History, Politics And Current Affairs

So, I did a thing:

"It is the 1960s. This is a Dark Earth, one of eldritch magic, steam powered robots, brave adventurers, restless undead, fabulous treasures, bizarre nations and hidden secrets. A universe like our own, but very different - the origin of many of our myths and legends in the distant, misty days of yore before the gateways between worlds were closed by reason. It is a world of swords and sorcery, of demons and wizards and of tales of courage and daring.

Dragons cross the wild skies of this planet and magic affects every facet of life, but these are not alone, as they are matched by supersonic aircraft and the incredible powers of science. Mighty super battleships still rule the seas, but Heath the waves, megalodon, kraken and darker creatures share the depths with atomic submarines and intrepid bathyscaphes. Humans are not the only intelligent species, but their sheer numbers and growing power are eclipsing the time of the elves, dwarves and others.

It is a time of wonder and of horror, with the greatest villains and monsters of our nightmares stalking this Dark Earth, from Dracula to Fu Manchu. It is a time of heroes, be they cape-wearing supermen, genius detectives or strange doctors from beyond time and space. Yet it is the everyday men and women who are the real fulcrum on which the future will turn. They try and live their lives, improve their lot and keep their faith, even as the shadow of the atom bomb looms over all.

Two world wars have blighted the first half of the 20th century, with great empires falling into dust and others a mere shadow of their once great form. War clouds are gathering over the strange and fantastical world as the Cold War between the fractured nations of the West and the Soviet Union threatens to go hot for the second time in a decade. Europe stands divided, with Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary and Spain all engaged in intense rivalry. The Middle East chafes under ongoing European dominance, made worse by the defeats of nationalist movements in the War of 1956.

France is the mightiest great power in Europe and has a mighty empire on which the sun never sets, but is now engaged in protracted guerrilla wars in Algeria and Vietnam. British Empire, spanning the world and space, stands as a challenged, increasingly stretched and declining superpower. The Soviet Union and the United States are increasingly asserting their global dominance. The changing of the guard has come.

Beyond the moons, beyond the planets, the wicked Space Nazis lurk amid the asteroid belt, harried by Dan Dare and the Royal Space Force. Mars and Venus begin to awake from the colonial yoke and a new race to explore and control space is erupting, over ninety years since the first man went into space in 1873.

Dark Earth is a world of many mysteries and secrets, be they the origin of the flying saucers that have crisscrossed the skies since the war, the true nature of sunken Atlantis and the lost mysterious Cities of Gold or the many plots and counterplots of this icy Cold War."


125 Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the PoD?
There is none, as Dark Earth is a separate parallel universe, albeit with many links and connections to our own.

2. Why is there so much overlap between our own world and Dark Earth?
Essentially, all of our myths and legends have their origins within the connections and cross-overs between the worlds, which faded away from our Earth thousands of years ago, with the 'lights' of reason and science burning away the dark mystery of a world less explained. Consider the differences between a child's conceptions of the world, which can accept mystical or magical origins and explanations and the far more staid and prosaic realities of the adult world. The connections remain, through the unconscious world of dreams, fiction, imagination and memory, for it is in those that we connect to our past, our unconscious and our 'young' selves, leading to some crossovers between the places. The tales and legends in our own history and cultures of adventurers entering other realms and worlds here mean that they've crossed into Dark Earth.

3. What myths and legends are real?
Almost all of them, due to the nature of Dark Earth as the 'other side of the (dimensional) mirror' to Earth as above. Now, they don't always occur in exactly the same fashion, time frame or detail as some of the Earthly legends, with the difference being akin to being a multiple photocopy of a picture - the details become blurred over time.

4. What mythological creatures exist?
Again, virtually all of them, in some way, shape or form. They may be different in some details, similar to the general myths and legends situation, but that comes down (in multiverse) to the nature of the connection of the worlds.

5. What are dragons/giants/orcs/ogres/trolls like?
Full details of all of these creatures are available in the Book of Beasts thread.

6. How does magic work? How did it begin?
Magic is a natural force in the DEverse, coming through in the material dimension and others in a variety of ways. It is powerful and still not fully understood, but has made great advances over the last 500 years after the Arcane Revolution. Thoughts and attitudes regarding magic and the supernatural differ from region to region and continent to continent. This could potentially be linked to something in the environment or geology that affects magic. Overall, it is a seamless part of the world, but not its dominant element. Consider it to be something like advanced physics or extremely complex computer programming: a part of life, but not something that most people understand. And just as 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic' according to Clarke's 3rd Law, the reverse is also true in this case: It works under discernable laws and is part of a system. Wizards and other practitioners are born with an aptitude or 'spark' that is quite rare - 1 or 2% of people. Of those, few rise to any great power, as there is danger involved with the extensive study required to become a fully fledged wizard.

Its beginnings are thought to have come during the emergence of humans out of the Paleolithic period, but that is a story that will be fully told one day.

7. Why do people eat more?
It is partly a function of the increased gravity, which is roughly 12% greater than that of Earth, and of the impact of magic upon human and humanoid evolution. Wizards in particular eat a great deal, as they expend more energy through their Art.

8. Why is there a tendency towards gigantism?
The general size of most creatures is a little larger than on Earth and there are also larger subspecies and specimens. With regard to larger vehicles, such as trains, tanks, cars and ships, the individual reasons come from both the nature of the world and drivers for increased size. For example, warships are larger both for seakeeping reasons and to accommodate different weapons systems.

9. Why can some animals talk?
Talking beasts are a frequent feature in many myths and fantastical works, which is reflected here. They represent a very small amount of the overall species, in the manner of Narnia.

10. How are the physical dimensions of the world different from ours?
Dark Earth is approximately 1.6 times larger than our own Earth. This is reflected in distances, where the distance in kilometres on Earth is essentially equivalent to the distance in miles on Dark Earth. This does mean certain waterways are proportionally wider.

11. What are the different planets and moons?
The planets of the DE solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Vulcan, (the Asteroid Belt), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Juno, Neptune, Orcus and Pluto. Earth has three moons (Luna, Minerva and Bellona in order of size) and Venus has two (Concordia and Tyche).

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/ ... t-15839767

12. Is gravity the same as Earth?
DE's gravity is 1.125g, or barely noticeable if you were to walk around for everyday distances. The gravitational constant is different in the DEverse, making for some different and difficult physics.

13. Is there a Hollow World going on?
Not in the generally understood sense. There are extensive underground caverns home to some species, akin to the Underdark and known rather basically as 'The Underworld'. However, this only exists within the crust, which is a tiny tad thicker, but not dramatically so. Thus, no Hollow World.

14. Why are the British always successful?
They aren't, but for the purposes of argument, their successes follow their advantages - size, economic strength, strategic position, control of the seas and being one of the world's leading Great Powers. This covers 1815 to 1945 fairly handily. There isn't as much of a precipitous decline post 1945, due to different policies, leadership, history and circumstances, but the USSR, Germany and Japan have surpassed them economically (as on Earth).

15. What are the different Wonders of the World? Which ones survive?
The traditional Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are the same; there were some other contenders, including The Labyrinth of Minos, but the general consensus is familiar. Surviving are the Pyramids, the Great Lighthouse and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, whilst some remnants of the Colossus can still be seen

16. What is going on with space exploration? Why is it so much more developed?
Interest in space begins in the 1820s, but the real kickstarter is the discovery of cavorite in 1859. As per 'Space - The New Frontier', this leads to the first orbital flight on 14th June 1873, a landing on Luna on July 24th 1876 and thence a two ship voyage to Mars that arrives on October 15th 1885. This gives a headstart to all manner of development, over time, which puts the situation in the 1960s and 70s as considerably more advanced

17. How does communism still exist and work?
Communism managed to muddle through a lot of internal issues and contradictions historically, but here faces the issues of discernable supernatural forces, including magic and spirits. It takes a lot of mental and ideological gymnastics, but this is used by Soviet ideologues to prove the veracity of Marxism-Leninism.

18. What are the major religions? What is religion and theology like on Dark Earth?
A 1956 answer: It is a very religious world. If Earth in 1956 was an 8/10 in terms of religiosity, Dark Earth would be somewhere between 9 and 9.5/10. Percentage-wise, it works out as ~36% Christian, 16% Moslem, 14% Hindu, 10% Buddhist, Non-Religious 9%, Chinese Folk Religion 6%, Jewish 2%, Sikh 1% and smaller numbers of Zoroastrians and other minor groups from a 1956 Dark Earth global population of 4.8 billion.

The reasons for the slight but markedly noticeable greater role of religion come from many social and historical sources, but are exacerbated by the role of magic; when supernatural occurences such as magic, healing, undead, demonology and alchemy are a verifiable and tangible part of life, then belief in the supernatural will be affected as a consequences. There is a certain subset of atheist and agnostic wizards and sorcerers, but they tend to attract rather negative attention from some churches and militant orders. Another factor at play is the comparatively reduced blow of the Great War to European religious belief, which also has a role in terms of national self-images and general culture.

Within Christianity, there are several major denominations - Catholicism, Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Anglicanism. The last has a different historical basis, incorporating influences from Celtic Christianity, the time of King Arthur and the Elizabethan and Caroline Compromises (see note below). Religion plays more of a political role in several countries, although in some cases this is more of a ceremonial factor; the Archbishop of Canterbury does have a seat in the British Cabinet, but isn't always required. The Pope has a single, small division worth of troops, including one Centurion; the Templars have a not insignificant bit of combat power spread out over the Earth and beyond.

(*Caroline Compromise = An uneasy religious settlement reached in the reign of King Charles I; there isn't an English Civil War on Dark Earth)

19. Did the Protestant Reformation occur? What is its relationship with magic?
It does, broadly speaking, and in a broadly similar fashion. Different denominations have different views of magic, but there has been a general reconciliation between faith and magic over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries; somewhat similar to the rapprochement between faith and science pre-Darwin.

20. Why are there still so many monarchies? Is the world less democratic?
Events. Many countries that were republics on Earth as of 1960 are constitutional monarchies here. They fall into the following categories:

1.) Western European monarchies not falling in the 20th century (Germany, Italy, Portugal)
2.) France (restored monarchy post 1871)
3.) The Empire of China
4.) British dominions (India, South Africa, Israel)
5.) Eastern European monarchies propped up post WW2 (AH, Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria)
6.) Arab monarchies under British protection (Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria)
7.) Continuing 19th century Latin American empires (Brazil, Mexico)
8.) South American monarchies that emerged from Spanish rule under British sponsorship (Argentina, Chile, Aranguay, Paraguay; Colombia, Ecuador; Bolivia, Peru).
9.) Arab monarchy under French protection (Tunisia)
10.) Ottoman Turkey
11.) Ongoing independent Kingdom of Madagascar
12.) Restored Scandinavian monarchy post WW1 (Finland)

The only one of those that is dramatically different from @ is # 8. Even then, Argentina went monarch shopping from 1810-1816.

The four states falling outside of these are Korea, Iceland, Switzerland and Mongolia. The last is a special case that will be expanded in a future story; Switzerland had a monarchy imposed by a more reactionary Congress of Vienna in 1815; and the circumstances of Korea come from a post KW referendum that sees other options split their vote unexpectedly. Iceland is a defacto British protectorate, which makes a republic unlikely due to a far greater Red Scare.

21. What is the situation of China? Why is it an Empire?
China had a rough period from 1850-1950, but did not quite get to the stage of a successful revolution overthrowing their Emperor in 1911; there was a more successful modernising effort in the last decades of the 19th century. There was the first part of a Civil War which coincided with WW1, which was resolved in favour of the Imperial regime in Peking due to who they were allied with.

22. What has happened in Japan since WW2?
Massive economic recovery and technological advances, but in the circumstances of not being completely disarmed in the occupation period and then rearmament taking a more West German path in some ways.

23. What is the situation with UFO sightings?
There is definitely some substance to them. Whether they are dimensional travelers a la Indiana Jones, little green men in flying saucers or strange grey humanoids with some interest in experimentation remains to be seen. Perhaps all of them at once or none of them at all...

24. What is the geopolitical situation in early 1960s?
It has some similarities and some marked differences. Firstly, China is an empire vs an increasingly independent communist entity, so there is a different basis for its relations with the rest of the world and no sense of the same Sino-Soviet rivalry. Secondly, the victory in 1956, among other previous events and trends, puts the European colonial empires in a slightly different position; in Africa, it is more akin to the late 1940s/early 1950s. This is also manifested in a Middle East that is still under British hegemony, but none too content about it. The Iron Curtain (known as the Iron Wall in DE) is a tad further east, encompassing Poland, Romania and a few minor states around Ruthenia and Bukovina, but not the Central European heartlands of Austria-Hungary; additionally, the Soviet Empire did not envelop Bulgaria nor influence communist control of Albania and Yugoslavia. Canada is still firmly focused on its role as part of the Commonwealth, rather than heading down the path of mixed neutralist and NATO approach, and is a burgeoning Great Power in its own right. Finally, the very language of 'Great Powers' still exists in general parlance, referring to those states that are under the threshold of being Superpowers but are still big players in their wider regions


25. What different aircraft are there?

A lot. They fall into four categories:

1.) The largest number are the 'Project Cancelled' types from many nations, including, but not limited to, the TSR-2, Fairey Rotodyne, Saunders-Roe Princess, Bristol Brabazon, Vickers VC7, Hawker P.1154 and the P.1121 in Britain; the B-70, F-108, Dyna-Soar, F2Y SeaDart, Convair P6Y, Douglas C-132, Vought Crusader III, Douglas D-906 and the Northrop B-49 in the United States; the Avro Arrow and Avro Canada Jetliner in Canada; a number of French 'almosts' and 'never-weres'; and a shedload from the USSR, including the various jet ground attack planes killed off under Khrushchev, strategic bombers, early jet fighters and various Kamov helicopter/jet gyrodyne projects

2.) Next there are the slight changes, with improved variants being chosen a tad earlier, such as the Hawker Hunter being the P.1083 rather than the P.1067; Supermarine producing the Type 545 as the Sunburst during the same late 1940s period (with the Swift then being a further improvement upon this performance basis); the Gloster Javelin being the 'thin wing' P.376 from the get-go; and the Vickers Valiant being a recognisable aircraft, just a tad larger and with more powerful engines.

3.) In the third category, we have aircraft with recognisable names but different characteristics, such as the English Electric Lightning, which has two engines side by side vs stacked; a solid nose with radar; larger delta wings; and thus a longer range and different performance envelope. The USN's F-111s aren't air superiority fighters, but dedicated long range strike bombers. The TSR-2 is a larger swing-wing plane in the same general class as the Backfire. The Fairey Delta is a production version of the @ Fairey Delta 2 that fills the same niche occupied by the Dassault Mirage III in @, with the 'Fairey Delta III' of Specification F.155 becoming the Dark Earth Fairey Delta II.

4.) Finally, we have completely original planes, which often correspond to similar aircraft which also existed in their niche. Hence, the British develop a ground attack jet built around a cannon similar to the AX and Su-25 in the form of the Gloster Lion; the de Havilland Spectre, broadly based on the DH.127, is in the same general niche/type as the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II; and every single Imperial Chinese jet fighter is a 'new design' filling similar niches to some Soviet aircraft, but also others.

This reflects that the 'Project Cancelled' approach only gives *so* much material before it peters out; simulating an ongoing aircraft industry with real development means going beyond the horizon.

26. Did fast food ever develop?
It did, but it is slightly more constrained and localised compared to @, either in the 1960s or the 1970s. The same 'homogenisation' hasn't occurred to quite the same extent, with the greater tyranny of distance prolonging the regional players in different fast food niches and markets in the USA and the big multinationals having more circumspect rises. The American fast food giants haven't really caught on overseas to date in the same fashion, due to less receptive markets, different tastes and having a much larger North American market that is yet to be fully mastered.

27. What happened in the Korean War?
Rather than a draw, it turned into an Allied victory due to ceasefire talks breaking down. After the ebb and flow of counter offensives in 1951, rather than a period of static war, we saw:

- In November/December 1951, the Chinese, North Koreans and ‘Mongolians’ launch another winter offensive until it peters out in the face of terrible weather and strong defences
- January 52 sees the collapse of ceasefire negotiations in Lhasa…
- Followed by another Chinese attack in the spring…
- Then an Allied series of pushes over the summer, characterised by some as ‘bite and hold’
- Winter interrupts, followed by the Chinese attacking in Spring 1953 and a further Allied counterattack
- “ April 26 1953: The US Joint Chiefs of Staff present a special report on Korea to President Taft, consisting of four possible plans to end the war.”
- During 1953, the grind northwards continues, steadily
- Taft chooses Option 4: Drive to the neck of the Korean Peninsula and have the capacity to then go for broke
- The UNC pushes forward in Operations Longbow, Watchman, Vigilant and Nemesis, spearheaded by armoured divisions, among other units
- They break through majorly, in a period of ~100 days
- There is a general ceasefire in August 1954:
"August 9: United Nations Command negotiators set out their proposed terms for a Korean armistice: firstly, all Chinese and Mongolian military forces are to withdraw beyond the Yalu; secondly, that there be an exchange of prisoners of war held by both sides; thirdly, that there be an internationally supervised plebiscite regarding the reunification of Korea; and fourthly, that a UNC Army of Occupation remain in place until a final peace treaty is signed.
August 10: Execution of the new Imperial Chancellor of China and several other top mandarins by ling chi; this action is seen as a sign of apportionment of blame for events in Korea by foreign observers."
- There is a provisional armistice in September, followed by Imperial China getting the bomb and the world getting a tad distracted by Godzilla attacking Tokyo

28. What happened in the Vietnam War?
There were perhaps three phases to the war from 1964: The initial flow of US troops to blunt the insurgency and seek to bring the Viet Cong and NVA into battle in 1965 and 1966; the 1967/1968 battles that cut off South Vietnam from the North through the severing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the invasion of Cambodia; and the period of April 1968 - December 1969 of going after the VC/NVA cut off in the South with a rolling series of offensives. This then leads to the February 1970 armistice and the gradual demobilisation of forces from there.

It took a lot more troops (over 2.1 million American and almost 500,000 Rest of the Free World on the ground), expenditure and technology to do this and establish a position whereby the North could not win without unacceptable escalation, hence pushing them to the negotiating table. The war was seen and perceived as an American/Western/South Vietnamese 'win', but unlike Korea, a Communist state remained strong in the North and Laos was partitioned between Free and Communist states; this gives enough coverage for Moscow to paint it as a victory of sorts for them as well.

29. Why isn’t rock and roll popular?
This development comes from a confluence of events and non-events/trends rather than a single one. Firstly, the direct ancestor of Rock and Roll, namely Rhythm and Blues, has a far more confined reach in the absence of the same @ Great Migration, which then influences its reach and influence on others; the blues are also more confined to the American south. Secondly, there isn't the exact same audience available with a much larger Korean War mobilisation and the implementation of universal military training. Thirdly, although there has been considerable advances over @ in civil rights and the legal side of race relations, there is a level of cultural separation that manifests itself in the ongoing division between white and black music. Fourthly, the sexualised elements of rock would not and did not get along with the religious and conservative element in popular culture, which extends to radio and television stations not covering or showing certain types of artist/performance. Fifthly, the tastes of young people continued to evolve and shift over time, rather than remaining focused on a hole in musical development that wasn't there in @. Sixthly, several of the artists involved in the 'breakout' of rock encounter various issues along their path, including legal troubles encountered in @.

This combines to a less receptive US musical market, a more confined reach of rock's popularity in the early 1950s and a lack of a real breakthrough into mainstream culture (such as Rock Around the Clock). It muddles along through the mid 1950s before fading away by 1958/59 as one of many relatively short lived musical subgenres/fads that had potential, but never fulfilled it. As a result, there isn't the influences upon the British and European musical scenes that lead to the likes of Lonnie Donnegan and skiffle and hence to the Beatles etc. There is simply less scope for the development of innumberable garage bands when the young men in question get called away to UMT/National Service for 2.5 at 18.

30. So what music is there?
Country music is very strong, but the majority of the rest of the adult market is taken up with a combination of Easy Listening, Traditional/Classic Pop, Adult Contemporary and Jazz Standards/the Great American Songbook (as in the @ 1950s before the dominance of Rock and Roll), as well as a strong folk scene and a fairly consistent level of popularity for Big Band/Swing/Dance Band music. There is some scope for similar developments to @ occurring in the early 1970s in the niches of Baroque Pop and Folk Rock, with some appropriate adjustment to some musical instrument types.

What there isn't: Various subgenres of rock and roll; a major blues sector; beach/surf music (as surfing never becomes part of popular culture); soul (gospel music remains popular, but isn't quite 'de-sacralised' in the same manner); doo-wop; funk; and quite a few Latin subgenres. Rap won't emerge, at least not in the same fashion

31. Why is capital punishment still used in Britain and beyond?
In Britain, there isn't the same body of support in Parliament, with it being concentrated in the left wing of Labour and in the Liberal Party; this is counterbalanced by the Labour right, the Conservatives and the not-unconsiderable 'traditionalist Labour' types who form part of Stanley Barton's powerbase. The Labour 'split' and mini-purges of the socialist element in the late 1950s play a role here. Public opinion remains strongly in favour of it, as in @.

Historically, it was used quite widely up to the Second World War. Afterwards, it was abolished in Germany for various reasons, including the backlash against execution of Nazi war criminals, and in Italy. France, Spain, Eastern Europe and beyond kept it up into the 1970s. Thus, the big difference is it continuing in the Low Countries and Scandinavia, where it wasn't unprecedented, save for the Netherlands since 1878. The reason for its continuing use does come from some of the crimes that have occurred; and some of the crimes/problems not present in @.

32. How does the Byzantine Empire survive?
The story of this is told in the 1947 story 'The Road to Miklagard.' The short version is: barely managing to survive, then very slowly recovering

33. What is the Greek/Turkish situation?
They are not fond of each other, with the Anatolian border featuring a demilitarised zone. They have fought multiple wars over the course of the 20th century alone, with the last brief one being in 1959. There has been some rapprochement over the 1960s, but full normalisation is a fair way off. They aren't both members of NATO/the Atlantic Alliance, with Ottoman Turkey remaining separate due to the exigencies of the Second World War.

34. What is the situation in the Middle East?
Mixed, but overall more peaceful. The last major war as of 1973 was in 1956 and whilst there are tensions, there isn't a ticking countdown to some sense of conflict. Britain is the (increasingly challenged) hegemon, who is looking to ride the situation down to the ground for a graceful dismount, in a certain sense; London doesn't have any need or plans to completely disengage from the area, though, but rather wishes to work the strategic burden into a more shared one under the auspices of CENTO/the Baghdad Pact. The Soviets don't have any 'entrepot' to the region in the absence of allied regimes in Syria and Egypt and haven't been able to market their military equipment as successfully. Iraq and Syria remain under Hashemite monarchs and are increasingly associated with the other states of the confederal Arab Union (Jordan, Lebanon and Arabia).

Egypt is also a monarchy and hasn't quite embraced the Pan-Arab cause as in @, whilst Persia is a reforming Imperial state with less scope for any collapse later in the decade. The Gulf States remain British protectorates. There is a different OPEC, which included the United States, Britain, Canada, Arabia, Persia, Iraq, Venezuela, India, Libya and Mexico upon its formation in 1971 vs Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela in 1960 (followed by Qatar in 1961, Indonesia in 1962, Abu Dhabi in 1967, Algeria in 1969, Nigeria in 1971 and Ecuador in 1973). The notable absence of Kuwait is due to it being annexed as a Crown Colony by Britain post WW1.

35. What television programmes are around? Why/why not?
The question of which television programmes of the 1950s, 60s and early 70s would or would not occur is fairly straightforward. Direct equivalents would be around in some cases, whereas others are less likely to occur. Here is a little list:

Yes
The Great War, Blue Peter, Dad's Army, University Challenge, Comedy Playhouse, The Forsyte Saga, Jeeves and Wooster, Dixon of Dock Green, Civilisation, This is Your Life, Match of the Day, The Benny Hill Show, The Two Ronnies, The Black and White Minstrel Show, Zoo Quest, The Sky at Night, African Patrol, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Adventures of William Tell, Sword of Freedom, Songs of Praise, The Good Old Days, World of Sport, Richard the Lionheart, Sir Francis Drake, An Age of Kings, The Sooty Show, Biggles, Play School, Danger Man, Billy Bunter, Bird's Eye View, Captain Pugwash, Come Dancing, Crackerjack, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, Family Affairs, Gardener's World, Ghost Squad, How We Used to Live, Late Night Line Up, Murder Bag, Opportunity Knocks, Redcap, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, Tomorrow's World

Doctor Who has recently made an appearance

No
Quatermass
Adam Adamant Lives
The Avengers
The first pair wouldn't be made, even if the ideas were around, due to the important positions held by their eponymous characters. In the last case, divergent social mores point towards markedly different developments in the 1960s. There may well be some sort of series with a well-dressed secret agent and a female sidekick, but it won't be very similar.

The Prisoner
Apart from The Village existing, the general themes and plot would be too subversive to make it past the censors of the Ministry of Information

Z-Cars
Gritty social realism is not a favoured genre of the powers that be.

Beyond the Fringe
Monty Python
Fawlty Towers
One thing leads to another, or not, in this case. To expand in a non-facetious way, the lack of the same type of Goons, different social consequences stemming from the events of 1956 and the dearth of the satire boom and a loosening of restrictions stymie the growth of Python and their antecedents.

The War Game
Not a hope of being made, let along released later down the line.

Top of the Pops
Unlikely without the meteoric rise of pop music and associated youth culture.

Till Death Us Do Part
So many different factors make it unviable.

36. How was the Battle of Jutland different and what were its impacts and consequences?
These extracts should be illustrative:

"This Jutland was no tactically inconclusive brawl with comparatively little bearing on the wider war, but an overwhelming and decisive strategic victory for the Royal Navy. There were at least three supporting light cruiser engagements, clashes between seaplane and aircraft carriers of both sides and a pitched battle between the armoured cruiser screens of both fleets. These were only preliminaries to the main fleet action. 36 dreadnoughts, 60 cruisers and 154 destroyers of the Grand Fleet had faced off against the 24 dreadnoughts, 14 predreadnoughts, 32 cruisers and 84 destroyers of the German High Seas Fleet, sinking 14 and capturing – by boarding no less! – 6 others in exchange for only 4 battleships, while the 12 British battlecruisers had sunk 5 of their 8 German counterparts for the loss of only 2 battlecruisers. "

"Admiral Von Scheer... supported far more aggressive action by Germany on the North Sea in order to wear down the numerial advantage of the Royal Navy. The main method of this was to be a series of raids on British ports that would lure out the Grand Fleet into concentrated submarine ambushes and engagements that would attrit their numbers. A large operation, incorporating the German surface fleet, U-Boats and Zeppelins, was planned for the end of May 1916, in order to gain a significant advantage prior to the expected entry of the United States of America into the war on the Entente side.

Unfortunately for the Germans, their wireless communications and ciphers had been deciphered by British naval intelligence due to the capture of a German codebook and Room 40, the secret cryptological analysis section of the Admiralty, had indicated that the High Seas Fleet was definitely preparing to sail on May 31st. Upon receipt of this information, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, decided to sortie the fleet and position it to take up a position off the southern coast of Norway to intercept the Germans. Jellicoe sailed from Scapa Flow with 32 dreadnoughts, 54 cruisers, 42 frigates and 136 destroyers at 22:30 on May 30th, linking up with an additional force of 4 super-dreadnoughts, 6 cruisers and 18 destroyers from Cromarty, whilst Sir Horace Hood's Battlecruiser Fleet of 12 battlecruisers, 28 cruisers, 18 frigates and 48 destroyers departed the Firth of Forth before dawn on the 31st. The two forces were scheduled to rendezvous 100 miles west of the mouth of the Skagerrak in the afternoon; the egress of the British battlecruisers was detected by German picket U-Boats on station off the coast of Scotland, but the Grand Fleet evaded detection through the sheer strength of its anti-submarine screen.

The Aircraft Carrier Force, consisting of the five aeroplane carriers and four seaplane carriers, operating detached from the main battle force with an escort of armoured cruisers and frigates, put up a continual aerial screen to aid the reconnaissance capacity of the Grand Fleet, in conjunction with twelve airships of the Royal Naval Air Service. The outer elements of both fleets met from 13:30 on the afternoon of May 31st, with the initial clashes taking place between the light cruiser screens and then the armoured cruiser forces, just as the Battle Cruiser Fleet ran directly into the German counterparts. Imperial German Navy Zeppelins seeking out the main body of the Grand Fleet were harassed by Sopwith Camels launched from the Royal Navy carriers, but none were badly damaged due to the limited armament of the British aeroplanes. 16 torpedo bombers were launched from Eagle and Aragon to attack the German aeroplane carrier Friedrich Carl and succeeded in scoring one hit on the enemy vessel, forcing it from the growing mayhem of the battle. When the main fleet action commenced at 1740 with Jellicoe crossing Scheer's T, a moment noted by German survivors as one where the entire arc of the horizon erupted in an enormous sea of fire as the Grand Fleet began to pour broadside after broadside through the smoke and mist into the unfortunate Hoche See Flotte, the role of the various aircraft carriers was sidelined, with the loss of HMS Cantabrian and 537 of its crew to a German U-Boat being on of the more greivous losses suffered on the day."

The impact and consequences of the decisive Jutland victory are the release of destroyers for convoy duty; the use of battleships and cruisers to support the Great Descent on Flanders; a closer blockade of Germany; and the extremely significant morale boost. In the long run, it has some interesting impact on ship design, naval strategy and perceptions of the value of battleships.

37. What was the Paris Naval Agreement?
A post WW1 naval agreement, growing out of a conference. Broadly analogous to the WNT in general intent and scope.

“The Royal Navy remained the world's largest and most powerful, but a substantial percentage of its strength was made up of obsolete or obsolescent warships and its mass of wartime construction was focused on the German threat that had been eliminated. The United States Navy had leapt ahead in the measures of international naval strength to be a clear second to Britain and it desired to supplant it in rapid course, reflecting its soaring confidence and enormous economic and industrial might. Japan was now unrivaled in the Far East and Pacific and considered itself as not just the world's third navy, but as destined to be its finest. France had been sorely wounded in the long and bitter fighting on land and, although it still maintained the second biggest fleet in Europe, a large number of its men of war had been been made badly obsolete by the formidable vessels built by the United States, Britain and Japan. Spain and Italy vied for the position of the second greatest naval power in the Mediterranean throughout the war and now sought to gain advantage in the peace.

These competing interests combined to create the circumstances for a renewed arms race, yet none of the Great Powers had either the stomach or treasure for such an endeavour, with even the United States considering the cost involved as ideally avoidable. Washington had long viewed the cessation of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance as being strongly in its strategic interests and considered that the question of naval armaments as a possible means to do so. The circumstances of the immediate postwar recession put additional strain on public finances in Europe and Japan in 1919 and 1920, yet now the pressures for a new building race rose as first Britain, then Japan and then the United States announced expansive naval estimates for 1921. American diplomatic sources became aware of Britain’s desire to call an international conference regarding the situation in the Far East and Pacific and, not wishing to miss an opportunity to proactively address the issue, the Cox Administration persuaded the French Premier Raymond Poincaré to propose a naval conference to be held in Paris in March 1921.

U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing presented the initial American proposals to the conference, calling for direct steps in disarmament through the decommissioning and scrapping of 12" dreadnoughts and older battleships, the disposal of the former German capital ships possessed by the Allies and a pause in the construction of capital ships. This was countered by a British proposal for further acts of disposing of its 15" battleships and the limitation of new construction capital ships by Britain, the United States of America, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and Spain on a ratio of 8:8:4:4:2:2, provided that the British Dominions were able to retain a portion of their current strength and that the new super battlecruiser HMS Hood was similarly excluded from any cuts. Spain was partially mollified by the sale of the four Lion class battlecruisers and both Italy and France were broadly in favour of the combined proposal, which would preserve their relative positions. Further reductions of fleet strengths would occur over the ten-year life of the treaty. Japan, which had a previous ambition of securing a ratio of 75% of the strength of the United States battle fleet, found the effective ratio of 2:3 as acceptable, but insisted upon being able to retain the Fuso class as demilitarised training vessels. New battleships were limited to a displacement of 75,000 tons and a maximum armament of 20" guns. Attempts to limit total cruiser tonnage proved unsuccessful in the face of stern British and French objections, with only a broad limitation of a maximum tonnage of 20,000t and 8" guns being accepted.

It would be in the new field of the aircraft carrier that the Paris Conference would achieve some measure of success in limitation of armaments growth. Tonnage limitations were agreed upon based on a 5:5:3:3:2:2 ratio and individual ships could not exceed 35,000 tons, nor carry more than 10 guns of 8" maximum calibre. Britain had argued for a lower displacement of 25,000 tons in order to build a larger number of ships, but the requirements of the USN and IJN for large ships with long range for Pacific operations overcame these objections. The United States, Britain, Japan and France were each permitted to convert two larger capital ships to aircraft carriers that would otherwise be scrapped under the terms of the Agreement, which was seen as particularly advantageous to the United States and Japan. This resulted in the US conversion of the battlecruisers Lexington and Saratoga, the British conversion of the hulls of the incomplete super battlecruisers Incomparable and Inflexible, the Japanese conversion of Kaga and Myogi (later replaced by Akagi after being destroyed in the Great Tokyo Earthquake of 1923) and the French conversion of the battlecruisers Suffren and Océan. Britain argued successfully for vessels displacing under 20,000 tons to be considered experimental ships capable of being replaced by new construction, as it had the intent of handing down its older ships to the Dominions for service in the 'Fleet Units' recommended by Admiral Jellicoe in his great report that resulted from his tour of the Dominions in 1919 and 1920, which lead to the structure that the Royal Navy adopted between the wars. Overall, the Paris Naval Agreement, signed on June 5th 1921, did not provide for an optimum solution for any of the Great Powers with regards to capital ships, but did open the door for significant carrier development.”

38. Why are battleships still in service in the early 1960s?
A couple of reasons. They weren’t quite eclipsed in the same fashion in the Second World War, with no modern battleship yet sunk at sea by aircraft, but this would only delay the transition briefly. Other factors are that there is a strong threat in the form of the Soviet and Chinese battlefleets; that there is ongoing development of naval gunfire which has allowed for heavy guns to gradually increase their range to very useful ranges; that many British, American, Soviet and French ships carry nuclear shells; greatly increased AA armament; and that being the largest ships in the fleet, they had the most space to carry useful numbers of new guided missiles.

39. Who has nuclear weapons? Why?

1970 Nuclear Arsenals
USA: 64,256
USSR: 28,274
Britain: 12,432
France: 3695
China: 2971
Canada: 1254
Italy: 426
Sweden: 280
Spain: 250
Australia: 240
India: 234
Israel: 180
South Africa: 120
Greece: 87
Brazil: 72
Turkey: 69
Netherlands: 64
Indonesia: 56
Switzerland: 50
Argentina: 42
Belgium: 40
Japan: 32
Yugoslavia: 25
New Zealand: 12
Chile: 5
Norway: 4
Vatican: 2

Why? Largely to get a seat on the tables that matter, because of regional rivals and/or as it allows for a nation to be destroyed, but not defeated.

Next to join The Club are Austria-Hungary, Portugal, Mexico, Denmark, Korea and Taiwan.

40. How does Austria-Hungary still exist?
A lack of Woodrow Wilson as President is the first element, which built upon the issue of having a few more internal links. Largely, its survival comes down to securing an armistice on better terms (without collapsing on the Italian front to the same extent) and, fundamentally, that creating a power vacuum in Central Europe for the exploitation of the Soviets was seen as a negative outcome by London. The British delegation at Versailles traded off some concessions to the French to get their backing, then leaned on the Americans with some further diplomacy to cement it.

41. Why are many African countries still colonies?
As of 1973, only Portuguese West Africa, Portuguese East Africa, Spanish Sahara, Mauritania and Sierra Leone are still formal colonies; only the last is different from @. The 'independent' states include a lot of former British and French colonies whose independence effectively comes with an asterisk. As said earlier, rather than a quick severance of ties, like a divorce, their pathways has been a multi-stage process, like a child growing from a wee bairn to a young adult forging out into the world; the paternalist overtones of the imagery are deliberate, as they encapsulate where the thinking of the DE British and French governments leans at this time. Domestic self government came by the mid 1960s, followed by quasi-independence, in the form of Dominion status, which many states achieved between 1965 and 1970 on a more accelerate timeframe 'suggested' by HM QE2 in late 1964. The third stage, of removal of some of the 'ties that bind' and transference of control of armed forces and external relations, is now coming for some states; others, such as Uganda after the recent intervention, are further back. The final stage of 'independence within the Commonwealth' reached directly in @ won't be on the cards until the 1980s under current thinking in London and Paris, with the residual control and influence (Francafrique with teeth) remaining following this.

There simply hasn't been the cases of a rapid shift from a nominal parliamentary democracy to a presidential republic and thence to a dictatorship, as in quite a few African states during the 1960s in @, nor of a relative rush to jump into bed with the Soviets in the form of arms and advisors. That type of embrace of the Reds is one of the 'red lines' that would result in London or Paris moving to pull the nascent African state back into what they view as a more acceptable position. In contrast to @, both London and Paris have the combination of wealth, will and force to work such measures, so long as the other side is of a manageable size. This has been assisted by the greater focus upon Vietnam from 1965 to 1970 for the USA and the USSR, as well as the latter not even having the same 'entrepots' to the Middle East and Africa that it had in the @ 1960s and the dubious example of the ongoing chaos in the Congo; this has arguably not been the best outcome for many Africans.

Like a teenager growing up and bucking the rules and restrictions set at home, this state of affairs can't last forever, however much the paternalistic entities might wish it to do so. This has been signposted on a couple of occasions. Africa thus hasn't quite developed the same growing Third World voice in the LoN

42. What does the British Empire consist of?
Britain (including Heligoland, Malta, Gibraltar and Singapore)

Commonwealth Dominions: Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, New Avalon, Newfoundland, Israel, the West Indies, Kenya, Malaya, Ceylon, Bensalem

New Commonwealth: Tanganyika, Uganda, Cameroon, Ashante Federation (Gold Coast and Ivory Coast), Togoland, Nigeria, Sudan, Equatoria, Azania (Southern Tanganyika/Nthn Mozambique), Senegambia, Darfur

Crown Colonies: Bermuda, British Honduras, the Azure Islands, Kuwait, Minorca, Cyprus, Southern Arabia, North Borneo, Hong Kong, South Seas Federation, Sierra Leone, Saint Helena and Ascension, the Falkland Islands, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, Easter Island, Pitcairn Island

Protectorates: Trucial States, Oman, Bahrain

43. The TSR-2? What? How?
This TSR-2 has its roots in a requirement to replace both the English Electric Canberra light bomber and to fill the role of the medium bomber (which in @ was covered by the V-Bombers, which here are decidedly in the 'heavy' category from the get-go). The Ministry of Supply issued GOR.339 in late 1954, for a long range strike bomber with a combat range of 2500 miles carrying a 10000lb payload, a ferry range of 4000 miles and a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 at altitude, which resulted in designs from Supermarine, Armstrong-Whitworth, Hawker-Siddeley and English-Electric in 1955; Avro and Handley-Page, both traditional heavy aircraft manufacturers, were too busy with other projects to submit designs. The Supermarine design, benefitting from the variable geometry 'swing-wing' of Barnes-Wallis (and some crossover from within the Vickers group of aviation companies), was selected in November 1955, with the process greatly speeded by the 'super-priority' assigned to key projects. It first flew in late 1956 and production aircraft began to be delivered in early 1959.

Research and development cost was £450 million and the initial RAF programme of 600 aircraft cost a further £1100 million. How was this afforded? It was spread out from 1956-1960 for the R&D element and procurement was spread out from 1959-1967, and came from a larger defence budget of a considerably larger GDP. Overall production costs declined over the production run, with orders from India (240), Canada (120), Australia (120), South Africa (100), Israel (50), New Zealand (50), Rhodesia (50), along with Sweden (80) and the United States (300), pushing down the unit cost.

44. What happened to Atlantis?
As far as modern knowledge goes, it was destroyed by flooding after a meteor or asteroid impact.

45. What is the United States like?
As of 1973, in a reasonable position and angled on the right way up. Not facing malaise, stagflation, post Watergate disenchantment and loss of trust, post Vietnam introspection or the 'rusting' of 'old industry'. Wealthier in overall terms and per capita, which translates to the ordinary middle class and working class having higher wages than @ and paying a bit less for the average basket of goods/cost of living. As a country, it isn't treading water, but still expanding - new 'industrial areas' are developing in Tennessee-Arkansas, Arizona-Nevada-Utah, the Rockies and the Gulf Coast. There are some very big projects that are driving this growth and stimulating this virtuous cycle, for now.

46. What is Lyonesse?
A large island in the Celtic Sea off the southwest coast of Cornwall, extending from out beyond the Isles of Scilly. It is based on the mythological 'lost land' of the same name in the same location. It is around 60% of the size of Ireland.

47. What different countries are there?
Master List of Countries/Territories under different ownership

- Canadian Alaska
- New Avalon (British Dominion in Baja California)
- Dominion of Newfoundland (Labrador part of Canada)
- British Cuba
- Swedish West Indies (Danish Virgin Islands and Saint Barthelemy)
- Polish Togoland (Polish colony after WW1; nominal territory of Free Poland after WW2 under British protection)
- Crown Colony of Ivory Coast (British)
- Swedish Guiana (Amapa State of Brazil)
- Bolivia retains access to the Pacific Ocean
- Prydain (British Dominion in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego)
- Spanish Mauretania and Madagascar
- Enlarged borders of Hong Kong
- Israel extends to the Suez Canal
- Greek Constantinople and complex Anatolian borders between Greece and Turkey
- Ruritania
- American Liberia
- Netherlands East Indies (Molucca and Western New Guinea)
- Australian Timor
- British Minorca
- Swedish Bornholm and Aland Islands
- Finland still holds most of Karelia, having 'won' the Winter War
- Jerusalem is something of a 'dual-hatted' city, with security provided by the Jerusalem Regiment and the Sikh Division
- British Crown Colony of Kuwait
- Indian Burma
- India extending up to the Strait of Hormuz
- Unified Korea
- Sinkiang/Tartary being a Soviet puppet state
- Independent Tibet
- Independent Yucatan
- Central American Republic of Los Altos
- Two additional islands in the British West Indies
- British Galapagos and Easter Island
- New Caledonia = Bensalem
- Additional Japanese Home Island (Kai)
- Rhodesia including Katanga and Tete Province of Mozambique
- Swedish Congo/Urungu = Cabinda
- Azania (Southern Tanganyika/North Mozambique)
- British Azores and Faroes
- German Democratic Republic = Kaliningrad Oblast
- Smaller Albania
- Independent Rio Grande do Sul (Aranguay)

48. What orders of battle are there?
As of the moment: Britain, the USA, Soviet Union, France, Germany, China, India, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Israel, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Kenya, Sweden

49. Did the War of the Worlds occur?
There was an 'invasion' from one particular Martian nation in 1898 that was rather swiftly subdued, with some panic and initial confusion. Its primary impact came in the form of particular Martian technology and in the subsequent wars on Mars in response to this action. As far as invasions go, it was somewhere between Pancho Villa's invasion of the USA, the 1797 Battle of Fishguard and the French 1798 landings in Ireland - an initial shock, panic, a couple of disorganised defeats before the British Army and RN could be bought to bear and then a crushing victory. It is not the same as the H.G. Wells version that we know or any of its adaptions.

50. Are there different dimensions/planes?
Yes, but what is known about them does vary and is the stuff of archmages and specialist wizards. There is a reasonable amount of consensus that there is an 'astral plane' and some sort of parallel 'dark dimension' known as the Shadowlands. Both are difficult to enter and very difficult to return from. Additionally, it is thought by some theorists that old tales of elven lands may refer to some sort of faerie dimension. Finally, there seem to be some localised pocket dimensions somehow linked to certain locations, such as around the 'Bermuda Triangle'.

51. What is going on in the South Pacific?
In terms of development, comparatively little in the absence of war. The British and French have used the area for nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s in the former case and continuing into the 1970s in the latter case. There is some interest in anomalies around the oceanic pole of inaccessibility; some speculation that this might be R'lyeh is a tad off the mark, as that isn't a physical location.

52. What is the Godzilla situation?
There is some sort of very large oceanic reptilian monster who emerged in the early 1950s and has attacked Tokyo and Shanghai, sunk an Imperial Chinese battleship, and marauded near Hawaii to date. The name 'Gojira' is what 'he' has been dubbed by the Japanese; the monster has provided something of a contributing reason for Tokyo's rearmament. It isn't quite clear what the creature is, or how it could be killed.

53. Why is there no apartheid in South Africa?
The nation is on a different trajectory, with various colonial era discrimination being wound back from the late 1890s:

"Substantial internal migration from poor native villages and the countryside to the great cities had contributed to political tensions between Englishman and Boer since the midst of the 19th century. The British dominated colonies held fast to the principles of multi-racial suffrage and equality before the Crown, whilst the Orange River Colony and Transvaal attempted to keep to some of the more traditional beliefs and customs. This disagreement was one factor in the Great Rebellion of 1899. The dawn of the 20th century had seen the winds of change blowing across the veldt and the successful efforts of the future Field Marshal Gandhi pave the way for fair treatment of the Indian populace. The 1920s and 1930s were marked by the progressive dismantling of legislative obstacles to equality. With the British Empire ruling over lands and continents filled with white, yellow, red, blue, purple and green, no moral or logical argument could stand against giving the selfsame rights to brown and black.

The report of the Fagin Commission of 1943 into racial relations, co-authored by the eminent Messrs Ebenezer Scrooge and Abraham Fagin, racial relations had recommended ending the last vestiges of segregation of the black minority and bringing relevant legislation across all twelve provinces into line with that of the Union Government. There was localized vocal opposition from the some of the traditional Boer heartlands in rural Transvaal but this was balanced by general support from the British and European dominated cities. The sterling service provided by the black subjects of the King alongside their white, Indian and coloured brothers in the recent war had done much to erode the grim residue of prejudice." (From 1947)

The majority of White South Africans are descended from British stock, with the Boer/Afrikaners being a minority. Most de jure discrimination is gone or on the way out by the late 1940s, with social and cultural discrimination remaining in the coming decades. By the 1970s, the first black Cabinet minister has been sworn in, but the last stretch of change is often the hardest.

54. What are Floating Fortresses?
Effectively immobile mid-oceanic platforms postulated in the 1940s, begun in the 1950s and finished by the late 1960s. They are described as "The keys to the North Atlantic, or more precisely, four heavily armoured seadromes covering the middle of the ocean with planes, missiles, RDF and ASDIC. They should be all complete and in place by 1967 or so. Perfect solutions for a 1942 problem, albeit twenty five years late, but the Admiralty says that their air cover reduces our escort requirement for any future conflict by almost a quarter. Some others say they are..."

They are essentially a mixture of 1984 and Habakkuk.

Their original intent was as follow on vessels to the Habakkuks, which were quick and dirty wartime expedients. They are based on the 1984 concepts. I envisaged them as a combination of several large practically immobile platforms/artificial islands centred around a very large pykrete/steel carrier deck. They were serve as static refueling and coordination bases for ASW hunter/killer groups of frigates, destroyers and ASW escort carriers and support them with fighter and patrol plane cover. The first stage of construction would be moving in the central "carrier", then adding the four floating platforms around the sides. Further construction would add more platforms, monitors, shielding and semi submersible oceanic platforms. They don't really move as much as float about in strategic locations.

Armament consists of heavy gun batteries, ASW missiles and area defence SAGWs. Total aircraft capacity is around 250 fixed wing planes (albeit shorter range Gannet types) and helicopters, with large, well protected hangar decks. They are also equipped with very powerful ASDIC and RDF suites, providing an extremely wide coverage of the Atlantic area both above and below the waves. By 1960, the first Fortress is between the Faroes and Iceland; the second is 80% complete between Newfoundland and Iceland; the third is 40% complete between Newfoundland and the Azure Islandes/Azores; and one is 15% complete between the Azures Iand Ireland. They aren't placed in the extreme deep water areas, as that would be too great an engineering challenge even for a radically different universe. This diamond shaped deployment provides full air coverage of the Central Atlantic, along with RNAS bases on Iceland, the Azures, Cape Verde and Bermuda. The RCN and RCAF operate out of Nova Scotia, Labrador, Newfoundland and St. Peter's (Earth equivalent is St. Pierre and Miquelon)

The overall intent when the idea was first mooted in 1943/44 by Churchill was to close any future mid-Atlantic air gap, nail the door shut, brick up the doorway and fill in the driveway. By the time the first Floating Fortress iwas in place in 1954 or 1955, the atomic submarine has well and truly entered the equation, making previous tactics obsolete and creating new threats; however, their sheer size and strategic position gives them a renewed role of directing ASW air, sea and undersea forces onto submarine contacts and adding their own. They are extremely costly but provide a fairly decent ASW asset when combined with the Corsair system (a British SOSUS equivalent). They are, in essence, expensive white elephants in their original concept by the time they enter service, but as far as the uninformed public view of the average punter at the newsreels are concerned, they are brilliant examples of British ingenuity. There is a slight flow on effect from the investment of time and money into the Floating Fortresses; deep sea oil rigs and exploration are rather more advanced in the early 1960s than on Earth.

55. Who were the different Kings and Queens of England

(Arthur reigned from 498 AD to 537 AD, but this was before 'England' )

Egbert (829-839)
Ethelwulf (839-856)
Ethelbald (856-860)
Ethelbert (860-865)
Ethelred (865-871)
Alfred the Great (871-923)
Athelstan the Glorious (924-939)
Edmund the Magnificent (939-946)
Eadred (946-955)
Eadwig (955-959)
Edgar the Peaceable (959-975)
St. Edward the Martyr (975-978)
Ethelred the Unready (978-1016)
Edmund Ironside (1016)
Sveyn Forkbeard (1013-1014)
Canute (1016-1035)
Harold Harefoot (1035-1040)
Harthacanute (1040-1042)
St. Edward the Confessor (1042-1066)
Harold Godwinson (1066)
Edgar (1066)
William I (1066-1087)
William II Rufus (1087-1100)
Henry I (1100-1135)
Stephen (1135-1154)
Henry II (1154-1189)
Richard I (1189-1243)
Henry III (1243-1272)
Edward I (1272-1307)
Edward II (1307-1327)
Edward III (1327-1377)
Richard II (1377-1399)
Henry IV (1399-1413)
Henry V (1413-1463)
Henry VI (1461-1472)
Edward IV (1472-78)
Edward V (1478-1483)
Richard III (1483-1485)
Henry VII (1485-1509)
Henry VIII (1509-1542)
Edward VI (1542-1560)
Elizabeth I (1560-1610)
James I (1610-1620)
Charles I (1620-1660)
Charles II (1660-1688)
James II (1688)
William and Mary (1688-1700)
Anne (1700-1714)
George I (1715-1740)
George II (1740-1760)
George III (1760-1800)
George IV (1800-1825)
William IV (1825-1836)
Victoria (1836-1901)
Edward VII (1901-1910)
George V (1910-1936)
George VI (1936-1952)
Elizabeth II (1952- )

From that list, the notable absences are John, Mary and Edward VIII

56. What is the difference between skyships and airships?
An airship is what we would be generally used to - a lighter than air dirigible with a reasonably limited payload that is slower than most aeroplanes. The chief DE difference is that they have been enhanced with both more powerful engines and various enchantments, have a more useful payload and employ non-flammable lifting gasses. Skyships are something markedly different, using a combination of cavorite, special lifting gasses and magic to be able to lift 5000t of cargo, several dozen tanks or thousands of men - essentially, they are equivalent to a flying Victory Ship. Four skyships can carry a WW2 division with pretty lavish supplies. They are extremely costly, slow to build, expensive to operate and are thus rare, even in 1973. For most purposes, a jumbo jet is much, much cheaper.

57. How is the British Empire organised?
The Dominions are independent states joined with Britain under the British nuclear umbrella, strategic alliance treaties and defence integration/cooperation agreements on the military level; in an Imperial common market/customs union on the economic level; joint technological and space cooperation in terms of science; and with an advisory Imperial Council and plans for an integrated Imperial Parliament on the political/legislative level.

58. How are cities different?
Many have larger populations, due to greater density of residents and spreading out to incorporate a lot of smaller surrounding suburbs and satellites towns in their general metropolitan area. Skyscrapers are common in the United States and increasingly present in the USSR, but aren't common features in European cities at this time, variously due to lack of need and planning laws.

59. What is the size and extent of Hong Kong?
The border of Hong Kong encompasses Hong Kong, the New Territories and Bao'an County, running from the modern day Fuyong Subdistrict of Shenzhen in a curve over to the Aotou Residential District on Daya Bay. It thus incorporates a majority of the land currently covered by the city of Shenzhen.

60. What is the “exchange rate”?
A measure I employ to provide some equivalence/value of prices, goods and national wealth. It comes from historical inflation/monetary value multiplied by some changing figures so that DE prices can be converted to their Earthly equivalent rather quickly. As a general overall value, I utilise 1990 US dollars, as that is the value employed by the late Professor Angus Maddison in his works on historical GDPs; it can be easily converted to current day values using any number of free websites and makes sense to employ as a constant. As of 1973, it is 18.5, so that I divide the 1990 USD figure by 18.5 to get the 1973 DE value in pounds sterling

61. What are Canada and Australia like?
Larger, well developed and, as of the 1970s, increasingly robust in asserting their distinct identity, albeit without shrugging off Imperial/Commonwealth ties in the process.

62. Why is Cuba British?
Cuba was taken from Spain in the War of Austrian Succession and then for good in the Seven Years’ War and thus has had over two centuries of difference; Spain does try several times to regain it between 1763 and 1815 without ultimate success. It joined the Federation of the West Indies in 1963 after a decade of talks.

63. Why is Alaska Canadian?
It was taken from Russia by the RN in 1854 and then transferred with Britain's other contiguous North American holdings to the new Canadian state.

64. What is the situation of the Jews in Britain?
There are more of them, having never been expelled in 1290 by Edward I; it was considered, but determined that there was more to be gained in monetary terms by allowing them to stay and taxing them, in a rare moment of medieval realpolitik. The next major wave, largely from the Russian Empire, came between the late 1870s and 1910s. As of the early 1970s, they comprise the third largest Jewish population in the world behind the United States and Israel with just over 3 million people.

65. What are the most powerful countries in the world?
In order, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, China, France, Japan, Germany, Canada, Italy and India.

66. How far out into the solar system have humans travelled?
As of 1973, there have been landings on the moons of Uranus.

67. What alien species exist?
Many different types exist on Venus, Luna, Mars and Vulcan. Some of them include the Selenites and the 9 types of intelligent Martian species:

Alba: Nomadic barbarian humanoids of Cimmeria.
Barsuns: Tall, green four armed creatures. Warrior caste on Barsoom.
Grovars: Cultured green-grey furred humanoids. Low numbers and currently concentrated on Qobal. Thought by scholars to be an offshoot/relative of the Barsuns and Volpuks.
Kusanth: Pale skinned, angular, red haired humanoid species on Tharsis; similar to David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust.
Nebitari: Gold skinned humanoid trader species.
Skarns: Red 'dwarven' subspecies in the mountains of Ral Andrex
Telmarions: Blue tinged 'elf' subspecies on Tharsis.
Volpuks: Little green humanoids. Worker caste on Barsoom.
Zauriads: 5ft tall reptilians with purplish tinged skin found in the tropics of Ral Andrex and Tharsis.

68. What happened to the Beatles?
They all lived separate lives until the late 1960s, with John Lennon living in New Zealand for a large swathe of his childhood. As adults, they met through a range of circumstances and formed an 'adventuring' group similar to The Goodies, designed to help others with special problems. This lead to them getting a family television show, where they dabble with some music. All are happily married and without substance use issues beyond smoking and a bit of drinking.

69. What is the situation of the British automotive industry?
Decidedly better. There are 5 'groups'

BMC (Morris, Leyland, Thorneycroft, Riley, MG)
Austin (Austin, Vauxhall, Bedford, Bristol, Ashton-Evans, Healey)
Rootes (Standard, Triumph, AEC, Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam, Singer, Talbot)
Saxon (Saxon, Rover, Jaguar, Alvis, Albion, Scammell, Jensen)
Ford of Britain
(plus Rolls Royce, Daimler, Wolseley (bought back by Vickers), Armstrong-Siddeley, Bentley, Aston-Martin and Lanchester)

70. What is the situation of gender equality and LGBT rights?
Gender equality is a tad behind @, but catching up, particularly in economic terms, but abortion is still largely illegal across the Western world. Homosexual acts are still nominally illegal in Britain and other nations, but there hasn't been a zealous enforcement of laws on the statute books for few years.

71. How does a French “victory” at Dien Bien Phu occur?
Through heavy commitment of forces and a major USAF-lead bombing campaign to relieve the surrounded French a la Operation Vulture. Here, the British supported it, in return for cooperation in other area and a perceived need to shore up the French.

72. Was the Munich Air Disaster avoided and what were its consequences?
It was, with the consequence of several very impressive young English soccer players surviving. Duncan Edwards was chief among these, going on to have a very successful international career through the 1960s and providing one part of some different outcomes in some matches at World Cups in this time.

73. What is the situation regarding smoking and smoking rates?
Links between smoking and health problems were identified a good 5-10 years earlier than @, leading to earlier peaks in smoking rates and a gradual decline. By 1973, 29-30% of British adults smoke compared with 46.1% in @. Even with a cure for cancer, it is still likely to decline further.

74. How are non-humans treated and integrated within British society?
In varying ways. The most integrated are those dwarves who live in human society, followed by the halflings (who mainly dwell in their traditional home of 'Hartshire' across the West Midlands) and the gnomes (concentrated in the mountains of Wales). The dwarven kingdoms in Scotland and the elves are largely separate.

75. How large is London?
It has a population of ~ 25 million and extends out to the limits of the Greater London Built-Up Area.

76. What happened to the Irish Potato Famine?
The worst effects of the late 1840s Potato Blight in Ireland are ameliorated by the ability to move in cheap grain through earlier abolition of the Corn Laws, along with crop diversification, improved transport infrastructure, higher general development in Western Ireland, better established social support networks from the Church and monasteries and a number of other contributing factors. As a result, there is migration as a result of shortages and economic downturn, but comparatively substantially fewer actual deaths or incidences of famine.

77. What happened to the Indian Mutiny?
It did not occur, due to a series of distinctly different EIC/British policies in India from the 1790s through 1850. Full details are in the short story 'Indian Summer' in the 1947 collection.

78. What are the consequences of a Protestant Ireland?
First and foremost, there is a lack of the basis for the @ Troubles; no Cromwellian conquest and legacy thereof; No major famines after 1740; greater emigration from the Irish Catholic minority to the Americas in the manner of the Highland Clearances; and earlier Catholic emancipation. The Irish home rule movement never takes off the ground in the Victorian period and Irish republicanism is virtually stillborn, with the result of no Irish Home Rule Crisis, no Easter Rising and no Civil War. There is a different development of Irish nationalism, which is subsumed under a wider British identity in a similar manner to Scottish and Welsh nationalism. Ireland would still suffer economic and social oppression in the Early Modern period due to broader issues beyond religious sectarianism, similar to parts of Scotland, but some of the wind would be taken out of some sails. Irish Gaelic has declined to a niche, academic status, along the lines of what occurred historically, but without the boost supplied by politics. There are many, many consequences on the World Wars from having all of Ireland in the United Kingdom.

79. What is the situation of the Third World?
The Third World largely covers the newly independent states of Africa and the Far East (but not the Middle East) and is regarded as a key area of the contest of the Cold War. This has positive and negative consequences for the populace.

80. Why isn't there a Non-Aligned Movement?
A lack of a genuinely non-aligned group of nations significant enough to coalesce around each other, and then attract more states. Looking at the key players in the @ establishment of the NAM in 1961, India (not lead by Nehru) and Yugoslavia were in and remain in the Western orbit, Indonesia was leaning Red through the 1950s and then went outright pro-Moscow in 1958/59, Ghana wasn't yet independent and Egypt was under British occupation post 1956.

81. How far back does history extend?
In conventionally accepted terms, recorded human history extends back to ~ 5500-6000 BC, when there was a transition from earlier tally systems to proto-cuneiform in Mesopotamia. There is a generally understood notion that there was an Atlantean civilisation that fell at some point around 12000 BC, due to a bollide impact and flood, and that this may possibly have been followed by some sense of scattered survivor groups having an influence of some sort upon the subsequent cradles of civilisation, but this is really in the realm of speculative theory as of 1973. Underwater exploration of the sunken ruins of Atlantis, should that prove to be what they are, could provide some further evidence. There are a lot of different fringe theories percolating about, ranging from ancient alien astronauts to an even more ancient cycle, but they are on the fringe for a reason.

It is known that dwarven and elven 'civilisation' extended back before the days of Atlantis, but that is a different question and different history.

82. Do giants eat children?
They do not. Some savage giant breeds previously were maneaters, but they were wiped out centuries ago.

83. Do trolls have any vulnerability to sunlight?
It appears that some now-extinct types became slower in sunlight, having been accustomed to nocturnal hunting over many thousands of years; this vulnerability lead to them being easier targets for humans during their expansion period in Scandinavia

84. What is the Anglo-American relationship like under President Kennedy?
Quite strong, although Stanley Barton and JFK respect each other more than have any sense of a close personal relationship. There has been some general coalescing of interests, which has helped, along with the British role in the Vietnam War. By the end of Kennedy's third and final term, the relationship is the strongest it has been since the Second World War, but isn't widely termed the 'special relationship', which is regarded as something of a needy term; the power balance is considerably different to @, even as the gap is starting to grow.

85. How big is the White Sea Canal?
Its maximum ship dimensions are 350m x 50m x 12m, allowing the transit of all major warships in service with the Red Banner Northern Fleet.

86. Who is in charge of the Soviet Union?
As of 1973, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Alexei Sergeyev (1921-), who has been in the top job formally since May 1968, one of the effective rulers since 1966 and on the Politburo since 1958. In 1965, he was described as "A young Politburo member who has a record of considerable success in his limited years, following on from a sparkling career as a Red Army infantry officer that saw him awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union twice during the Great Patriotic War". His character is a mix of Gorby, Khrushchev, Kennedy, Lenin and Putin, which makes him more dangerous than Stalin Jr or Sr.

87. Is Hong Kong defensible?
No. In the pre WW2 setting, it is able to defend itself for a certain amount of time along its well-constructed defensive lines, but ultimately can't be sustained against the IJA. Post WW2, it can't be indefinitely held against the Imperial Chinese Army conventionally, which is why its defence is based upon nuclear weapons, both tactical ones on the ground and strategic ones out to sea. Actually using them would rather obviate the purpose of defence, not to mention the utility of the city itself, but in general, the combination of the conventional garrison, some nuclear weapons and regular visits by the RN and USN has worked for the moment.

88. What are Germany's relations with the rest of the Western world like?
As of the 1970s, effectively normalised, with the passing of a generation since the Second World War serving to heal and subsume some of the raw impact of the conflict. Germany is treated as 'just another European state', and the richest and essentially the most powerful among them. There is a lack of the same degree of Franco-German rapprochement, due to Gaullist views, the personality of leaders and the sticking point of the Saar. Many foreigners have more of a perception of 'the stereotypical German' as a melange of a Rhinelander and Bavarian, rather than the previous uptight militaristic Prussian; in this, there has been a success.

89. What is the situation in South America?
A mixed bag, with a web of alliances developing that ratchets up tensions, leading even to military clashes in some cases (Ecuador v Peru, for example). The fires of revolutionary trouble have also been stoked, which would exacerbate any political crisis or conflagration. It is seen as one of the future battlegrounds/crisis points of the Cold War.

90. How and why is California different?
It lacks a direct border with Mexico, instead abutting New Avalon to the south:

"Coming into Los Angeles always made Roger Thompson highly aware of the vast and disparate nature of California itself in particular and the wider United States in general. First the looming mountains, fertile fields and verdant fruit groves spoke of a people and a country still from the land and of the land, even though the frontier was being pushed back, day by day and yard by yard. Then the tendrils of the outlying suburbs showed the changing face of modern America, one of sweeping highways, neat houses and thriving shops, alongside the old vestiges of California in the last century, that curious mixture of palatial Spanish ranches and stately English mansions and gardens that had arisen from the confluence of Mexico and New Avalon. This soon gave way to the city proper, with more vast stretches of concrete suburbs and factories, as befitted one of the great modern industrial hubs of the world. At its centre stood a hub of soaring skyscrapers reaching up far above the streets like a jagged paen to man’s progress set against the backdrop of the bustling business of everyday life.

It went beyond a simple matter of outward appearance, though. California’s people were a diverse lot, drawn from all over the country and the wider world beyond by its thriving industrial boom, which had been one of the marvels of the postwar age. Vast factories turning out aircraft, cars, steel, machinery and electronic goods had a voracious appetite for labour and it had come, in its millions. Where once the state had been a combination of the older Spanish and Mexican natives and the English up from New Avalon, the 49ers from out east who had poured in during the first Gold Rush – English, Irish, French, Germans, Italians, Austrians and above all, Americans – had changed that, along with the industrious Chinamen who streamed in their thousands to the fabled Gum Shan, or Gold Mountain. They had been followed by Poles and Greeks, drawn by the mines that drew forth fabulous wealth from the land, the proud Japanese who toiled in the orchards and on the fishing boats and the indefatigable Indians, coming up across the border to build the railways and dams that would propel California into the new century. After both World Wars, new waves of migrants both foreign and American had streamed out west to find a new life. Culturally, there was little of the old California left, save its architecture and place names. Only the old elaborate haciendas, ranchos and missions remained of the century long period of Spanish and Mexican rule, the epoch of Zorro and the Inquisition. The melting pot state had drawn in multitudinous influences from its waves of migrants, all of them subsumed in the greater American whole."

91. What is the Soviet Union like in the 1960s?
Generally similar to the atmosphere of a prolonged Khruschev thaw, with certain surface level gestures to freedom and increased affluence + availability of basic consumer goods providing the veneer to a more sophisticated means of surveillance and repression. It is akin in many ways to the period and atmosphere evoked in the novel 'Red Plenty'.

92. What are the different national space agencies?
Britain: Ministry of Space and the Royal Space Force
USA: NASA and the US Space Corps
France: ARES (Agence de Recherche et d'Exploration Spatiale)
Soviet Union: SKS (Sovetskaya Kosmicheskaya Sluzhba)
China: Imperial Star Navy
Italy: FRES (Forza Reale di Esplorazione Spaziale)

93. What is the political and strategic situation regarding the three moons?
Luna is generally shared by all space going states, with various claims confined to certain areas and not universally acknowledged. Bellona and Minerva, being smaller, are less frequented at this time, with the Soviet and United States respectively using each as construction bases for their spacecraft endeavours. This general division is tacitly acknowledged by the British, who, having the prime spots on Luna, don't have the need to kick up a fuss.

94. How does the East India Company survive into the modern era?
It transitioned from a chartered company ruling India to something like the modern day Hudson Bay Company on steroids - a diversified multinational with interests in dozens of areas. They have significant interests in Indian and Burmese railways and ports, many different mines, their own merchant shipping line and passenger/cargo airline and a host of commercial interests, ranging from security contractors to luxury good and from pharmaceuticals to insurance.

95. Why was there an atomic attack on Manchuria in 1945?
Allied forces were on the ground in China and intelligence indicated that there was potential for a Japanese biological weapons attack of some description in the final push on the Japanese home islands; it was additionally considered less than optimal if Japanese biological weapons facilities were to fall into the hands of the Soviets or their satellite forces. It was delivered by a British Avro York in a largely political move.

96. What happens in the Malayan Emergency?
The Malayan Communist Party and Malayan National Liberation Army rose up in 1949 and were rather heavily put down in a counter-insurgency campaign taking the better part of a decade and involving over 240,000 British and Commonwealth troops at its peak.

97. How does Soviet jet and jet engines develop without the Nene?
Their development is somewhat held back during the period 1947-1951, with the Klimov KV-1 emerging in a different form. This isn't a permanent albatross around the neck of Soviet jet engine development, as subsequent planes including the M-4, Tu-16 and Mig-19 all employed Mikulin/Tumansky engines, but during the initial years of the Korean War, the Mig-15 isn't quite the same performer as a result.

98. How were chemical weapons used in the Second World War?
In a fairly limited fashion. Mutual deterrence worked effectively in Western Europe, whilst the gloves really came off on the Eastern Front. In the Pacific/SE Asian wars against Japan, there were several isolated uses of gas in Malaya, New Guinea and the Pacific (to considerable effect against some island garrisons) before starting to increase in late 1944 with the landings in Formosa, China, the Philippines and the Ryukus/Iwo Jima, and culminating in heavy use in the partial invasion of the Japanese Home Islands.

99. How does the Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme succeed?!
By not really being the @ scheme. On one level, it is a morely efficiently and sanely run programme with more circumspect goals, but on a deeper, more secret level, it is used to channel a black budget to support certain intelligence activities across Europe (including behind the Iron Wall) by SOE. It then has a second life as a general agricultural investment scheme in the 1955-1960 period, then a third wind in the 1960s and 70s:

"Perhaps the most unique department is the Imperial Tanganyika Scheme (formerly the Imperial Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme), the 25 year old development programme that has transformed the infrastructure and agriculture of large parts of East Africa."

100. What is strategic artillery?
Darn big guns emplaced up the side of mountains that can fire atomic shells hundreds of miles. Think Project Babylon with great power investment, no need to hide and a decade and a half of development time.


101. How are race relations in the United States?
Overall, markedly better than @. Rather than the civil rights movement being concentrated in the late 1950s and 1960s, it has been a more gradual process implemented since the Great War; significant steps came under TR and Truman. There is far less de jure and open discrimination, but still quite a bit of what was seen in the aftermath of the 1965 Civil Rights Act - a lot of lower level twisting and turning to attempt to get around the spirit of the law.

The African-American population of the 1973 United States, still commonly known in-universe by the common appelation/group noun of @ 1960s parlance (Negro) is a tad smaller as a percentage of the entire population and has a slightly different geographical 'spread'; the last factor has decreased over the 1960s as natural economic migration towards the industrial cities of the North, Midwest and West Coast has continued. General relations/conditions would be on a level with the late 1970s/early 1980s.

102. How did social services and welfare develop differently in Britain?
The DE Beveridge Report "was altogether more evolutionary than revolutionary in its rhetoric and goals and its implementation had been carried out on a far more localized level by both Church and state. There were only four ‘Giant Evils’ here - Waste, Disease, Indolence and Poverty, a curious selection that raised a number of questions. Its implementation had been far from universal and a number of measures were deferred or altered by the Conservative government after 1948, as the economy took off in the postwar boom. Inquiring after unemployment had revealed that the highest rate since 1947 had been barely 2%, withering away to statistical insignificance by the early 1950s."

There is a bit more done pre WW1 and post WW1 through the funding available to Lloyd George for his 'Homes Fit for Heroes' policy, which combined with a slightly flatter Great Depression, delivers a different basis for the above Beveridge Report to operate within.

103. What caused the prolonged good weather experienced in Britain post WW2?
The use of the Sunstone, a magically created artifact forged at great price:

"As February loomed as an even colder month, the decision was reached by the Ministry of Magic and the Cabinet in London to use the Sunstone, one of the three great magical artifacts forged at such great price to save the world from the dire threat of Nazi Germany in the darkest days of the war. The winds and snow abated and the fields and streets knew warmth once again. Whilst ice floes drifted past the coast of East Anglia, the dweomercraft of the Sunstone protected the sceptred isle from the icy grasp of the wolf winter, albeit only just. The coastal convoys and coal trains kept the vital power stations and the nation’s steam engines running. The winter gave way to a cold and wet spring, with the Thames bursting into flood in March and causing millions of pounds of damage."

The Sunstone was a very powerful artifact that took a lot of power, effort and sacrifice to create. Using it so soon was a very, very difficult decision. Britain has a particular magical resonance/influence after the time of the elves, as do parts of France, Germany and particularly Scandinavia. There are other assorted parts of the world where ley lines converge, creating a 'magical hot spot'.

' “Really? This is fairly normal for a nice June day; they tend to top out at 75 or so. It used to be a bit hotter before the war, but the weather has evened out a bit since ’47. The Sunstone saw to that.”

“Sunstone?”

“Rather bang-on bit of magic that the wizardly types cooked up during the war. I’m not really an expert on that type of thing, but it was bally powerful. It was used in the Great Winter of 46/47 and knocked it for six overnight. Even fifteen years down the line, we still get extremely decent weather – warm summers with plenty of rain at the right time, cold winters that never get intolerable and brilliant springs and autumns in between. I even read somewhere that it has somehow affected crop yields, but that might be something to do with other weather control experiments. Nothing like they’ve achieved out in the Middle East, though.” '

104. What is the superhero situation like?
There are superheroes in many different countries, with varying degrees of allegiance. Many are committed towards making life better for ordinary people, whilst others have more opaque motivations.

105. Why is the Aboriginal population of Australia so small?
It historically hit its nadir in the 1920s, but here, that was exacerbated by the recruitment and service of an Aboriginal battalion for service in the Great War. This took significant casualties, which cut into the already low numbers of adult males, and suffered from influenza related deaths. This has a flow in effect which reverberates for decades to come.

106. Why didn't Katanga go to the Congo Free State?
The southern part of Katanga was claimed by a British expedition arranged by the BSAC and Rhodes, which beat the equivalent of the Stairs Expedition to the punch.

107. How does Scott beat Amundsen to the South Pole?
A combination of preparation, leaving earlier, spending more time preparing in Antarctica (including laying supply depots) and then making an assault on the Pole in the spring of 1911, setting out in September 1911 and reaching the South Pole on November 28th. Captain Oates sacrificed himself on the return journey, which, in combination with more supplies and eating the dogs and ponies, allowed the rest of the expedition to make it back safely.

108. What are the Luna Lines?
Some strange, seemingly artificial markings on the surface of Luna, which still haven’t been explained...

109. Why is railway artillery used in the Korean War?
During the static period of positional warfare, the tactical circumstances were almost ideally suited to railway guns, bearing a strong resemblance to some aspects of the Western Front of the Great War. Once the war went mobile, their role was played out.

110. Why does the Royal Navy operate pocket battleships in WW2 and Korea?
Some smaller 'coastal defence battleships' being built for Portugal in the 1930s were bought by the RN for the duration and employed in limited contexts as double-ended monitors for naval gunfire missions. A couple were bought out of reserve for Korea to cover requirements whilst larger gun-ships were in maintenance/refit.

111. How can dragons operate in a modern combat environment?
By using all of the advantages that an intelligent, highly mobile and magical creature can deploy. Any commander making the mistake of employing them like aircraft would simply be squandering priceless national assets.

112. What is the Bielefeld situation?
It is a take on a relatively obscure online German joke that the city of Bielefeld does not actually exist and is a conspiracy/hoax. The Bielefeld conspiracy is described here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld_conspiracy . On Dark Earth, it actually has some small kernel of truth to it, as the presence of sensitive facilities in Bielefeld lead to a misdirection enchantment being place on them as a protective measure. The spell went awry and now people have issues regarding the city. Somewhere out there, far beyond the doors of perception, a German is laughing

113. It's nice the RN has the strength it has. Did someone accidentally bomb the Treasury?
No. The degree of control exercise by the Treasury/Exchequer over British defence policy is an @ development that developed after WW1 and was considerably exacerbated by the parlous financial situation post WW2. Even then, it took a decade or so before it started to really manifest in the period after 1957 and particularly after 1964. The DE British financial/debt situation is markedly different, and the policy of 'military Keynesianism' was embraced in the 1930s and has yet to be released from the warm hug of government.

114. What public holidays are there in Dark Earth Britain?
Here is a list:
New Year's Day
Good Friday
Easter Saturday
Easter Monday
St George's Day 23/4
May Day 1/5
Empire Day 24/5 (+ Richard the Lionheart killing Genghis Khan in 1225 on May 25th)
Whit Monday (various days in June/Monday after Pentecost)
Queen's Birthday Second Monday in June
Union Day 12/7
Victory Day 25/8
Harvest Thanksgiving 24/9
Trafalgar Day 21/10
Jerusalem Day 15/11
Christmas Day 25/12
Boxing Day 26/12

115. How do people live to such ages?
A combination of greater health and nutrition over time and the long term effects of magic, both that used by humans within the general population and that which effects the natural environment (through ley lines, for example).

116. What happened to Mussolini?
He seemingly escaped in the chaos of the end of the war in Italy and is thought to have been smuggled out to South America. Although there have been rumours and salacious media reports over the years, he hasn't been found; there isn't a lack of people who would be interested in catching up with him.

117. Why is there no Prohibition? What are the consequences?
Whilst there was a lot of localised support for prohibition of alcohol, it never quite built up the cachet to get the support for a constitutional amendment. No Prohibition has a lot of consequences, such as less 'organized' organized crime, a lot of cultural differences, a thriving US wine industry, a surviving temperance movement, different development of stock car racing, no National Firearms Act of 1934 and a different evolution of the FBI, to begin with.

118. What are the major Cold War flashpoints in the 1960s and 70s?
South East Asia, naturally, but then Central Africa and to a certain extent South America. What is absent is the Middle East and any sense of conflict on the Indian subcontinent.

119. Why isn't there an English Civil War?
""Succeeding James to the throne was King Charles I (reigned 1625-1650), whose rule would be dominated by the Thirty Years' War on the Continent. He encountered many struggles with Parliament regarding his religious policies, his marriage to a Roman Catholic queen and the questions of absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings. These were subsumed by the wider conflict against the Holy Roman Empire, Austria and Spain in the Thirty Years' War, where England's forces were vital to the Protestant cause. Fighting took place not only in Europe and the Americas, but in Africa and Asia in what would be the model for many wars to come. Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, was one of the great Protestant field commanders of the war, his successes bettered only by the English general Sir Oliver Cromwell and King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

Rebellions in Ireland and Scotland were suppressed, but Charles was forced to bow to the will of Parliament in order to fund the campaigns and dismissed several key advisers. The Grand Settlement of 1642 instituted a system of mixed government, preventing the growing spectre of open conflict between the Royalist and Parliamentarian parties of the realm, but proving to be only a temporary compromise. King Charles was stricken by terrible apoplexy and slowly recovered over the next three years, constraining the direct exercise of royal authority. The final years of his reign saw his earlier ardour tempered by a preference for consensus, but he is not regarded as one of England's finer kings.

Charles II (1650-1685) was far more successful and popular, winning renown as the 'Merry Monarch' as the profile of Puritanism faded. At home, the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London caused substantial damage and disruption. Two political parties, the Tories and Whigs, began to emerge at this point as the nation continued to transition to a mixed constitutional monarchy. England gained control over Dunkirk and Tangiers through careful diplomacy in the early part of his reign and extended its colonial empire in the Americas and Asia, particularly through the expanded influence of the East India Company. The Anglo-Dutch Wars that raged through much of the second half of the 17th century saw England's naval superiority seriously threatened, but ultimate victory was gained by 1680 in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War after many defeats. Piracy was a particular scourge in the Caribbean during the Caroline period and the Royal Navy established several permanent squadrons in foreign waters as a consequence. The Scientific, Commercial and Arcane Revolutions all reached their high points under Charles II and England supplanted the Netherlands as the wealthiest power in Europe by 1685.

The death of Charles without a male heir saw the throne pass to his brother James, Duke of York. He faced immediate rebellions in Scotland and Ireland from Protestant aristocrats who feared the prospect of a Catholic heir and his Declaration of Indulgence was met with substantial opposition from the Church of England. His moves towards religious toleration were seen as thinly disguised attempts to promote Catholicism. In what was known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688, a group of Protestant nobles invited William of Orange, son-in-law of James II, to invade and take the throne. In a brief campaign, James was routed and forced to flee to the sanctuary of the court of King Louis XIV of France. Parliament passed the Bill of Rights the next year, declaring that James had abandoned his throne and prohibiting any Roman Catholic from ascending to the throne of England or marrying an English monarch. It also set out a number of certain fundamental rights and liberties of Englishmen that remain at the heart of the unwritten Constitution and English law."

So, rather than matters coming to a head, there were some 'circuit-breakers' which reduced some of the tensions between the Crown and Parliament.

120. How does Biggles win two VCs?
His first VC comes in the Great War, shooting down 10 German planes in one day in 1917 over the Battle of Cambrai. His second one came in the Battle of Britain, where he won for his success, valour and leadership during Battle of Britain Day, shooting down 9 Luftwaffe aircraft.

121. How do the Poles take the Reichstag?
Simply enough, they ended up with the clearest run to the Reichstag of multiple forces over the last 24 hours. It wasn't a set up, but the result of a lot of well equipped, well motivated and lavishly supported Polish soldiers pushing through to achieve something extremely historically resonant:

"Five Allied armies had converged on the Nazi capital and smashed through the outer defences of the fortress of Fascism on February 25th 1945. Americans, British, Canadians, Frenchmen and Poles ground steadily through the fanatic resistance of the Waffen SS and the Imperial Guard, spearheaded by bold airborne landings and overwhelming firepower from artillery ranging from hundreds of field guns through to massive 24” and 36” howitzers. Fighting raged on bitterly for two weeks until, at dawn on March 10th 1945, Polish soldiers of the Gwardia Piesza Koronna under their dashing Colonel Count Jan Niemczyk stormed the battered Reichstag. As the sun rose, the Royal Guards cheered as their commander raised their red and white flag over Berlin."

122. How does the British automotive industry develop?
It starts to consolidate in the 1920s, with smaller marques being bought up by larger groups. The most significant development from an external perspective is GM not buying up Vauxhall.

123. The Americans play cricket? What?
Cricket was reasonably popular in the NE United States up until the US Civil War, and this continued for a while afterwards in Philadelphia. Here, it has an even larger pre ACW base, which comes from a bit more English migration, stays reasonably popular in its heartland and manages to get a bit of a niche established through some useful investment in the 1870s and 1880s. Some touring sides from Australia and England contributed to the profile of the game.

124. What happens in the Anglo-Soviet War Scare?
A fair bit of posturing and mobilisation, but ultimately no direct action. Its most significant impact was through the end of any sense of military limitation and the beginning of military modernisation.

125. What is the impact of Prince Albert living until the 20th century?
There are quite a few. Queen Victoria never withdraws to become the 'Widow of Windsor', with a lot of flow on effects upon Victorian popular culture. Albert's sponsorship of and involvement with various scientific and reformist groups would continue, adding a bit more of the mid-Victorian 'vitality' to the 1860s-1890s; it also has a role with some of the major diplomatic crises that occur, given his repute.

Good one, and thanks again for posting this.

It allows some questions that come up reasonably often to be answered, along with interesting ones that are worth collating in one location, to be grouped in one easy to find and nicely formatted post, replete with an introduction channeling the wording of a great 1980s cartoon.

The Vatican has two nuclear devices?

Um . . . why?

Belushi posed the same question in mid 2023, to which this was the answer:

“ Whyfor?

The world is a wicked and dangerous place, with the dangers not limited to other nation states of any ideology. The Vatican is also heavily associated with the Templars (in conjunction with the Crown of England, now the Crown of the United Kingdom etc) who act as a further force in the world; the nuclear arsenal, consisting of a pair of blessed special AA/AG/AS missiles, is kept in the underground fortress of the Vatican for special reasons, both political and otherwise.

How?

Italy is right next door and is a heavily Catholic monarchy, as are Spain and France...”

What is cavorite?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavorite

The Dark Earth version is detailed in Space: The New Frontier:

“ Into this heady atmosphere of rapid technical progress and increasing military urgency came Professor Bertram Shandelwyn Cavor, an eccentric and reclusive scientist and amateur hedge wizard from Arnescote, Oxfordshire who had spent the better part of thirty years researching alchemy and the properties of strange metals from all corners of the globe. In 1859, he declared that he had discovered a new element that he named cavorite. It possessed several remarkable properties, chief of which was that it apparently counteracted the force of gravity. His initial demonstrations to the Royal Society on January 4th 1860 astounded skeptical observers and lead to great acclaim, wild speculation as to its possible uses and the direct attentions of Her Majesty’s Government. Keen to avoid such an important discovery fall into the hands of the French, Russians or Prussians, the Lord Palmerston directed that a committee be formed by the Star Chamber, War Office and Admiralty to secure and study the potential uses of cavorite and protect Professor Cavor from the attentions of unscrupulous foreign agents.

This marked the beginning of what was later variously called the Great Scientific Endeavour or the Imperial Space Programme. In its nascent stages, it concentrated on the military uses of cavorite, particularly as the Trent Crisis threatened war between the British Empire and the United States; one curious investigation focused on its potential use in the construction of a flying ironclad three-deck ship of the line modeled on the formidable HMS Warrior that would be capable of crossing the Atlantic skies to strike at New York City, but the matter was resolved diplomatically through the efforts of Prince Albert before construction could begin. Research subsequently shifted to the optimal means of designing and manufacturing a vessel capable of flight beyond the earth and the exploration of space.

Great impetus was supplied by the activities and polices of Emperor Napoleon III, who was determined that France would not be left behind by their traditional rivals in the quest for greater glory and the advancement of science. There was considerable interest in the concept of space exploration within French society, in part due to the widespread popularity of author and later Minister of Science Jules Verne’s prophetic tale From the Earth to the Moon. There was similar interest in a number of other European capitals, but Berlin, Vienna, Rome and St. Petersburg at this time lacked the capital, industry and scientific might available to Britain and France. Recruitment of balloonists and airship pilots from the Royal Navy and Royal Flying Corps provided the first group of bold and daring aeronauts who would conduct the first dangerous experiments in small cavorite flying craft over England and Scotland in 1866 and 1867; five out of a cohort of twelve perished in fiery crashes or alchemical accidents.

Whilst cavorite provided for the necessary lift and acceleration required to leap from the earth, an effective method of propelling a vessel in the vast beyond remained elusive until the development of the aetheric engine by the Royal School of Wizardry in December 1867. This breakthrough allowed proper control for the first time and provided a realistic means of sending a vessel into space. The testing of alchemical rockets for thrust and maneuver proved relatively successful and they were deemed sufficient to boost a ship up into the void and back once more to the terrestrial realm. News that the French had begun construction of a enormous Columbiad super gun in February 1869 pushed forward the British schedule and a scale model aetheric engined spacecraft guided by a sorcerous receptor crystal was launched on a test flight in 1870, flying from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 23 minutes. This was followed by the beginning of construction of a full sized vessel in 1871, the Adventure.”