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Now that you bring it up, Elias might be a similar age as Wilhelmina (born 1982). I never set an exact year of his birth but internally considered him having been aware of the last few months of WWIII and the immediate aftermath. So he was probably born around 1983. Funny how two people born in the same generation end up being exactly the opposite of each other.
I think it also represents the divide between the Eastern provinces/Occupied Territories and the rest of the Reich quite well. Then again, Merkel was also born and raised in the Occupied Territories, and she definitely wasn’t like Elias. Quite a legacy the Soviets left the Reich huh, I suppose the Romans will end up finishing Deromanization on their own unintentionally, as Elias will end up destroying every positive aspect of Roman civilization.
I got it from I want to say Margaret Atwood, but it could have been someone else. The second sentence about the killers turning on the watchers was something I added just now.
When I googled that phrase, I found a tweet from the German film director Werner Herzog that said something like that, but I’m entirely sure if that’s the source as there’s another article debunking the claim he said that.
"If they oppose us, then yeah, sure," Theodor said, "But our people will prosper. We will all be rich. We will all live happier and more productive lives. Those of us who are pure and of good moral character, of course. It will be the kingdom of God on Earth. Help me, Mina. Just give me the password to unlock the data core, and I can get you out of this tower immediately. I can even get you back your seat on the board!"
Poor Mina. It must be hard to have ethics and morals in a world that could care less for either. That offer from Theodor would have been very tempting to a person with weak ethics and morals.
I guess TTL is like the Handmaids Tale in that everything that is happening in the story has happened at one point in OTL's history.
Lastly will the committee be changing the names of the Reich into Gilead or something similar and Argus into the Guardians anytime soon? I can see the committee keeping the Reich's name just like they kept Wilhelm for legitimacy reasons but I see them changing Argus into the Guardians and establishing the Eyes to keep up the "Christian" theme.
Lastly will the committee be changing the names of the Reich into Gilead or something similar and Argus into the Guardians anytime soon? I can see the committee keeping the Reich's name just like they kept Wilhelm for legitimacy reasons but I see them changing Argus into the Guardians and establishing the Eyes to keep up the "Christian" theme.
I’m personally wondering if the Committee will end up changing the flag to fit their regime more than any names they might change. While brainstorming ideas for one of my Volkerschalt updates several months back, I once showed Zen a few flags that I thought might fit the Roman Covenant in a PM thread, and there was one flag he said he might use for the Religious Right in the actual story. I don’t know if he still plans to use it, but if he does, I imagine it would be the flag of the Committee’s regime
Here’s the potential flag I’m referring to, I’ll put it in a spoiler tag in case it does make it into the actual story.
That said, I do wonder what kind of secret police the Committee would set up and how brutal and effective it would be, especially since they already seem to be setting up a surveillance state with Watchtower and have brought much of the media and the internet under their control.
Looks good. It is deferent from the current flag in that it has a cross instead of the eagles but it still has things based off of Roman iconography like the wreath along with the red and yellow coloring.
Looks good. It is deferent from the current flag in that it has a cross instead of the eagles but it still has things based off of Roman iconography like the wreath along with the red and yellow coloring.
Yeah I agree. Tho come to think of it, the Roman flag from the table of contents already has Christian symbols in the middle of the double headed eagle, so the Committee would probably use that instead.
I think it also represents the divide between the Eastern provinces/Occupied Territories and the rest of the Reich quite well. Then again, Merkel was also born and raised in the Occupied Territories, and she definitely wasn’t like Elias. Quite a legacy the Soviets left the Reich huh, I suppose the Romans will end up finishing Deromanization on their own unintentionally, as Elias will end up destroying every positive aspect of Roman civilization.
Merkel is also from an older generation which remembered life under the Soviets, so she had a much different experience from Elias who barely remembered the war and grew up in postwar Königsberg.
When I googled that phrase, I found a tweet from the German film director Werner Herzog that said something like that, but I’m entirely sure if that’s the source as there’s another article debunking the claim he said that.
Poor Mina. It must be hard to have ethics and morals in a world that could care less for either. That offer from Theodor would have been very tempting to a person with weak ethics and morals.
It wouldn’t hit as hard if I just made stuff up. It would go the way of the Anarchy (intentional satire and over the top madness) or the Angeloi (blatant Nazi parallels and generic evil shenanigans) in that case.
Lastly will the committee be changing the names of the Reich into Gilead or something similar and Argus into the Guardians anytime soon? I can see the committee keeping the Reich's name just like they kept Wilhelm for legitimacy reasons but I see them changing Argus into the Guardians and establishing the Eyes to keep up the "Christian" theme.
I will address that eventually. Argus will keep its name but fulfill a role similar to Guardians, and I’ll be introducing something that is like the Eyes soon.
I’m personally wondering if the Committee will end up changing the flag to fit their regime more than any names they might change. While brainstorming ideas for one of my Volkerschalt updates several months back, I once showed Zen a few flags that I thought might fit the Roman Covenant in a PM thread, and there was one flag he said he might use for the Religious Right in the actual story. I don’t know if he still plans to use it, but if he does, I imagine it would be the flag of the Committee’s regime
That said, I do wonder what kind of secret police the Committee would set up and how brutal and effective it would be, especially since they already seem to be setting up a surveillance state with Watchtower and have brought much of the media and the internet under their control.
Looks good. It is deferent from the current flag in that it has a cross instead of the eagles but it still has things based off of Roman iconography like the wreath along with the red and yellow coloring.
Yeah I agree. Tho come to think of it, the Roman flag from the table of contents already has Christian symbols in the middle of the double headed eagle, so the Committee would probably use that instead.
Tho come to think of it, the Roman flag from the table of contents already has Christian symbols in the middle of the double headed eagle, so the Committee would probably use that instead.
I will address that eventually. Argus will keep its name but fulfill a role similar to Guardians, and I’ll be introducing something that is like the Eyes soon.
Would we be having something similar to the Angels and Professionals from the book in that case?
Also, I know there won’t be any Handmaid system here, but will the rest of the caste system we see in the books and show be translated to the Reich, or would the Committee recreate a traditional feudal class system in the modern day and empower the church and nobility once again, destroying class mobility in the process?
Fair enough. What do you think of this other flag I showed you in the same PM thread? I think the Nordic-Orthodox cross dominating over the Imperial wreath and eagle could work as a subliminal representation of the power dynamic between Elias and Wilhelm Karl in a way.
The western empire slowly embraced Christianity over its last few centuries before the collapse, but the eastern empire was almost entirely Christian from the start.
Also, I know there won’t be any Handmaid system here, but will the rest of the caste system we see in the books and show be translated to the Reich, or would the Committee recreate a traditional feudal class system in the modern day and empower the church and nobility once again, destroying class mobility in the process?
I didn't go that much into detail about it, but although the committee won't revive feudalism, it will definitely destroy class mobility. It couldn't care less for the concept of nobility.
Fair enough. What do you think of this other flag I showed you in the same PM thread? I think the Nordic-Orthodox cross dominating over the Imperial wreath and eagle could work as a subliminal representation of the power dynamic between Elias and Wilhelm Karl in a way.
I thought there was a set term limit for Russian chancellors in its Augustian Code equivalent. In fairness, the 2000s update that mentioned that didn't give an exact date for when the term limit was legalized, so we can assume this was before that precedent was legally formalized, and that it will be legalized because of Olga running for multiple terms. I suppose Olga is like a Russian FDR in that sense.
Guess they're really not happy at whatever the Committee is doing in Africa. Also, what's stopping Mali from joining in, are they economically dependent on the Reich since they're surrounded by it? I assume they'd be one of those countries that couldn't sustain long term sanctions against it.
Also, I love the irony in how if Wilhelmina starts to take Sophie's advice to heart, she'd be closer to the ideal image of a ruler that Machiavelli would actually want than the image a power-hungry schemer that pop culture traditional associates his works with and Wilhelm Karl and Elias bought into with their rulership styles and attempts at realpolitik.
A bringer of hope against the tide of madness is what I see Willhelmina will be, and I pray that it will be the spark that will bring down the Committee once and for all, hopefully. You never know what sort of crazy thinking Elias has in store for the Reich's 'enemies.'
I thought there was a set term limit for Russian chancellors in its Augustian Code equivalent. In fairness, the 2000s update that mentioned that didn't give an exact date for when the term limit was legalized, so we can assume this was before that precedent was legally formalized, and that it will be legalized because of Olga running for multiple terms. I suppose Olga is like a Russian FDR in that sense.
There was never any legal term limit. It was only a tradition Petrov set by only serving one term (in contrast to his real life counterpart/House of Cards namesake based on said counterpart), which Olga has now broken by pulling an FDR. Most likely a formal term limit will be set after she leaves office.
Guess they're really not happy at whatever the Committee is doing in Africa. Also, what's stopping Mali from joining in, are they economically dependent on the Reich since they're surrounded by it? I assume they'd be one of those countries that couldn't sustain long term sanctions against it.
Mali is on the other side of the continent and surrounded by pro-committee territories on four sides, and their belief is if they do absolutely nothing, the Reich will do nothing back to them. They definitely can't maintain long-term sanctions.
Also, I love the irony in how if Wilhelmina starts to take Sophie's advice to heart, she'd be closer to the ideal image of a ruler that Machiavelli would actually want than the image a power-hungry schemer that pop culture traditional associates his works with and Wilhelm Karl and Elias bought into with their rulership styles and attempts at realpolitik.
I didn't think of it that way, but it would be kind of ironic. Wilhelm Karl tried to be the stereotypical Machiavellian ruler, but Wilhelmina acts much closer to what Machiavelli actually wanted.
A bringer of hope against the tide of madness is what I see Willhelmina will be, and I pray that it will be the spark that will bring down the Committee once and for all, hopefully. You never know what sort of crazy thinking Elias has in store for the Reich's 'enemies.'
A soldier walked down the hallway towards Theodor’s office. An Argus PMC blocked the door.
“Sorry, do you have clearance?” the PMC said.
“I need to speak to Herr Tesla,” the soldier said.
“Is there a problem?” the PMC said.
“You could say that,” the soldier said, “Just let me in.”
“No,” the PMC said, “You are unauthorized.”
“Look, do you want me to complain to Tesla?” the soldier said. “This is an urgent matter, and when he learns what it is, he’s going to be pissed you held me up on protocol.”
The PMC thought for a moment. Then he opened the door. The soldier walked inside and saluted before Theodor.
“What is it?” Theodor said. “You’re unauthorized.”
“A Shepherd of the Future in Isfahan recorded the following footage of the usual anti-Roman protests going on there,” the soldier said.
He took out a tablet and began playing a video on it.
“Bremerhaven, we’re with you!”
“Keep fighting, Baghdad!”
“We stand with Bremerhaven!”
“Come on, Baghdad, keep at it!”
“When was this recorded?” Theodor said.
“A few hours ago,” the soldier said, “Look there.”
He paused the video on a frame where Thea’s face was visible.
“That’s definitely her,” Theodor said.
He noticed three familiar people standing around her: Alex, Alexandra, and Magnus.
“Those kids,” he said, “Those meddling kids.”
“What do you want to do?” the soldier said. “We could arrange a hostage exchange. Or insert a specialized extraction team into Persia.”
“No,” Theodor said, “That wouldn’t work.”
“You do want your sister back, do you?” the soldier said.
“Perhaps she can be of use to us outside Persia,” Theodor said, “Maybe her friends too. We can still silence them in other ways. And if not...then it's something I want to take care of personally.”
Isfahan - March 7
Isfahan was a beautiful city, Alexandra thought. The buildings were designed in a classical Persian style reminiscent of the Arab architecture of the Middle East. Ancient mosques and Zoroastrian fire temples sat in the shadows of modern skyscrapers. On the ground, the streets were narrow and made frequent turns, reflecting the city's ancient history and constant growth. Most rode on scooters or drove in old cars from at least the 2020s, some of them spewing thick clouds of smoke. Even before the committee, most gas-guzzlers had fallen out of style back in the Reich, and Alexandra instinctively cringed at the sight of them. As the protesters walked down the street, they passed a bazaar, where merchants dressed in traditional robes sold their wares as they had for centuries, only their wares now included smartphones, toasters, and vacuum cleaners as well as fresh produce.
“We want justice!” Alex shouted.
Thea waved a sign with her good arm. “Free our people!”
Alexandra walked behind them, her mother’s Walkman blaring Jared Karasi on loudspeaker.
“Remember those we lost!” she said.
The other protesters shouted similar slogans.
“Green reform liars!”
“Remember Beirut! They never cared for the environment!”
“Down with the committee!”
There were only a few Persians in the crowd. Most of them were Romans from various parts of the country. Arabs and Greeks from the east, Africans from the south, and French and Germans from the west, all together in exile. Whatever their disagreements were before Bloody Tuesday, that didn’t matter now.
“Free our families!”
“Down with the fascist Kaiser! Even a republic is better!”
“Restore Romanitas! Enough with this melting pot nonsense!”
“Humboldt, Hansen, and Frank! Martyrs for the truth!”
There were also counter-protesters out in force, opposed to both the committee and exiles.
“Close the border!”
“Keep your own crazy fundies, we got enough here!”
“Stop the invasion!”
“Go home Rome!”
Then again, it wasn’t much of a protest. The streets were packed with cars, so the protesters just walked around two blocks within hearing distance of the Roman embassy. A line of Argus security guards stood in front of the entrance. They stood rigidly in place, almost like statues. But what creeped Alexandra out more were the old women in long dark dresses standing in front. Their heads were bent and their hands were clasped in constant prayer, clutching gaudy golden crucifixes, burning incense, and ringing church bells. They were always smiling, but not real smiling. The smiles reminded Alexandra of a crocodile. As they passed the embassy, one of the women handed a brochure to Thea.
Fallen? God can still forgive you! There’s a home for you in the Kingdom of God!
-Shepherds of the Future
Thea glared at the woman and tore up the brochure in front of her. The woman did nothing but quietly smile in that fake way.
“Uh…okay?” Thea said.
Some protesters started tossing eggs at the Shepherds of the Future, and they cheered when an egg hit it target. The Shepherds, though, said or did nothing aside from brushing out egg fluids and shell fragments. They just stood there, awkwardly smiling back in their glassy way.
Then it all went to hell. Masked men in black began smashing windows. Seconds later, Alexandra noticed the Argus guards advancing. They banged on their riot shields and attacked, hitting everyone in range with batons. Once those closest to the embassy had been beaten up, they returned to their posts and stood there. The police showed up minutes later and found an almost chaotic scene with the protesters scattering and the looters still rampaging. They too set about attacking the protesters. Alexandra tried to escape, but she couldn’t. Not only was it so packed she could hardly move, she was hyperventilating and overwhelmed with fear. She flashed back to the day her mother died. She remembered driving into the forest, where safety was so close. Then a missile came down, and the Impala was destroyed. The next thing she remembered was watching her mother be shot in the head while she was powerless to intervene.
“No,” she muttered, “Please no…Mom…no…”
She looked for Alex, Thea, or Magnus, but they had disappeared into the sea of people. The protesters had surged in every direction, their shouts overlapping with each other into something she couldn’t understand. Something hit her stomach, someone’s elbow. Another elbow hit her in the back, and she almost lost balance.
“Alexandra!” Thea shouted.
Thea appeared amidst the sea of people, her hand outstretched.
“Over here!” she said.
Alexandra reached out and grabbed Thea’s hand as hard as possible. They slowly made their way through the crowd until they reached the street corner, where Alex and Magnus waited.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Magnus said.
“The hell was that?” Alex said. “It was…was just like home.”
“Too much like home,” Thea said.
“I…” Alexandra said. “No…Mom…”
Magnus reassuringly held Alexandra’s hand. “Don’t worry. We’re safe now.”
Alex’s phone rang.
“Hello?” he said. “Huh? Uncle Tobias?”
He put his phone on speaker.
“Hey, Alex,” Tobias said.
“That you?” Alex said.
Alexandra remembered Uncle Tobias. He came to a lot of family gatherings on Alex’s side, and his boys were always good friends to her and Alex. But they hadn’t heard from him in months. So she was a little relieved to hear his voice. But why was he reaching out now?
“You okay?” Alex said.
“Yeah, we all are,” Tobias said.
“Where are you?” Alexandra said.
“Mannheim, same as always,” Tobias said, “So I hear you’ve been in Persia?”
“You didn’t know?” Alex said.
“Well, the Internet’s been down frequently,” Tobias said, “And so were the phone lines. I just learned about your mother, Alexandra. I’m so sorry.”
All Alexandra could do was cry.
“You were on the news, Alex,” Tobias said, “I heard what you’re doing.”
“Really?” Alex said.
“Yeah,” Tobias said, “But please, you have to stop everything you're doing right now.”
“What…what?” Alex said.
“You can’t be part of any kinds of these organizations,” Tobias said.
“What do you mean?” Alex said.
They heard what sounded like paper rustling.
“The Reich is so strong and powerful right now,” Tobias said, as if reading, “Everything is so good here. We are living happy lives. So please don’t do anything against the Reich and the Roman government. Stop…for our sakes. What…would…my sister think?”
Alex couldn’t figure out how to respond. He just hung up.
Alexandra looked at the ground. “We failed. We left them all behind…just like we left Mom…”
“What are we going to do?” Magnus said. “They’re threatening him.”
Thea looked at Alexandra, who was still gloomy, and then at Alex, who had basically shut down.
“We keep at it,” Thea said.
“We’ll get him killed!” Magnus said. “I say we cut our losses and lie low, for his sake.”
“No,” Thea said, “We’d be giving up. We’d give the committee what they want. What my brother wants. Compliance. Submission. Aunt Angela gave her life so we would be free from that submission. And now you want to walk back into their arms? What would she say?”
“Let’s face it, Thea,” Magnus said, “Your crazy brother and your boyfriend's school bully killed Angela. She’s dead now. We buried her three months ago, in a place far from her home. But Tobias is still alive. We can still save him, if we just stop this.”
“And I’m saying doing that is as bad as killing him,” Thea said, “What would it say to those we lost if we just surrendered now?”
“You always speak of the dead,” Magnus said, “But I’m speaking for the living. Logically, if we can save one life, no matter how, that in itself is worth it.”
“Okay, let’s speak of the living then,” Thea said, “If we submit, what message does that send to other Romans like us? Romans who lost their friends and family and who barely got out of the Reich alive? Who had to start over with little or nothing? If we gave up because we were concerned about loved ones in the Reich, what would they think? What would the committee think if they got what they wanted? They’d do the same for others. Hold their loved ones hostage and silence dissent not only within the Reich, but around the world. We’d only be expanding their influence.”
“Don’t make this about everybody, Thea,” Magnus said, “The fact remains, the lives of Tobias Frank and his family are in danger. We can argue all we want about geopolitics and social movements and so on, but it’s not changing the fact that he may very well live or die depending on our actions. And I do not want his death on my conscience. Do you, Thea?”
“And I do not want to sell my soul to the devil under any circumstances,” Thea said, “Sorry, Alex, I know he’s your uncle. But we can’t give in now.”
“Why…why would you say that, Thea?” Alex said. “He’s my uncle. After Mom and Dad died, he’s the only family I have left.”
“I know,” Thea said, “I know how hard it can be. But we can't just sacrifice our values like that."
"Values?" Alex said. "What do you mean? It's my uncle's life we're talking about!"
"You might have been willing to shoot your own brother, but not the rest of us," Magnus said.
"You had to go there, didn't you?" Thea said. "That was the worst decision I had to make! I never wanted to shoot my brother! But he left me no choice! I wasn't about to betray you all! Just like I'm not going to betray my values today!"
"To hell with values!" Magnus said. "A man's life is on the line!"
"What part of don't negotiate with terrorists do you not understand?" Thea said. "That's what the committee is, a band of terrorists who actually won because everybody negotiated with them!"
"Everybody!" Alexandra said, composing herself. "Stop!"
Everybody quieted down.
"We all lost people to get here," Alexandra said, "I lost my mother. Alex lost his parents. Thea lost her brother...not that she or any of us cares. Magnus is lucky his family's all in Scandinavia. So we all have different approaches to this issue. As for what I think? I also don’t want to lose more loved ones. But I don’t want to sell out either. There has to be a solution where we can avoid doing either. Has to be.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Magnus said.
“Maybe we should just take the next couple weeks off,” Alexandra said, “Take some time off to think about it. And if you don’t want to protest, then sure. I don’t expect you to join. I definitely need time to think.”
“Come on, Alexandra, it’s obvious,” Magnus said, “We step out there, we condemn Tobias Frank to death.”
“But if we do as the committee says, we sell our souls,” Thea said.
“As I said, I need to think!” Alexandra said.
---
Tobias’ call has happened in real life to many overseas Uighurs protesting against China’s repressive policies in Xinjiang, where family members still in China are forced to demand they stop protesting. His dialogue is almost exactly the same as that used in such calls.
Damn, that’s pure evil, using Alex’s remaining family as leverage like that. Even more unnerving is the fact that things like that are happening in our world today.
I see some divisions in Alex’s group start to surface. That is worrying, especially if Theodor gets wind of those disagreements and tries to use that to split them apart.
It’s bad enough that the Reich has become the nightmare it is, but to see them try to drag other countries down to their level, as they tried to influence that protest in Persia with Argus and the Shepherds of the Future, is very frightening. Goes to show that even if you manage to escape from the Reich, there’s no escaping the Committee.
Well, at least there’s one funny reference in this update to ease the horror.
Damn, that’s pure evil, using Alex’s remaining family as leverage like that. Even more unnerving is the fact that things like that are happening in our world today.
I see some divisions in Alex’s group start to surface. That is worrying, especially if Theodor gets wind of those disagreements and tries to use that to split them apart.
Alex's friends are not a monolithic group. They support each other, but they have their own hopes and concerns. And in a way, those concerns can be used to divide them. It must suck having morals that can be exploited by someone who doesn't have any.
It’s bad enough that the Reich has become the nightmare it is, but to see them try to drag other countries down to their level, as they tried to influence that protest in Persia with Argus and the Shepherds of the Future, is very frightening. Goes to show that even if you manage to escape from the Reich, there’s no escaping the Committee.
And do you notice how there are still gas-powered vehicles in use in Persia? Compared to the almost all-electric Reich? The committee can use that to its advantage and claim the moral high ground. The worst thing is, some people would agree with them.
And do you notice how there are still gas-powered vehicles in use in Persia? Compared to the almost all-electric Reich? The committee can use that to its advantage and claim the moral high ground. The worst thing is, some people would agree with them.
Oh, I didn’t think about that, that is indeed a worrying possibility. Talk about bread and circuses. Weird to think how a Christian fundamentalist regime like the Committee also happens to have an environmental futurist side they could use for good PR. It’s sad to see some of Thierry’s ideas get twisted around to serve the evil agenda of the Committee, while the rest is discarded along with meritocracy.
I find it interesting that there were a lot of non Greek and German Romans in that protest, like Africans, Arabs and French. I wonder how harshly they’re being suppressed by the Committee back in the Reich, regardless of whether or not they’re Orthodox Christians? Especially since I heard that Gilead in the book established a deportation program for racial and ethnic minorities like African Americans and Jews?
Oh, I didn’t think about that, that is indeed a worrying possibility. Talk about bread and circuses. Weird to think how a Christian fundamentalist regime like the Committee also happens to have an environmental futurist side they could use for good PR. It’s sad to see some of Thierry’s ideas get twisted around to serve the evil agenda of the Committee, while the rest is discarded along with meritocracy.
In a way, the environmental crisis replaces the fertility crisis from the book and show (which ironically was also caused by environmental issues). Gilead was able to take the moral high ground by alleging that the handmaid system got their birthrate to something sustainable, while other countries without it maintained birthrates of almost zero. Granted this is up for debate because this argument is only made from Gilead's point of view, but still.
I find it interesting that there were a lot of non Greek and German Romans in that protest, like Africans, Arabs and French. I wonder how harshly they’re being suppressed by the Committee back in the Reich, regardless of whether or not they’re Orthodox Christians? Especially since I heard that Gilead in the book established a deportation program for racial and ethnic minorities like African Americans and Jews?
I see some divisions in Alex’s group start to surface. That is worrying, especially if Theodor gets wind of those disagreements and tries to use that to split them apart.
Knowing that these things in TTL have happened somewhere in the world whether in the past or are currently happening in OTL douse make you lose a little bit more faith (I know the irony of that word considering the times) in humanity each time you read them.
Also that brochure the Shepperd gave Thea almost sounds like it would mean certain death by Argus security guards the minute they or even a normal person not connected with them would get if they set foot back into the Reich.
Hopefully nether option comes to pass. However a part of me feels like the committee would use the "specialized extraction team" to show their blatant disregard for international law.
