Technology in Alternate History

Guest post by Rvbomally.

Technology is an important aspect of any speculative fiction, and alternate history is no exception. One of the most common questions I get in my work is "what is the tech level?" While I do find that question annoying at times (mostly because it is so vague that any answer I could give would be incomplete), I cannot fault people for asking. Technology is not independent of history and society; these three shape each other and help distinguish an alternate world from our own.

Surprisingly, technology is one of the few aspects of alternate history that are detailed more in mainstream alternate history than they are in online alternate history. I would attribute this to the medium through which mainstream alternate history is presented, as opposed to online alternate history. A greater percentage of mainstream alternate history is told through a visual medium, such as television, film, or comics. These forms of media allow for the seamless integration of strange technology into the story. Consider the infamous alternate history zeppelin. Unlike in written works, the story does not need to pause to describe the zeppelin. All it needs to do is float around in the background, and the viewer is immediately tipped off that this is another world.

Contrast this with online alternate history fiction, which is overwhelmingly in a text format. The visual media in online history is overwhelmingly maps and flags, with very few examples of alternate objects. This form of media does not lend itself to technological descriptions, because the entire story needs to take a detour just for the technology. This is particularly bad in the "encyclopedic" format I often write in. The bulk of the text describes history and the geopolitical situation, and must make an abrupt turn just for the technology.

I have noticed that alternate history works tend to have four different approaches to alternate history: OTL, OTL Plus/Minus, Post-Apocalypse and Punk. This does not include worlds which have implemented magic, because those expressly throw out the laws of reality that we are familiar with.

OTL

By far the most common approach to technology in alternate history, predominantly in written works, is simply paralleling OTL's technological development. The appeal of this approach is obvious: it is easy to implement and easy for the reader to understand. This approach is most often used in written alternate history, because the work can focus on the history and geopolitics of this alternate world. This is not necessarily a bad thing. A work that is focused on history and geopolitics may actually become worse if there is too much focus on the technology. Technology may be an unnecessary distraction, irrelevant to the tale being told.

Another, closely related approach to OTL is retarding or advancing the timeline's technology by a couple of decades, but more or less keeping technological development constant save for the time period. This is often done by killing off an OTL "great man" and setting back theoretical development by a couple of decades, or inventing a fictional "great man" to advance it. This approach is simple, and has the advantage of informing the reader that this is an alternate world.

OTL Plus/Minus

OTL Plus/Minus is the OTL approach, but with the addition of some anachronistic technology, or the removal of a technology that should have been developed by some point. This approach is also common in written alternate history, but also with visual alternate history. This is the approach of the infamous Zeppelins from Another World. Want a convenient way to show the reader that this is another timeline? Have a zeppelin dock with the Empire State Building in the modern day!

OTL Plus/Minus, like delaying or advancing OTL technology, is also simple, and can be accomplished by introducing or removing a "great man." Want to slow down the development of rocket technology? Kill off von Braun. It is also a simple way of getting across a difference in the world, without going too far. The rocket planes in The Man in the High Castle are mostly in the background, and their development is never touched upon, but they demonstrate the technological superiority of that timeline's Third Reich over the Japanese and over OTL in the 1960s.

A frequent technology of focus on OTL Plus/Minus timelines (apart from the zeppelin) is nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are like liquid nitrogen for a geopolitical situation: they freeze wars in their tracks, and can keep conflicts preserved for decades. Introducing nuclear weapons allows the author to be more creative with the geopolitical situation of his world, particularly with regard to ideology, while being able to explain why these opposing states have not yet gone to war.

Post-Apocalypse 

The post-apocalypse approach is a simple approach, one that even people who have never heard the term "alternate history" are familiar with. It is a world with a smattering of high technology from before the apocalypse, while most people are reduced to a primitive existence. This makes for interesting worldbuilding and compelling storytelling. Mixed with a punk approach (see below), and a world can be very different from our own. The Fallout series' popularity is largely in part due to that series' unique take on technology.

Punk

Punk is different from the above approaches, because technology takes center stage. Indeed, in some punk works, the alternate history is incidental. A usual suspect would be Charles Babbage, whose difference engine is a staple point of divergence for steampunk settings. However, the alternate history aspects of a punk setting exist not only to explain how this alternate world came about in the background. Alternate history allows the "feel" of the punk setting to be maintained. While it is certainly possible to have a cyberpunk setting without a superpowered Japan which never suffered from an economic decline in the 1990s, a cyberpunk setting is generally better off for it.

Punk-style alternate history is notable in that it ignores plausibility in favor of the narrative. Setting aside the fact that most punk technologies simply would not work, the geopolitics is often implausibly "frozen" in order to maintain the feel of the punk setting. Steampunk settings will often have the Tsar in St. Petersburg, the Chinese Empire, and of course, Britannia still ruling the waves (and the skies, and even possibly Mars). Of course, this is not a negative of the genre, and indeed makes a punk work more entertaining.

The punk approach is also frequently used with the Nazis, and is either a convenient way to explain their victory, or a way to explain why their Thousand Year Reich has yet to collapse by the time of the story's events. Personally, I find punk technology convenient because it informs the reader that what they are about to read is not a serious analysis of how the OTL Third Reich could have won WWII. Nazi giant robots are a great way to deliver the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Mantra.

Conclusions

Technology is an important aspect of the alternate history genre, but one that is often ignored given the focus of the genre. Unlike science fiction, alternate history focuses on the politics, the people, and the history, not the technology, first and foremost. However, technology is an important part of any history, and readers are always curious as to alternate world's technology. A word to the alternate history authors out there: you will be asked about your world's technology if you do not talk about it. ;)

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Rvbomally is some guy on the Internet who likes history and science fiction. You can find his all of work on deviantArt. You can support him on Patreon.

Map Monday: North America in A Canticle for Leibowitz, circa the mid-26th century by Tsar of New Zealand

Today's Map Monday doesn't feature an alternate history, but it does feature a map from a world that many alternate historians have embraced. I am talking about A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. I read this book years ago and I enjoyed it immensely, but I have never reviewed it. So just a quick review: I highly recommend you go and read A Canticle for Leibowitz. It is set in the former United States in three different time periods following the aftermath of a nuclear war. It has great world-building, strong Catholic themes (without being overly preachy) and a warning about the dangers if history repeats itself.

Enough about the book, lets take a look at the map. This one is done by Tsar of New Zealand, who has been featured on Map Monday before for his maps based on published works. This time he has covered North America in A Canticle for Leibowitz, circa the mid-26th century (~600 years since the Flame Deluge):

The time period sets the map at the beginning of A Canticle for Leibowitz. Admittedly the map is very simple and has few details, but it is still cool to see someone use the common AlternateHistory.com map template for one of my favorite post apocalyptic books. Hopefully we will see more maps from Tsar of New Zealand set during A Canticle for Leibowitz timeline, especially ones outside North America, which Miller wrote so little about.

Honorable mentions this week goes out to Brilliant Maps for sharing the "Territorial Waters & Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) Of The World" map. If you want to submit a map for the next Map Monday, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your map attached and a brief description in the body of the email.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

A first look at NBC's Revolution

Guest post by Sebastian Breit.

Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for post apocalyptic TV series. I loved JMS's Jeremiah when I was younger, and I very much liked CBS' Jericho despite its flaws. Ignoring the politics of the people behind it I found William R. Forstchen's One Second After a quite compelling read. S.M. Stirling's Dies the Fire series also ranges rather high on my 'have to finish reading it' list. So you can probably imagine my delight when I stumbled across NBC's new project called Revolution earlier this year. The two men behind the project also made me prick up my ears. Erik Kripke of Supernatrural fame and Jon Favreau, the man behind the Iron Man movies are two titans of recent scifi and fantasy entertainment. Ever since the announcement that it had been picked up in spring I was excited about it, even though the promo videos offered reason for concern. Here's what its all about:

Revolution takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. Fifteen years earlier, an unknown phenomenon permanently disabled all electricity on the planet, ranging from computers and electronics to car engines, jet engines, and batteries. People were forced to adapt to a world without technology, and due to the collapse of public order, many areas are ruled by warlords and militias. The series focuses on the Matheson family, who possess an item that is the key to not only finding out what happened fifteen years ago, but also a possible way to reverse its effects.

Is it any good? Well, they pre-aired the show's pilot a few weeks and I was able to watch it. And what can I say? I'm a jaded bastard. You see, the problem is if you like post-apocalyptic fiction and consume your fair share of the genre you not only become somewhat genre-savvy but also become very observant regarding the small things that can make or break a setting. And Revolution? Well, in my opinion it's not off to a good start in that regard.

But lets do this point by point.

The Visuals

The visuals are both the highlight and the bane of Revolution so far. While it's clear that you're dealing with copious amounts of CGI the show uses it rather effectively, from deserted airports to suburbs that have been torn down and turned into farmland. Production values are really high for a TV series. The world looks great, if a generally too overgrown, and you get the idea that with Kripke and Favreau you've got two guys orchestrating this who have a good eye for the visual side of things. The Matheson family lives in a small village surrounded by a high, makeshift wooden palisade with animals and gardens inside and everybody working the land. Kripke and Favreau don't pull any punches when it comes to showing what little is left of what used to be Illinois even though I think they should've gone for more signs of actual destruction within the cities and less 'the jungle conquered it all back'. Because Chicago is way too green in places it shouldn't be. Even rural roads won't be fully overgrown after fifteen years of barely any use, and large cities bristling with concrete and steel are a whole other league to begin with.

That's a problem, but it's basically nitpicking and doesn't substantially undermine my suspension of disbelief. If overgrowth is the way they've chosen to show the abandonment of the larger cities that's something I can live with. What follows, however, does undermine my suspension of disbelief.

Everything and everybody is way too clean. In fact they look as if they had just walked out of an shampoo commercial rather than spending fifteen years without electricity, new clothes, healthy food or running water, let alone an abundance of haircare products and cosmetics. Clothes barely look worn. People are extremely healthy, given the ordeals they must've gone through: they're muscular, not set on by illnesses, some even carry quite impressive girths around with them. Ironically it's the extras visible in the background who probably are clothed the most reasonably.

Yes, I know the common rebuttal here would be “but surely there's an overabundance of clothes in all those shops and malls etc.”. No, I'm sorry, that point doesn't fly. Even if we assume that most malls etc weren't looted and partially destroyed once society turned into the great cannibal battle royale it probably would turn into you get clothes that have been exposed to the elements for one and a half decades in environments without AC or heating. 99% of what you had there would have rotted and be totally unusable by now.

What makes this all the more problematic from a perspective of in-universe plausibility is that especially our “starting group”, the community our story begins in, are former suburbanites with a supposed white collar background. Aaron, the slightly overweight neighbor, was a former multi-millionaire working for Google. There are no known farming backgrounds, there's no prior knowledge regarding raising cattle, cultivating crops (without pesticides and fertilizer!) and there's no knowledge in construction that we are shown. Nothing against accountants and Poli Sci majors, but how likely are they to survive as farmers lacking equipment, useful soil and, most importantly, available seeds?!

As an addendum to this, I know this is the first episode and everything, but has there been any mention about steam engines or diesel engines? Neither one of those engines utilize electricity to function, the technology is over a century old and every first year university engineering student can probably MacGuyver something together in just a few weeks/months time, so after 15 years I would imagine that there should be hundreds of such engines in existence across the country driving local commerce.

A propos local commerce. Chicago with its position at the Great Lakes and opposite of Canada should be a trade hub crawling with people and ships and should have its own ruler and authorities. The way it was presented in it's basically a lawless pit where everybody does what he wants. Because we know that the Monroe Militia – the bad guys – aren't in control of it since it took them hours to get a squad there. That's not how power dynamics work. It would have been plausible in the first few years after the collapse, but fifteen years later? There should be someone in charge, a General, a Duke, or something. Secondly, trade should exist again. If you can make a profit of something by getting goods moved around people will do that. If the potential profit is high enough they'll equip armed trade caravans to do so. This isn't some arcane principle. Greed is a basic part if human nature. Especially along the Great Lakes you would probably have something like the Hansa develop after fifteen years.

The Music

The musical score really is something that's just good. It's not corny, it's not bombastic, and it helps to underline the feeling of mystery of exploring a world we know and yet no longer know at the same time. Those who wrote and performed it did a good job.

The Pacing

I wish I could linger longer on some good aspects of the show but, well, there really aren't too many of them so far. Yes, I'm unabashedly critical, but this is a multi-million dollar production for which they had plenty of time to sit down and figure out plot and setting liabilities. If a bunch of geeks can point out the flaws on first sight you as a producer and director are doing something wrong. And what Revolution primarily does wrong with its first episode – and this may factor in with the other problems I had watching this - is that it attempts to force two to three episodes worth of content into a 43-minute running time.

What, in a more confident show, would have been the first multi-episode story arc - Charly's search for her Uncle Miles - or at least a ninety minute opener is instead forced into a severely limited space first with the opening prologue establishing the “blackout” that shuts down all technology, the establishment of the basics of the post-apocalyptic setting fifteen years later, the introduction of characters, the establishment of relationships and dynamics among the main cast, the introduction of even more characters and new locations as the show rapidly expands, a major action scene with swords and muskets, hints to the broader mystery and major conflict that will likely dominate the rest of the season, etc. There's so much jockeying for attention from the start with this show that none of it is effective, none of it is involving, none of it actually works. What feels like it could have been a good climax to a first episode, the abduction of Charly's (let's call her Not-Katniss from here on) brother and the death of her father which serve as her “call to adventure”, instead happens after only fifteen minutes. The show then could have taken us with the characters on their journey into the unknown reality of a world fifteen years after a total collapse, through ruined towns, abandoned suburbias, streets still littered with abandoned and rusted cars, trade caravans and small fortified villages with distrustful inhabitants to culminate with the scenes in a ruined Chicago.

Instead we got three woefully unprepared characters (even those who should have been prepared!) and a scene of attempted rape.

The Characters

Which brings us to a central weakness of the show so far. Yes, it's a bit unfair to call it that way after only forty-five minutes, but it needs to be said since it concerns the centerpieces of Revolution. With a few exceptions the characters are mediocre at best, obnoxious at worst. Billy Burke (Moustache Dad from the Twilight movies) is a bad-ass. Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad fame seems, all things considered, like a reasonable guy.

Not-Katniss, the female main protagonist, is a cliché rebellious teenager more suited for a contemporary teenage drama than Revolution, too curious for her – and her asthmatic brother's good – despite having grown up in the very post-apocalyptica that caused her mother's death through the same lack of caution. And the first thing she does after leaving to get her stupid brother back is chat up the first random good looking guy – Not-Jacob - she comes across...because, caution, you know. Of course he's a militia plant who rats them out. She is supposed to be our main character, but unlike Katniss Everdeen she isn't a composed individual aware of the world she's living in; in fact, I found her to be neither compelling nor sympathetic.

Not-Katniss' brother Danny is barely any better. In fact, given that his stupidity causes the death of their father I don't see how this is a character I could relate to.

Maybe worse, the man I could muster up the most sympathy for was Giancarlo Esposito's character who just wants to get the job done and get back to his wife and family – and he's the bad guy!

Aaron (fat neighbor dude) is the comic relief, who of course goes on the journey to get their brother back unarmed. As does the medicine lady who had gotten together with the elder Matheson after his wife's death.

The point is this: these people have grown up in what should have been hell on Earth. They should be intimately accustomed to this new world's dangers and to its do's and don't's. That especially the teenagers the most ingrained with this knowledge act the most recklessly is quite the turn off. If a platoon of trained and somewhat armed - more on that later - militiamen rides into your village the smart thing isn't to oppose them with a single crossbow and a fat guy with a gun.

Guns, Swords & the Monroe Militia

The militia itself and the “other republics” mentioned are just as baffling. The latter because we know nothing of them except for their supposed existence. The militia, on the other hand, is a crowd worse equipped than the Union Army of 1861. If this really was a Dies the Fire scenario - and they've just put enough space between themselves and S.M. Stirling to avoid a law suit - I could somewhat understand this (well, after 15 years that'd stretch things...).

What we have to ask ourselves is how a supposedly potent military force like the Monroe Militia is primarily armed with melee weapons, flintlocks and crossbows. This is not a small question. We're talking about a US population reduced from above 300 million to maybe a tenth of that, and an amount of firearms in public and private ownership probably equaling the pre-collapse population numbers. Add to this literally billions of rounds of ammunition and scores of protective gear in circulation with the armed forces, militias and law enforcement and it makes it hard to believe that the single most powerful military force in the Chicago area doesn't use Kevlar, helmets or modern firearms whatsoever.

One thing that bothered me is also this, because it directly plays into the complete lack of modern equipment bit: Esposito's character mentions that owning a firearm is an offense punishable by death. Now, leaving aside the obvious problems of trying to disarm a post-apocalyptic, entrenched society, shouldn't this mean that the ones doing the confiscating - the Militia - ought to be swimming in gear and guns? I don't expect them to all wear pristine M4s, but given the amount of guns compared to the relative scarcity of people they should at least all be equipped with modern firearms and a modicum of actual (para)-military gear. A bit like Daniel's army in Jeremiah, for example.

This is all even more absurd considering that the guy behind the Monroe Militia isn't some kind of doofus but a former NCO with - at least the in-episode dialogue makes it sound like that - some special forces background. Why would he, of all people, ditch the advantage that modern gear, guns and armor have to offer? Hell, you could have horse-drawn modern artillery, mortars and what not, and the only vestiges of modern arms (let alone modern kit) we see are the two dudes posted outside of General Monroe's tent. And the fact that at some point he's going to have a big mano-a-mano fight with Billy Burke at some point is so phoned in its not even funny.

Secondly, swords. They wouldn't be using swords. Period. Like every non-gunpowder army before them they would use polearms. They are easy to make and require way less training. That's something I really don't get. There's basically nobody who can make a good sword these days, especially in America. Or even an adequate one. There's at least thousands of people out there who can make a decent enough gun, and millions who can reload ammunition. Machine tools don't *really* need electricity, in fact, much of the gun "cottage industry" relies on venerable old machines dating back to WW2, which are powered by belts that run up to the ceiling. They'll run on anything that can spin the pulleys. Water wheels, steam or diesel engines, bunch of dudes turning a capstan, etc.

That, and very few people know how to fight with a sword these days. Even fewer than did so in the past, naturally.

Conclusion

I'm sorry if this came across as wholly negative but given what the show aims to be I was greatly underwhelmed by what I saw. I'm sure you can find even more points to nitpick if you analyze it more. You might also say they want drama between attractive people. Not rugged survivors in tattered clothes, armored fighting men and return to sheer medieval brutality. My answer to this is: Then do a different premise. If you're going to ignore a bunch of the implications, the show has no depth and looks like cheese despite costing much more than a "modern" show to produce. You give people swords, give them armor. Apart from making you fight a lot better, it's very advisable in a world where medical care & availability will be poor.

Sorry, the more I think about it the less the story and its characters make sense. But I'll keep watching it. Maybe it'll get better. The series does have potential. But from here on it's treading a thin line. I just hope they won't waste it.

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Sebastian P. Breit is the author of the alternate history novel Wolf Hunt. You can find news, reviews, and commentary on all matters regarding WW2 on his blog, The War Blog, and follow his writing progress on his personal website.

Drifter: Post-Apocalypti​c Western Web Series

Check out all six episodes of Drifter series part one, Drifter: Broken Road, written, directed, and produced by Jason Brasier, on DrifterSeries.com. A Top 10 finalist in the Mingle Media Audience Choice Awards, Drifter: Broken Road  follows a figure known as Drifter, portrayed by Vanessa Leinani, fresh off her role from the film 180, and currently filming her role as Detective Jade in the web series, Bail Out. In the story, Drifter befriends the owners of a trading post on her trail to revenge, five years after a second civil war. It is here that some of Drifter’s recent actions and past come back to haunt her.

The series brings Missouri State University Graduate and indie filmmaker, Jason Brasier’s sci-fi western vision to life on the small screen. Jason has been making films since he was a child, and the journey it’s taken to get to Drifter: Broken Road has been a long, but enjoyable one. A big western and science fiction fan, Jason said, “It was fun blending two of my favorite genre’s together and telling an old fashioned story in a new medium.”

The series also stars the talented Rodney Wiseman as the mysterious Moses Breckenridge. One of Rodney's recent feature film projects, The Frontier Boys, is on the ballot for the 2012 Dove Awards.

The rest of the amazingly talented cast includes Ryan Smith, Hannah Duncan, Nick Herra, Ryan Shields, Todd Hansard, Dale Gehris, Blake Flageolle, Jerry-Mac Johnston, Zac Rantz, Michael Brasier, Scott New, Andrew Long, Kevin Keppy, and Angel Gonzales. Drifter: Broken Road is the first web series production for American Wasteland Entertainment (LLC), a new production company focusing on online based entertainment and film, owned and operated by Jason Brasier and Brittney Greer.