Alternate History: A,B,C

[Gary Oswald]

Discuss this Article here

So my name is on this but while the words (and opinions) are mine, this is more of a group project. I'd noticed that the schedule had a lot of my articles in a short time due up and I thought it would get rather samey if they were all Africa pieces, so I looked for a new series to alternate those with. And I found that @AndyC and @David Flin came up with this idea, 3 years ago and got community input on some letter. So the overall idea is theirs and the choices for A and B here come from @Meadow. More than that, letter A is basically me paraphrasing comments by @David Flin and using one of @AndyC's graphics. So again, credit where its due, not all me here.

 

[napoleon IV]

There's also another form of convergence, which is parallelism. Basically events ITTL mirror events that happened IOTL even if the exact circumstances are somewhat different, like a roman a clef of real history. The obvious example here is how TL-191 features Nazism, WWII, and the Holocaust, except it all happens in a surviving CSA.

A scenario where Carthage defeating Rome still leads to Barack Obama being elected in 2008 just feels pointless.

Paul V. McNutt dislikes this

 

[David Flin]

By all accounts, Dr Brooks was not thrilled by this use.

***

I salute the mastery of understatement here.

She devised it as a means of aiding understanding, and it ended up as a mechanism largely used to avoid thought. "ASBs did it." She regretted to her dying day that she'd ever developed the term. She claimed to understand Frankenstein, how the monster she'd created had got out of control and was destroying rational thinking.

It's ironic, in its way. The thing she is best remembered for was the one thing in her life that she regretted.

***

SM Sterling, ... used Alien Space Bats as a starting point for their stories.

I have to give Sterling full credit for first asking permission to use the term and then acknowledging the source.

The term is now out in the wild, and there is nothing to be done except watch as it rampages through the AH literary world, out of control and unfettered.

 

[Warthog]

I know this is a serious discussion, but paused for a moment to appreciate the genius of

Paraguay ran by a ballerinas union and owning Hawaii

 

[Warthog]

She devised it as a means of aiding understanding, and it ended up as a mechanism largely used to avoid thought.

Indeed, or to avoid dealing with a situation the author dislikes, feels awkward about or other forms of laziness

 

[Makemakean]

I had an idea for a series I wanted to write for the SLP blog. It would be entitled "The History of the Latin Alphabet."

 

[Coiler]

One way to avoid that argument entirely, of course, is simply to end the story before you get to the next generation of people.

I've found the best internet AH (with published AH it's usually moot because of book length constraints and generally being softer) knows when to stop.

 

[Charles EP M.]

The existence of recognisable people long past the POD isn't realistic at all but yeah, "PM Farage" is such a quick and simple way to get stuff across that it trumps realism. I've got a story pitched through to SLP where every media and political figure is fictional because things have been different for 50+ years but when we briefly see the party leaders, they're existing politicians who ran for leader so the target audience will feel they know what the parties are like without me needing to describe housing policies.

 

[Gary Oswald]

I appreciate David's post. I sadly never interacted with Allison, so couldn't speak too much on her feelings of the events, which is why its more of a bloodless accounting of the timeline, so glad he chimed in on that.

There's also another form of convergence, which is parallelism. Basically events ITTL mirror events that happened IOTL even if the exact circumstances are somewhat different, like a roman a clef of real history. The obvious example here is how TL-191 features Nazism, WWII, and the Holocaust, except it all happens in a surviving CSA.

Interesting point, I view that as something slightly different but yeah I suppose if your evil chinese occupiers in norway use the hand chopping method of the congo free state, that is itself convergence to some extent. It tends to be more irony and grounding than wanting to use otl events, though. So I view it as related but distinctive.

 

[David Flin]

I appreciate David's post. I sadly never interacted with Allison

That was the other thing that confused Alison.

Why did so many people spell her name with a double L?

"I'm not Welsh."

 

[Alex Richards]

Of course convergence verses butterflies in people is complicated by the fact that family names certainly used to be a lot less imaginative between generations for many families.

You might have a PoD in 1697 which eventually leads to a violent and bloody British Revolution in 1831, but regardless of the fact that he's not necessarily going to be the same individual, you can pretty safely say that the Duke of Devonshire is going to be called William Cavendish when you're deciding who gets guillotined, considering the eldest son was called that in every generation for 250 years.

 

[Thande]

Of course convergence verses butterflies in people is complicated by the fact that family names certainly used to be a lot less imaginative between generations for many families.

You might have a PoD in 1697 which eventually leads to a violent and bloody British Revolution in 1831, but regardless of the fact that he's not necessarily going to be the same individual, you can pretty safely say that the Duke of Devonshire is going to be called William Cavendish when you're deciding who gets guillotined, considering the eldest son was called that in every generation for 250 years.

Danish royal family butterfly-net speedrun

 

[Alex Richards]

Danish royal family butterfly-net speedrun

I mean Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke/11th Earl of Devonshire, was the first holder of a title created in 1618 not to be called William Cavendish. And that's only because he was the second son of the 7th Duke. And the seventh duke was the cousin of the 6th Duke who never married, but the family name carried on because most of the younger sons of the Dukes also named their eldest son William.

Most of those younger sons were called Charles or Henry. George started creeping in during the 18th Century.

 

[Thande]

I mean Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke/11th Earl of Devonshire, was the first holder of a title created in 1618 not to be called William Cavendish. And that's only because he was the second son of the 7th Duke. And the seventh duke was the cousin of the 6th Duke who never married, but the family name carried on because most of the younger sons of the Dukes also named their eldest son William.

Most of those younger sons were called Charles or Henry. George started creeping in during the 18th Century.

It is one of the more interesting aspects to dynasties. Also applies to political ones in the US with repetitive names (as Turtledove did with all the Wade Hamptons for instance; even the most rigorous butterfly effect would probably still have numbered Wade Hamptons in the CSA decades later).

 

[Alex Richards]

It is one of the more interesting aspects to dynasties. Also applies to political ones in the US with repetitive names (as Turtledove did with all the Wade Hamptons for instance; even the most rigorous butterfly effect would probably still have numbered Wade Hamptons in the CSA decades later).

I feel like one of those subtle butterfly effects you could bring in is 'minor family member becomes prominent due to winning a major battle' completely upturning this, but only a very few would actually notice.

 

[Stateless]

I mean Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke/11th Earl of Devonshire, was the first holder of a title created in 1618 not to be called William Cavendish. And that's only because he was the second son of the 7th Duke. And the seventh duke was the cousin of the 6th Duke who never married, but the family name carried on because most of the younger sons of the Dukes also named their eldest son William.

Most of those younger sons were called Charles or Henry. George started creeping in during the 18th Century.

House of Reuss - "Halten Sie mein Bier."

 

[RyanF]

Good even handed definitions of the subject matter that don't fall into the trap of gatekeeping, which for these subjects would have been very easy.

Especially liked not only giving examples but the uses that the B & C subjects can have in conveying something, that yes Convergence is technically cheating but you can say a lot with very little. Assuming the reader knows the convergence in the first place.

 

[Ncw8]

The radio production of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency included a radio announcer saying “And now, over to our environment correspondent Jeremy Clarkson” as one of the hints that the story was taking place in an alternate timeline. This isn’t really an AH story, but rather an SF story dealing with time travel and changing the past, so this sort of Easter egg worked quite well.

I must admit to being fairly relaxed to this sort of reference, treating it as something like an inside joke. Names aren’t unique, so there’s no reason to assume that the Richard Nixon we read about in a story is the same person as the OTL president. I went to university with a Richard Nixon, and, since he was born in the UK in 1964, I’m fairly sure he had nothing to do with Watergate. Mind you, I still wouldn’t buy a used car from him.

 

[RyanF]

I must admit to being fairly relaxed to this sort of reference, treating it as something like an inside joke. Names aren’t unique, so there’s no reason to assume that the Richard Nixon we read about in a story is the same person as the OTL president. I went to university with a Richard Nixon, and, since he was born in the UK in 1964, I’m fairly sure he had nothing to do with Watergate. Mind you, I still wouldn’t buy a used car from him.

"Aroo, how do you do, fellow English kids?"

 

[Max Sinister]

Ah yes, the butterfly effect. What can I say?

1. Some people have much importance in history, most don't have very much (sorry, but it is like that). We can't measure importance of people on a simple scale like money, or the number of soldiers/tanks a ruler has available, but if we could, I'd bet that their distribution would follow a statistical power law. Like money, too.
2. Any change spreads necessarily... even if via air molecules... and since we have modern communication, in a split-second even.
3. Despite of 1., whatever people do, it might be that their big action doesn't have much effect on others - or even the opposite.

Now solve the equation, students. ;-)