Alexander’s empire survived his death on several other parallel Earths. On IskanderIskander1 (Q4, current ear 1!"#$, Alexander lived another !# ears and passed the cro%n on to his son Alexander I&. I&. 'he '4 'hird )acedonian Empire rules *rom +ashmir to &enice under a decadent uddhist 'urkish dnast its main rivals are the ov/orodi cit-states o* the altic, a militant 0indu kin/dom in en/al, and ranco-2axon ranco-2axon 3aul. On Iskander- (Q5, current ear "6$, Alexander turned %est a*ter con7uerin/ 8ersia and crushed 9ome under*oot the ' )acedonian Empire (*ollo%in/ the evan/elistic )ouametic version o* :hristianit$ is preparin/ hol crusades a/ainst the )anichean re;els in :artha/e and the schismatic estorian 3upta Empire in India. On lskander-4 lskander-4 (Q", current ear 66 A.<.$, althou/h Alexander still died in a;lon, Anti/onos preserved the empire’s unit at the attle o* Ipsus in #1 .:. 9ome has ;een penned up %est o* the Adriatic and ;roken into s7ua;;lin/ provinces. 'he %orld is '!. On lskander-6 lskander-6 (Q, current ear 16#6$, Alexander’s empire lasted lon/ enou/h to produce 0ellenistic successor states in 3aul, 2pain, and ritain capa;le o* =/htin/ o> the 3ermans, %ho invaded the ear East instead, eventuall sendin/ the 0uns and 'urks 'urks east into India and :hina. 'he :eltic-0ellenistic kin/doms o* the orth Atlantic coasts are '(4?1$ the 3erman- 8ersian kin/doms *rom Armenia to the 3an/es, and the %elter o* %arrin/ :hinese states, are '. On )andeville (In=nite @orlds, p. 1"$, Alexander’s con7uests someho% matched the medieval Alexander 9omance 9omance le/ends, includin/ his descent to the sea oor in a divin/ ;ell, his /riBn-dra%n chariot, his courtship ; the 7ueen o* the AmaCons, and the %all o* ;rass he ;uilt across the north to keep the /iants out. 2iva-1 (Q6, current ear !##4$ certainl is ;e/innin/ in the *ourth centur .:., a sect o* psionic /urus kno%n as the 2ons o* the 'irthankaras 'irthankaras ;e/an spreadin/ a po%er*ul meme (or possi;l a /lo;al mind control /estalt$ o* total peace and nonviolence. o %ar has happened an%here on 2iva-1 since the discover o* America in "#6 A.<. 'he uddhist )aura empire o* Asoka survived until 46 A.<. in 2iva-! (Q", current ear 156$, sendin/ missionaries *rom Ireland to Dapan and ;rin/in/ kno%led/e ;ack to India. 'he stron/er uddhist presence in :hina and Europe *ra/ments them culturall the '6 uddhist states in India (especiall the )ahara o* &anarasi$ and Dapan continue to expand and dominate Europe, Australia, and the Americas. Another paci=st Fnited India, this one the sole survivin/ po%er a*ter a 1G44-1G46 nuclear @@II, dominates 2iva- (Q", current ear 1GH1$. In exchan/e *or Indian re;uildin/ help, survivin/ communities must em;race nonviolence. On 2iva-4 (Q4, current ear 1H""$, a lar/er De%ish population exiled *rom E/pt ; the Emperor 0adrian *ormed colonies in India, %hich eventuall connected the
)o/ul Empire suBcientl to developments in Europe that it %as a;le to adapt steam technolo/ and pla ritain, 0olland, and rance o> a/ainst each other. other. 'he )o/uls con7uered the European tradin/ posts durin/ the apoleonic @ars and have a '6 econom several times the siCe o* ritain’s. On 2iva-" (Q4, current ear 16GG$, Dulian the Apostate survived as 9oman Emperor in " A.<. and con7uered 8ersia, drivin/ the :hristians east to India and :entral Asia. 'he :hristian 'urks 'urks %a/ed hol %ar a/ainst the )ithraist empires o* the %est and the :on*ucian and 0indu states o* the east, ;rin/in/ ;lock printin/ south %ith them in the 11th centur. centur. 'heir Indian sultanates sponsored printin/ presses, accidentall tri//erin/ a scienti=c revolution durin/ de;ates %ith 0indu astronomers. Alon/ %ith :hristianit, the lack . India is the center o* the 'H %orld, ;ut on the ver/e o* tearin/ itsel* apart in reli/ious %ar*are. %ar*are. 'a*t-! 'a*t-! (Q4, current current ear 1G"H$ On this this lo%-mana %orldline, 'a*t %on the nomination nomination in 1G4# and kept America out o* @@II. ritain *ou/ht 3erman to a standstill ; 1G4! 3erman and 9ussia made a separate peace in 1G44 the @ehrmacht overthre% 0immler in 1G4G a*ter his attempt to summon @otan ;ack=red. 'he ritish :ommon%ealth and the Europa-&erein Europa-&erein compete in space *or /lo;al leadership Js%in/in/ ondonK and Jmod erlinK compete to ;e the sorcerous capital o* the %orld. 'a*t- 'a*t- (Q", 1GG5$ 1GG5$ As noted on p. 6!H, 6!H, 'a*t- 'a*t- su>ered a cataclsmic solar storm storm in 1G#H, *ollo%ed ; a stead increase in a peculiar steriliCin/ radiation, %hich contri;uted to the panic o* the
and 2oviets are competin/ to reach the ship =rst, drivin/ aerospace, at least, to '(5?!$ In=nit and :entrum are are also trin/ to crash-;uild parachronic spacecra*t spacecra*t that can reach the o;ect %hile remainin/ stealth enou/h to keep the 2ecret *rom t%o ver suspicious, alert superpo%ers. 'a*t-" 'a*t-" (Q6, 1G6"$ 1G6"$ 0ere, ; contrast, contrast, nothin/ unto%ard seems to have happened, not even to 8resident and )rs. 'a*t. 'a*t. (In this %orldline, she never su>ered her de;ilitatin/ stroke, and he hasn’t /ot his cancer.$ Instead, 'a*t is still in his second term as president, havin/ pushed throu/h maor civil ri/hts and anti-discrimination le/islation, demo;ili demo;iliCed Ced the national securit state (except the av and a nuclear deterrent$, and rolled ;ack *ederal expansion and re/ulation in the econom. econom. In=nit has a/ents roamin/ America and the %orld checkin/ ever monster and FO si/htin/ L and since this lo%-mana parallel has 7uite a *e% normal-mana patches, there’s a lot o* them. ut the 8atrol 8atrol has *ound no ;re%in/ cataclsms, and no;od seems to practice ma/ic openl, %hich means that the :a;al ma alread have taken over here. Or it means somethin/ else . . .
capitalism to 2un-Mat 2en’s :hinese 9epu;lic.'he 2ummer @ars o* the 1G6#s ;rou/ht do%n the ritish and Dapanese monarchies, ;ut the victorious po%ers 7uarreled over the spoils and *ailed to extirpate :hina’s ;oomin/ econom, %hich as al%as relied ver little on overseas trade. the th e late !#th centur, the stresses st resses o* socialist economics had ;adl dama/ed the environment. Dust as the 0 omeline 2oviet Fnion poisoned %hole river ;asins and lakes, in enin- ! the entire industrial %orld (except, oddl, oddl, :hina$ ;e/an to choke on its o%n =lth. 'he :ommunist po%ers ;lamed the :hinese capitalists, o* course, and declared the Autumn @ar in !### as a crusade to end capitalism and de*eat pollution. In *act, the olsheviks in 9ussia, the <+A8 in )itteleuropa, and the :hristian :ommunist :on/ressional 8art in the F22A *ou/ht each other almost as much as the *ou/ht the :hinese. 'he nuclear exchan/es didn’t do nearl as much dama/e as did the total ecolo/ical collapse. 'he 3ul* 2tream shut do%n do%n and shi*ted /lo;al /lo;al %eather patterns. patterns. :atastrophic %armin/ melted the ice caps and ooded the coastlines me/a-storms tore throu/h the deserti=ed continental interiors mass extinctions %recked the *e% survivin/ *arms and *orests. )ost o* the *e% million poisoned, din/ survivors in the current ear !#!1 are at ' at ;est. 'he :hinese remnants alon/ the dro%ned coastlines and interior districts are at '4N5 thanks to (;arel$ survivin/ industrial technolo/ :hina %as pro;a;l at 'H ; the Autumn @ar, %ith desperate experiments perhaps reachin/ '1#. At least one :hinese Orion drive(nuclear-explosion drive(nuclear-explosion propelled$ ship li*ted o> in 1GGG *or an unkno%n destination others ma have escaped durin/ the %ar. A *e% :hinese received experimental /enetic /ra*ts, hope*ull allo%in/ them to survive ecolo/ical disaster. Althou/h )iracle @orkers and the 8atrol are trin/ to repair enin-!, the chances look /rim talented locals such as in/ a (p. !!$ receive priorit *or outtime recruitin/, to save a *e% people ;e*ore the inevita;le chokin/ doom as the last o* the plankton die o>. On enin- (Q", current ear !##4$, )ussolini staed :ommunist and his /overnment supported the :atalan %orkers, %ho %ere the anti-2oviet, anti-ascist Jthird *orceK in 2pain durin/ the 1G"-1GG @ar. )exico’s :ardPnas ;rou/ht his o%n socialist /overnment into )ussolini’s Janti)osco% 2ocialist AxisK in 1GH, and )ussolini’s Axis staed neutral durin/ Jthe inter-*ascist stru//leK o* @orld @ar @ar II. 'he F.2.-F.+. alliance took an increasin/l technocratic stance a*ter the %ar, and launched a series o* hu/e hu /e /overnment J)anhattan Initiatives.K 3overnment scientists intended proects like like the )oon shots, the *uel-cell car (caused ; concern over Iran’s socialist /overnment oinin/ the Axis in 1G6$, the :oncord stratoet, and so *orth to maintain the @est’s @est’s lead, even a*ter the 2oviet collapse in the 1G"#s. 'his uneven development path leaves leaves enin- '" in some areas areas (like personal personal
electronics and a/riculture$, '5-H in most thin/s, and 'G in hi/hpro=le /ad/ets like moon colonies, *uel cells, and supersonic aircra*t. On enin-4 (Q", current ear !#!5$, a more severe @estern recession in the 1G5#s *orced perestroika perestroika a decade earl, %ith the Fnited 2tates in a position o* %eakness. 'he F.2. and F229 a/reed a/reed to cooperate industriall industriall and economicall economicall to dominate the Earth and space. 'he are challen/ed ; a nonali/ned movement centered in rasilia, the Fnited 8eoples o* Earth, and ; a ne%l *ormed aerospace me/acorporation, 'erradne, Inc. 'he 8atrol 8atrol carelessl uses the Jenin JeninK K pre=x to note other %orlds %orlds %ith important variances *rom 0omeline socialist histor. histor. On enin-6 (Q6, current ear 1G"6$, ukharin, not 2talin, took over the 2oviet Fnion in 1G!4. ukharin did not pur/e the 9ed Arm, %hich easil thre% ;ack Operation ar;arossa in 1G41, causin/ a @ehrmacht coup a/ainst 0itler that a;orted the @ar. 3eneral hukov took over a*ter ukharin’s death in 1G6", denouncin/ him and revealin/ the /ula/s to the @est. hukov hukov is pursuin/ *ull rapprochement %ith the F.2. a/ainst )ao’s :hina *ascist 3erman remains neutral. On enin-" (Q, current ear 1G!!$, akunin %on the dispute over )arx at the 1H5! irst International, and socialist anarchism remains th e pro/ressive %ave o* the *uture amon/ the intelli/entsia. +ropotkin’s akuninite soviets overthre% the cCars in 1G1H the resultin/ collectives are =/htin/ a desperate, un or/aniCed %ar a/ainst ritish and Dapanese invaders, %ho are allied %ith )arxist death s7uads directed ; enin, 'rotsk, and a nd e can =eld. attles a/ainst the @ehrmacht in India and 2i;eria have ;een less success*ul, ;ut America is slo%l assem;lin/ a /i/antic invasion *orce in Iceland, and as et the 3ermans have no idea o* its intended tar/et. On 9eich- (Q6, current ear 1G5#$, Dapan struck 9ussian &ladivostok rather than 8earl 0ar;or in 1G41. 'he isolationist Fnited 2tates staed out o* %ar and never *ull *unded nuclear research. Dapan and 3erman divided Eurasia, isolatin/ the Fnited 2tates still *urther. )ost o* 2outh America is 3erman-ali/ned (thou/h Ecuador and &eneCuela are Dapanese clients, and raCil is ostentatiousl neutral$. Onl :anada and )exico remain closel allied %ith the Fnited 2tates (:anada, %ith
a lar/e votin/ ;ase o* F.+. re*u/ees and their children, is in *act *ar more committed to resistin/ the Axis po%ers than the F.2.$ ut the Fnited 2tates still %ields inuence in the :ari;;ean that 3erman covets, and its continued possession o* 0a%aii strikes Dapan as an a>ront. @hile conict ;et%een the t%o Axis empires is risin/ alon/ their common ;orders, the have thus *ar determined to ta;le those issues until the last o* the An/lo-2axon po%ers can ;e properl hum;led. On 9eich-4 (Q4, current ear 1GHH$ the @ehrmacht ;roke enin/rad’s de*enses in 1G41. 1G46 onl 3erman and Dapan succeeded in developin/ nuclear %eapons, %hich the used to cement their victor. victor. 0eav investments in anti-aircra*t de*enses ; the Fnited 2tates %ere ne/ated ; the 3erman ;allistic missiles, %hose =rst nuclear strike destroed industrial centers and troop *ormations alike. American resistance %as ;rave, ;ut ultimatel *utile. 'he Dapanese provided the ;ulk o* the occupation troops *rom their empire, and the Axis po%ers split orth America ;et%een them. @ithout a common enem, the t%o superstates, each convinced o* the supremac o* their rulin/ race, soon turned on one another. another. In 1G5G, dispute over 8ersian 3ul* oil rapidl escalated, and tri//ered a 3erman =rst strike that decapitated the Dapanese Empire and and destroed enou/h o* its its nuclear capa;ilit to leave 3erman as a *unctionin/ state. ut the de *acto ruler o* the %orld, a*ter heav losses, is =ndin/ it diBcult to =nd the personnel to administer its ne% territories. (And, on vie%in/ the devastation, the 3ermans are like%ise =ndin/ it diBcult to summon the %here%ithal to ;other, aCi doctrines re/ardin/ le;ensraum and th e racial destin to rule not%ithstandin/.$ 9eich-6 (Q, current ear !#1#$ is covered one 3reen (p. 61$. On ritannica-1 (Q6, current ear !##1$, the American colonies splintered a*ter independence to ;ecome a Cone o* prox %ars ;et%een the European po%ers. Fndistracted and eventuall economicall predominant in America, the ritish Empire de*eated apoleon (15G!-1H#G$, 9ussia (1H64-1H6"$, 3erman t%ice (1G1#1G14 and 1G"-1G4#$, and the 2oviet Fnion (1G6H-1G"$. 'he olshevist @ar ended %ith '5 ritain holdin/ a near-complete near-complete monopol on space travel tr avel and a ne% 8ax ritannica un*oldin/ ;e*ore it no% 'H. 'he '(6?!$ Empire Empire o* ritannica-! (Q", current current ear 1G"$ diver/es in 1H!4, %ith the death o* Dohn Quinc Adams. 8rime )inister :annin/ easil outmaneuvered 8resident 0enr :la, and the ritish o;tained a *ull claim to Ore/on, %hich the expanded into :ali*ornia :ali*ornia in 1H4" to secure their icara/uan :anal. ('he canal %as ver use*ul in the 1H"! intervention that separated the American :on*ederac as a ritish puppet.$ 'he 9a extends *rom 'hi;et to 8ersia, ritish capital dominates the *actories o* the 3ermanies throu/h 0anover and 0olland, and a ritish rail%a runs *rom the :ape to :airo. In=nit is unsure ho% much o* this is due to :entrum manipulation the timeline has ;een part o* one 3reen *or over a decade. )ore
%orrisome are the hints that the Empire has developed time travel, %hich i* true %ould explain the un;roken un;roken run o* ritish luck since 1H!4. On '" ritannica-4 (Q6, current ear 1G#1$, @ashin/ton %as a;le to ;rin/ up enou/h troops to capture ritish suppl depots in e% Derse and ;esie/e e% Mork in 1555. rance umped in and stripped ritain o* its tropical colonies 3eor/e III %ent mad and the th e 8rince 9e/ent *ormed a /overnment led ; ox ox and his @hi/ cronies. En/land industrialiCed and radicaliCed as rance ossi=ed ; the 1H"#s, it %as democratic and over%helmin/l prosperous. Its J*reelance anti-imperialsK intervened in the American :ivil @ar a/ainst slaver, intri/ued %ith the sepos %ho overthre% rench rench India, and ran /uns to re;els a/ainst ranco-9ussian-dominated ranco-9ussian-dominated :hina. 8rime )inister 9hodes and 8resident 9oosevelt have su//ested a democratic En/lish-2peakin/ Fnion %ith the :anadian and Australian 9epu;lics L almost certainl a :entrum plot in some *ashion, ;ut hard to oppose *or In=nit %ithout aidin/ :ontinental despotism. Other ritannicas diver/e more stron/l still ritannica-6 is a steampunk realit a;sor;ed into one 3reen a decade a/o. ritannica-" (Q", current ear 1HH5$ diver/ed %ith the survival o* the 8rincess :harlotte in 1H15 to ;ecome Queen :harlotte in 1H# and spa%n a vast ne% roal *amil, all o* %hom continuousl intri/ue a/ainst each other, exile each other to remote colonial *ortresses, and sponsor senseless, /randiose '(6?!$ en/ineerin/ proects such as the :hannel rid/e, the Ice 9oman rule in "# A.<. and esta;lished a matriarchal :eltic tri;al union, rittia, that spread into Ireland and 2cotland over the next centuries. An Irish cultural-technical upsur/e in the sixth throu/h ei/hth centuries extended rittia across the orth Atlantic and its inuence deep into Europe it has alternated hol %ars and ver pro=ta;le intellectual intellectual exchan/e (reachin/ (reachin/ '4$ %ith the 2aracen :aliphate in 9ome *or the last !## ears. A Jdinosaur-killerK Jdinosaur-killerK meteorite struck uci*er-1 (Q5, current ear 1GG1$ in 1HHH, o;literatin/ human li*e ever%here except e% ealand. :ontinued volcanism in the orthern 0emisphere has rendered almost the entire atmosphere nearl un;reatha;le the e% ealand survivors are reduced to '! sava/er. sava/er. On uci*er-! (Q, current ear 14G!$ the J:anter;ur EventK (a meteorite s%arm strikin/ the )oon in 115H$ missed the )oon and plo%ed across the Eastern 0emisphere, %ipin/ out ur;an civiliCation and usherin/ in a ne% Ice A/e. 'he dominant civiliCations are the Amara Empire alon/ the raCilian coast and a )usko/ean con*ederation in the Ohio &alle, ;oth '!. In uci*er- uci*er- (Q6, current ear !##4$, radiation *rom a near; supernova su pernova or /ammara ;urster steriliCed the sur*ace o* Earth in 1G5G. 0omeliners are sstematicall
lootin/ the ruins o* its '5 human civiliCation *or survivin/ art treasures and re=ned ra% materials. uci*er-4 uci*er-4 (Q, current ear "4,4#,!!6 .:.$ is a late-:retaceous parallel %here the iridium meteorite has ust *allen in the Mucatan (p. H4$. On the normal-mana n ormal-mana %orld uci*er-" uci*er-" (Q, current ear 545 .:.$ an eccentric comet entered an JEarth-/raCin/K or;it around !6# .:., causin/ catastrophic %eather shi*ts ever 4## ears. a;lonian and E/ptian %iCards plan to invade and con7uer the comet %hen it comes ;ack around next ear. ear. In=nit kno%s o* several other parallels %here histor diver/ed to vault )uslim po%ers into predominant roles. :aliph is the onl one more advanced than 0omeline, althou/h Dihad-! (Q6, current ear 14!G$, in %hich :onstantinople *ell to the Ara;s in "5" and Europe Eu rope *ollo%ed, is %ell into a '6 industrial revolution. In Dihad-1 (Q6, current ear 1HH1$, %here the Ara;s de*eated the ranks at 'ours in 5!, )uslim aranistan aranistan is still sta/natin/ %ith the rest o* the %orld at '4. In Ottoman-1 (Q", current ear 15""$, the 'urks 'urks took &ienna in 16!G and marched to 9ome and the 9hine the An/lo-2panish alliance is /in/erl pressin/ ;ack into the *ra/mented tai*a states o* rance and 3erman '4. 'he 'urkish 'urkish empire in Ottoman-! (Q", (Q", current ear 15""$ 15""$ extends over a hu/e part part o* Asia, 9ussia, and India as the Ottomans turned east to s%allo% 'amerlane’s 'amerlane’s empire upon his death. 'he Europeans the ne/lected are movin/ into '6, ho%ever. Ottoman- (Q4, current ear 1"4#$ also diver/es %ith 'amerlane, 'amerlane, %ho con7uered :hina in the 1G#s and *orci;l converted it to Islam. @ith 'amerlane 'amerlane occupied in the East, the Ottomans took :onstantinople in 14#6 and s%allo%ed Europe to the El;e. oth '4 )uslim empires (and the remainder o* )uscov$ are %racked %ith revolts and *amine *rom 3erman to )anchuria. In Ottoman-4 (Q5, current ear 1H51$, )ehmet the :on7ueror survived lon/ en ou/h to complete his invasion o* Ital in 14H1, a;ortin/ the 9enaissance. 'he '" Ottomans control the )editerranean and :ari;;ean ;oth, and are racin/ the )o/uls to A*rican colonies. Andalus (Q4, current ear 1G#$, in %hich the )uslims o* 2pain thre% ;ack the 9econ7uista and %ent on to discover America in 14H4, achievin/ '" in rivalr %ith Dapan, 2axon, 2axon, and 9ussia. Isma’il (Q4, current ear 16G4$ in %hich the 2a*avids de*eated the Ottomans in 161! and ;uilt a millenarian '4 2hi’ite empire stretchin/ *rom India to Al/iers.
+hedive (Q", current ear 1G41$ in %hich )ehmet Ali’s moderniCation pro/ram in E/pt achieved industrial takeo> in the 1H"#s, allo%in/ E/pt to a;sor; most o* northern A*rica and the )iddle East and ;ecome a '5 /reat po%er holdin/ the ;alance ;et%een ritain, 3erman, and 9ussia.
