then-Vice President Lodge to win the nomination in 1968 and subsequently lost, found himself as the new nominee for Vice President when Lodge was sworn into office.

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I had an extremely terrible idea for a presidential election system so now you all get to see it too.

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George W. Bush becomes the first wild card president in decades, and Nader is the first third party candidate to make it on the executive council since George Wallace in the 1968 East South Central division election.

This is superbly cursed. Did you work it out for any other elections?
 
I made the election playoff for 1952, which I've decided is the first year the playoff was used, because the census divisions were created in 1950 and also post-WWII and post-FDR reforms feel like a good enough excuse for the system's creation.

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View attachment 30130

Things truly did Only Get Worse.

Our exit poll is suggesting that the Conservatives, under Nicholas Soames, will win a second landslide majority. We are saying the Conservatives will lose about 20 seats, which will leave them with around 380 seats. And this... this is perhaps going to be, to history, one of the landmark moments in British politics. We are saying that the Green Party of England and Wales will form Her Majesty's Opposition. The Green Party of England and Wales will form Her Majesty's opposition, as we expect them to take close to 70 seats away from Labour. The Greens are expected to take around 140 seats, up around 90, and the Labour Party, under the leadership of Chuka Umunna, are expected to fall to close to 90 seats. We are also saying that, on the exit poll, Chuka Umunna is under serious risk of losing his seat to the Greens. The Liberal Democrats are expected to have a good night, and are expected to get around 15 seats. Truly a remarkable exit poll, and we're headed for an extraordinary night.

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Our exit poll is suggesting that the Conservatives, under Nicholas Soames, will win a second landslide majority. We are saying the Conservatives will lose about 20 seats, which will leave them with around 380 seats. And this... this is perhaps going to be, to history, one of the landmark moments in British politics. We are saying that the Green Party of England and Wales will form Her Majesty's Opposition. The Green Party of England and Wales will form Her Majesty's opposition, as we expect them to take close to 70 seats away from Labour. The Greens are expected to take around 140 seats, up around 90, and the Labour Party, under the leadership of Chuka Umunna, are expected to fall to close to 90 seats. We are also saying that, on the exit poll, Chuka Umunna is under serious risk of losing his seat to the Greens. The Liberal Democrats are expected to have a good night, and are expected to get around 15 seats. Truly a remarkable exit poll, and we're headed for an extraordinary night.

View attachment 32053
The Strange Demise of Labour Britain...

Also I wonder who would be replacing Natalie Bennett (she would have been in office for a while) and Chukka? Lots of possibilities
 
The Strange Demise of Labour Britain...

Also I wonder who would be replacing Natalie Bennett (she would have been in office for a while) and Chukka? Lots of possibilities
Bennett has privately indicated her intention to retire next year, where there are quite a few people who will be rearing to replace her. In the swiftly organised Labour leadership election, Ian Murray succeeded Umunna after a second brief acting period by Deputy Leader Alan Johnson. Johnson had been Deputy Leader from September 2010, after Prescott's retirement at the time of Brown's leadership challenge, and was retiring at the advent of this leadership election. Johnson was succeeded by Jess Phillips who survived the 2020 election, and managed to get in in the 2015 election too, by the skin of her teeth. There are currently murmorings of talks between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party for some sort of merger or alliance, as the two together would have just about subsumed the Green Party in terms of voteshare in the 2020 election.
 
“Two new Small Solar System Bodies Reported
Two previously unidentified bodies were observed this week by NASA. Current estimates suggest they are smaller than an airplane”
- This week @NASA, January 23, 2034

“Third object observed
Similar to those observed last week. The objects appear to be converging somewhat.”
- This week @NASA, January 30, 2034

“Today NASA has reclassified 3 objects formerly thought to be small asteroids as Interstellar Objects, that is objects that originated outside the solar system. This is based on more recent data of the velocity of the objects, characterized by NASA as unusually fast, as well as their trajectory. The objects have been designated 6I, 7I, and 8I respectively. They are the smallest Interstellar objects ever recorded, and one NASA member attributed their discovery to “dumb luck.”

Although the proximity of the objects is likely a coincidence, NASA estimates they will eventually separate, they will be named as a group. Current front runners include the names of the 3 Musketeers, or the Hawai’ian name for “fish” reflecting their small size and “social” behavior.”
- Scientific American, February 28, 2034

“EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY REPORTS IʻA OBJECTS DECELERATING”
- New York Times Science Section, March 8, 2034

“At the current rate of deceleration, we may well see the Iʻas becoming permanent members of our solar system, entering solar orbit. This is obviously a great opportunity for NASA, and the astronomy community at large. We’ll be keeping a close eye on them.”
- NASA Administrator Sage Smith, March 13, 2034

“SCIENTISTS BAFFLED BY DECELERATION OF IʻAS. SOMETHING MORE?”
-New York Post, March 23, 2034

“Deceleration of an Interstellar Object is entirely expected. What is more surprising is that all of them appear to be doing so in slightly different ways, and at slightly different rates. We speculate that this may have to do with the gravity wells of Mars and Venus impacting Iʻa 1 and Iʻa 3 respectively.”
- NASA Administrator Sage Smith, March 29, 2034

“I honestly don’t remember who it was. It was April 1st, and no one wanted to be the fool. But we were all thinking it. The shifts towards Mars and Venus were simply too large and too inexplicable to ignore. Then someone decided to see how a similar process might impact Iʻa 2. And we looked at it. And we were like shit.”
-Unnamed NASA Scientist, Not Alone, 2040

“We can confirm that given the recent alterations in the trajectories of Iʻa 1 and Iʻa 3 will make these small objects moons. 1 will become Mars’s third moon, while 3 will be Venus’s first. 2 seems likely to proceed between the planets, and pass into the outer solar system, passing by Earth in the process”
- ESA Director Heinrich Weber, April 4, 2034

“Just because 2 is between 1 and 3 and Earth is between Mars and Venus, does not mean that Iʻa 2 will enter orbit.”
- NASA Director Sage Smith, April 5, 2034

“Thank god we caught it a year out. God knows what would have happened if we got caught more flat footed.”
- NASA Director Sage Smith (Privately), April 5, 2034

“I’ve been running some numbers. Working the deceleration numbers on the Iʻa backwards. And holy shit that thing was moving fast. The speeds we saw as it entered the solar system were abnormally high to begin with. But if we assume it’s been slowing down at the same rate for a while, and there’s nothing from anyone to suggest it hasn’t, holy fuck it was moving. We’re talking a significant fraction of the speed of light fast.”
- Internet User LonelyCollins, April 29, 2034

“JF: So you’re saying it will enter orbit?

SS: A little over a year from now, yes. Assuming that the current trends hold alongside something similar to what we saw with Mars and Venus, Iʻa 2 will enter Low Earth Orbit.

JF: LOW Earth Orbit? That’s a lot closer than the “new moon” stuff you’ve been touting for Mars and Venus.

SS: Well yes. In fact the thing is, we’re a bit worried Iʻa 1 will collide with an Indian orbiter that...

JF: I’m more concerned with the one that’s headed here.

SS: Understandable sir. Like I said, early summer 2035 is our best guess for arrival. It would enter a fairly stable orbit by our modeling, although it would eventually de orbit.

JF: You mean crash.

SS: Given the size, none of it would actually reach the ground.

JF: Small comforts. You said we’re still having trouble identifying its composition.

SS: None of the usual methods seem to be working.

JF: Any idea why?

SS: Well the one thing I would have to say is. The issue with this is that, well, between the Iʻas veering off course and this composition issues, it’s well, they don’t seem to be obeying any of the standards of natural phenomena.

JF: Great, an asteroid that doesn’t obey the laws of physics.

SS: Oh it obeys the laws of physics sir. Assuming it has an engine of some kind.”
- Oval Office, May 16, 2034.

“By early June, things were beginning to leak, and people were beginning to figure it out on their own with nothing but grit and the internet. All the powers with the ability to observe deep space had figured out what was happening. No one wanted to cede any rights about anything in this situation, and high level talks were out, given the nominal secrecy. Nonetheless informal agreements were made. America and allies, particularly in the ESA, had the so called Canaveral-Kourou Agreement, pledging cooperation. The New York Agreement was made by representatives of various nations to the United Nations. Although they agreed that no existing organ (such as the Secretary General or Office of Outer Space Affairs) would be used, they also established that the UN could be a useful tool in handing the situation. And, of course the “Gentleman’s Agreement” among prominent scientists, both inside and outside official channels, which pledged to avoid politicization and militarization wherever possible...”
- Not Alone, 2040

“Although it cannot be stated with absolute certainty, the National Space Administration believes that the Interstellar Objects recently observed are of artificial origin. We do not know who build them, but they are not of our Earth, not of our Solar System. The People’s Republic of China, and all the other nations of the world, will extend the hand of friendship to these visitors. We are strong, but we are welcoming. We look to heaven with neither fear nor naivety...”
- English Translation of the Beijing Address, June 13, 2034

“The President never forgave the Chinese Premier for upstaging him on the official announcement that Iʻa 2 was an alien spacecraft of some kind. It was a blow to his, and to American prestige. It made NASA look slow and playing catch-up. Which in turn made it all seem like another Space Race, all of which made things more tense then they needed to be. It set the whole thing off on a bad note. Of course, I can’t be too harsh on the Premier, it’s not like the President was planning a joint event, he wanted to be first.

Still, from an organizational perspective, things went smoothly at first. The Presidential Commission on Contact was well received. Of course with all of those Congressional and industry leaders, it was bit unwieldy. A working group of the President, the Secretaries of State and Defense, the NASA Director, and the ranking member of the Aviation and Space subcommittee quickly emerged.”
- A Decade and Change in Washington, 2047

“OPINION: AMERICA MUST TAKE LEAD ON CONTACT”
- Washington Post, June 23, 2034

“While it is true that Iʻa 1 and Iʻa 3 will enter orbit earlier, it is unlikely we we will be able to glean much. Our observations on Mars and Venus simply are not oriented correctly for such observations. And there is no way to guess what sort of transmissions these things are using. At best we might be able to glean a bit more regarding the shape of the craft.”
- NASA Director Sage Smith, July 11, 2034

“There was a bit of a calm before the storm. There were frantic calculations, and a drip, drip, drip, of new information. But for over half a year, the pace of news about Iʻa slowed. But it did not stop.”
- Not Alone, 2040

“TWO ENGINES? NEW EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT IʻA HAS ONE PROPULSION SYSTEM FOR INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL, AND USED ANOTHER ONCE IT ENTERED THE SOLAR SYSTEM.”
- Scientific American, August 23, 2034

“LOCAL INTERNET COMMENTATOR: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE ALIENS LOOK LIKE, BUT I WANT TO FUCK THEM”
- The Onion, September 1, 2034

“ESA: ‘EXTREMELY UNLIKELY IʻA IS CREWED”
- La Monde, October 2, 2034

“TROUBLE IN PARADISE: INSIDE THE VIOLENT SCHISM BETWEEN TWO IʻA CULTS”
- Buzzfeed News, November 6, 2034

“There is, of course, an immense strategic advantage to possession of both propulsion systems. Even the less powerful system is more efficient and faster than any created on Earth. And current estimates suggest the Interstellar Drive can reach speeds of .5c. Any nation in possession of such schematics would hold power over all others
- National Security Council Report, leaked December 2034

“ʻ: HOW A HAWAIʻIAN SOUND WENT GLOBAL”
-Honolulu Star-Advertiser, January 5, 2035

“COLLISION RISK FOR IʻA: AN HONEST ASSESSMENT”
- Scientific American, February 13, 2035

“PREVIOUSLY DIVIDED, SCIENTISTS NOW LARGELY AGREE IʻA 2 CAME FROM ROSS 128”
- New York Times, February 20, 2035

“WHY IʻA MAY CRASH BEFORE IT HAS A CHANCE TO DO ANYTHING”
- Vox, March 12, 2035

“The issue for Iʻa 2, is that well, is that whoever manufactured it had no way of knowing what was in orbit already. They knew about the moon, I think, but nothing else. So they never made the calculations that we do, whenever we launch into orbit. And given that transmissions from the probe likely takes over 11 years to get back home, there is no way to adjust. So there is a very real chance of collision with any number of satellites in Low Earth Orbit.”
- NASA Director Sage Smith, March 20, 2035

“RETRIEVAL OF PROBE FRAUGHT WITH QUESTIONS
While the idea of taking the Iʻa 2 probe out of orbit and into safety has captured the imagination, there are serious issues with the proposal. For one, it is unclear whether the interstellar probe, which is not yet in orbit, would still function on Earth’s surface, such an action could also been seen as overly hostile by the Manufacturers of the probe. In addition, the probe could likely only be brought to Earth in a Russian shuttle, leaving the Kremlin in possession of both all information and communications with the apparent civilization of Ross 128b, as well as the power engines on the probe.”
- New York Times, April 2, 2035

“AMERICAN, EUROPEAN LEADERS CONDEMN ANY UNILATERAL EFFORT TO RETRIEVE OR GUIDE PROBE”
- La Monde, April 12, 2035

“CHINESE PREMIER: ‘WE WILL NOT LET AMERICAN INTRANSIGENCE BLOCK FIRST CONTACT”
- BBC, April 14, 2035

“CNSA UNVEILS ‘TOWING PLAN’ TO PRESERVE IʻA 2’S ORBIT”
- Washington Post, April 30, 2035

“DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING FOR ANY LAUNCH PLAN TO AID IʻA 2”
- New York Times, May 1, 2035

“JF: I’m asking if they could, in an emergency, be used to help clear a path, at least temporarily.

BE: It’s a bit hard to guess the long term viability, given that it does leave debris floating in orbit. But short term, yes. But the Space Force recommends against it, as do our colleagues at the Air Force. The revelation of this weapons system could do...

JF: I respect your opinion, but quite frankly the cat is out of the bag. Our allies know. The Russians know. The Chinese know. We’ve had anti-satellite weapons for years. This is a newer system, and I recognize using it openly would be both a public relations nightmare and allow more intelligence to be gathered on it. But I think ensuring that the first contact probe has a smooth ride is very important, don’t you?”
- White House, May 2035

“BREAKING: HIGH LEVEL TALKS IN DELHI”
- BBC, May 9, 2035

“INDIAN, FRENCH, GOVERNMENTS BROKER DEAL”
- BBC, May 9, 2035

“The Deal in Delhi was simple. Due to the various readiness states, it would up being mostly American Astronauts who went up in an American ship, with one taikonaut along to keep an eye on them. However China would get full credit for the techniques we used to get Iʻa into a safe orbit, even as NASA had developed their own model. Later shifts examining the Iʻa 2 would have more balanced crewed. Mission controls would be open to limited observation. And an international commission of contact, later rubber stamped by the UN, was set up. All in all, it went pretty well for us. The Russians were pissed, but eventually went along”
- A Decade and Change in Washington, 2047

“MEET THE CREW OF PEGASUS 1”
- Buzzfeed News, June 1, 2035

“Well, more accurately it would be ‘Winged Horse’ 1”
- Internet Commentator Tug65738

“‘SO LONG AS IT GOES BETTER THAN ROSWELL, WE CONSIDER IT A SUCCESS’ SAYS NASA”
- The Onion, June 28, 2035

This is the most important mission to only reach Low Earth Orbit since John Glenn, or maybe even Gagarin.”
- NASA Director Sage Smith, shortly before Pegasus 1 launch.

“TEST OF TOWING MECHANISM A SUCCESS”
- Washington Post, July 1, 2035

“Well, more accurately it isn’t a towing mechanism. What it really resembles is a....”
- Internet Commentator Tug65738

“With the probe having entered orbit, the Iʻa 2 has a calculated time of five days before a collision with an old American communications satellite. Pegasus 1 will move Iʻa 2 into a safer orbit tonight. Preliminary observations will follow.”
- NASA Director Sage Smith, July 25, 2035

“PEGASUS MANEUVER SUCCESSFUL”
- New York Times, July 26, 2035

“BREAKING IʻA 2 HAS GOLDEN RECORD STYLE DEVICE”
- New York Times, July 26, 2035

“As per NASA policy, the images from what we’re calling the Silicone Square will be released to the public. This includes detailed anatomical deceptions of the Manufacturers, confirmation that they live on Ross 128 b, as well as a variety of mathematical proofs. Said proofs appear to be in base 14, but are otherwise similar to what we put on the Voyagers. The things presumably recorded on the Square proper will take longer. And of course, it will be even longer before anyone realized we found their probe. Still, I hope we can all recognize what a monumental day this is for all of humankind.”
- NASA Director Sage Smith, July 27, 2035

“Maybe hold back on the traditional seafood welcoming.”
- Hawaiʻian Governor after seeing anatomical deception of the Ross 128 b Manufacturers

“...I’d tap that.”
- Internet Commentator Tug65738 after seeing anatomical deception of the Ross 128 b Manufacturers

“BREAKING: DECODED IʻA 2 MESSAGE SUGGESTS CREWED MISSION MAY FOLLOW”
- New York Times, July 31, 2035

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Teaser for a megacrossover thing I might be sharing later this year.

Nigel Marven was a British wildlife TV presenter, naturalist and conservationist best known for his work with dinosaurs. Marven was the presenter of the BBC series Chased by Dinosaurs. The two series, which saw Marven travel back in time to the Mesozoic era, were widely popular and helped Marven launch the similar series Sea Monsters. The much more risk-intense series, which nearly saw him killed on a few occassions, ultimatley paved the way for what many consider his main achievement in the form of Prehistoric Park, which saw him bring extinct creatures back to the present day. Marven's career was tragically cut short, however, in 2009, when while participating in an investigation of the Anomaly Research Center, Marven was attacked and devoured by a Giganotosaurus. Some have suggested Marven's death was the result of efforts by Masrani Global to stymie the development of Prehistoric Park and take out a potential rival to it before it could open publically. However, these remain mere rumors.
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You know what I love about this forum?

On alternatehistory.com if this wikibox was posted, mods would be screaming "N0 CURR3NT P0L1T1C5!" and swinging the banhammer wildly. It'd be highly exclusionary, and everybody would have a bad time.

Here, you get one of these every other day and people like it, maybe make a helpful comment, and move on with the thread.
Not to mention it looks great, btw :)
 
You know what I love about this forum?

On alternatehistory.com if this wikibox was posted, mods would be screaming "N0 CURR3NT P0L1T1C5!" and swinging the banhammer wildly. It'd be highly exclusionary, and everybody would have a bad time.

Here, you get one of these every other day and people like it, maybe make a helpful comment, and move on with the thread.
Not to mention it looks great, btw :)
MOD POST:

We prefer to eschew cross site drama. Thank you for remembering that in the future.
 
The State of New Connecticut was originally the Western portion of the State of Connecticut on Lake Erie it was originally settled in the 1780s and was the location of many battles with Virginia in the first phase of the Ohio War. However, the true fight began with the formation of the Northwestern Confederacy that signaled the beginning of the Second Phase of the War. The Connecticut State Army fought valiantly under two future Governors, and the entirety of the settled portion of the Western support emerged from the war a strong part of the State. However, this same success would ironically spell the end of the Western Reserve, as a nationalism emerged among the Western Connecticutters, and a convention of landowners led by Moses Cleaveland declared independence as the Republic of New Connecticut. The westerners were backed by both Philadelphia and New York and were thus able to defeat the entire force of the New England Confederation. After independence, New Connecticut entered Pennsylvania’s orbit and would go on to become a founding member of the Commonwealth of Columbia at its foundation in 1809.

New CT.png
 
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