Thanks for your advice so far, and
Judge, yeah maybe I was being a little melodramatic with my use of the word 'slammed' but I did seem to offend people when that was not my intention and I had no idea it would rankle some people that much (don't worry in a moderator-sense about it though, I didn't take it personally and I'm not gonna start a 'flame war' over it or nothing, I have a bit more class than that
)
Basically, in the storyline EVERYTHING that happens after world war II is fiction, and while some things can be seen as analogous to real world events in their themes, no actual events or people are referenced at all... Also, every alternate timeline event is there for the sake of the story (it is about god-like forces altering destiny, and the suggestion is that without these influences the real world would have happened instead), and if it doesn't actively involve the major characters, it heavily influences their lives and story-arcs...
Here is an excerpt from the alternate timeline history, its written for me to use as notes so does not need critting or anything, but if people were willing to point out events that they are offended by I would know what to handle more delicately or try to rework entirely...
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June 1944 onwards
(During “I, Addam – Part I: The Conception)
As the allied forces close in on Berlin in the final days of the war, British troops capture a young Dutch scientist who has been working for the Nazis since before the start of the war. The prisoner is wanted so badly by the Americans, who are recruiting for ‘Operation Paperclip’, that they are willing to agree to a prisoner exchange, handing Werner Von Braun to the British to face trial for his role in the blitz (he developed the V2 flying bombs that ravaged England.)
(NOTE – Von Braun is not seen on-screen, and is the one and only ‘real world’ character directly referenced in the entire storyline, EVERY OTHER PERSON is fictional.)
Britain is therefore the first country with access to ICBM technology, making them the first superpower in the world. Due to the distrust of Britain’s growing power amongst the fledgling European Union, they are not invited to join the group of nations and are forced to strengthen their ties with the rest of the Commonwealth to remain competitive against the growing single market. Because they are so ostracised by the rest of the world, this re-formed Commonwealth becomes much more separatist and militaristic than Britain or any of the member nations are in the real world.
Because of the former colonies desire for independence, the Commonwealth is NOT just a continuation of the old British Empire, but a federalist union of independent member-states. Just like in any union of this kind there are however the ‘leading nations’ within the Commonwealth (just like France and Germany are seen as the leading nations in the EU in the real world). These five leading nations are Britain, Australia, Canada, a non-apartheid South Africa and Nigeria (Nigeria primarily because of the vast oil reserves there and the money and influence it has because of this.)
Because of their superiority with rocket technology, the Commonwealth Space Agency (CSA) also lead the space race, with Albion-1 becoming the first broadcast satellite in orbit (instead of Sputnik), and the Excalibur Programme both orbiting and landing on the moon first (instead of the Apollo Programme.) Unwilling to adhere to the UN mandate saying that no one nation can lay claim to the moon, the CSA announce to the world that the moon belongs to the Commonwealth, and they claim it in the name of the King. (Head of the fictional royal family in Britain.)
Also, as the Commonwealth is the major competitor to the US there is no cold-war between America and Russia, the US seeing the increasingly federalism of both the Commonwealth and the EU as a bigger threat to their nation than Communism is (plus, with Canada as one of the leading nations within the Commonwealth, that enemy is right on their doorstep.) America’s relations with Russia, throughout the storyline, are much more similar to their relationship at the moment in the real world (i.e. not enemies, but not exactly the best of friends either.)
September 1974
(During “I, Addam - Part II: The Ascension”)
The British government place nuclear equipped ICBM in various countries around the Commonwealth, to prevent their stockpiles being centralised in one small country. Building missile bases in Australia, India, Nigeria, South Africa and Canada, the Commonwealth are brought into political conflict with their sole ally in the world, America. As a tense nuclear stand off begins between the Commonwealth and the US, referred to as the Ontario Missile Crisis (analogous to the Cuban missile Crisis in the real world), the Commonwealth refuse to stand down in the face of American threats.
Evicting the US air force and military bases across the Commonwealth, they also begin construction of missile bases in the British Virgin Isles and Belize, daring the US to act against them. The Americans, knowing they have no hope of defeating the Commonwealth, stand down and recall their ambassadors from across the Commonwealth. This sets in motion both the cold-war between America and the Commonwealth, and serves to strengthen ties between the US and the European Union. The US troops forcibly removed from the Commonwealth are stationed across the EU (mainly in Germany and the Netherlands, but also in France) in preparation for a potential war against the Commonwealth.
Elsewhere, following the rise in sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, the increasingly militaristic Commonwealth begin an invasion of Ireland, returning the whole country to British control and wiping out the Republican threat with summary executions of all those suspected of involvement throughout both Ireland and Northern Ireland. The entire nation becomes little more than a British military garrison, and its first line of defence against any potential naval invasion from America. The European Union, in spite of the invasion of one of their founding members, is powerless to act in the face of the Commonwealth’s military superiority, and forges even closer ties with the US. (In this timeline, NATO was set up to provide joint—defence against Britain and the Commonwealth, NOT Russia.)
1982 – 1988
(During “Chosen Son – Part I: Herald”)
American interests across the globe (primarily military bases and embassies, but also oil production) come under terrorist attack by a group known as the True World Movement. Believed to be based in Moscow, this group claims to be fighting against an above-government level conspiracy that is manipulating both the political and secret-service of America into starting a third world war against the Commonwealth. As these attacks happen all across the globe, primarily in EU and non-Commonwealth African countries, the US leads a multinational program against these terrorists, alongside the EU, Russia and China.
The Commonwealth however, refuse to become involved (the True World Movement have not targeted them, there are no US interests in their member states following the Ontario Missile Crisis, and the leaders of the Commonwealth are taking the ‘enemy of my enemy’ stance concerning the terrorists.)
Even through they are not officially joining the battle against the True World Movement, negotiations between the Commonwealth and the rest of the world leads to a slight thawing of the Cold-war that has existed since the Ontario Missile Crisis, and an exchange of ambassadors is negotiated by the new US President Robert Greene, and the now leader of the House of Lords in Britain, Lord Michael Vaughan. Within days of his arrival in Britain, the new US Ambassador is assassinated by members of the True World Movement.
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Thanks again for all your help so far...
Jammill
