Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Jan 23, 2016 20:46:45 GMT
I noticed that the Future History Discussion is kind of bare, so I decided to patch up a future history timeline that I began on AH.com a little while ago, build on it, and give it a home here. Despite the seeming apathy I have displayed for the timeline itself, it represents a cumulation of several years worth of ideas, and I intend to work on it for a long while. As such, comments, suggestions, critiques, etc. are highly appreciated. This is my attempt at making a world which begins familiar, but gradually drifts away from what we know until it becomes alien to us. Here we go... Zeitgeist: A History of the Future
At the dawn of the second millennium, mankind had dreamed of a new era. A time where the old scourges of humanity would fade into myth and finally recede into the grey vault of the past.
This was not the case. The quixotic dreams of the men and women of this time would, as they always have, amount to nothing. Indeed, the brutal conflicts that have dogged men for eternity only grew more terrible as mankind clawed its way out of primordium. For as mankind’s power increased, so did its capacity for division and destruction, plunging itself into periods of tantalizing darkness just as stability was reached. Mankind would slave on, in search of an unattainable ideal for eternity, it seemed.
But there were those who disagreed. Many believed mankind in its natural form was corrupt, unable to reach its full potential without redefining it in the image its creators envisioned and as such, go beyond the barriers set by the nature of humanity, in pursuit of the immortal dream of utopia.
The spirit of the age would change, but the hearts of men would remain the same.
Or would they?
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Jan 23, 2016 20:49:16 GMT
Any perceived political bias can be attributed to the story or bad writing itself, not the author's personal views.
On July 27, 2016, delegates from the Democratic Party of the United States gathered in Philadelphia to decide on the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President in anticipation of the upcoming election. The process went smoothly and the results came as no surprise to most. Hillary Clinton, the virtual face of the Democratic Party and her running mate, ex-candidate Martin O’Malley, were selected. A smiling Hillary, alongside Bill and the O’Malleys, emerged onto the main stage of the event to be broadcast live.
Suddenly, Hillary Clinton fell down while clutching her chest, and was rushed to the nearest hospital on live television. Clinton was treated for a heart attack, and doctors revealed that the stress involved in presidential campaigning had caused a heart attack at the worst moment possible. With concerns about her health paramount amongst the voters and Hillary herself doubting that she could handle the stress of the presidency, Hillary Clinton withdrew from the presidential race, opening up a power vacuum in the Democratic Party and serious concerns that the Democrats would not be able to win the election...
|
|
|
Post by Jasen777 on Jan 24, 2016 5:47:46 GMT
I'd be surprised O'Malley gets the Veep spot after Baltimore.
|
|
|
Post by guyverman1990 on Jan 24, 2016 6:19:31 GMT
Zeitgeist?
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Jan 26, 2016 0:21:46 GMT
I'd be surprised O'Malley gets the Veep spot after Baltimore. At this point in time, Hillary's running mate is anyone's guess. I chose O'Malley because he balanced out her ticket.
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Jan 26, 2016 0:21:56 GMT
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Jan 27, 2016 1:30:13 GMT
Also, updates to this TL will be made every Sunday.
|
|
|
Post by orvillethird on Jan 28, 2016 18:24:15 GMT
It's a cool word, but the term has been kind of hijacked by a 9/11 "truther" documentary that is rather controversial (to say the least), blaming the attacks (and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and the sinking of the Lusitania) on the Fed. And BTW, Jesus is a myth too.
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Jan 29, 2016 2:15:16 GMT
It's a cool word, but the term has been kind of hijacked by a 9/11 "truther" documentary that is rather controversial (to say the least), blaming the attacks (and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and the sinking of the Lusitania) on the Fed. And BTW, Jesus is a myth too. Never honestly heard of the documentary. Also, I didn't just name the TL "Zeitgeist" for no apparent reason. The timeline is supposed to be a history of the future, eventually incorporating vignettes and the like to truly capture the "spirit of the times". Also, I don't think I mentioned Jesus at all in the timeline, are you referring to the documentary?
|
|
|
Post by guyverman1990 on Jan 29, 2016 11:37:31 GMT
If Queen Elizabeth II makes it past another 2 years, she's bound to live as long as her mom.
|
|
|
Post by orvillethird on Jan 30, 2016 0:49:31 GMT
It's a cool word, but the term has been kind of hijacked by a 9/11 "truther" documentary that is rather controversial (to say the least), blaming the attacks (and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and the sinking of the Lusitania) on the Fed. And BTW, Jesus is a myth too. Never honestly heard of the documentary. Also, I didn't just name the TL "Zeitgeist" for no apparent reason. The timeline is supposed to be a history of the future, eventually incorporating vignettes and the like to truly capture the "spirit of the times". Also, I don't think I mentioned Jesus at all in the timeline, are you referring to the documentary? Yep, that I was (The documentary, which I have not seen, is VERY controversial). The title is a cool one and deserves to be used.
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Feb 1, 2016 23:44:55 GMT
The Crisis of the 21st Century, Part 1 The Democratic Party was turned on its head after the withdrawal of Clinton from the race. While Martin O’Malley, Clinton’s running mate, picked up the standard of the party and became the new presidential nominee, party elites fretted about his chances in the upcoming election. With Clinton replaced by a blasé figure associated with urban decay and ineffectual policies, much of the party’s minority and youth appeal flew out the window. Faced with a formidable Rubio/Cruz ticket that promised a rejuvenated Republican Party, the Democrats were forced to go on the defensive, with a strong stance on gun control and an economically populistic stance was stressed in O’Malley’s campaign. However, O’Malley’s efforts to appeal to poorer white voters once enamoured with Trump completely backfired, and he was seen by them as a dangerous politician who was pandering to the masses to get his agenda passed. In an effort to appeal to minorities, O’Malley quickly selected Julian Castro as his running mate, a move hinted at by Clinton before she (controversially) went with O’Malley.
In the end, O’Malley was narrowly elected due to controversial statements by Rubio on income inequality having collapsed appeal for the Republicans and a resurgent economy bookending Obama’s presidency. O’Malley now had the difficult task of uniting an increasingly politically-polarized America and dealing with the growing threat of radical Islamic terrorism while not abandoning his liberal populist campaign promise. Alas, O’Malley would only be remembered to history as a polarizing figure who aggravated the problem. On Inauguration Day, March 4, 2017, a dirty bomb was detonated in Washington, killing the new President, Vice President, and much of the Cabinet and Congress.
In the end, O’Malley was narrowly elected due to controversial statements by Rubio on income inequality having collapsed appeal for the Republicans and a resurgent economy bookending Obama’s presidency. O’Malley now had the difficult task of uniting an increasingly politically-polarized America and dealing with the growing threat of radical Islamic terrorism while not abandoning his liberal populist campaign promise. Alas, O’Malley would only be remembered to history as a polarizing figure who aggravated the problem. On Inauguration Day, March 4, 2017, a dirty bomb was detonated in Washington, killing the new President, Vice President, and much of the Cabinet and Congress. The first major use of nuclear weapons in terrorism turned downtown Washington into a scene straight out of a disaster movie. The city would never truly recover.The expected mass panic, chaos, and succession crisis followed. New Secretary of the Treasury Steve Crews was in Pennsylvania at the moment, and was quickly sworn in as President, with emergency UN support. News that the bombers were right wing extremists who wished to kill O’Malley due to his stance on gun ownership caused harsh gun control measures to be rushed through by the emergency government. Many conservatives were outraged, and they claimed that the emergency government lacked the legitimacy to pass such laws, as the UN was attempting to hold together the remnants of the government until it could stand on its own. The UN-assisted emergency government stood firm in their convictions, stating that public safety in a state of emergency was the primary reasoning for the law. A tense stalemate between the pro and anti-emergency government sides emerged, with rumors of UN corruption and the official story being a lie quickly coming into being. Secession, once a joke, had suddenly become a serious topic in the weeks following the blasts. It was into this frantic atmosphere that news finally emerged that the bombers were not gun rights-obsessed “lone wolves” who had somehow acquired nuclear materials, they had deeper ties to the Islamic State organization. This announcement fanned the flames that were already stirring, convincing many that the news media and federal government were covering something up, despite their fervent denial of withholding information. The new governor of Oklahoma, the leader of the pro-secession radicals, presented an ultimatum to the government: retract the gun control policies and take the UN authorities out of the US government, or Oklahoma will secede and other states will follow. The federal government rejected the demand, and on April 2, Oklahoma formally seceded from the US, followed shortly by Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Before anyone truly knew the scope of their actions, the sabre-rattling had collapsed in on itself. The Second American Civil War had begun. Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, the site of 2016’s Democratic National Convention and Hillary’s fateful heart attack, became the center for the emergency government and the UN peacekeeping forces. It became a symbol of the close relations between the US emergency government and the UN, something that apolitical Philadelphia sports fans have come to tire of. Almost immediately, the states that had officially seceded unified under a provisional government, proclaiming themselves to be the true United States. They then adopted the American Constitution as the basis of their government (although it had a slightly modified Second Amendment that made protection of the right to bear arms clearer and more restrictions on federal power), established their capital in the secessionist hotbed of Oklahoma City, and nominated Otis Anderson, governor of Oklahoma and leader of the American Restoration movement, as president. More so than the previous Civil War, the Second American Civil War was a war between two Americas, both claiming the mantle of the old nation. Whatever doubt people held on the candor of the war evaporated. Blood would be spilt. The Washington government of the United States, like its predecessor seven score and six years ago, severely underestimated the extent of the rebellion. The Federals believed that the revolt could be easily suppressed with the military available onhand. The first major conflict of the war was fought on the outskirts of Kansas City, and it ended in a solid Rebel victory, with the Federal force routed on live television. Morale plummeted and the Federal military, already hanging on by a thread to the cause of a quick victory and compromise, mutinied across the nation, accompanied by homebrew militias. Rural areas of the loyalist US very quickly fell under the banner of Anderson with cities from Las Vegas to Little Rock under siege by the same men that defended them just weeks prior. The nation continued to succumb to the rebels until by year’s end, all of America between the Sierra Nevadas and the Mississippi River was united under rebel hands, while Federal forces barely suppressed fledgeling insurrections on their own soil. Overland Park, the site of the first major battle of the Second American Civil War. The rebel forces gradually retreated westward, forcing the Federal forces to take heavy losses while pursuing them. A surprise flanking maneuver caught the softened Federals off guard and forced them to retreat.
At the beginning of 2018, the rest of the world looked keenly upon American soil, and silently began rooting for the rebels, as a quick rebel victory would end the economic slump caused by the civil war and make the world much as it was before. However, the prevailing attitude was one of quiet interest. People thought that the Americans would sort out matters themselves and as such, the nations of Earth silently watched the American conflict. Meanwhile, the young rebel war machine, unhinged by the restraints of guerilla warfare and surging with captured munitions, launched a massive offensive into Arkansas with the intent to take the South, push north, and quickly end the war. The Federal positions in the South were predictably overwhelmed and collapsed. Many locals were quick to join the rebel thrill ride and took up arms against the helicopters and drones so harrying the invasion force. All momentum was with the rebels as they turned north through increasing resistance in Virginia, cumulating in the massive Battle of Arlington, where the old capital of Washington was pried out of the hands of the Federal government. An attack was prepared on New York itself, the crown jewel of America, to decisively end the war New York was defended to the teeth by desperate Federals. Artillery and bombers gnawed at the attackers as they drove through Newark onto Manhattan, intent to mop up all resistance and finally end the war. However, charges placed onto the bridges and tunnels of the city were suddenly detonated. In seconds, thousands of rebel troops were trapped on the island of Manhattan. A hidden wing of the Federal navy then came in from the east to encircle the island and destroy the entire main force of the army. By the end of the day, Manhattan had been ground into ashes as the spearhead of the rebellion was finally broken. Federal troops mopped up the rest of the attackers and this time, it was the rebels, not the Federals running to the hills. The rebellion’s intent on grinding through Manhattan, much as they had done in battles prior, had been their fatal error. With much of their force trapped, the Federal troops were free to overwhelm the rebels and remain kicking.
|
|
|
Post by guyverman1990 on Feb 3, 2016 3:03:33 GMT
A second American Civil War in just a year? Don't hold your breath.
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Feb 9, 2016 1:16:09 GMT
A second American Civil War in just a year? Don't hold your breath. If there's a will, there's a way... Also, update coming in a bit. 8-)
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Feb 9, 2016 2:08:33 GMT
The Crisis of the 21st Century, Part 2 The Battle of New York had crushed the hopes of the world for a quick war. For the first time, Otis Anderson and his government had to face the prospect of a drawn-out, messy war which would question the resolve of the rebellion in a war that pitted American against American with no clear outcome. Around the world, the destruction of downtown New York and the chaos enveloping the world’s largest economy had sent a massive shockwave throughout the global market, putting many nations on edge. In addition, American military hegemony crumbled as the last functioning foreign American military bases collapsed, with troops, in many cases, stranded on the other side of the globe. The predicted power vacuum emerged with countries previously reliant on US military and foreign aid suddenly having to do with what they got. Many Middle Eastern countries descended into anarchy as expensive US-backed regimes were starved of aid dollars and troops until extremists kicked the floundering democracies to the curb. With the withdrawal of American peacekeepers and the subsequent ousting of the democratic government, Afghanistan degenerated into a venerable Somalia, with rogue Americans affiliated with the Resolute Support Mission, in many cases, joining in on the chaos and becoming warlords. However, Afghanistan was relatively quickly stabilized by Iranian forces and was turned into an Iranian tributary state.While America collapsed in on itself, Russia saw a golden opportunity to flex its muscle. With the help of Iran, Russia quickly set up a string of old school, usually Shia military dictatorships throughout the Middle East in the name of “bringing back peace and stability”. Many foreigners shook their heads at the region’s regression into strongman politics, but it was of no consequence. The Middle East’s brief flirt with democracy had ended in chaos. Russia was more than happy to give the locals back a sense of security within their growing umbrella. Even the post-Soviet states of Eastern Europe were not immune to the rise of Russia, with many nations reeling from the economic depression all but selling their independence to a reinvigorated CSTO. The nations of Western Europe were disproving, but they found themselves having to play a greater role in backing up their struggling American ally in New England. All they could do was pump troops west and hope for a quick victory. After that, they thought, Russia would be put in its place. By 2019, the American war ground on with indecisive skirmish after indecisive skirmish in the once-picturesque hills of upstate New York, each one testing the resolve of the other side as the war machines of Oklahoma City and Hartford pushed on, knowing full well that the hope of a quick victory had become little more than a pipe dream. NATO, conscious of the precarious positioning of the rump US, was forced to funnel more and more military hardware into the rump Hartford government to keep it afloat. As Western Europe focused on the Americas, the Russians continue their power grab in Eurasia, with countries as diverse as Greece and Kyrgyzstan falling under the Russian thumb. In the East, China grew nervous, with its largest trading partner consumed by war and it ravaged by economic woes, many questioned its once-successful policies of free trade. While the ground war raged on in New York and Pennsylvania, the rump Hartford government of the old United States used its naval superiority to launch attacks on rebel-held land from the Great Lakes. The “Michigan Ulcer”, as it became known, was a thorn in the side of the rebels and caused cities such as Detroit to change hands several times before the final offensive into the rebel heartland began. Loyalist sympathies, along with a revived brown-water navy operating throughout the Great Lakes, caused Chicago and its environs to become conquered by the Hartford government at the height of the war in 2019. Indeed, the global climate of war had become so unpopular that the UN Security Council attempted to hold peace talks between the two American factions. These talks are quickly vetoed by a hardened Otis Anderson, who claimed that the majority of Americans supported his regime, so any attempt to compromise is essentially an attempt to undermine the sovereignty of the OKC government. His claims were quickly backed up by Russia and the talks soon went nowhere. The rest of the world soon realized that America must be pried out of the rebels’ hands by force to bring peace and economic stability back to the world. Jittery China leads the charge by officially declaring war on the OKC government and reinforcing the stagnant West Coast remnant with fresh troops to reopen the western front. The OKC government was forced to go on the defensive and redeploy much-needed troops from New York to the West. As the western front opened, NATO launched an offensive into Pennsylvania to break the stalemate in the northeast and succeeded. Other nations smelled blood in the water, with Mexico breaking out of armed neutrality in order to snag parts of the Southwest. It was not long before the UN Security Council met, this time to sanction “the use of force against American revolutionaries”. The measure easily passed and soon, coalition forces from around the world were fighting alongside NATO and Federation troops over the crumbling heartland of America. Though Canada was officially at war with the American rebels, neither side launched a major offensive into one another until 2019, instead relegating the massive border between the two to a site of frequent skirmishes and general confusion. This famously resulted in the Canadian army occupying Glacier National Park for two months after the war’s end. Seeing his nation crumble before him in the same way as he broke the US, Anderson was forced to reach out to Russia, his natural friend, for a military alliance to stave off the coalition which was pulling the rebellion apart. Russia, however, had gained all they wanted in Eurasia and saw investment in the American pie as a risky maneuver that would make Stalin’s actions after WWII look like a game of hopscotch. Russia declined to assist Anderson’s rebels and instead sent the national equivalent of a goodbye letter to OKC. By this point, even the most stubborn rebels could see that they were living on borrowed time. Heroic last stands in the Ozarks and at Boulder City did little to stem the flood of coalition troops seizing the farms and factories that fueled the vast war machine of the rebels. As the authority of the rebel government sputtered, public support for the war tanked and increasingly violent “peace at all costs” movements ravaged the nation. Even Anderson himself was not immune, the constant losses took a toll on his mental state, which grew more and more unstable by the day. By the end of the decade, the long night of the Second American Civil War was finally breaking. The three main blocs that fought the war against the rebels: NATO, China+the increasingly subservient West Coast remnant, and Mexico sent representatives to a conference in Galveston to decide how the US was to be divvied up, a la Yalta. A final military push was executed to finally cut the head of the rebellion: Mexico would storm north into Oklahoma City to capture the de jure capital, while NATO forces would push towards Denver, which had become the new location of the rebel high command. The first offensive went as planned and the last remnants of resistance fell apart as the Mexican army marched across the fallen heartland of the rebellion. Oklahoma City was scarcely recognizable, inter-rebel conflict having beaten it to an ashen pulp. However, besieged Denver was a whole different animal. The last loyalists to the rebel cause having turned it into a virtual fortress. Desperate fighting in the streets by a fanatical army repulsed the initial attacks and imbued the rebels with a sense of hope, however futile. The defenders, though, stood no chance against the coalition juggernauts and bombing runs eventually did them in. After the battle, troops fanned out to secure the surrounding towns and to hunt for Anderson and his high command, who had presumably fled the city before the attacks. Anderson, at least, was very much alive. Deep within the old Cheyenne Mountain nuclear complex, Anderson and a motley group of military loyalists and government officials still reigned over the ghost of a rebellion. Now a complete mental wreck, Otis Anderson had locked himself inside the deepest chambers of the facility, and in a suicidal bout of insanity, launched his entire nuclear arsenal at the major cities of the world. The coalition, believing information that the American nuclear arsenal had been deactivated by fleeing military personnel in the early days of the war were unprepared. Stored in nameless bunkers throughout Wyoming and Montana, the nukes launched, just as much a surprise to occupying Chinese troops as everyone else. Though many were stopped, many more missiles made it out of their bunkers, cooking the planet in atomic hellfire, the cumulation of an atomic era. While the world baked above him, Otis Anderson killed himself, intent on, if nothing else, sealing his name, and that of his rebellion, in the annals of infamy for eternity. After the Battle of Denver and the nuclear spasm that followed it, the few surviving loyalists to the rebel cause in Colorado fled into the Rocky Mountains, terrorizing towns such as the ski haven of Aspen. Though these rebels would be little more than dessert for the coalition forces in any other scenario, reconstruction from the nuclear attack preoccupied the coalition. As such, many American survivors of the Second Civil War would say that it never ended, as militias and nonconformists throughout the country would remain in power due to the destruction of the last semblance of the old federal government in the nuclear hellfire, and the subsequent decentralization of the new government. Autarky and semi-independent “fiefs” such as the one at Aspen would play a major role in the remaining history of the United States.
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Feb 9, 2016 2:09:25 GMT
As always, questions, comments, critiques, etc are encouraged and appreciated.
|
|
Bfoxius
New Member
Nothing to fear, nothing to doubt
Posts: 30
|
Post by Bfoxius on Feb 15, 2016 20:39:09 GMT
No update coming this week, but stay tuned!
|
|
|
Post by guyverman1990 on Mar 3, 2016 0:35:02 GMT
May I ask a question regarding my theories for fundamentalist Islamism?
|
|