“For the past several months, we’ve been tracking their culture through radio and with some on-the-ground Explorers. There is no internet and limited television on their planet. And, no, don’t ask how we do it. We just do.
“I know the Commandant gave you some background, but our job is to not only give you more background but to get you up to speed on the culture so you don’t get tripped up, and we’ve got a lot to cover.
“Now, how many of you have experienced three or more cultures, including Hayek, either by living or traveling in foreign lands?”
Everyone raised their hands.
“Good. So, you’ve got a leg up on most native Hayekers. They’ve only experienced one culture, which makes this kind of work difficult for them.
“I’m sure the Commandant told you all about this new and exciting venture, but my job is to make sure you get accurate information. So, whatever the Commandant told you, forget it.”
Bill was a bit uncomfortable with that. Hell, Jack probably knows more in his little pinky than these two doofuses do.
As if reading his mind, Ross said, “And don’t think the Commandant knows more in his little pinky than us. There’s a reason we’re teaching this, and he’s not. We’re the experts on cultures and societies.”
A map appeared on the screen. It was a map of North America, or Ti’icham as it was known on Hayek, but it was different. Instead of the three countries of Canada, the United States, and Mexico that existed on Earth, or the biome-driven Cantons that made up Hayek, this map had a number of countries displayed on it. The United States still existed, but it was a fraction of the one on Earth, consisting mainly of that part of the continent bordered by Maryland and Virginia on the east to the St. Lawrence River, and extending as far west as the western Dakotas border. North of the U.S. and the Great Lakes was the country of Quebec.
The Confederate States of America included parts of most of those that existed on the timeline of Bill’s Earth, with the exception of Texas, which was its own country. Carved out of the Appalachian Mountains and extending across the continent to the Great Plains just north of Texas, and encompassing the Ozark Mountains, were the Independent States of Franklin. South of Texas, from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Coast, were the Confederated States of Mexico, with the United States of Mexico below them. The CSM consisted of the northern states of Earth’s Mexico, including the entire Baja Peninsula.
The Pacific Coast, north of the CSM to the Arctic was the Republic of California, while the basin and range interior of North America was occupied by the country of Deseret.
The geographer in Bill considered the map, and he thought, That makes sense. If you’re gonna break it up into cultures, that is. But why?
“So, as you can see, North America looks a bit different than what you’re used to. Any guesses why?” Ross asked.
Matt said, “Well, the Commandant said that the South legally seceded from the U.S. back in 1860, so no war took place.”
“Correct,” Ross said. “But, there’s a bit more to it than that. South Carolina first tried to secede by taking the matter to court. Their suit was rejected at the district court level, the court of appeals, and finally in the Supreme Court. Not to be thwarted, after the Supreme Court rejected their actions, they managed to get an amendment passed allowing states to willingly secede from the Union. On this timeline, that was the 13th Amendment. Apparently, enough northern states were desirous of letting South Carolina leave. Anyhow, once the amendment passed, a bunch of other states also seceded and joined South Carolina, forming the Confederate States of America.
“On Earth, the South lost. On this planet, which we’re calling Discordia, the South didn’t. It legally seceded. And that’s created a whole ‘nother dimension.”
Pointing to the map, Ross continued, “Notice how the CSA doesn’t include the Appalachian Mountains or Texas?”
The men nodded.
“That’s because of culture. I’ll let Mike tell you more about that,” she said, nodding toward Williams.
Mike took a step forward and said, “I’m sure most of you are familiar with U.S. history, at least to the extent taught in high school or college. On our Earth’s timeline, a bunch of people, mostly from England, settled in North America, starting with the Pilgrims. Over time, they came together to protest King George’s taxes, eventually declaring independence from England, and with a little bit of help from the French, won it. Of course, the newly formed United States had its issues, the biggest of which was slavery. This led to the slave states seceding under the guise of ‘state’s rights’,” Williams used his fingers as air quotes, “which led to the Civil War, or more appropriately, The War Between the States.”
“More like the War of Northern Aggression,” Matt muttered with a slight smile.
“Don’t you mean War of Southern Stupidity?” Jordan asked him.
Matt just laughed.
“Actually, that’s pretty accurate,” Williams said. “Think about it for a minute. Who goes to war against a stronger opponent, an industrialized nation that can churn out more arms, and more people to put under arms, than you can? Firing on Ft. Sumter was stupid.
“Anyhow, the U.S. won, despite overwhelmingly bad leadership, and the South was put under federal control for decades, with the North trying to impose its culture on the south. Clearly, that didn’t take, as evidenced by the creation of Jim Crow laws throughout the South once the federal government relaxed its grip.
“Of course, the election of that extreme racist Southerner, Woodrow Wilson, didn’t help. His actions exacerbated the issue.
“It wasn’t until World Wars I and II that the country came together to fight a common enemy. And I think it’s pretty accurate to say, that even with the Civil Rights Movement that followed, that was mostly just a slight blip. Lots of non-white veterans were killed by vigilantes after each war, just for being a different race.
“So, our timeline’s U.S. now is still deeply divided racially and culturally.”
Bill nodded, and from the corner of his eyes, saw the others nodding, too.
“Now, here’s a bit of history that you probably haven’t been taught,” Williams continued.
“Our timeline’s U.S. is not, and has never been, a single nation. Yes, it’s been a country, but a nation is defined by the culture of the people. What makes them unique, different from their neighbors? What binds them together into a cohesive culture? This is what defines a nation, and this is what we’re looking at here.” He pointed to the map.
“North America was taken over and founded by a polyglot of nations in the 15th and 16th centuries. First came the Spanish, extending from Central America north into what you know as California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. They brought their own culture with them.
“Then came the English, with several attempts before finally getting a toehold in New England and the Maryland/Virginia Tidewater region. The final point of English settlement, actually from British plantation owners from the Caribbean, was around Charleston, South Carolina.
“The Dutch settled in New York, or New Amsterdam as they called it, and the French settled in what we know of as eastern Canada and the New Orleans area,” he continued, pointing out the latter two locations.
“Each one of these nations had their own, indelible culture. The oldest was a Catholic nation founded on large land grants, with Spanish Dons comprising a diffused oligarchy.
“The New Englanders were pretty much religious zealots, pushing their religion. This has kind of pissed off the others, except on the west coast, where descendants of this region settled and developed a very similar nation, albeit without the religious thrust for some reason.
“In the Tidewater region, the English who settled were more old school, trying to maintain the oligarchy that existed in England. It’s actually from this group that the United States got most of its concepts of liberty and justice for all, but not as meant by the founders. Their concept of liberty applied to the wealthy aris
tocracy, not the working-class stiffs or slaves.
“Now, the worst group was, without a doubt, those that initially settled around Charleston, South Carolina. Mostly English slave-holding settlers from Barbados, they considered blacks to be nothing more than animals. And, what’s an animal worth? In that culture, inarguably the cruelest among the early Americans, not much. They worked slaves to death, literally. Due to the high death rate among slaves, and the constant need for more, because of the expanding labor-intensive agricultural economy, they needed to constantly import even more.”
Looking around the small group, he continued, “As you can see, this was not a nice society. It thrived on power, fear, and racism. It viewed itself as better than anyone else, even the annoying Yankees who tried to end slavery.
“Along with that was the need to control the federal government. The slave states felt that if they could no longer expand, they would lose control of Congress, which would eventually lead to the end of slavery and their position in the world.
“So, that’s what eventually led to the War Between the States — a clash of expanding nations fighting for control of the country.
“But those weren’t the only groups that developed prior to and after the War. Well before was the culture of Scots-Irish settlers that developed in the Appalachian Mountains and spread west from there. They hated both the New England and the Southern cultures that developed, mainly due to the fact that both cultures wanted to control them. They pretty much wanted to be left alone but would side with whoever sided against the other one. Failing that, they’d side against whichever nation was pissing them off the most.
“After the war, we saw a rise of an independent-minded culture throughout the West, between all these other cultures. This is pretty much the culture that Hayek developed from. One that’s independent, but also one that’s used to large expenditures by the government to help them. On Earth, you can see this in the mega-projects, like the Grand Coulee Dam, Hoover Dam, or any other water-related project. On Hayek, the mega-projects are the trains — the maglevs, hyperloops, and skytrains — and the nuclear power plants.” Looking at the four, one by one, he asked, “Did you ever notice the similarities?”
Bill thought back to his trip across Hayek to Eurasia when he was recovering the planes that crashed on Planet 42, and the indentured servants building the maglevs throughout the region. He then compared it to the mostly libertarian society that existed on Hayek, a concept that had been nagging him since learning about the dichotomy.
“If I’m reading you right,” he said, “we’re only libertarian to a point. And that point requires government intervention to succeed?”
“Mostly correct,” Williams said. “In Hayek’s case, though, it’s not government, so much as it is Parallel, Inc.
“But, this discussion isn’t about Hayek. It’s about this other planet. And, as you’ll see, there’s a bit of a difference.”
“In 1860,” Ross told them, “as we mentioned, South Carolina seceded from the union. Initially, it was a simple declaration, but when the federal government said they couldn’t do it, the South Carolina government decided to go the legal route. It took about a year, but eventually, with the passage of the 13th Amendment, there was nothing that prevented a state from leaving. So, they did.”
Ross pointed to the map of the South. “You’ll notice that the Confederate States of America here are smaller and slightly different than those that seceded on Earth.”
Instead of discrete states, covering everything south of Maryland and including Texas, several of the states were split at the Appalachian Mountains. The only thing connecting the eastern states to those west of the mountains was the plains along Alabama and Mississippi, up into southern Missouri. Also, Texas was not part of the Confederacy.
“It seems one of the nations had no desire to be part of the CSA, and that was those portions of the country settled by the Scots-Irish, better known as Appalachia,” Ross said, indicating the large section of land south of Pennsylvania, stretching past the Arkansas Ozarks into the Great Plains. We know this area as the Independent States of Franklin.”
She turned back to the map for a moment and gazed at it, then turned back to the table. “Actually, they did this once before. That was before the Civil War. Clearly, that didn’t stick.” Shrugging, she said, “Guess they made it stick this time.
“South Carolina’s legal secession sort of turned things on teir head,” Ross continued, pointing to other parts of the map. “So, instead of just the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, we’ve got a host of countries. Each with its own culture, and, for the most part, none of them liking each other.”
In a low voice, Matt said, “Gee, sounds just like the U.S.”
“Exactly,” Ross exclaimed. “Exactly like the U.S., but instead of the state boundaries we’re used to, we’ve got actual ethnographic boundaries dividing the various nation-states.
“Our job for the next several weeks is to get you up to speed on the history and culture of several of these nations so you can travel among them without getting into trouble. Trust us, we’ve been studying them for months. That doesn’t mean we know everything, but we’ve picked up a lot.”
Looking directly at Jordan, Ross said, “You’re gonna be the duck out of water. Blacks in the South are still pretty much treated like disposable property. And throughout the rest of North America, they aren’t wanted or tolerated much. Apparently, their existence causes more trouble if they’re alive crossing the borders than if they’re dead.
“You sure you want to be part of this? It’ll be dangerous as hell.”
All heads turned to Jordan.
For almost a minute, he sat silent. His hand cupped his chin, and his legs were crossed. It was obvious he was not only uncomfortable but deep in thought. He just stared at the screen.
Finally, he spoke.
“The Commandant thought it was pretty important that I be on this team, especially with this cracker,” he joked, referring to Matt Green. “Yeah, I’m still in.”
“Great. In that case, the four of you will be spending mornings with Mike and me for the next month. You’ve also got other training, both to do and to give, but we expect to have you in place in three or four months. Any questions?
There were none.
Figure 1: North America
“Now, you’ve all seen what happened to the U.S., but things didn’t remain static in the rest of the world. Let’s take a quick look at Europe,” Williams said, as a map of Europe flashed on the screen.
It was similar, but different, to the ones Bill had grown up with. The biggest difference was the lack of France. Bill spotted the Scandinavian countries he was familiar with, along with Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. To the east were Greece and the Ottoman Empire, but the rest of the continent was labeled Germany.
“While things diverged pretty drastically on North America in the 1860s, it wasn’t until 1914 that Europe took a turn. Not sure if it’s for the worse, but definitely different. As I’m sure you learned in high school, World War I began in 1914 between Germany and Austria-Hungary against the Triple Entente, better known as the Allies, of France, Russia, and Great Britain.
“On Discordia, though, no Triple Entente ever developed. That’s because the British never entered into any alliances on the European continent. So, when war broke out in 1914, it was the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary against the Franco-Russian alliance.
“The opening phase of the war followed our timeline, but when Germany invaded Belgium to get to France, they informed the Belgians they were only passing through. On this timeline, the Brits held off declaring war, and when the Germans defeated France and left Belgium, the Brits had no cause to go to war.”
Pointing to the map, Williams went on, “France lost, rather suddenly. By late September of 1914, France no longer existed as a state. The Battle of the Marne turned out a bit different for the French here. Germany not only took over the country but managed
to gain control of its overseas colonies. This put Germany in direct competition with the Brits.”
The slide changed to a map of the world. Countries that existed on Earth in Bill’s timeline didn’t exist on Discordia. Germany covered most of Europe, from the English Channel past the Ural Mountains.
“You’ll note that the only independent country in Africa is Liberia. The rest of the continent consists of colonies ruled by either Great Britain, Germany, or Portugal. In Asia, the lone independent countries are Japan and Siam. Japan controls most of the same territory it controlled in our timeline up until World War II with a couple of exceptions. The first difference is they took Siberia from Russia after the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 and managed to gain control over most of China. The only continent without rule by either Germany or Britain is South America.”
Matt asked, “What happened to Russia?”
“It went the way of France and all the other smaller nations that declared war on Germany. It lost. Anyhow, as you can see from the map,” Williams said, turning back to it, “the Austro-Hungarian Empire no longer exists. It formally became a part of Germany in the 1920s.”
Looking back at the small group around the table, Williams said, “What we’ve got now is two major powers occupying most of the world for more than a hundred years. And, neither of them is benevolent. Just like on Earth, when the USSR was still around, there’s a cold war being waged, with some flareups between proxies and funded insurgencies in the colonies. And, yes, they still call them colonies.
“And in case you haven’t figured it out, these two empires are like two warring tribes of howler monkeys throwing shit at each other. They hate each other. It’s a miracle they never went full apeshit on each other.”
Figure 2: Europe
Fig. 3: European Colonial Territories
The Corps of Discovery Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3: A multiverse series of alternate history Page 60