The Hohenzollern Empire 5: Holy Phoenix - An Empire of Jerusalem Megacampaign in New World Order

[zenphoenix]

Sounds interesting, maybe this could be lore you can consider adding the table of contents in the future.

Added.

I have my own question too; so if the Major Provinces are technically based on the Provinces of the First Empire, would the smaller Landers within those Provinces be based on the theme system of the Eastern Roman Empire (and the small principalities, free cites, etc, of the Holy Roman Empire), especially in Greece and Anatolia? It’s kind of a head cannon of mine that the Landers In Greece, Anatolia and the Middle East are basically the same as the themes of the Eastern/Second Roman Empire, with the explanation being that the Theme administration system of the Second Empire were first intergrated into the Reich as sub Provinces of the main Provinces, and eventually became the Modern Lander system in the 19th and early 20th Century. You do with this headcanon what you will @zenphoenix, but I thought it would be interesting lore for the Lander system to be a modern version of the Byzantine theme system.

First off, it's headcanon.

To answer your question, the Länder were based on older administrative divisions appropriate for the area. The theme system was expanded upon and absorbed existing administrative divisions in areas outside the Greek core. In Germany they used the principalities and free cities of the HRE up until the modern era, when the borders were redrawn and grouped into Länder to break the power of the Angeloi-supporting aristocracy. Feudal divisions in France, Spain, England, and the other western provinces remained until the 15th century, when the theme system was implemented in the west, which was integrated into the Länder system. The themes of the old Byzantine Empire, Egypt, and the eastern Mediterranean continued into the modern day, aside from slight border changes. Arabia and the former Islamic world did not have clearly defined administrative divisions until the 19th century. Then sub-provinces were formally introduced, although there were few actual themes. In all parts of the Reich, the sub-provinces were reorganized as Länder after 1945 (I should say this is not just a name change but an overhaul of administration and the borders), and the themes slowly faded away. They still exist, mostly symbolically (like Sweden's provinces, as I heard while I worked on Scandinavia's cultural update) and to help with the draft (people mobilized in the same theme are placed in the same unit). My reasoning is I always considered a theme equal to an in-game province, and the reorganization of each theme in the jump between games is equivalent to reforming the system (with the introduction of states in Victoria leading to sub-provinces). I then built the other units up from there. So basically the Länder system is a descendant of the theme system, not the modernization of it, and the original themes, which still exist by the way, go back to their roots as military districts.

I’m a bit sad to hear about the Legions through. I mean, I understand the principle and reason for why they would be broken up into smaller units, but I still dislike the idea of long-standing Roman traditions like the Legions fallening out of significance, especially since the Legions are a major staple of the Roman Army since Ancient Times. I guess all good things have to come to a end at some point.

The traditions of the legions are still significant, if only symbolically. Military units march in their assigned legions during parades and triumphs, and eagle standards are still used at press conferences and ceremonies. To be honest, the actual legions had fallen out of use for centuries. The ranks are different, the hierarchy has been modernized, and the sizes and organizations have been changed. The only thing the post-Restoration legions (and maybe even the Byzantine ones) had in common with the classical legions were their name. Each region takes pride in their legion.

I must say however, and I know you probably won’t know about this idea since you haven’t read Lord of the Rings, but this lore about some Roman traditions and culture falling out of revlance because of the Angeloi actually does remind me of Tolkien’s decaying of the world idea, where certain elements of the world or a culture slowly lose somethings overtime. I’m sure @TWR97 can explain Tolkien’s decaying of the world concept better than I can since he’s seemed to have read the Tolkien’s works based on the LOTR references in his ME summaries, but I just noticed similarity and analyzed it a bit, so endulge me in reading a bit too much into TTL’s lore.

That's very interesting. Maybe that would tie into the lore about Numenor. I really don't know. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but in my Tolkien bio, I focused more on his real life than his works.

 

[GhostRider124]

To answer your question, the Länder were based on older administrative divisions appropriate for the area. The theme system was expanded upon and absorbed existing administrative divisions in areas outside the Greek core. In Germany they used the principalities and free cities of the HRE up until the modern era, when the borders were redrawn and grouped into Länder to break the power of the Angeloi-supporting aristocracy. Feudal divisions in France, Spain, England, and the other western provinces remained until the 15th century, when the theme system was implemented in the west, which was integrated into the Länder system. The themes of the old Byzantine Empire, Egypt, and the eastern Mediterranean continued into the modern day, aside from slight border changes. Arabia and the former Islamic world did not have clearly defined administrative divisions until the 19th century. Then sub-provinces were formally introduced, although there were few actual themes. In all parts of the Reich, the sub-provinces were reorganized as Länder after 1945 (I should say this is not just a name change but an overhaul of administration and the borders), and the themes slowly faded away. They still exist, mostly symbolically (like Sweden's provinces, as I heard while I worked on Scandinavia's cultural update) and to help with the draft (people mobilized in the same theme are placed in the same unit). My reasoning is I always considered a theme equal to an in-game province, and the reorganization of each theme in the jump between games is equivalent to reforming the system (with the introduction of states in Victoria leading to sub-provinces). I then built the other units up from there. So basically the Länder system is a descendant of the theme system, not the modernization of it, and the original themes, which still exist by the way, go back to their roots as military districts.

So would that mean that the administrative divisions of the Reich are
Theme (CK2 County) - Chaldea
Länder (CK2 Duchy) - Trebizond
Province (CK2 Kingdom) - Trebisond
or are they
Theme (Victoria 2 Province) - Cantebury
Länder (Victoria 2 Region) - South East England
Province - England/Britannia

 

[zenphoenix]

So would that mean that the administrative divisions of the Reich are
Theme (CK2 County) - Chaldea
Länder (CK2 Duchy) - Trebizond
Province (CK2 Kingdom) - Trebisond
or are they
Theme (Victoria 2 Province) - Cantebury
Länder (Victoria 2 Region) - South East England
Province - England/Britannia

I do not know why I have a attached file on this post other than I had the Snipping Tool open and I am unsure of how to get rid of it.

Only CK2 counties were equivalent to themes. The other CK2 titles had no relation to administrative divisions. I changed from CK2 counties to EU4 provinces when I changed games. I didn't use EU4 states because I played before they were introduced. Imperial Provinces remained the same throughout the megacampaign. The modern system (Vic2 and post-HOI3) is in effect the same as the second choice, with the difference from Vic2 being the in-game province and state shapes.

Oh, and you can get rid of the attached file by clicking edit and going to more options. There will likely be a button next to the attachment where you can delete the file. It's happened to me more times than I'd like to admit.

 

[zenphoenix]

Rosencrantz, Part 1​

Anna’s house, Strasburg - September 17, 2010, 8:00 AM

“Yum, yum, pigs, bum, pancakes blue,” Walter sang as he made breakfast, “O.J., fresh fruit…”

Anna walked down the stairs. “What's the occasion, Walter?”

“Oh, nothing special,” Walter said, “But for the past couple of weeks, no new cases and... somehow that has translated into... never seeing your cousin. And Anders and his family never find time to visit. I, for one, miss them.”

The doorbell rang. Walter walked to the door and opened it, revealing Anders and Diana.

“Well, look who’s here,” he said, “Right on schedule.”

“Good morning, Walter,” Anders murmured.

“Morning,” Diana said.

“Yes, it is,” Walter said, hugging Anders, “It's great to see you, son. And you too, Diana.”

“Why are you here?” Anna said.

“We have a case,” Anders said, still glum.

“And I thought I’d get another week off,” Anna said.


Oberrad, Frankfurt - 11:00 AM

Angela, Anders, Diana, and Anna walked over to Kurtz, who stood on the curb in front of six dead bodies lying on the street, surrounded by various pieces of furniture.

“Six people attending a party on the seventh floor fell to their deaths last night,” Kurtz said, “One second, they were standing on the balcony... next second, they were hitting the sidewalk.”

“But they all jumped?” Angela said.

“Like a flash mob... of suicide,” Diana said.

“But jumpers don't usually take their patio furniture when they commit suicide,” Anders said.

“They find any structural damage to the balcony they were standing on?” Anna said.

“First responders didn't detect anything,” Kurtz said, “That doorman, Joachim Scheer, was on duty when they fell.”

Angela and Anders walked over to the doorman.

“Hi, Hansen and Humboldt,” she said, “I was wondering if I could ask you a couple questions about what happened here last night?”

“I don't know, I don't know what happened,” Joachim said, "I was helping Frau Marcello hail a cab and then this body just hit the ground. And then another, and then they all just came down.”

“But at once?” Angela said. “Like they all jumped at the same time?”

“Maybe it's true what they say about this place,” Joachim said.

“What do they say?” Anders said.

Upstairs, Diana and Olga interviewed some of the residence.

“Sylvia has a peanut allergy, and I guess something that we catered triggered an attack, because she started hyperventilating,” Kristen said.

“I ran out to the balcony to get her boyfriend,” Reinhard said, “We were so busy with Sylvia that... by the time we heard the screams, everyone was... gone.”

“I see,” Diana said.

Meanwhile, Anna stepped onto the balcony and looked down at the sidewalk, while Walter shook his head

“Don't be a daredevil,” he said.

“I’m not,” Anna said, “I don't think these people jumped."

“You're right,” Walter said, “And even if they just went over the railing, they would have landed farther out.”

“Yeah, simple physics,” Anna said, “Instead, they landed directly below us.”

“It's as if they went straight through the balcony,” Walter said, “Unless there was a sudden gale force wind. But we’d see evidence of that.”

He jumped up and down.

“Let's not push it, alright?” Anna said.

“It's fascinating,” Walter said, “How, how do six people fall though a solid floor?”

“Uh, ghosts,” Olga said, “Apparently the residents think the Rosencrantz Building is haunted. Apparently, unexplained phenomena has been happening here for a while.”

“Unexplained phenomena?” Anna said.

“Yeah, Anders read me the Wikipedia page after I told him again there wasn’t one for Sentinel,” Diana said, “He said he wanted to be useful. The water pipes would be replaced, and then two days later, explode. Or the electricity would go on and then go off, unexplained. People have been reporting odd sounds."

“Well, that described just about every single pre-Angeloi building,” Anna said.

“Well, half the tenants have already moved out,” Olga said.

“Now that people have fallen through the balconies, I'm sure they're about to lose the other half,” Anna said, “Any ideas, Walter?”

Walter flipped a coin. It landed heads up.

“I know what's happening here,” he said, “Ten times, I've flipped this coin. And ten times, I've gotten heads! That's fairly inconceivable. The laws of physics are being disrupted here. The balcony was here one second, gone the next.”

“What are you saying, Walter?” Diana said.

“Like the other universe, our world is starting to come apart at the seams,” Walter said, “And the tear is beginning right here!"


Walter’s lab, Strasburg - 3:00 PM

“Damn it,” Walter said, rearranging items on his desk.

“Uncle Walter, what are you looking for?” Angela said.

“My seismograph,” Walter said, “How am I supposed to measure the microquakes without my damn seismographs?"

“Walter, we keep them in the back,” Anna said.

“Then why are you all sitting around?” Walter said.

“I'll go get it,” Anders said, walking off.

“You know, a thank you wouldn't kill you,” Anna said.

“Oh, I'm sorry if at this moment, when the universe is collapsing, I forgot the magic word,” Walter said.

“Uncle Walter, I understand that you're worried, but at the moment, we don't know for sure that what we're dealing with is a soft spot,” Angela said.

“It is not a soft spot, dear,” Walter said, “It is a hole, which could potentially lead to a vortex, which would definitely consume everything.”

“Right, with the operative word being potential,” Diana said.

“Yes, agreed, we need proof, and that's where you come in,” Walter said, “I want all the data we can glean from that location. Digital spectrometer, radiological survey meter, we need to track any irregularities.”

“Walter, this is still hypothetical,” Olga said.

“I know that this is not exactly precise science,” Walter said, “But this is what we do?”

Anders tossed a small device on the desk. “Here's your bloody seismograph.”

“Thanks, Anders,” Angela said, “Okay, Walter, we're going to set this up at the Rosencrantz. If any seismic activity happens, you'll be the first to know.”

“Uh, sure,” Walter said.

Angela took the device and left with Anders and Diana.

“I suppose I should tag along,” Anna said, running after them.

They left the lab, and Walter turned to Olga.

“Why am I always left behind?” she muttered.

“By the way, I suddenly remembered,” Walter said, “There’s a file in the Tesla Dynamic archives which could help us with this case. It’s the one about Amber 31422.”

“Amber 31422?” Olga said.

“Yeah,” Walter said, “I want the case file, and I want my lab notes for the case, please.”

“How come?” Olga said.

“Oh, dear god,” Walter said, “Is it ‘second guess everything I do’ day? Because I haven't been informed of it.”

Olga sighed and then left. “Fine, I’ll get it.”

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Testing your luck over a coin flip is a creative way to test if the laws of reality are out of wack.

 

[zenphoenix]

Testing your luck over a coin flip is a creative way to test if the laws of reality are out of wack.

Hey, you never know if you'll get ten heads up or fall through the floor.

 

[TWR97]

This whole universe merging with another universe thing reminds me of the Allies ending in the expansion pack for Red Alert 2, though much MUCH worse. Either way Walter's way of knowing how it happens via coin toss is quite effective though. I wonder if fixing this whole mess somehow involves Anna making a big decision

 

[zenphoenix]

This whole universe merging with another universe thing reminds me of the Allies ending in the expansion pack for Red Alert 2, though much MUCH worse. Either way Walter's way of knowing how it happens via coin toss is quite effective though. I wonder if fixing this whole mess somehow involves Anna making a big decision

A big decision which would instantly end my megacampaign.

 

[CaptainAlvious]

Can’t believe its taken me this long to realize what you did here, but now I understand what you did when had a general named Friedrich Di NORMANDI lead TTL’s D-Day.
Don’t know why it has taken me so long to catch that joke through.

To answer your question, the Länder were based on older administrative divisions appropriate for the area. The theme system was expanded upon and absorbed existing administrative divisions in areas outside the Greek core. In Germany they used the principalities and free cities of the HRE up until the modern era, when the borders were redrawn and grouped into Länder to break the power of the Angeloi-supporting aristocracy. Feudal divisions in France, Spain, England, and the other western provinces remained until the 15th century, when the theme system was implemented in the west, which was integrated into the Länder system. The themes of the old Byzantine Empire, Egypt, and the eastern Mediterranean continued into the modern day, aside from slight border changes. Arabia and the former Islamic world did not have clearly defined administrative divisions until the 19th century. Then sub-provinces were formally introduced, although there were few actual themes. In all parts of the Reich, the sub-provinces were reorganized as Länder after 1945 (I should say this is not just a name change but an overhaul of administration and the borders), and the themes slowly faded away. They still exist, mostly symbolically (like Sweden's provinces, as I heard while I worked on Scandinavia's cultural update) and to help with the draft (people mobilized in the same theme are placed in the same unit). My reasoning is I always considered a theme equal to an in-game province, and the reorganization of each theme in the jump between games is equivalent to reforming the system (with the introduction of states in Victoria leading to sub-provinces). I then built the other units up from there. So basically the Länder system is a descendant of the theme system, not the modernization of it, and the original themes, which still exist by the way, go back to their roots as military districts.

I also take it that the Byzantine Theme system would eventually overtake the Feudal System in the medieval era, because I imagine the Roman Feudal System, even in the early Reich after the Restorian, would be very different to how the Feudal System was in OTL and before the restoration. Like, would Roman Knights in the 12th Century Crises even be the same as Knights during OTL high medieval ages, same go for fiefdoms?

And I know this provincial lore is technically in the table of contents in the miscellaneous lore posts, but I’ll quote here so that it can be listed more conveniently as a specific post about the Provinces if that’s alright.

Roman provinces are based on the administrative unit (provincia) established in the classical Roman Empire (Francia, Gallia, Britannia, Hispania, Italia, etc.). These provinces were restored with the Reich and placed under the administration of the viceroys. Starting in the 19th century, provinces were divided into smaller units (sub-provinces) with governors appointed by the viceroys (meaning the provinces were still the primary administrative unit in the Reich). After World War II, the provinces were stripped of their powers, which were given to the sub-provinces (which became known as Länder). They still exist, but they have no powers and mostly exist as a way of conveniently referring to certain parts of the Reich.

As for equivalents, most provinces and Länder don’t have a direct one. The few that do are: Israel (California), Arabia (New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida), Anatolia (Virginia), the Saarland (West Virginia), Greece (Maryland/Delaware), Constantinople/Berlin (DC), Rhineland/Low Countries/Northern Germany (New England), Hesse (New York), Bavaria (Texas), andBritannia/Gallia/Hispania/Italia (the South). Also, Adamshaven/Hawaii is of course still Hawaii.

That's very interesting. Maybe that would tie into the lore about Numenor. I really don't know. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but in my Tolkien bio, I focused more on his real life than his works.

Yeah, it’s certainly a major theme of Middle Earth’s lore and is a drivering force for a lot of it, like how the Elves have to leave Middle Earth at the end of the story due to the declining prominence of magic in Middle Earth, or even Bibilo passing on the torch that is the burden of the One Ring to Frodo. Which definitely makes since considering that Tolkien did fight in a war like WW1 that is known for drastically changing culture and general psychology of people draistlicaly, hence why all of the lore is slightly inspired by Tolkien’s experience in the World Wars (its a headcanon of mine that Tolkien would’ve been a fan of Scandinavian culture and would’ve been upset at its partition in the war, hence why Lord of the Rings is probably really popular there as well as in Yavadi, Livonia Commonwealth, Kanata and Russia.) Just thought I’d share this topic with you since even through you haven’t read LOTR and the Hobbit, I’m sure you would find some of the lore and themes very interesting. You could probably watch a free youtube videos and channels about Lord of the Rings lore if you’re interested. These two videos in particular shares a very brief rundown of the lore if you’re interested, through it’s still quite in-depth, which should be expected given the cultural impact Lord of the Rings has had on Fantasy, a bit of Sci Fi and Fiction in general.

While I’m still on Fantasy, since Tolkien was quite famously friends with CS Lewis, what would Lewis’ Chronicles of Naria series be like here? Granted it’s probably not really that different from OTL given its known for being heavily inspired by Christian analogies and mythology, but I’m still curious.

 

[zenphoenix]

Can’t believe its taken me this long to realize what you did here, but now I understand what you did when had a general named Friedrich Di NORMANDI lead TTL’s D-Day.
Don’t know why it has taken me so long to catch that joke through.

That was unintentional, though. He just happened to be the closest general I had.

I also take it that the Byzantine Theme system would eventually overtake the Feudal System in the medieval era, because I imagine the Roman Feudal System, even in the early Reich after the Restorian, would be very different to how the Feudal System was in OTL and before the restoration. Like, would Roman Knights in the 12th Century Crises even be the same as Knights during OTL high medieval ages, same go for fiefdoms?

The feudal system was completely removed in favor of the theme system. That's why only the county titles were integrated into the theme system, and even those were removed after a couple centuries (EU4). There wasn't a full feudal system in Byzantium in the eleventh century, and nobility weren't really tied to titles and land from what I found, which is in stark contrast to western Europe. I even made a transition from mostly feudal levies to almost all retinues, to demonstrate an early shift to a standing army.

While I’m still on Fantasy, since Tolkien was quite famously friends with CS Lewis, what would Lewis’ Chronicles of Naria series be like here? Granted it’s probably not really that different from OTL given its known for being heavily inspired by Christian analogies and mythology, but I’m still curious.

I really don't know. As I said, I've been burned out of worldbuilding ideas. Finishing that live action Dragon Ball Z movie franchise (it was a little easier than I expected) was my last idea.

 

[zenphoenix]

Rosencrantz, Part 2​

Oberrad, Frankfurt - 5:00 PM

Angela checked the device again.

“Okay, the seismograph is online,” she said.

“Alright, Walter, we've got everything set up,” Anders said on his phone, “Well, can't you do that from there? Okay, fine. We'll stay here... yeah, bye.”

“You're kidding,” Diana said.

“He wants us to stay here,” Anders said, “Goddamnit.”

“I mean, he knows it's like eighty degrees out here?” Angela said.

“He said to stay close in case we have any last-second calibrations,” Anders said, “Of course. Just my freaking luck.”

"Do you really think this is the end of the world as we know it?” Anna said.

“How many times have we been here?” Anders said. “Things that should’ve ended the world dozens of times over but didn’t. I don’t know how I survived that. And then the other Angie…”

“If this is one of those times, there’s no reason to wait outside in the heat,” Diana said, “There’s a bar across the street.”

“Wait, you think that now is the time to be throwing back shots?” Anna said.

“Actually, yeah,” Diana said.

“This is why we never caught the other Angie!” Anders said.

As they walked across the street, Angela looked back at the building and saw a light glimmering out of one of the rooms on the sixth floor.

“Hey, take a look,” she said.

Anders, Diana, and Anna turned around and looked at the building.

“What do you see?” Anders said.

Anna’s phone rang.

“Hello?” she said. “The readings? No, I don’t know. I’ll call you back.”

They raced up the stairs, Angela leading them to the room where the glimmer came from. Diana knocked on the door.

“Athanatoi,” she said, “Open up!”

Angela didn’t wait and instead kicked the door open. They ran inside, where an old woman sat in a chair in the living room, facing a window. Lights flickered around her. Angela saw the luminous outline of an old man standing ten feet in front of the woman. The image vanished, and the lights returned to normal. The old woman turned around.

“Hello?” she said.

“Who was that man?” Angela said.

“What man?” Anna said.

My husband,” the old woman said, “His ghost."


8:00 PM

Walter wandered through the apartment with a Geiger counter. He put it away and turned back to the team.

“Nothing,” he said, “I thought there'd be some radiation leakage from over there.”

“So you're not buying it's her husband's ghost?” Anna said.

“There's no such thing as ghosts,” Walter said.

“That's where you draw the line?” Anna said. “Ghosts and aliens?”

Anders sighed.

“Willy and I used to argue about this constantly, what happens to the body's energy after death,” Walter said, “William theorized we should be able to capture that energy using what he called soul magnets.”

“It's a catchy name,” Diana said.

“He said if he were right, he would contact me from the great beyond,” Walter said, “I haven't gotten the call yet.”

“I’m not looking forward to that,” Diana said.

“Well, if she didn't see her husband's ghost, then what did Alice Handler see?” Anders said.

Meanwhile, Angela sat with Alice Handler.

“Frau Handler, when was the first time you saw your husband?” she asked.

“You mean after he died?” Alice said. “He's been visiting... for a couple months now.”

“Oh,” Angela said, “Looks like you two were together for a long time.”

“45 years,” Alice said.

Angela picked up a picture frame. “These photographs are beautiful. Was he a photographer?”

“He liked to pretend he was,” Alice said, “When we'd travel, he'd tell people we worked for the Imperial Geographic Society. Oh, oh, I know that sounds horrible. But that little fib got us into a few restricted but spectacular places. We never had children, so... that was our thing. We made a hell of a team.”

“Forgive me, but how did Dietrich die?" Angela said.

“It was stupid,” Alice said, “The fuse box blew again. And we flipped a coin, like usual. Whenever there was a chore, neither of us wanted to do, we'd flip for it. He lost this time. There was a short in the wiring. He died instantly.”

“After his death, you must have been devastated,” Anders said, “Is that when he started coming to you?”

“No,” Alice said, “I couldn't get out of bed after the funeral. We've been together since we were twenty. He was part of me. Then he was gone.”

“So when did you first see him after he died?” Anders said, finally excited to be in his old element again.

“A few days after,” Alice said, “Around dinner. For a second, I forgot. I wondered what Dietrich was in the mood to eat. And then I remembered he was gone. And all I felt was despair. All I wanted was him. Even if that meant dying myself. And that's when he came. He came to be with me when I needed him.”

“How long did you two live here?” Anders said.

“Oh...forty years,” Alice said, “Derek owned this apartment. I moved in after we got married.”

“Uh, thank you for your time,” Angela said.

They met the rest of the team in the hallway.

“Anders, why did you ask that question?” Angela said. “How long had she lived here? Does it really matter?”

“Because if her husband had this apartment, then it stands to reason her husband's double has this apartment on the other side,” Anders said, “Which proves Walter’s right.”

“The universe is breaking apart at this very spot,” Walter said, “That woman is seeing through to the other side and mistaking the other Dietrich for her husband.”

“Which is why I can see him too,” Angela said.

“Yes!” Walter said. “And if the fabric separating our universe is so thin Alice Handler can see through it... This is not good at all.”

“Walter, I understand why she can see through and we can't, but how can she see through?” Diana said.

“Right now, I'm not interested in the how, my dear,” Walter said, “I'm more concerned about what happens next.”

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

There's been so many tragic things as a result of these two universes mixing, but seeing your lost love's alternate self and thinking it's them is up there for me.

 

[zenphoenix]

There's been so many tragic things as a result of these two universes mixing, but seeing your lost love's alternate self and thinking it's them is up there for me.

Especially when you learn what I'm going to do to them next.

 

[TWR97]

Well this whole universe merging is certainly getting more dangerous especially if one could see the alternate self of one's spouse. I like how Walter doesn't believe in ghosts in the same way Anders finds the whole supernatural thing unbelievable

Especially when you learn what I'm going to do to them next.

Oh no

 

[zenphoenix]

Well this whole universe merging is certainly getting more dangerous especially if one could see the alternate self of one's spouse. I like how Walter doesn't believe in ghosts in the same way Anders finds the whole supernatural thing unbelievable



Oh no

Just like how Walter doesn't believe in aliens.

 

[CaptainAlvious]

The feudal system was completely removed in favor of the theme system. That's why only the county titles were integrated into the theme system, and even those were removed after a couple centuries (EU4). There wasn't a full feudal system in Byzantium in the eleventh century, and nobility weren't really tied to titles and land from what I found, which is in stark contrast to western Europe. I even made a transition from mostly feudal levies to almost all retinues, to demonstrate an early shift to a standing army.

What about the Iqta system in the Reich´s middle eastern provinces? From what I can see, it actually seems a bit simlar to the Byzantine system in the same sense that nobles aren´t tied to land the same way they are in Western European Feudalism. I can see the Iqta system being integrated into the theme system very quickly during the 12 century renaissance, especially in the land distributions that occurred during the Jewish settlement of the Middle east that displaced the Arabs.

I do wonder how were the Occupied Territories reorganized after WW2? I imagine that considering the very radical land collectivization the Soviets were known for, not to mention being equalist, would probally lead to the Soviets completly uprooting the previous administrative systems of the Occupied Territories in favor of their own, doing things like redrawing borders arbitrarily, and in general being far more radical and extreme with administrative reforms than the Romans. This might also have lead to the Romans having to completely reorganize the lander and themes of the Occupied Territories after WW3 as well, so I can imagine the adimistrion of the Occupied Terrioties is probally extremly chatoic after experiencing drastically different reforms of administration systems, one captalist and one equalists, in the course of half a century.

I´m a bit curios as to what where other Secret Police organizations the Angeloi used under the war, especially since you did imply that the Angeloi wartime secret police was formed from several pre war Angeloi organizations being reorganized into make shift secret police. I think Black Tagmata would probally just be a general label for the many Secret Police organizations in the Imperium than the name of the main Secret Police force then. I can see Angelos creating a new Pretorian Guard to replace the Varangian Guard in the Imperium, since I don´t think he would approve of keeping the Varangian Guard around due to known for recruting Norse into its ranks, which would probally not sit well in a fascists like the Angeloi believing in Greco-Roman superiority to barbarians.

 

[zenphoenix]

What about the Iqta system in the Reich´s middle eastern provinces? From what I can see, it actually seems a bit simlar to the Byzantine system in the same sense that nobles aren´t tied to land the same way they are in Western European Feudalism. I can see the Iqta system being integrated into the theme system very quickly during the 12 century renaissance, especially in the land distributions that occurred during the Jewish settlement of the Middle east that displaced the Arabs.

Some elements, like the fact that the nobles aren't tied to the land and the government could change what lands the nobles had, were integrated into the theme system, while the ones which were incompatible with the theme system were discarded. This was instrumental to the resettlement of the Middle East in the 12th century, when the government assumed the power to redraw the administrative divisions and kicked out many Muslim nobles, replacing them with Jewish ones. The system was replaced altogether with the modern Länder system.

I do wonder how were the Occupied Territories reorganized after WW2? I imagine that considering the very radical land collectivization the Soviets were known for, not to mention being equalist, would probally lead to the Soviets completly uprooting the previous administrative systems of the Occupied Territories in favor of their own, doing things like redrawing borders arbitrarily, and in general being far more radical and extreme with administrative reforms than the Romans. This might also have lead to the Romans having to completely reorganize the lander and themes of the Occupied Territories after WW3 as well, so I can imagine the adimistrion of the Occupied Terrioties is probally extremly chatoic after experiencing drastically different reforms of administration systems, one captalist and one equalists, in the course of half a century.

They were reorganized in the same way East Germany was reorganized following German reunification. New administrative divisions based on the western ones were implemented, now based on culture, economy, and political balance. Since the reforms were gradual, the economic impact of the transition from equalism to capitalism wasn't as bad as it could've been (though still really bad).

I´m a bit curios as to what where other Secret Police organizations the Angeloi used under the war, especially since you did imply that the Angeloi wartime secret police was formed from several pre war Angeloi organizations being reorganized into make shift secret police. I think Black Tagmata would probally just be a general label for the many Secret Police organizations in the Imperium than the name of the main Secret Police force then. I can see Angelos creating a new Pretorian Guard to replace the Varangian Guard in the Imperium, since I don´t think he would approve of keeping the Varangian Guard around due to known for recruting Norse into its ranks, which would probally not sit well in a fascists like the Angeloi believing in Greco-Roman superiority to barbarians.

The Black Tagmata was indeed a collection of secret police cobbled from prewar Angeloi paramilitary organizations. As the war progressed, the agencies began pooling more of their resources together in the "Black Tagmata," which effectively became a single secret police by the end of the war. Angelos personally was guarded by the Varangians, because he was aware of how the later Praetorians kept overthrowing emperors on a whim, and he liked Nordic mysticism as much as Greco-Roman nationalism (a strange and paradoxical belief which contradicted itself, due to the Reich's German and Greek origins).

 

[zenphoenix]

Rosencrantz, Part 3​

Tesla Dynamic - 9:00 PM

Walter set up a pane of glass on a desk and held up a hammer. He cracked it.

“Imagine this is the soft spot in the universe,” he said, hitting the pane again and again, “But every incident weakens it a little more. Until, eventually…”

He smashed the glass.

“A vortex, a gaping hole, sucks in and obliterates everything around it,” he said, “Just like we've seen happen on the other side."

Olga tossed a folder on the desk. “Walter, I found it."

“Oh, good,” Walter said, “What took so long?”

“The files had been buried in a small box labeled ‘do not open’,” Olga said.

“Which file?” Angela said.

“The ones describing Tesla Dynamic’s research into Amber 31442,” Walter said.

“How is that relevant?” Diana said.

“I've been worried about this since we returned from the other side,” Walter said, “How we would respond if a vortex opened up here. How we would plug the bridge."

“Walter, please don't tell me you're thinking…" Anders said.

“What am I missing?” Anna said.

“We would do the same thing as they did over there,” Walter said, “Somebody call Mina.”


9:15 PM

Mina led Kurtz and the team into a lab, where Bruno and his scientists worked on their computers around an airtight testing chamber. Bruno pushed a button, and the chamber was filled with amber gas, which quickly solidified.

“The Bureau of Defense asked us to develop this for its military properties,” Mina said, “No one had ever seen anything like it before, so there was concern.”

Anders rolled his eyes. “Of course they would.”

“If I'm right, this has a composition similar to the material Walternate uses,” Walter said, “We need half a dozen of our best scientists. And that... nervous fellow, Bruno.”

“Are you really suggesting the Athanatoi encase that building in amber?” Diana said.

“Perhaps the whole block just to be sure,” Walter said, “Tell them they can refer to my notes on possible improvements.”

“Oh, stop, Uncle Walter,” Angela said, “I mean, we've seen what the amber did to the other side, with thousands of people trapped.”

“Not to mention the public reaction,” Anna said, "We'd be looking at mass hysteria.”

“I understand, but how do you think the public will react if that soft spot turns into a vortex?” Walter said. “A black hole that swallows up half of Frankfurt. We should get started.”

“Okay, I understand it's a last resort, but it's a bad last resort,” Angela said.

“Well, you know more about this than any of us do,” Anders said, “Me especially. What’s the protocol they use over there?”

“Okay, well, X-Division goes in and, uh, assesses the scope of the damage,” Angela said, “Then they set a perimeter. They evacuate as many people as they can. They usually use different equipment for smaller breaches, I don’t know about those. If it’s bad enough, they place a canister near the breach. Once the canister is in place, the gas is dispersed, and within seconds, the amber solidifies.”

“I need to run this up the channels,” Kurtz said, dialing his phone.

“Not exactly how you imagined meeting the Kaiser, huh?” Anna said.

"I already know him,” Kurtz said, “He doesn't like me.”

“Anna, you have anything else to add?” Anders said.

“Well, uh, I understand Walter's concerns, but there's got to be another way, right?” Anna said. “I'm gonna access the information that we've got on the other soft spots. Walter still doesn't understand what's causing the incidents. But if this is a new soft spot, then why there? Why that building and not somewhere else? If we could figure that out, maybe we could figure out how to stop it.”

“Okay, well, let's pull up all the geological reports from the Rosencrantz as well, going back to the first reported incident, and see what we're missing,” Diana said.

Mina noticed Walter anxiously looking at the door.

“Walter, are you alright?” she asked. “I know the board doesn’t like you. It must be difficult dealing with them, I know.”

“For a long time, I've been willing to think the worst of Walternate,” Walter said, “That he was an evil man. Willing to use any means necessary to get what he needed. I suppose it made it easy to justify what I did. Now we're faced with the same decision. And I'm arguing that we do exactly what he did. What sort of person does that make me?”

“One who's asking the right questions,” Mina said.

“You don't think he grappled with them too?” Walter said.

“The compound is ready, sir,” Walter said.

They walked back to the testing chamber, while Anders and Angela sat at a nearby computer and searched the geological records around the building.

“There's nothing unusual beneath the surface,” Angela said, “There's no subway tunnels, no major utility lines. Anders, what are we missing?”

“Alice Handler, why can she see through to the other side?” Anders said. “You can do it, but only when your emotions are heightened. You’re still traumatized by your escape from over there. That emotional intensity is your trigger."

“Well, she's grieving her husband,” Angela said, “That's emotionally intense.”

“People lose loved ones all the time,” Anders said, “It's sad, but what makes her unique?”

“Why can she only see her husband's double and not her own?” Angela said. “I mean, if they both live on the other side, then she should see them both, right?”

“Maybe the other Alice lost the coin toss,” Anders said, “She told you they used to flip a coin to see who was gonna have to go fix the fuse. Well, maybe the exact, same thing happened on the other side, but on the other side..."

“Alice died instead of Dietrich,” Angela said, “Okay, well... what if we've been looking at this the wrong way?"

“What if this is not about physics, but about people?” Anders said. “Walter?”

Walter and Anna walked over.

“Yes?” Walter said.

“Is it possible that these two people, both grieving for their counterpart in the exact same spot, are somehow causing this soft spot?” Anders said.

“Emotional quantum entanglement,” Walter said, “Perhaps. Spooky action at a distance."

“Two objects interacting with each other even though they're separated by a great distance,” Anna said.

“So it is possible,” Angela said.

“In theory!” Walter said. “I'd have to test it. And I'd have to figure out how to do that.”

Angela answered her phone. “Hansen.”

“Angie, I’m picking up seismic activity in Oberrad,” Olga said, “It's happening again. I think it’s the big one.”

“Anders and I are on our way,” Angela said.

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Yeah... hard to justify the whole "cover a building in amber" to the general population.

 

[zenphoenix]

Yeah... hard to justify the whole "cover a building in amber" to the general population.

Tell that to the Annionaverse. It doesn't even appear in Dragoon's updates. Totally not because it came from this thread.