Alaternate History Snippets to explain the Start of the Twilight War.

[kato13]

In another thread, I mentioned how succinctly Red Dawn build the alternate history (future at the time) to do the heavy lifting of world building. I erroneously thought it was 7, but it was 9 and they are below.

• The Soviet Union's worst wheat harvest in 55 years
• Labor and food riots in Poland
• Soviet troops invade
• Cuba and Nicaragua reach troop strength goals of 500,000
• El Salvador and Honduras fall
• Greens Party gains control of West German Parliament
  Demands withdrawal of nuclear weapons from European soil
• Mexico plunged into revolution
• NATO dissolves
• United States stands alone

While dealing with my general insomnia last night, I wondered if one could come up with a similar simple, elegant list to get the world where it needs to be. It probably would have to be longer but fitting it onto a page would be interesting. Year or year ranges might be helpful to add.

Here are some non canon ones I have come up with please share any ideas you might have.

• 1970 - While building new defensive structures, the Soviet Union's discovers massive Gold, Rare Earths, and Oil reserves near their disputed Chinese Border.
• 1972-1975 Khabarovsk - Vladivostok Pipeline completed hugging the Chinese border and supplying more oil to East and South East Asia then the US and Middle East Combined due to restricted middle east production.
• 1974-1984 Soviets Recruit the Walker - Hansen - Ames - Pelton - Bailey - Cervantes - Keller - Mcgrath - Palmer - Acosta - Johnston Spy rings who are effective throughout the Cold War into the Hot War (I randomized most of these names if you have interesting substitutions let me know)
• 1976 As Gold and Palladium (as well as new soviet tech chips using both metals) reach the USSR (and to a lesser extent the Warsaw pact) a small Renaissance occurs behind the iron Curtain
• 1986 - Leading computer chip developer Dr Miles Bennett Dyson killed and all his work destroyed by unidentified female terrorist.
• 1990 - While Crafting the "High Performance Computing Act" Senator Al Gore is killed in an Automobile Accident.

[Claidheamh]

Wow, Dyson's line of computer research was just terminated?

[lordroel]

Originally Posted by kato13

In another thread, I mentioned how succinctly Red Dawn build the alternate history (future at the time) to do the heavy lifting of world building. I erroneously thought it was 7, but it was 9 and they are below.

• The Soviet Union's worst wheat harvest in 55 years
• Labor and food riots in Poland
• Soviet troops invade
• Cuba and Nicaragua reach troop strength goals of 500,000
• El Salvador and Honduras fall
• Greens Party gains control of West German Parliament
  Demands withdrawal of nuclear weapons from European soil
• Mexico plunged into revolution
• NATO dissolves
• United States stands alone

Found this once below, it is the extended TL they made for the movie, can be found in the movie film script:

- El Salvador Militarily Untenable.
- President Reagan blames congressional restraints.
- Labor and Food Riots in Poland.
- Communist Party declares emergency. Soviet troops invade.
- Economic Boycotts upon Soviet Regime.
- Western Europe wavers.
- Cuba and Nicaragua Reach Troop Strength Goals of 500,000 Men Combined.
- Greens Party Gains Control of West German Parliament. Demands withdrawal of nuclear weapons from European soil.
- France Signs Non-Aggression Pact with Soviets.
- Cuban and Sandinista Governments Form CAPA (Central American Peoples Alliance).
- Revolution in Mexico.
- Japan and European Common Market Sign Trade Agreements with Moscow.
- NATO dissolves.
- Soviet Union suffers Worst Wheat Harvest in 55 Years.
- Cuban Advisors Sent to Mexican Civil War.
- Moscow and CAPA recognize Revolutionary Provisional Government of Mexico.
- United States Stands Alone.

[Raellus]

Last night, I watched the first two episodes of For All Mankind on Apple TV+. If you're not familiar with the show's premise, the initial Apollo moon mission ends in fiery death, prompting the NASA program managers to pursue a more cautious approach on subsequent missions. As a result, the Soviets land a manned mission on the moon first. I don't want to spoil the show for anyone interested in watching, but the afore mentioned role-reversal sets off a further chain of alternate historical events, leading to a more militarized Cold War space race... (I'm looking forward to watching what happens next).

What I've seen so far got me thinking what the ramifications of a more successful Soviet space program- how this might be a way to explain how the Soviet Union could survive, and even thrive, into the 1990s, in an alternate history timeline.

-

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Last night, I watched the first two episodes of For All Mankind on Apple TV+.

I love For All Mankind! The further along its timeline goes, the more interesting the differences from our own.