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It sucks that Frederica ended up like this, no doubt Wilhelmina would be dismayed if she knew her fate.
I take it that scene with the Korean tourists was inspired by a similar scene in the Handmaid's Tale. The way those tourists are unaware of how bad things are in Jerusalem is also creepy. It’s ironic in a cruel way that those tourists might end up in a similar situation in their own homes, since it looks like Korea is following Han’s authoritarian nationalist example and might become a militaristic dictatorship itself in response to the Kyushu situation.
I wonder what the branches of Jerusalem’s military government are called now, aside from the Crusaders being the land army and the Angels being the Airforce? Also, I wonder if any of the agencies and institutions mentioned here still exist, or have they been dissolved and replaced by pro Committee organizations like Heimat Security, the Shepherds and the Home Guardians?
No doubt the African provinces outside of Committee control are terrified at the prospect of Imperial Homeland Africa. No doubt the Committee has other Homelands planned for minorities in the future, like Hispania and Taurica as potential homelands for Pagans for example.
If the Children of Ham designation is used to segregate African Romans into the Imperial Homelands, I'm guessing Children of Jacob and Ishmael refer to the Jewish and Muslim peoples.
I’m guessing the Jesuits being suppressed doesn’t bode well for other humanitarian religious orders, like the Knights Hospitallers and Templars.
Also, I feel like we’ve seen Pablo before during the X-Division arc somewhere, probably as a descendant of Ludwig Angelos. If that's the case, its sad to see a familiar face being killed like that. It really feels that the pre 2016 generations are being exterminated by the Committee. At least he died swinging, Basques resistance fighters are tough as nails.
That wasn’t a question. Both of them knew it. There was really only one answer Jerusalem mandated her to say. Sigmund was only saying it to keep selling the girls on the illusion. The illusion of freedom. The illusion of choice. These girls only got a guided tour of Nuremberg, carefully controlled by Jerusalem. Guides accompanied them on each step. Sigmund was only the guide for this part. Everything was staged. Even the currency was staged. They were only allowed to go to stores specifically created for tourists only, with more favorable exchange rates than the absolutely horrible actual exchange rate. And to make sure everyone stayed on script, there were cameras everywhere. Embedded in the solar panels, the rainwater filters, the electric batteries of each car, the drones constantly buzzing overhead…they were ubiquitous. If anybody did step out of line, a Home Guardian was always seconds away, with a fully armed military-issued assault rifle ready to go. So Frederica just looked down. Her answer was to say nothing. Women were supposed to be meek and defer to their betters. Also known as men.
It really is sad to see what Frederica has been forced to become but I guess the silver lining is that it is good to know that the men are suffering as much as the women. Hopefully the loyalists are making headway.
I wouldn't say that's a silver lining. Suffering is suffering, and more suffering is bad.
This whole thing goes to show how repressive gender norms go both ways. We tend to think of them as only holding women back, but they do the same to men too by imposing standards on them as well.
I found this funny because if he is anything like some of OTL's mainstream news stations than I completely agree with her. However here that feeling has probably been cranked up to eleven.
I took that "less informed" line from an actual scientific study that found viewers who watched Fox News were less informed on current events than people who didn't watch any news at all.
I almost didn't use the name "Angel" because I had actual angels in play. Wonder what Wilhelm and the other angels might think, although I won't be involving them in this arc anytime soon.
I take it that scene with the Korean tourists was inspired by a similar scene in the Handmaid's Tale. The way those tourists are unaware of how bad things are in Jerusalem is also creepy. It’s ironic in a cruel way that those tourists might end up in a similar situation in their own homes, since it looks like Korea is following Han’s authoritarian nationalist example and might become a militaristic dictatorship itself in response to the Kyushu situation.
Yep, it was based on a sequence in the book. Definitely ironic with the Koreans' situation, even though when I wrote this I hadn't come up with the idea of a dictatorial Korea or the Kyushu issue yet.
I wonder what are the branches of Jerusalem’s military government called now, aside from the Crusaders being the land army and the Angels being the Airforce? Also, I wonder if any of the agencies and institutions mentioned here still exist, or have they been dissolved and replaced by pro Committee organizations like Heimat Security, the Shepherds and the Home Guardians?
In my notes, I have the following:
Army = Crusader Host
Navy = Holy Marine (marines are called Cherubim)
Air force = Seraphim Luftwaffe (Seraphim is also used in unit names like "1st Seraphim Division"; Angels are pilots and other air force personnel)
Home Guard (includes the Home Guardians)
Coast guard (Guardians of the Sea)
No doubt the African provinces outside of Committee control are terrified at the prospect of Imperial Homeland Africa. No doubt the Committee has other Homelands planned for minorities in the future, like Hispania and Taurica as potential homelands for Pagans for example.
An Arab man who escaped into Persia talked about the forced marches into the Arabian Desert, where Arabs and non-Christians were forced into walled-up ghost towns with no food, water, or electricity, let alone crucial air conditioning. Thousands had already died, and thousands more desperately risked their lives to swim across the Persian Gulf at night. The situation was even worse with the Berbers, who were being forced at gunpoint to march on foot into “Imperial Homeland Africa,” which was better known as the Sahara Desert.
If the Children of Ham designation is used to segregate African Romans into the Imperial Homelands, I'm guessing Children of Jacob and Ishmael refer to the Jewish and Muslim peoples.
Also, I feel like we’ve seen Pablo before during the X-Division arc somewhere, probably as a descendant of Ludwig Angelos. If that's the case, its sad to see a familiar face being killed like that. It really feels that the pre 2016 generations are being exterminated by the Committee. At least he died swinging, Basques resistance fighters are tough as nails.
Yep, he was the grandson of Alberto Garcia-Diaz, also known as Ludwig Angelos. Ironically, the great-grandson of Markos Angelos has now died fighting against a totalitarian dictatorship.
Man to see the first woman, no the first HUMAN to land on Mars get reduced to this, breaks my heart. Man I don't even care if the Stellaris portion has humanity start with a tomb world, I WANT THE COMMITTEE TO LOSE. And so long as Frederica gets honored in the Stellaris part, preferably by a non-committee entity, it's good enough for me. Also the Basques are getting routed huh? Quite ironic for the children of a certain Angelos there to fight what is essentially a fascist in all but name state, considering their forebear's past.
Man to see the first woman, no the first HUMAN to land on Mars get reduced to this, breaks my heart. Man I don't even care if the Stellaris portion has humanity start with a tomb world, I WANT THE COMMITTEE TO LOSE. And so long as Frederica gets honored in the Stellaris part, preferably by a non-committee entity, it's good enough for me. Also the Basques are getting routed huh? Quite ironic for the children of a certain Angelos there to fight what is essentially a fascist in all but name state, considering their forebear's past.
I almost didn't use the name "Angel" because I had actual angels in play. Wonder what Wilhelm and the other angels might think, although I won't be involving them in this arc anytime soon.
I understand, but I still feel like it would be interesting to see how Wilhelm, Saint Wilhelmina and Saint Gunhilda would react to Jerusalem, given how much the Committee twisted their work and ideals during the early days of the Reich around to rewrite history. This old discussion regarding how Saint Wilhelmina might have reacted to the Angeloi regime comes to mind when I think about how Saint Wilhelmina might react to Jerusalem.
If I ever bring back angelic Saint Wilhelmina, I might have her talk about her interactions with Victoria Louise and make comparisons with Kirill. As an angel she might have realized what was happening in the Middle East and other places affected by her policies. She might even question why she became an angel when she was responsible for so much suffering. She'd spend the next few centuries watching how her actions affect the future of the Reich and reflect on her legacy, eventually deciding to set things right when given a chance in the 1930s. I've totally forgotten about Gunhilda until she reappeared with Anne but I did imply she was possessing many female snipers and other soldiers around Europe. That might be a good flashback. Although I am quite preoccupied with the Forum arc right now so it could be a while if I ever get around to it.
I guess we already have Wilhelm covered, since he most certainly saw the rise of Jerusalem coming. Still sad for him to realize his work with Fredirch the Great was all for nothing in the end, at least from his perspective. Elias blackmail that delegitimizes the Hohenzollerns being possible due to Ida's affairs probably don't help much.
In my notes, I have the following:
Army = Crusader Host
Navy = Holy Marine (marines are called Cherubim)
Air force = Seraphim Luftwaffe (Seraphim is also used in unit names like "1st Seraphim Division"; Angels are pilots and other air force personnel)
Home Guard (includes the Home Guardians)
Coast guard (Guardians of the Sea)
What about stuff like the Special forces, or the organizations mentioned in this quote? I actually asked about that in my previous post, but I'll just quote the reference here rather than use a link to it.
FBI and CIA are the Home and Foreign Divisions of the Athanatoi, respectively. They maintain a friendly rivalry, and agents in one division can freely switch to the other without doing too much paperwork. NSA is the RSB, although I've also merged the National Security Council into the RSB by accident. I think the DEA and ATF have equivalents, but I forgot the names. NTSB is the ITSB. I could've come up with a German acronym, but I got lazy, and it stuck. The same thing happened with the UN and its agencies. When Stellaris comes around, I'll switch over to the German acronym (VN). ICE does not exist, but there's a general border patrol agency. I also can't remember the name right now. The Secret Service is the Varangian Guard while the special forces/Navy SEALs are the Scholai Palatinae (also the Green Berets) and Excubitors (Navy SEALs). The police are just the police departments of each city. Constantinople's police department, the Metropolitan Police, is based on the London police. After reading recent chapters of Age of Miracles, I am also thinking of introducing a civic militia for Constantinople, called the Teicheiotai, at some point.
I understand, but I still feel like it would be interesting to see how Wilhelm, Saint Wilhelmina and Saint Gunhilda would react to Jerusalem, given how much the Committee twisted their work and ideals during the early days of the Reich around to rewrite history. This old discussion regarding how Saint Wilhelmina might have reacted to the Angeloi regime comes to mind when I think about how Saint Wilhelmina might react to Jerusalem.
I guess we already have Wilhelm covered, since he most certainly saw the rise of Jerusalem coming. Still sad for him to realize his work with Fredirch the Great was all for nothing in the end, at least from his perspective. Elias blackmail that delegitimizes the Hohenzollerns being possible due to Ida's affairs probably don't help much.
What about stuff like the Special forces, or the organizations mentioned in this quote? I actually asked about that in my previous post, but I'll just quote the reference here rather than use a link to it.
I had the Athanatoi and most other special forces folded into the RSB, which itself was folded into the Home Guardians/Argus under Moria's direct supervision. My notes don't say anything specific other than the RSB was the most pro-Jerusalem of all of the old intelligence agencies.
When this is over, anyone who supported the Committee is beyond screwed. The anger that's going to boil over will not care if someone was innocent or not. "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.". The sheer amount of psychotic rage that's going to explode the moment control is lost will break any notion of freedom. "That's what happens when the people are allowed to have their say. Equalists caused this by ruining the world. Democrats are fools who let this happen for the sake of feeling good. Environmentalists are pathetic weaklings who got coopted. Anyone who doesn't follow the secular laws is clearly not human, therefore anything goes. The government decides what is preserved and what is not. After all, if the people will discriminate, culture itself is a dangerous subversion. There are only two kinds of people, those who follow orders, and those who aren't really people.". This will make the Second Triumvirate's Proscriptions look like a joke.
I wouldn't say that's a silver lining. Suffering is suffering, and more suffering is bad.
This whole thing goes to show how repressive gender norms go both ways. We tend to think of them as only holding women back, but they do the same to men too by imposing standards on them as well.
Yea. The reason I said that is I am kind of an optimist about most things in were I always have the attitude of "It could be worse" or were I try and find the silver lining in things no matter how bad the situation is. I guess in this situation that is near impossible.
I almost didn't use the name "Angel" because I had actual angels in play. Wonder what Wilhelm and the other angels might think, although I won't be involving them in this arc anytime soon.
When this is over, anyone who supported the Committee is beyond screwed. The anger that's going to boil over will not care if someone was innocent or not. "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.". The sheer amount of psychotic rage that's going to explode the moment control is lost will break any notion of freedom.
Same here. Neat compaisom to Ancient Rome, tho the more obvious comparison might be relatively modern examples like Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet Union. Speaking of comparisons to late republic/early Empire purges, I can sorta see a resemblance to Anders’ death with that of Cicero’s last moments after defying the Triumvirate. I can sorta see Anders being seen as a modern Cicero when all this is over.
When this is over, anyone who supported the Committee is beyond screwed. The anger that's going to boil over will not care if someone was innocent or not. "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.". The sheer amount of psychotic rage that's going to explode the moment control is lost will break any notion of freedom. "That's what happens when the people are allowed to have their say. Equalists caused this by ruining the world. Democrats are fools who let this happen for the sake of feeling good. Environmentalists are pathetic weaklings who got coopted. Anyone who doesn't follow the secular laws is clearly not human, therefore anything goes. The government decides what is preserved and what is not. After all, if the people will discriminate, culture itself is a dangerous subversion. There are only two kinds of people, those who follow orders, and those who aren't really people.". This will make the Second Triumvirate's Proscriptions look like a joke.
That will be horrifying, especially since the Commitee itself had a similar mindset that led to it purging anyone they didn’t like. All the more important for Wilhelmina to step up and be a positive example to the Roman people once all this is over and those behind Jerusalem’s rise are properly punished by the rule of law, like Otto did.
Same here. Neat compaisom to Ancient Rome, tho the more obvious comparison might be relatively modern examples like Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet Union. Speaking of comparisons to late republic/early Empire purges, I can sorta see a resemblance to Anders’ death with that of Cicero’s last moments after defying the Triumvirate. I can sorta see Anders being seen as a modern Cicero when all this is over.
I can definitely see that. Both tried to keep the rights of their era safe from potential tyrants and in both cases their fellow citizens turned their backs on them and handed over their freedoms. Leading to the Triumvirate and eventual Roman Empire in Cicero's case and to Jerusalem in Anders’ case. Hopefully the Committee douse not last as long as the Ancient Roman Empire did. I do however find it interesting that Octavian allowed his grandson to read Cicero's papers and that he actually said something good about him to his grandson even though Octavian was the one that had him killed.
I can definitely see that. Both tried to keep the rights of their era safe from potential tyrants and in both cases their fellow citizens turned their backs on them and handed over their freedoms to the Triumvirate leading to the Roman Empire and in Anders' case Jerusalem. Hopefully the Committee douse not last as long as the Ancient Roman Empire did. I do however find it interesting that Octavian allowed his grandson to read Cicero's papers and that he actually said something good about him to his grandson even though Octavian was the one that had him killed.
Quite ironic on Octavian’s part indeed, though keep in mind it was Antony who wanted Cicero killed, not Octavian. To be fair, the Empire did at least try to maintain the illusion of being a continuation of the Republic and all the liberties and institutions associated with it during the Principate, it was only after Diocletian set up the reforms that led to the Dominate that the emperors started acting in power closer to our traditional view of an absolute monarchy, I’m not sure what the state of the Ancient Republic’s institutions were during the Byzantine Empire. You can’t really say the same thing about the Commitee, who have completely scorned the old Reich and have stated that Jerusalem is a separate entity from it.
When this is over, anyone who supported the Committee is beyond screwed. The anger that's going to boil over will not care if someone was innocent or not. "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.". The sheer amount of psychotic rage that's going to explode the moment control is lost will break any notion of freedom. "That's what happens when the people are allowed to have their say. Equalists caused this by ruining the world. Democrats are fools who let this happen for the sake of feeling good. Environmentalists are pathetic weaklings who got coopted. Anyone who doesn't follow the secular laws is clearly not human, therefore anything goes. The government decides what is preserved and what is not. After all, if the people will discriminate, culture itself is a dangerous subversion. There are only two kinds of people, those who follow orders, and those who aren't really people.". This will make the Second Triumvirate's Proscriptions look like a joke.
All that pent-up anger and hatred the committee has cultivated is going to be released if the committee falls and there's nobody to control or direct it...
Yea. The reason I said that is I am kind of an optimist about most things in were I always have the attitude of "It could be worse" or were I try and find the silver lining in things no matter how bad the situation is. I guess in this situation that is near impossible.
Just like how the committee frequently throws around the phrase "fascist equalist liberal political correctness." They don't care if it's an oxymoron, those words are just a bunch of buzzwords to rile people up now, and the people no longer have the critical thinking skills or the desire to use them to think or care otherwise.
But then nobody would learn from their mistakes, the committee would get away with their crimes in death, and with all of Jerusalem's leaders dead, the country would fall into anarchy.
That will be horrifying, especially since the Commitee itself had a similar mindset that led to it purging anyone they didn’t like. All the more important for Wilhelmina to step up and be a positive example to the Roman people once all this is over and those behind Jerusalem’s rise are properly punished by the rule of law, like Otto did.
Same here. Neat compaisom to Ancient Rome, tho the more obvious comparison might be relatively modern examples like Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet Union. Speaking of comparisons to late republic/early Empire purges, I can sorta see a resemblance to Anders’ death with that of Cicero’s last moments after defying the Triumvirate. I can sorta see Anders being seen as a modern Cicero when all this is over.
I can definitely see that. Both tried to keep the rights of their era safe from potential tyrants and in both cases their fellow citizens turned their backs on them and handed over their freedoms. Leading to the Triumvirate and eventual Roman Empire in Cicero's case and to Jerusalem in Anders’ case. Hopefully the Committee douse not last as long as the Ancient Roman Empire did. I do however find it interesting that Octavian allowed his grandson to read Cicero's papers and that he actually said something good about him to his grandson even though Octavian was the one that had him killed.
Quite ironic on Octavian’s part indeed, though keep in mind it was Antony who wanted Cicero killed, not Octavian. To be fair, the Empire did at least try to maintain the illusion of being a continuation of the Republic and all the liberties and institutions associated with it during the Principate, it was only after Diocletian set up the reforms that led to the Dominate that the emperors started acting in power closer to our traditional view of an absolute monarchy. You can’t really say the same thing about the Commitee, who have completely scorned the old Reich and have stated that Jerusalem is a separate entity from it.
There was also an economic incentive to sever all ties with the old Reich, as that allowed Jerusalem to nullify all contracts and debts signed by the old regime.
Yea. I guess the old Reich is more similar to at least the early part of the Old Empire in that despite the people technically having rights (at least on paper in the old empire) there was no (to my knowledge) measures to protect those rights from an out of control ruler. Witch was made clear in the Dominate and in Jerusalem.
Yea. I guess the old Reich is more similar to at least the early part of the Old Empire in that despite the people technically having rights (at least on paper in the old empire) there was no (to my knowledge) measures to protect those rights from an out of control ruler. Witch was made clear in the Dominate and in Jerusalem.
I mean, the Emperors did always have the threat of being dethroned by the Senate, Army or Pretorian Guard, but those threats themselves led to more problems down the line more than they kept the emperor in check, especially when it came to the Crisis of the Third Century, which in fairness was ended by strong and competent emperors like Aurelian. Definitely not the same as constitutional limits, clear succession laws and checks and balances.
Yea. I guess the old Reich is more similar to at least the early part of the Old Empire in that despite the people technically having rights (at least on paper in the old empire) there was no (to my knowledge) measures to protect those rights from an out of control ruler. Witch was made clear in the Dominate and in Jerusalem.
In real life, constitutional checks and balances (at least in the Anglo-American and French systems) only arose when the nobility forced the king to relinquish power, or a civil war/coup/revolution limited the king's powers or even overthrew him. The Reich never had any such issues. Even after civil wars the Kaisers always kept their powers. As something only decreed and modified by the Kaisers, the Augustinian Code was never a true constitution with formal checks and balances affecting them.
I mean, the Emperors did always have the threat of being dethroned by the Senate, Army or Pretorian Guard, but those threats themselves led to more problems down the line more than they kept the emperor in check, especially when it came to the Crisis of the Third Century, which in fairness was ended by strong and competent emperors like Aurelian. Definitely not the same as constitutional limits, clear succession laws and checks and balances.
To be fair, the Senate was mostly ceremonial by the later imperial era. The real issue in both the later empire was the army and the Praetorians. In the Byzantine era the main threats to imperial authority were the dynatoi and again the army, which frequently overlapped. One of the reasons the Byzantines lost at Manzikert in 1081 was because dynatoi generals withdrew their troops to weaken the emperor and gain leverage in the court, if not seize the throne for themselves. It even continued into Ottoman times as the janissaries, eunuchs, and concubines began influencing who became sultan. Not exactly a check on the monarch's power as it is a crippling weakness of central authority which led to stagnation and corruption.
Funny enough, the Roman Republic and early Empire put less emphasis on blood ties and more on the family name itself, with prominent individuals (like Julius Caesar with Octavian) adopting an unrelated person to be their heir over any biological children or relatives. It allowed the early emperors to choose their preferred heirs instead of defaulting to a son. But this did lead to emperors like Nero, who was adopted by Claudius (though many of the stories we know about him are exaggerated or made up). And this scheme typically meant there was no clearly defined succession, which allowed the Praetorians, the legions, and other groups to control the succession and weaken central authority. Friedrich the Great sought to avoid this by defining a line of succession, but future Kaisers barely made any further changes. So now you have what is effectively an 11th century succession law still enforced in a 21st century country, without any checks and balances to constrain the Kaiser. Even in the modern day, not much was done to keep the Kaiser himself from being influenced by outside parties. The Kaiser is still human, after all. As the supreme authority unaffected by checks and balances, he would be an appealing target. Control the Kaiser, control the nation. The old problem which plagued Rome back to the founding of the empire was never truly solved.
Oh, I hate seeing Frederica like this. I loved her power, her knowing she's left her mark no matter what those in power would say. For now, she's choking on puppet strings.
Oh, I hate seeing Frederica like this. I loved her power, her knowing she's left her mark no matter what those in power would say. For now, she's choking on puppet strings.
Thea would keep doing it, even if she was the only one. That’s what she told herself, even as the crowds thinned and people got used to things. Most Persians went back to their lives. Most Romans packed up and went to Tsarberg or Kiev after the princess’ stunt. After months of thinking, Alexandra eventually stopped when she realized she had effectively stopped while thinking. Thea hadn’t seen her in a while. She commuted daily to Natanz to work at the labs with Magnus so she could support her aunt Tara and cousin Matthew. Alex, too, also left the protests. So she was the last one.
“Free our people!” Thea shouted. “Stop the madness!”
The other protesters shouted various slogans in German, Greek, Farsi, and Turkish.
“Free Navalny!” Thea said. “He spoke the truth when nobody else would!”
Alexei Navalny was an NDP leader turned human rights activist who had led protests in Taurica against the camps, only to be thrown into one himself. Ironic how a right-wing nationalist in the old regime was now a human rights activist fighting against the committee. He had won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but he was unable to receive it. Nobody had heard from him in months. Then again, that was only one of the dozens of major news stories being covered lately. She was surprised people remembered his name since he disappeared. Normally, they’d just move on to the next crisis. There were too many to cover these days. Like the story about equalists or Muslims crucifying kids. Or a plane containing either rebels or a senior Jerusalem commander being shot down by one or the other. Or equalists, fascists, Malian separatists, or Quechua nationalists firebombing the Amazon to deny their enemies hiding places. Or the continuing siege of Bremerhaven. Or loyalist naval forces gathering off the coast of Mauretania. There was just so much stuff being said it was impossible to verify or debunk anything before two more stories emerged. Constant outrage had become the new normal. It was all so overwhelming. The worst thing was she knew her brother was behind this. She and Alex had followed his attempts to buy out news companies before the takeover, including Anders’ Die Zeiten. Now Theodor had “lent” his new holdings to that shill Bysandros and his company Vox Dei, which had an exclusive partnership with the Bureau of Media Morals. Thea hated thinking of those name.
“The truth will come out!” she shouted. “History will absolve us!”
She certainly hoped so. But she remembered all of the other idealistic movements rising up throughout history…only to be crushed by self-serving enemies both within and without. Time and time again, she heard of idealists appearing, rallying a movement against a prevailing order that was unjust or unfair, promising a better future. But they would always be killed, and their successors would either be completely incompetent or outright malicious. The movement would become repressive and dogmatic, the opposite of what the founder accomplished. Thierry Baudet formed CB in 2016 to provide an alternative to a stagnant political system that had prevailed for almost 200 years. But Baudet was murdered, and his movement was twisted into the genocidal regime Thea marched against. Anders Humboldt and Theresa Novak kept fighting to uncover the truth, only to be silenced by a public that wanted an easy lie and murdered by a regime that trafficked in lies. Elisabeth Alexandra wanted to be a Kaiserin for her people, but she never became a Kaiserin. Otto the Great ushered in decades of peace and prosperity, but he was mortal, like any other, and the new Kaiser prided himself on not being like his father.
“Please!” she said. “Somebody’s got to stand up for us! For our families!”
But would that happen? She doubted it.
Natanz - July 15
“Begin test 1357,” Alexandra said.
A technician pulled a red lever. The miniturized particle accelerator whirred to life. Warning lights flashed, and the machine shook and rattled. Alexandra’s computers read increasing levels of energy at each stage of the machine. Laser beams struck target materials, throwing up more flashes of light from within the accelerator. Her computer began logging output elements as they passed through scanners.
“Come on, come on,” she said.
The test completed. No betharium was detected. She pounded her console.
“Damnit!” she said. “Reset the accelerator and prepare for 1358!”
“Alexandra, it’s almost 7,” Magnus said, “Don’t you think we should call it?”
“No,” Alexandra said, “We almost got it. We’re so close…”
“You were saying that 20 tests and 2 hours ago,” Magnus said, “Can we just pick up tomorrow?”
“But I’ll forget my train of thought!” Alexandra said. “We’ll be set back for days!”
“We’ll be set back for weeks if you burn yourself out in overtime,” Magnus said.
“No I will not!” Alexandra said. “I did plenty of this back in Damascus. I’ll be fine.”
“I distinctly remember the many times Thea and I had to physically drag you out of the lab,” Magnus said, “But it was never this bad.”
“You’re overreacting,” Alexandra said, “I feel like I’m at 100%. I could go another hour easy.”
“Yeah, if you want to faint at your desk,” Magnus said, “I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“And you’re being way too protective,” Alexandra said, “You know I can handle this!”
“This is about your mom, isn't it?” Magnus said. “You’re pulling extra hours because you think this is how you can make up for letting her die, right?”
“You wouldn’t understand!” Alexandra said. “What would Mom think if she knew I wasn’t putting in my all after she died for me? Of course I have to do all this for her! Otherwise her sacrifice would have been for nothing!”
“She wouldn’t have wanted you to work yourself to death, though,” Magnus said.
“You didn’t know my mom!” Alexandra said.
The lab fell silent. The technicians stared at Alexandra and Magnus before quietly and awkwardly shuffling out.
“Did you really just go there?” Magnus said.
Alexandra opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn’t. She knew she went too far. Magnus began packing up.
“Please come home,” he said, “I promised your mother I’d look after you. I don’t want to have to tell her why you joined her earlier than expected.”
He walked out.
Mannheim - August 4
“They asked me, ‘Do you have a Torah at home?’” Ari said.
Tobias Frank listened to his grandson’s words.
“What did you tell them?” he said.
“That we don’t do any religious activities,” Ari said.
“I need to have a talk with your teacher,” Tobias said, “This is unacceptable.”
“Don’t tell them I told you this!” Ari said.
“Why?” Tobias said.
“Because they would call a Home Guardian,” Ari said.
“I can’t let them keep getting away with this,” Tobias said, “First they dull all of the lessons down to just ‘point and recite’, and now they’re prying into our private matters?”
“Please, Grandpa!” Ari said.
“I only want you to be safe,” Tobias said, “So you have to tell me if this happens again.”
“Okay,” Ari said.
August 15
“We sincerely hope the Becoming Family Campaign will help integrate long underserved and marginalized communities into Jerusalemite society,” Bysandros said, “And who knows? Maybe you’ll begin considering your personal Home Guardian as family before long.”
Tobias firmly doubted that. While the rest of the family watched the public service announcement playing on their phones, he warily watched the Home Guardian currently lounging in his living room. His name was Nick Spur. He looked younger than Alex, maybe about 24 or so. He always smiled widely, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. A suitcase of his belongings had already been set down next to him, but Tobias was more concerned about the tactical gear, constantly buzzing walkie-talkie, and the fully automatic assault rifle slung over his back.
“I look forward to living with you, Herr Franz,” Nick said.
“It’s Frank,” Tobias said.
“My apologies,” Nick said, “I thought since Franz was on file with the SVB…”
“I’ll have to bring it up with them when I renew my license,” Tobias said.
“About that,” Nick said, “I’m licensed to drive you around.”
“I won’t need that,” Tobias said.
“I must insist,” Nick said, “For a man your age, I wouldn’t want you to get in an accident.”
He began looking around the house.
“You could use a little cleaning,” he said, “Like…the shelves look dusty.”
“I’ll clean my house when I feel like it, thank you very much,” Tobias said.
“You do know a clean and orderly house means a clean and orderly nation,” Nick said, “The family is a little nation, as they say.”
“I’m aware of that,” Tobias said, “Now I still don’t understand why you’re here. We’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Well, it’s the new law,” Nick said, “We’re here to ensure your safety and ease your integration into the larger national family.”
“Integration?” Tobias said. “I thought we were well integrated. We barely speak Yiddish.”
“Well, our records at the Bureau of Social Unity indicate you and your family are behind on several integration benchmarks,” Nick said.
He took out his phone. “Says here you forgot the non-chorus lyrics to the national anthem at last Sunday’s flag raising and prayer service. And more importantly, your family has an average attendance record of 64%.”
“Look, you can’t just expect us to make it all the time,” Tobias said.
“I think we were generous with our expectations of 85%,” Nick said.
“Will that be all?” Tobias said.
“Yes, let’s get to business now,” Nick said.
He handed a sheet of paper to Tobias.
“This is a schedule of my daily routine,” Nick said, “When I sleep, when I wake up, what daily medicine I take. Among other things, I’ll be helping with cooking and house cleaning from 10 to 11 and doing tutoring for the kids from 3 to 5. Please set aside time accordingly.”
It was like he was a male Shepherd. Tobias was already fed up with the antics of the Shepherd assigned to their neighborhood. But at least he could stay away from her most of the day. Unlike with this man.
August 26
Tobias knew something was wrong the instant he rounded the corner and saw several Home Guardian patrol cars parked in the driveway. Home Guardians, wearing their usual tactical gear, received orders and updates on their walkie-talkies outside the house.
“Excuse me,” he said, “What seems to be the matter?”
The instant they heard him, they spun around and pointed their guns at him.
“Wait, wait!” Tobias said, putting up his hands. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“On the contrary,” Nick said, walking out of the house.
Ari followed him onto the front lawn.
“Ari?” Tobias said. “What are you doing? Come here.”
Ari refused to listen.
“You see, your grandson Ari here has been very cooperative,” Nick said, “He came to me earlier today when he found this hidden in your desk drawer.”
Nick took out a pocket Torah.
“You…what did you do, Ari?” Tobias said.
“I did my duty as a citizen and told the truth,” Ari said.
“Ari…” Tobias said. “What are you saying? You know what that Torah is! A gift from Grandma when we married!”
“It’s contraband!” Ari said. “You should have disposed of it as required by law!”
“Ari, don’t say such stuff!” Tobias said. “What did I tell you about our family?”
“You told me to lie to teachers and report on their doings like some secret police!” Ari said. “I won’t do it anymore! Guardian Spur was kind enough to teach me how to be patriotic! He's going to take me to a baptism next week!”
“See?” Nick said. “Ari has caught on well. He will make a fine citizen!”
“What did you do to my grandson?” Tobias said.
“I just taught him the truth,” Nick said, “He did everything else on his own.”
“You’re a bad man, Grandpa!” Ari said. “The Christians are good people!”
“Take them away,” Nick ordered.
The Home Guardians grabbed Tobias. Sometimes, he felt a little envious of Diana. She only had Alex to put up with.
August 27
“Will the righteous Home Guardian Nicholas Spur present the state’s case?” the judge said.
“Yes, Your Honor,” Nick said, “The accused stand charged with deicide. They are complicit in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, as are all heathen Jews.”
“That’s insane!” Tobias said.
One of the Home Guardians pistol-whipped him.
"And do you swear by His name that the report you have submitted is the truth entirely?" the judge said.
"Yes, I do so swear," Nick said.
"In the name of God and His servants on Earth, the accused are hereby found guilty of decide." The judge banged his gavel.
“Where’s my right to a fair trial?” Tobias said.
“This IS the trial,” Nick said.
“You are hereby sentenced to deportation,” the judge declared, “You and your family, with the exception of Citizen Ari Franz, also known as the newly christened Harald Francis, are to report to the Imperial Homeland processing facility at the airport tomorrow. This decision is final.”
August 28
Fulfill your spiritual destiny!
Return to your ancestral home!
Great homes are waiting for you!
Build the Judea of the future with the traditions of the past!
The slogans inside the SWM facility were bright and cheerful, in contrast to everything else. Tobias and his family, minus Ari, waited in line with the few belongings they were permitted. Tobias tightly clutched his pocket Torah.
“Mom, Sis, where did you go?” he said.
His mother wouldn’t have stood for such injustice. Same with his sister, who took after Mom more than he did. But they were dead. It was just him and his family now. Why did they have to go before him?
“All passengers in Block E for Flight 429 to Ascalon, Imperial Homeland Judea, you may now board,” the PA said.
Tobias looked at his ticket. Block E. He and the others around him walked forward. Passing through a gateway without as much as a security check, they reached the tarmac. A plane waited for them there. It was a small two-engine one, probably taken from a budget airliner. Nick and two Home Guardians waited at the boarding stairs.
“Leave all of your belongings here,” Nick said, “They will be returned when you disembark.”
Everybody put down their suitcases. Tobias had mostly kept to himself the whole time, so he didn’t really notice anything about the crowd until now. Everyone in Block E was Jewish. Some spoke heavily accented Yiddish he didn't understand in hushed tones. Others wore the very specific garb and had the long beards and dreadlocks of the Orthodox Jews. Their suitcases were of various designs, some looking wrinkled and old, decorated in old stickers of Jewish iconography or travel destinations, while others were shiny and new, with only nametags on them. He had heard about the Imperial Homelands project before. The committee had begun the scheme several months ago as a way of “reducing ethno-religious tensions throughout Jerusalem to increase social unity,” just as Saint Wilhelmina did during her reign. Groups like Jews and Muslims were encouraged to move to places like Israel and Arabia, where more tolerant laws were promised. Moving was both voluntary—with incentives like housing and cash provided—and involuntary—in Tobias’ case.
Tobias reached the head of the line and put down his suitcase on the growing pile. Nick, still smiling in his glassy way, pointed at his pocket Torah.
“This one stays with me,” he said.
“No contraband on the plane!” Nick grabbed the Torah and tossed it on the pile.
Tobias wanted to punch the man in the face, but that would probably cause the other Home Guardians to riddle him with bullets. So he just walked up the stairs and into the plane. He found his seat and helped his family get seated.
“Will we be alright?” a granddaughter asked.
“I hope so,” Tobias said.
He hadn’t seen Israel in many years. The last time he had been there was on a vacation when Mom and Diana were still alive. It was before the war, before Diana cut herself off from the family for several years because of Chernobyl. Mom set aside some time from her work to take them all on a trip to Israel during summer break. They hit up all of the tourist sites—the Temple of Solomon, Mount Sinai, the old Zealot fortress of Masada—before heading to the Dead Sea for some beach time. Tobias remembered playing on the sand with Diana, while Mom floated like a sponge on the water and read an Athanatoi briefing she had snuck into her luggage. When Diana found out, she took out a large textbook she had also snuck onto the trip and began studying, even though it was summer break. With both of them lost in their work, Tobias just awkwardly went to cook lunch with Dad. But he didn’t mind. That was a fun day.
Who knew? Maybe with the looser laws in Israel, he could at least get back in touch with Alex. The last time he was allowed to call him, he was forced to say some horrible things. The Shepherds knew his nephew was protesting over the border in Persia, so they made Tobias threaten his own life to cow Alex into stopping. Tobias would’ve understood if Alex didn’t take the bait and continued, even if the Shepherds would then turn him in. But Alex caved and disappeared from the protests. Tobias tried to understand that as well. After all, he would have done the same if their roles were switched. But he couldn’t help but feel a little saddened. The Shepherds had successfully used him to get to Alex. They successfully silenced someone living outside Jerusalem. Who’s to say they wouldn’t stop there? They were most likely doing the same with other families the exiles left behind. Jerusalem’s suppression had gone global, reaching like an octopus into every society on every continent. It was like the Cold War again, only this time the Soviets had the Reich’s economic and military clout, China refused to get involved in the conflict, India was useless, and the Reich simply didn’t exist.
After about twenty minutes, all passengers were seated and the pre-flight checks were complete. The exit door slammed shut, and the pilots got in their seat and locked the door to the cockpit with a loud hiss. There were no flight attendants. Tobias buckled his seat belt and looked out the window to get one last look at Mannheim as the plane taxiied down the runway. He had lived in Mannheim for forty years. It pained him to finally leave the place after so long. He had met his wife and raised his children in this city. But all good things had to end, right? Hopefully he could start over anew in Israel. Though he was a little worried for Ari. He was the only one who didn’t board the plane. Why did they hold him back? What plans did they have for him? He hoped Ari was okay. He was just misguided. That Nick had fed him poisonous thoughts. How could he do such a thing? Ari was always a sweet boy. He would never turn on his family and say such hateful words. When they landed, he would have to call back and try to get in touch with Ari. He was still young. He could still be brought back around.
The plane roared down the runway and lifted off into the sky, heading west.
Two hours later
Flight 429 landed on the runway. Its engines fired in reverse, slowing it down until it came to a stop. Nick turned to the other Home Guardians on duty.
“You know the drill,” he said.
They put on hazmat suits and loaded their guns. Passing the still growing pile of belongings on the tarmac, they approached the plane. After the stairs were put in place, they climbed up and entered the plane. It was deathly quiet inside. Not a single peep came from the passenger cabin. Nick knocked on the sealed door to the cockpit.
“You guys okay?” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, we’re fine,” one of the pilots said, “Just another routine flight. We still get paid the usual amount, right? With all of the pay cuts coming down from Theodor…”
“Don’t worry, your payment hasn’t changed,” Nick said, “You’ll get first cut of the luggage, as always. Once it’s cleared of any contraband, of course.”
“Sweet!” the pilot said.
The Home Guardians slowly advanced through the passenger cabin with their guns drawn. They checked each seat, and once they confirmed what they wanted, they moved on. At the end, Nick gave the thumbs up.
“Okay, another successful operation,” he said, “You may be dismissed. I’ll call a cleanup crew.”
As he walked back to the exit, Nick briefly stopped at Tobias’ seat. The old man still had an expression of hope on his face, no doubt looking forward to Israel. Unfortunately, his flight was not one of those chosen to land in Israel. Tesla Dynamic was on a tight budget, and the CEO wanted to maximize profits. Which meant there was no pressurization on this flight. But Nick wouldn’t have considered those on the few actual flights the lucky ones, with the state of things in Israel right now. He reached into his pocket, took out Tobias’ pocket Torah, and put it back in Tobias’ hands. It wouldn’t mean anything, as the cleanup crew would simply take it back and burn it with the rest of the contraband, but it was better than nothing.
Formerly Villa Grimaldi - September 2
Theodor casually paced around the cell, making each step heavy and loud. Ferdinand and Klaus stood at attention on both sides of Mina, who had been hung from the ceiling with chains attached to her arms.
“So…” Theodor finally said. “Colonel Gaillard here tells me you were caught trying to escape. Is that right?”
“So what?” Mina spat.
“You know the punishment, right?” Theodor said.
He hit his remote. Electricity surged from Mina’s robotic arm into the rest of her body, and she convulsed in pain.
“Bring in the other conspirators,” Theodor said.
Klaus exited the room and returned a minute later with a line of prisoners, their handcuffs locked to the same chain. They looked bloodied and beaten up already.
“I have to hand it to you, you do know how to lead people,” Theodor said, “Unfortunately, you don’t know how to follow.”
“Like I’d ever follow you!” Mina said.
Theodor hit the remote again, and Mina screamed.
“Case in point, you don’t know when to talk and when to shut up,” Theodor said, “Gaillard?”
Ferdinand drew his pistol and shot one of the prisoners in the head. The others recoiled in shock and fear.
“We’re going to start executing your friends one by one until you tell me the names of your terrorist contacts on the outside,” Theodor said, “As well as the data core password.”
“Go to hell,” Mina said.
Ferdinand shot another prisoner.
“TELL ME!” Theodor shouted.
“No,” Mina said.
Ferdinand shot two more prisoners. Only two remained.
“Don’t tell him!” one said. “We’re not worth it!”
Ferdinand shot her in the head as well.
“I think you’re a little too trigger happy, Gaillard,” Theodor said, “Even by my standards.”
“My apologies,” Ferdinand said, “I was just operating under the assumption…”
“It’s okay, but remember, we’re here to get information,” Theodor said.
“Which you won’t get!” Mina said.
Theodor sent another surge of electricity convulsing through Mina’s body.
“One last chance,” Theodor said, “Are you going to save the life of your last conspirator, or will you condemn both of you to die?”
“So you were going to kill me no matter what,” Mina said.
Theodor sighed. “Alright, alright, you found me. Of course I was going to kill you! I mean, you have no further use to me once I get the password!”
“Okay, that’s the only thing I wanted to know,” Mina said.
“What?” Theodor said.
"Since I'm going to die no matter what, that means I've got nothing to lose now," Mina said.
The last prisoner tackled Klaus. He didn’t go for the gun, which would be biometrically locked, but rather for the cattle prod. After wrestling it out of Klaus’ hands, he shocked Klaus with it. Klaus fell over, twitching on the floor. The prisoner charged at Ferdinand, but Ferdinand simply shot him in the head.
“Hah, nice try,” Theodor said, “But did you really think one malnourished prisoner could take on all three of us?”
“No, and he and I knew it,” Mina said, “That was just a distraction.”
“For what?” Theodor said.
With the time her friends had bought her, Mina had managed to pull her robotic arm free, as the chains had not been designed for such prosthetics. She then grabbed the other chain and ripped it free as well. She fell to the ground. Her knees screamed in pain, but the adrenaline rush helped her slowly get to her feet. Ferdinand and Klaus were now turning to shoot her. She quickly tapped the prosthetic and input a password. The “wrist” opened up, revealing a mini cannon. Back when he designed this prosthetic, Wilhelm Tesla had convinced her of the necessity of installing a self-defense feature, though she wished she remembered the password to unlock it much earlier. She pointed her arm at Klaus and fired a bolt of light blue energy drawn from the amphilicite crystal powering it. The blast caught Klaus square in the chest, and he went down. She next aimed at Ferdinand, who fired first. The bullet struck her arm, shattering the cannon barrel. Mina staggered back and clutched her arm, which sparked and fizzled, its “wound” leaking electric sparks instead of blood.
“No!” Theodor said. “Stop firing, Gaillard! I want that arm intact!”
Mina laughed. “It’s too late for that. You hit the amphilicite energy regulator.”
“And that means?” Ferdinand said.
“The arm’s going to blow up,” Theodor realized.
Mina began fiddling with the arm. She pulled out some wires and plugging a few back into different components. A steady beeping emanated from the arm, slowly speeding up.
“What’s that beeping noise?” Ferdinand said.
“I just wanted to see how long it’ll take before the arm blows up,” Mina said.
“You disable that right now!” Theodor said.
“Or what, you’ll kill me?” Mina said. “Please, even if I die, it’ll still blow up.”
“Then disable it!” Theodor said.
“No, I don’t think I will,” Mina said, casually sitting down.
“You’re crazy!” Ferdinand said. “You’ll die!”
“I know,” Mina said, “I think it’ll be much preferable to this dreary place.”
Theodor jammed the barrel of his gun against Mina’s head.
“Disable it now!” he demanded.
“You’re not fooling either of us,” Mina said, “We both know I’m not going to do it, and there’s nothing you can do to make me. Even if I wanted to, I can’t. You hit the regulator. Can’t even take off the arm now, without the proper tools. This thing’s going to blow in a minute or two, no matter what.”
They stared at each other for several tense seconds.
“Ready to die, Theodor?” Mina said. “Because I sure am.”
She grabbed Theodor, intending to take him down with her, but Ferdinand pistol-whipped her and forced her to let go. Grabbing the unconscious Klaus, they quickly ran out of the room and locked the door. Having failed to keep Theodor in range of the blast, Mina pulled herself up against the wall and relaxed. This was the end for her, it seemed. But someone would continue her work.
“Burn it all down, Thea,” she said.
The arm detonated, and the ensuing explosion leveled the entire floor and a good chunk of the floors above and below.
Isfahan
Thea’s phone chimed. She picked it up and found a new email.
From: Mina Schaefer
To: Dorothea Tesla
Thea…
If you’re reading this, I’m most certainly dead. Probably the instant this email appeared in your inbox. That’s how these kind of emails should start, huh? I’m writing this in the autumn of 2034, so I don’t know how much the situation’s changed, but if you got this email that means things didn’t calm down enough for me to delete it. More importantly, this email means your brother Theo is now out of control. There are many dangerous things Tesla Dynamic has worked on in recent years I can no longer trust Theodor to handle. But I can’t let such important information die with me. I think I can trust you, Thea. Listen closely, because the information I’m going to tell you must not fall into Theodor’s hands.
How long have we known each other? I remember when you just came up to my hip. You clutched old Willy’s hand everywhere you went. Did you remember the secret we shared with each other back then? While Willy was in a board meeting, talking about expansion opportunities in North Eimerica after Zolton’s fall, you stayed in the daycare, playing with the toys there. I seem to recall a particular one you liked. Do you remember?
Please remember. This is of the utmost importance. Your brother is running the company into the ground and taking the entire nation with it. He has to be stopped before he destroys us all. As his sister and as the sole other heir to Tesla Dynamic, you are the only one qualified to inherit and carry the terrible knowledge we’ve found. I know you can do it. I’ve seen what you and your friends accomplished before, and what you did with your findings. Please, Thea. I know I’m asking a lot of you, to take on your brother and do all this. But I saw no other way. Which is why I’m asking of you…destroy Tesla Dynamic. In its place, build something better. It’s the only way.
Attached to the email was an encrypted file. There was no preview, and when she downloaded it to her phone, it prompted a password. It gave only one try before the file was deleted. Thea was still processing the whole email. Mina was really dead, was she? How was it possible? She always found a way out of the worst situations. But if she had finally met her end…she wouldn’t send this email if she was still alive, was she? And what was all this about the data core? About destroying Tesla Dynamic? She had to get into that file if it told her more about what she had to do. But what was the password? It had to be something she was familiar with. Or something Mina talked about in this email. She did take a detour in the middle to talk about an old memory. Maybe that was the password? Something to do with the toys she played with as a kid? There was one she particularly liked. One that never really made sense to her, and she always wondered who came up with the idea, but that was its charm.
Congratulations, you remembered. I knew you could, Thea. Let’s get right to the point. Do you remember that special ‘data core’ we acquired in 2011? Officially, it was a project to develop a very efficient data compression algorithm which would allow for vastly increased digital storage. Well, in a way, that was true, and we made record profits in our flash drive and cloud storage divisions. The algorithm existed, but we didn’t create it. If not us, then who? Well, only a handful of people here knew who. Conrad, Walter, Anna, Anders, and Alex Humboldt. My cousin Diana as well as myself. Hans, Erich, and Angela Hansen. Wilhelm Kurtz. Olga Kirova. Mihailo Princip. Hans Hansen and Conrad Humboldt. The late Kaiser Otto. Certain high-ranking Rasa officials including Gandhi himself, although the evidence there is spotty and irrelevant to this matter. There are a few others who I probably forgot.
Anyways, do you know about the theory of parallel universes? That out there there are different worlds of people just like us, only history took a different path. Like a world where the Khitans went west instead of east; one where the Triple Alliance was even more bloodthirsty and brutal, conquered more of Europe, and a Greek-led Roman Empire failed to push them out; one where the Sunset Invasion never happened and another Greek-led Roman Empire grew and flourished without having to worry about it, where Theodora Doukas fought against a mysterious snake-worshipping cult; one where Jared Karasi’s ancestors founded an Estonian empire and led it to greatness and ruin; one where the heretics won the Fifty Years’ War; one where the Persian Revolution succeeded; one where the Maximists won the Maximist Wars; one where the Angeloi won World War II; one where the Soviets won the last war; one where Neurhomania gained independence and led the Paulluists to new heights. As hard as it may be to believe, while the list I just shared was made up, this data core actually came from an alternate world. The one from which your favorite toy came from.
Over there, the ancestors of the aristoi house Anniona—the family of such icons as Osterhild, Siegfried, and Eva Anniona—emerged as a major power in the eighth century and established their own Reich. We made contact with them during World War II for several months (funny enough, they were having their own World War II at the same time), for one brief incident in 1977 Walter caused, and again from 2010 to 2011 as a result of Walter’s actions. After some…growing pains, we made amends and became allies, although we had to permanently break off contact soon afterward. As a parting gift, we exchanged the sum of all knowledge our two worlds had. We gave them several rooms’ worth of storage devices containing as much of our scientific and cultural knowledge as possible. They gave us this data core. Inside it is far more data than we could have ever hoped to fit into those rooms of data drives. Artwork, literature, music, textbooks, historical records, DNA samples, scientific breakthroughs we haven’t achieved yet, toys including the one you were so fond of…so much we could use to improve our own world. Theodor saw something else. Samples of an extremely virulent smallpox strain which over there wiped out entire civilizations, including a Triple Alliance as powerful as our own. Records of violent state-sponsored suppression of left-wing movements, including moderate ones, and the advanced military technologies used to carry them out. A legacy of imperialism and conquest that saw the Annionas' Holy Roman Empire expand into the largest empire on the planet with a system of managed authoritarian democracy. He saw power in such developments. I know you two lost your parents to the RAF. It must have been hard for you. But while you moved past it, Theodor latched on to that moment and developed a seething hatred for all things remotely left-leaning. Reading the history of the other side only encouraged that hatred. Now he wants to follow in their footsteps and do the same thing over here with all of their weapons. He doesn’t know what ultimately happened to them. In 2028, I tried reestablishing contact with the other side. But nobody answered. All I saw was a desolate Constantinople devoid of life. They had destroyed themselves. I believe if left to his devices, or if he saw what happened to the other side, Theodor’s actions and reckless use of their technology will cause the same thing to happen here. You can’t let that happen.
Currently, I’ve locked away the data core with the same password used to unlock this PDF. Whatever you do, do not give it away to anyone you think is working for Theodor. And DO NOT FORGET IT. You are now the only one in the world who can unlock that data core and all of its secrets. Now it’s up to you to decide what to do with it.
PS: In a situation where I am most likely dead, I think you will not be able to retrieve the data core immediately after receiving this message. While you wait for an opportunity, I’ve at least attached the—again, password protected—files regarding the Panopticon network’s source code and infrastructure. Please take a look at that. Thanks.
PPS: He’s coming after the betharium accelerator design you and Alex made. He went after the one in Damascus, but fortunately it didn’t work and only blew up in his technicians' faces. He will do everything he can to seize any other ones you’ve created. Don’t let him take it. He must not have that much power in his hands. Granted, he should not have any power to begin with, but this is on a completely different level. Your group’s discovery has the potential to change the world. Make sure it’s a good change.
Alex listened to everything Thea had to say about the data core and the other side.
“So let me ask you something,” she said, “Did you know? This whole time?”
“Yes,” Alex said, without hesitation, “There was this one time my mom brought over her alternate self. I couldn’t tell which one was which, and Mom teased me by saying she would be my new mom if I misbehaved. For months afterward I suspected she and her counterpart switched places and came up with stupid plans to expose her, all the while freaking out every time I thought I messed up. You’re…not mad at me for keeping the truth from you, are you?”
“Nah,” Thea said, “You never had good reason to bring it up.”
“So what do you plan to do?” Alex said.
“Well, it’s not like we can just waltz into the Frankfurt headquarters and take the data core,” Thea said, “We’d be shot or worse as soon as we cross the border. So I say we just carry on as usual.”
“Leave the data core?” Alex said.
“I mean, there isn’t anything else we can do,” Thea said, “We’re not spies or soldiers like your parents were.”
“Like there wasn’t anything we could do about Tobias?” Alex said.
Thea paused for a moment.
“You know that’s a different case,” she said.
“Maybe it is,” Alex said, “But the fact remains, we couldn’t do anything to save him. The worst thing is we have no updates from him. Nothing confirming he’s alive or dead. They say no news is good news, but…”
“I know I probably wasn’t helping when I kept protesting,” Thea said.
“You were only doing what you thought was right,” Alex said, “How you thought you could help Tobias and the others. I can’t blame you for that.”
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Thea said.
“What’s funny?” Alex said.
“How fate brought us together,” Thea said, “Me, a Tesla who played with toys from a parallel universe her mentor made contact with. You, a Humboldt-Frank who also interacted with the same parallel universe through his parents. Whose mother was Mina Schaefer’s cousin and whose father investigated the parallel universe his own father opened a portal to. Kind of funny how the two kids who were affected by that other universe ended up meeting each other because one ran over the other on her moped as the other was jaywalking.”
“I didn’t think you were the one to think about fate,” Alex said.
“I usually don’t,” Thea said, “I’m surprised we didn’t meet earlier.”
“Maybe we did, and we just didn’t know it,” Alex said.
They both laughed.
“I actually doubt it,” Alex said, “My mom and Aunt Mina weren’t that close.”
“And the Humboldts weren’t that involved with the company outside of Walter,” Thea said.
“Still, it’s a weird coincidence, don’t you think?”
“The world works in strange ways,” Thea said.
---
While the majority of Tobias' part is based on details from the Handmaid’s Tale book, Ari’s last words to Tobias come from some Uighur children who are indoctrinated into rejecting and reporting their own parents to Chinese authorities. Nick being made to live in Tobias’ house is inspired by Uighur families being forced to house CCP officials in their homes.
Alexei Navalny being a former NDP leader is a nod to his relatively right-wing political views relative to Western norms (although he seems to have mellowed out in recent years, but I couldn't verify that for all of his views) despite being one of the largest and most influential voices of the anti-Putin opposition in Russia. Him being unable to accept the Nobel Peace Prize here is a nod to many political dissidents who were imprisoned and unable to accept their own honors, like Carl von Ossietzky.
Mina made references to four other non-Anniona AARs in her list: the Khitanverse, This is Madness, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Eastern Vikings. The rest are generic alternate history scenarios, aside from the Neurhomania one which is a nod to my original plan for Neurhomanian independence, though that could itself be another scenario.
“Excuse me,” he said, “What seems to be the matter?”
The instant they heard him, they spun around and pointed their guns at him.
“Wait, wait!” Tobias said, putting up his hands. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“On the contrary,” Nick said, walking out of the house.
Ari followed him onto the front lawn.
“Ari?” Tobias said. “What are you doing? Come here.”
Ari refused to listen.
“You see, your grandson Ari here has been very cooperative,” Nick said, “He came to me earlier today when he found this hidden in your desk drawer.”
Nick took out a pocket Torah.
“You…what did you do, Ari?” Tobias said.
“I did my duty as a citizen and told the truth,” Ari said.
“Ari…” Tobias said. “What are you saying? You know what that Torah is! A gift from Grandma when we married!”
“It’s contraband!” Ari said. “You should have disposed of it as required by law!”
“Ari, don’t say such stuff!” Tobias said. “What did I tell you about our family?”
“You told me to lie to teachers and report on their doings like some secret police!” Ari said. “I won’t do it anymore! Guardian Spur was kind enough to teach me how to be patriotic! He's going to take me to a baptism next week!”
“See?” Nick said. “Ari has caught on well. He will make a fine citizen!”
“What did you do to my grandson?” Tobias said.
“I just taught him the truth,” Nick said, “He did everything else on his own.”
“You’re a bad man, Grandpa!” Ari said. “The Christians are good people!”
“Take them away,” Nick ordered.
The Home Guardians grabbed Tobias. Sometimes, he felt a little envious of Diana. She only had Alex to put up with.
A part of me douse wonder what will happen to Ari. What I am thinking is something like in 1984 in were Winston was "reeducated" but was still scheduled to be excited in the end.
It is sad that Tobias never got the news that Diana was killed but hopefully they are together in the afterlife.
Well I guess we now have all of the things that Gilead did in the book and the show in here. Now I am just waiting for things to get worse.
I was wondering what happened to TTL's Vladimir Putin since after the fall of the Soviets he became a movie star? A part of me feels like he would be killed for working for Babelsberg and for actually being a former Equalist but due to him being a former KGB member the Committee might make him into what ever the Eyes are in TTL.
I was also wondering if all of the different classes of Jerusalem are assigned different colored outfits to wear like in the show?
I also wonder if things from other works of dystopia are going to make it into the story such as Newspeak and the concept of Doublethink from 1984, designer babies such as in Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 in were Firemen are used to set books on fire?
