Pax America

[Centauri18]

I'm working on something that is sort of a combination of Civ3 concepts with actual history. But then again, it would have to be different (The colonization of South America would have to be different without Portugal, for instance) and things would have to change.
Most of it is back story, and remember that I'm making this up as I go.

[Centauri18]

Pax America

In the year that would later be identified as 4000 BC, the thirteen tribes living around the Potomac River at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean were gathered together by one great leader to form one united nation - the American nation.
That leader's name has been translated again and again in the years since - the ancient American language was very different than the way it is today - but the modern pronounciation is Washington.
Washington was possessed with a natural charisma, almost unnatural for the time. The members of the thirteen tribes loved him so much, they named a great city by the Potomac River after him. Washington City, the people pledged, would be one of the great cities of the world. Technology was primitive, and the people began building huts along the river, planting crops, hunting, and gathering water.
Shortly after the building of Washington City, Washington himself sent a Scout out to make the first primitive maps of the area.
But something terrible happened.
Once the Scout was gone, and the city undefended, barbarians invaded, storming out of the hills in the dead of night.
The city was pillaged, and Washington was killed in defending the city.
The Americans, longing for vengeance for the murder of their friends and family members, managed to kill the barbarians before they could scatter, but it was too late. Washington was dead, and the tribe was without a leader.
Washington was given an honorable funeral - again, for the time - and the tribe began to regroup.
In the young nation's darkest hour, a new leader was found, one who, as it turned out, was truly destined to lead.
The man was then known as Abram Lincoln, but history would know him as Abraham Lincoln.

Six thousand years later...
"Oh, man, this is boring."
"What are you talking about, Tad, this is cool! People got ripped to bits by barbarians."
"Quiet down, class, this is very important. What was it the Greek historian said? 'If we fail to understand the mistakes of history, we are-"
"Doomed to repeat them, we know, Mr. Grant. Just tell the story."
"Thank you. Now, it was known to very few that Lincoln was born to be king. Washington had not been. Lincoln quite literally was tied to the people. He was so well loved for that reason."
"What do you mean, tied to the people, Mr. Grant?"
"I mean that simply, Lincoln was the American people. If he were to die, so would the nation. Perhaps this is why, in later years, Lincoln so encouraged Americans interbreeding with other races - he wanted the American people to survive if anything happened to him, so he thought interbreeding would mean that there were some living Americans not tied to him."
"What about the cities captured by enemies?"
"That's a very good question, Tom. You see, once a city was captured, somehow those people lost their connection to their native ruler. This is probably why newly captured cities had such fervent resistance to the new overlords until their home nation was completely destroyed."
"Oh."
"Anyway, Lincoln was tied to the collective life-force of his people. Call it whatever you want. But Lincoln would literally live forever - as long as any American lived, he would live."
"Awesome!"
"Wow!"
"So he's immortal? Wow, how?"
"The reason why is lost to history, children. We only know that Lincoln is tied to all of us."
"Even me?"
"Even you."
"Weird!"
"Yes, it may seem like that now, but in the ancient times it meant he was to be revered. It meant simply that he would never be attacked by his own people. Now, city governors, and even Senators were assassinated all the time, up to the end of the Classical period, when Rome, Greece, Egypt, and Babylon prospered across the sea. But Lincoln would never be touched. The people hated him sometimes, but only through the years of government upheaval. Then they loved him again. Impossible as it may seem, that was the way it went."
"Wow!"
"What about the other civilizations? Is Lincoln the only one who's immortal?"
"No, no. Far from it. The other rulers of the world all share Lincoln's unique gift. Or curse, depending on how you look at it."
"How would immortality be a curse?"
"Well, think about it, class. Immortality meant that you would outlive your children, if you had any. And their children. And even their children. It would be like dying, again and again. Perhaps it is why Lincoln has only recently taken a wife and had children. They'd be about your age now."
"Do they go to school here?"
"No, don't be silly. What would the President's kids be doing in New Washington?"
RIIIIING!
"Well, children, I'll get to everything tomorrow. Make sure the homework is done by tomorrow morning! I'll get to the first years tomorrow!"

Next: Manifest Destiny and the Mexica

[Centauri18]

Okay, so of course this isn't based even remotely on world history, since America wouldn't come about for nearly six thousand years, but hey, 4000 BC is when it starts and damn it, that's when I'm starting it.

[Footie Mad]

It's a start, looking forward to the story.

[Centauri18]

New Washington Junior High, 2003 A.D.

RIIINNNNNGGGG!
"Hey, Tad, what do you think Mr. Grant's gonna get into today?"
"Robbie, where have you been? The chapter title is 'Manifest Destiny and the Mexica,' so I figure he's gonna get into the days just before the Mexican War."
"Oh, yeah. Is this gonna be just those old Jaguar Warrior brigades with their obsidian-edged clubs and stone axes going at it with American Warriors? I saw models of those guys in the Smithsonian back in D.C."
"No, Robbie, man, American science had come a long way before then. Swordsmen and stuff at least. Maybe a knight or two."
"AWESOME!"
"Yes, boys, it most certainly was an interesting time."
"'Morning, Mr. Grant."
"Good morning. Did you kids do the homework? Yeah? Good. Pass it up to the front of the class and we'll get started. Make sure you take notes. This will be on the test."
"Aw, man!"
"It's just multiple choice. And an optional essay for extra credit."
"On what?"
"I know you better than that, Angela. You'll just try to do it as I'm talking. You have the whole weekend after the test tomorrow. So relax."
"Okay."
"Very well, then. On with the history."

America attracted the local tribesmen almost from the beginning. Washington City's cultural accomplishments were keenly noticed for hundreds of miles, and Lincoln's scouts seemed to almost constantly be within sight of a village.
The primitives (which wasn't saying much in that time) had somehow gained technology and knowledge far beyond their humble lifestyles. The Americans learned the art of domesticating horses and knowledge of the wheel from several tribes, and then Construction and Polytheism from still others.
But most rewarding was the knowledge of a new form of government - called Monarchy: "the rule of one."
The people almost immediately named Lincoln their king, and peace reigned throughout the land.
Massive temples were built in Lincoln's honor, including one that still stands in Washington City, kept in perfect condition nearly six thousand years later - a temple that reminded many of Greco-Roman architecture, featuring an image of Lincoln sitting on a large marble throne.
This temple was not a temple in the usual sense, but a monument dedicated to the Eternal Leader of the Thirteen Tribes.
[OCC: In case you haven't figured it out, it's the Lincoln Memorial, but since Lincoln's immortal, why would he ever need a memorial?]

The local tribes - or at least those who did not choose to stay and help build American forts - followed Lincoln's scouts back to Washington City.
It was the first major population boom in the young nation's history.
While other civilizations built great wonders across the sea, America concentrated on expansion.
In the days after the first great Aquaduct system from the Potomac River to the far reaches of the city was finished, and after the city could epand no further, Lincoln made his first real order as leader of the Americans.
Shortly after his order, his Elite Guard headed out into the town, gathered large groups of people together, and began training them in the art of city-building.
The American Settler Corps was born.

In what was called the Great Exodus, large groups of Americans headed north, south, and west to begin expansion.
The city of Boston was formed first.
The second American city was named for an old village once outside Washington City that had been swallowed up by the American nation.
In honor of that village, which had given America knowledge of the new concept of a Republic, the new city was named New York.

Now keep in mind that the formation of New York was not terribly easy. And unlike many later cities, New York's organization mostly followed the local landscape.
Not to mention a treaty with local natives who did not wish to join the city immediately.
The settlers didn't mind, and they settled at the end of the island - which had been called Manhattan by the locals - and built the city there.
What was strange was that within a century the city would overwhelm the local tribe, and they would join the city.
When the city walls were built, they were built right between the young city of New York and the borders of the village.
A street was built right next to it.
In later years, the street would jokingly be called Wall Street.
The name stuck.
[OCC: True story, sort of. The English did build New York (Named for York in England, like French settlers named New Orleans for Orleans in France) right next to a local settlement. The wall separating the settlement from the tribal village did have a street running next to it, called Wall Street. Just FYI.]
New York in many ways eclipsed Washington, so much so that the new American Senate - which met regularly at the amphitheatre on what is now Capitol Hill - voted to move the capital there. The vote was defeated, but it gave the world a hint at how important New York would be in the future.

"Manifest Destiny" was a word tossed around in the American Senate for decades, even as old Senators outlived their terms and new ones took their place.
It was Lincoln's phrase for his belief in American expansionism. It meant that he believed America out to expand to the farthest reach of the continent.
Of course, the belief was adopted by the Settler Corps, and soon New York and Boston also started churning out Settlers left and right.

The Settlers were well-defended, even back then. Horsemen and Swordsmen accompanied the large groups of Americans heading west and north and south.
Can you imagine what those kids would have thought, watching those armored swordsmen marching along right next to their wagons?
The progress was slow in those days, even with the newly-instituded Worker Corps working practically all the time.
The Workers were mostly reformed criminals, or criminals in the progress of reform. Lincoln figured that it was a waste of time, resources, and even the men themselves to have them simply excecuted as was the practice in those days among many civilizations of the world. So he decided to put them to work.
It could have been worse for the former criminals. They got training, food and water, a decent place to sleep, and a pretty good wage, and eventually they could literally pay their debt to society.
Historians credit the Worker Corps as inspiration for the "chain gangs" of the late Industrial Era.
But that comes much later.

The workers built up infrastructure around the cities. They farmed, mined, and built roads.
The roads can still be seen in some areas. American roads, it has been said, were on par with the roads of the Romans, which also can still be seen.
"All roads lead to Washington City" was a common phrase of the time.
With the growth of the American Military, as well as the new practices of Chivalry, came the institution of the system of states. There were only thirteen at first, each named for one of the old Thirteen Tribes which formed the American nation.
Eventually that number grew, as borders changed.
The new American Knights carried the first true battle standard seen on the American continent - an eagle with wings outstretched, clutching thirteen arrows in one talon, and an olive branch with thirteen leaves and berries in the other. The eagle wore a shield over its chest, eith thirteen white stars in a circle on a blue field. It was based on the Consol's seal.

The West Coast was the site of many planned cities, based on maps of the time. Seattle was the only city out of these which was actually completed, as the Americans discovered an unwelcome sight on the continent....

It took the better part of a month for a corps of knights to reach Washington, galoping at full speed. One imagines that at least a couple of Workers were trampled, but there was no time to be careful.
Lincoln was in the middle of a meeting with the head of the Manhattan tribe, which had recently been incorporated into the city of New York, but the tribe now carried a great leadership role in the city's local government. The city's governor was a Manhattan. The small town of Brooklyn, across the Hudson River, had also joined the fold.
Lincoln was surprised to see a troop of knights dressed in red-white-and-blue armor galloping up to the gates of the White Palace (later called the White House by a member of the Elite Guard, and the name stuck), and ran outside accompanied by the Guard to meet them.
"Your Honor!" the leader shouted. At the sight of Lincoln, all the knights dismounted and knelt on the ground.
"Get up," Lincoln said tolerantly. He always hated such displays of reverence. After all, he still saw himself as the man that, if not for Washington's assassination, would never be Consol of the American Republic.
"Sorry, sir," the knight said. "I come with news from the West. Colonization efforts are proceeding smoothly... were proceeding smoothly."
"Well, get to it, man! What is the problem?"
"We have encountered a... another civilization. They have invited American settlers to join their population, but none of us have accepted yet. The locals call them Aztecs..."
"Aztecs?" Lincoln pronounced the word carefully, enunciating as he always did.
"Well, that's what some of the Settlers call them. They call themselves the Mexica. Their leader - their monarch - a man who calls himself Montezuma, has asked to meet you himself. He said he was... he said he was glad to meet a fellow Chosen like himself."
Lincoln's brow furrowed. "You mean he is... like me?"
The knight nodded. "Yes, sir."
Lincoln mused this over for a moment. "I will meet him. Where is the meeting to take place?"
"One of their cities... I couldn't possibly pronounce the name, but I know where it is - in the province of Tejas."
"Texas?"
"No, sir, with all due respect, they pronounce it Tejas. We are expected there in a few weeks. Montezuma said not to feel rushed, but I felt that..."
Lincoln held up a hand. "It is no trouble. Guard! Fetch my transport! We leave at once!"

"What, is that it?"
"No, there's plenty more. That's just all the time we have for now. It's lunchtime for you guys. Better get going."
BRRRRRIIIIIINNNNG!

Next: Montezuma and the Mexican-American War
It's gonna get interesting.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Good stuff Centauri, nice way of dealing with it as a history lesson. I think some one else has done something similar before but I cant remember who.

Anyway keep up the good work.

[Centauri18]

Remember, this is only the first part of the story. The back story. I'll get into characters and such later on. But for this morning, I'm done. I should have the next installment tonight. and everybody who reads this, if you like it, say so. If you don't, I don't want to know!

[Easthaven I]

I like the idea of how you tell the back story. Very good. I'll be looking forward to more.

[Centauri18]

New Washington Junior High School, 2003 A.D.
"Morning, class, how was your weekend?"
"Fine, Mr. Grant."
"Great."
"Pretty cool. We actually went down to the Smithsonian to check out that exhibit on the Mexica. They were pretty interesting."
"Well, Lincoln thought the same thing. Only he didn't like them. Not one bit... All right, just answer the question for today on the board, then turn to page 25 in your History textbook..."

The ride did not take long. At full speed, Lincoln's horses took a week to arrive in the Mexican province of Tejas. The meeting did not take place in a particular city, as Montezuma met Lincoln at the border, where a large group of American settlers had set up a temporary settlement. The area was home to large herds of cattle, and it would make a wonderful place for a city.
But the Aztecs were not moving. The two nations were currently at peace, but there was no telling where things would go.
As Lincoln's carriage zoomed by, the Settlers bowed. The children cheered and tried to run beside the carriage. They were rewarded with a smile and a small wave from the Consol. Those children would talk about it for the rest of their lives.
Montezuma and his elite guard of Eagle Warriors stood at the edge of New Tlaxcala, a city with a massive pyramid-shaped building - probably a temple - at its center that could be seen for miles around the flat terrain of Tejas.
If they wanted to impress Lincoln, it was working. Washington City had its classical beauty, but this city was magnificent, overhwelming in size and scale.
Montezuma noticed Lincoln's carriage and - surprisingly - was equally impressed.
"What are these... these things on the bottom of this?" Montezuma asked, looking at the carraige's wheels. "I have seen dogs pulling sleds, but this is much different. And these creatures..."
Lincoln smiled. American technological superiority.
"The wooden things are called wheels. And the creatures are horses."
"Horses. Wheels," Montezuma breathed. Horses, of course, were rare in Central America. Montezuma had certainly never seen one before. "What is this, magic?"
Lincoln laughed at that. "Not magic. Merely technology, in the case of the wheels. But it takes a certain amount of know-how to breed horses. Will you give me a map of your empire in exchange for Horseback Riding and The Wheel?"
"I will also give you one hundred and fifty bars of gold!"
"Done." Lincoln stretched out his hand.
Montezuma looked at him, confused. Then it hit him. "You must be some sort of a god. I am not worthy."
"You are as immortal as I am," Lincoln replied. "We are both worthy." Then he finally reached out and took Montezuma's hand, and shook it.
Lincoln was impressed at the great pyramid, but wondered what it was used for. As a lookout point?
Montezuma laughed long and hard at that. "You do not know a sacrificial pyramid when you see one? What sort of man are you?"
Lincoln nodded. The old American religious practices had included animal sacrifices. "Ah. But isn't it a lot of trouble moving animals up and down the stairs?"
Montezuma just looked at him with confusion. "Animals? My dear Lincoln, you must see the ceremony of offering to the great god Quetzalcoatl!"
Though Lincoln wasn't sure he really wanted to see this spectacle.
Perhaps if Montezuma had had an ounce of foresight and had bothered to check into American practices - including the modern notion of modern monotheism, an early version of Christianity brought over by Greek refugees - he might have realized his mistake. It would cost the Mexica dearly.
It was then that Lincoln saw a spectacle that he would not soon forget.

Less than an hour later, Lincoln returned to his carriage. Now, I'm sure you've read about the old sacrificial practices of the Mexica and how they sacrificed human beings to their god. Well, Lincoln was a humanist at heart and he could not abide this. He tried to write it off as a primitive religious practice, but he could not forget the look on the face of that poor damned fool...
"Lincoln! What is wrong?"
"What's wrong? I'll tell you what the hell is wrong! You killed that poor boy and tore his heart out! What did he do that was so terrible-"
"Do? My dear Lincoln, it is simply what must be done to make the sun come up each morning. What kind of ignorant fool are you?"
"A fool who knows that what is happening up there is wrong!"
"You ignorant fool! How does the sun ever rise over America?"
Lincoln wanted to explain, and in fact he tried - a great American scientist named Copernicus had introduced the modern picture of the solar system - but Montezuma wouldn't hear it. He was too absorbed in his nation's beliefs.
The ruler of Mexico ordered Lincoln out of his sight.
It was a decision he would regret to his dying day.
The moment Lincoln arrived back in Washington City, he ordered his elite American Knights to march on New Tlaxcala and burn it to the ground, and tear the 'temple' down. They would destroy the Mexica and save the people from that madman of an 'Emperor'!
The Mexican-American War had begun.

Many cities that were done building improvements devoted their attention to training troops. Every city in America had a Barracks, so all the troops were Veterans. The Mexica were primitive at best.
American settlers, accompanied by Elite swordsmen, marched straight into Tejas, now called Texas by the Americans, and built the city of San Antonio. Right in the center of the city, they built a cathedral. The locals called it the Alamo.
It was 458 A.D.

New Tlaxcala fell in less than a day, but Mexican troops attacked the settlement of San Antonio. The last battle took place at the Alamo. The American riflemen mowed down the Aztec Eagle Warriors and elite Jaguar Warriors like grain before a sickle.
The Battle of the Alamo became the stuff of legend.
Just a few years into the war, American troops razed the Mexican settlements throughout modern-day Arizona and New Mexico, and renamed others. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, even Salt Lake City and Houston (named for a hero of the Battle of the Alamo) were captured Aztec cities full of Aztec citizens.
The Settler Corps kept advancing. After Aztec cities were razed, the men joined Worker Corps groups to be rehabilitated, and most of the children were adopted into American families. Also, American soldiers were known to fall in love with, and marry, Mexican women. A population of what would later be called mestizos, or “half-breeds” would arise from such unions. These mestizos would populate the Southwest.
As for Montezuma, he was cornered when American ships sailed into Tenochtitlan. When the population refused to surrender, the new American ships fired their huge cannons, and destroyed Montezuma’s palace, with him inside.
It was then that something unexpected happened.
Troops engaging Mexican troops throughout Central America were astonished to see the warriors suddenly shake like they were having seizures, then fall to the ground, stone dead. The populations of free Mexican cities met the same fate. All of this happened the moment Montezuma died.
The Galleons unloaded the troops they were carrying. The First, Second, and Third Armies left the ships to explore the ruins. The great Pyramid in the center of the city was still standing, but most of the other buildings had crumbled to the ground.
“Terrible,” General Washington, leader of the First Army said. He led a division of Cavalry, as did his two fellow Generals, Sherman and Lee.
“War is always so terrible,” Washington sighed.
“War is hell, George,” General Sherman, a general who in many ways was said to have invented modern warfare, sighed.
Lee - an expert in cavalry tactics, which were critical to defeating the Mexica, many of whom had never even seen horses before - nodded, and was silent as the American troops retreated back to the ships.
Lee’s last words were only heard by a few, but would echo through history.
“It is well war is so terrible, lest we should grow too fond of it.”
The Mexican-American War was over.

“They all DIED?”
“The casualties were almost totally soldiers. Few civilians died. They were all in captured cities.”
“That sucks, man. My ancestors were Mexica. One of my great-great-whatever-grandfathers was an Eagle Warrior.”
“That’s pretty cool, Miguel.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, class, that’s as far as I’m gonna get to day. We all know about how the Americans expanded into Mexico…”
“And built Mexico City around the ruins of the old Tenochtitlan.”
“It’s still there, you know. The ruins are, I mean.”
“Wow. I’ll have to get my Mom to take me there this summer.”
“Yeah.”
BRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!
[In case you didn’t notice, I really got into the Regicide mode in the game.]
Next: Golden Age and Iroquois-Canada!

[TheGuitarist]

This is cool. Definitely a very interesting style. Keep it up.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Great Chapter

[Centauri18]

Thanks,. you guys. I'll try to have one up tonight. Right now I'm kinda busy.

[Centauri18]

New Washington Junior High, 2003 A.D.
"So what do you think about Mr. Grant, Tad?"
"He's cool. He's good at what he does."
"Yeah. He makes it interesting. I just kinda wish he'd go into the individual stuff more."
"Robbie, there'll be time for that in high school. The American educational system is the envy of the world, after all. The latest U.N. reports say so!"
"How do you know that?"
"My mom's the governor. Duh."
"Oh, yeah. So back to Mr. Grant. I heard that his dad is a General."
"Yeah. He's old, but he doesn't look it."
"Why not?"
"Generals live forever, too. Long as all their men don't get killed. They're connected that way."
"A lot of connection in the government."
"Tell me about it. General Grant came from West Point, and the minute they put him in command of an army, he stopped aging. Completely. It's been next to a millennium and a half since the Mexican War, and Sherman, Lee, and even Washington are still alive. Ocassionally they take away their troops and give them new ones to work with, but even then they only age maybe five seconds. Then they get new troops and go back to work. It's creepy. I mean, sure the average American lifepsan is... pretty damn long, but still. It's just creepy!"
"I agree with you, man. I agree. So Tad, you gonna come over to my place, help me with my report?"
"Sure. What topic?"
"World War One."
"Just the first one? Huh."
"I mean, it was the first modern war, far as Europe was concerned. By World War Two, it was business as usual."
"Except for the Egyptians and the Arabs. Man, we aren't even that far yet."
"I know. We were supposed to pick topics at the beginning of the semester. And have 'em done by the end of the school year. What topic did you pick?"
"Desert Storm."
"Cool."
BRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGG!
"Good morning, class. What's all the commotion? It sounded like World War IV in here!"
"Sorry, Mr. Grant."
"It's okay. Thirty young teenagers... I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. So how about we get started?"

In the years after the Mexican War, the United States reached a period where industry and commerce and science flourished. Culture especially flourished. It was known as the First American Renaissance - at least that's what we call it now - and the nation flourished. Southern expansion occurred, as America spread throughout Central America, down to the strategically important Isthmus of Panama. Panama City was built there, and in later years it would be a major crossroads in world trade.
But, as proven in later years, the most important expansion was building colonies on the islands of Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. Small colonies also arose in the Bahamas and on the island of Cuba.
West Point Military Academy near Richmond, Virginia continued to build armies that were continually updated with the latest technology. That technology went from muskets to rifles, and cavalry tactics improved as well. Police stations and Hosptials were built throughout the land as America moved into the Industrial Age.
Now, scholars have argued that America had encountered the European civilizations - and possibly the Asians - they could have quite easily have swept through the Eurasian continent like the Black Plague did around that time.
But America was mostly isolated after defeating and assimilating the Mexica.
So while the Romans subjugated the European and African civilizations and China dominated Asia, America sat uncontested, alone, and at peace.
At least the Americans thought they were alone and uncontested.
Rome fell across the seas - or at least lost most of its influence over Europe, and Eruope erupted into war. Rome gained religious power, however, after Christianity began to sweep through Europe. The Universal Church was formed in Rome. You might better know this church by the Latin word for universal - Catholic.

While England and France - the Vikings jumped in once or twice - fought to a stalemate in the year 1066, by the modern reckoning, during the summer of that year, a lone emmisary accompanied by four warriors rode from an area north of New York City and across the Great Lakes, toward Washington. America had built a power plant making use of a gigantic waterfall near that area. They called it Niagara Falls.
Records of the time show that people saw very little of the strangers, except that they had almost all the hair on their heads removed except for what we now call a mohawk, after the tribe that invented it. The hair they did have was longish, and decorated with eagle feathers. They all carried muskets, and all rode with stone one-bladed axes at their sides. We learned later that they were called tomahawks, but they were clearly just ceremonial - a sign of rank, perhaps.
They carried a standard with them. The Americans now carried a flag along with an updated version of the standard - the flag is familiar to you, I'm sure, except for the fact that it carried only forty-eight stars at the time, and, of course, the thirteen stripes representing the original thirteen tribes.
As for the strangers, they carried a flag with a stylized bear claw - somehow it had six claws - overlapping a red maple leaf. The middle third of the flag was white, while the two thirds on either side were both the same crimson red as the maple leaf. The standard imitated the flag, with the maple leaf, the claw, and two crossed tomahawks. Feathers hung from the sides of the standard, as well as what looked like clumps of human hair - the scalps of massacred enemy barbarian warriors.
They rode into Washington on fine horses - people who knew about that sort of thing called the horses perfect - and dressed in leather clothing without any fringes or beadwork, and in the case of the four guards, overlapped in some places by steel armor.
Except for the leader. His clothing was ornately beaded, and it was obvious that it was made for ceremoial purposes.
They rode up to the White House gates. Lincoln and his Secret Service agents (the new Elite Guard) walked slowly, warily, down the steps. They remembered that glorified barbarian Montezuma well.
General Washington - Lincoln's new Secretary of War - walked close behind him, one hand on his new Colt revolver.
Once Lincoln was down at the bottom of the steps, the leader of the strangers dismounted. The others followed, one carrying the standard, another carrying the flag.
Once Lincoln and the leader were face-to-face and less than five feet from each other, the leader held up one hand at roughly eye level, fingers together, with the palm facing Lincoln. After a moment, his hand dropped and he held it out in the traditional American gesture of greeting. Lincoln fought a smile. They had done their homework.
"Greetings," the stranger said in perfect, although accented, American. He was smiling. "I am Hiawatha, Consol of the Six Nations of Iroquois-Canada. I greet you, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America. I come to you in peace and friendship."

"Wow."
"Yes. Iroquois-Canada had developed almost unnoticed while the Americans expanded. They got most of their technology from a French landing inside what is now called Hudson Bay. The French founded the colony of Quebec, but the Iroqouis, then a primitive group of tribes - and in many ways the continent's first democracy - found and greeted them. But the xenophobic French - as they were in those days - soon attacked them. The Iroquois dispatched them with sheer numbers, and began replicating the French technology. Quebec was not destroyed, but welcomed into the Six Nations. The Iroquois also welcomed the Inuit and the Eskimos of the far north into their fold, as they shared common ancestry. The Iroquois adopted the French name of Canada for their nation - as a sign of their openness to other cultures - and began to expand."
"What about the Russians? You know, in Alaska?"
"The Iroquois kept away from them. The Inuit did most of the dealings with Russian Alaska. The Iroquois had learned Monotheism and Christianity from the French inhabitants of Quebec, and adopted it. They were in many ways a monotheistic nation anyway. Hiawatha was a great leader, and had managed to repluse Russian excursions into their land a few times, so their military was top-notch. They still relied on a Republic for a government, and would soon learn Democracy from America, and they have been a democratic nation ever since."
"Did the meeting go well?"
"We'll see tomorrow."
BBBRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNG!

Next: NATO and Cristopher Columbus!
History will never be the same!

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Brilliant

[Centauri18]

Thank you.

[Centauri18]

[OCC: I modified the Americans slightly. Though they still have the Scout at the beginning of the game, I changed the Expansionistic atribute to Scientific, as historically speaking, America has mostly produced great innovators in technology: Edison, Bell, Jobs, and so forth. I also always hated the F-15 as a unique unit. It's too weak. So I decided to make a modification of the Modern Armor based on the M-1 Abram. Okay, the Americans in my story have expansionistic tendencies - after all, they get technology from local tribes - but I prefer the Scientific trait. But enough of my ranting. On with the story!]

New Washington Junior High School, 2003 A.D.
"So Robbie, how's the report coming?"
"Not too bad, Tad. Yours?"
"Pretty cool. My uncle actually fought in Desert Storm. He was part of Washington's First Army of forty thousand M-1 Abrams. Using his status as a military hero, he supported my mother's election as governor of New Washington. Why do you think my mom has been reelected twice?"
"Oh, yeah. So how is it, living in the governor's mansion?"
"Not too bad, Robbie. Not too bad at all. Of course, I'm still in the public school system because Mom doesn't want to take the chance of sending me to a private school that she might not be able to afford once she isn't Governor anymore. And, of course, she wants me to have friends."
"How could she afford it now?"
"Personal favors. She might become a Senator or something after this. But you know what my dad said once. 'A Woman's place is in the House.' Get it? House of Representatives-"
"Yeah, I get it. Pretty bad joke."
"I know, I know. So did you do okay with the homework?"
"Piece of cake."
"Oh. I had a little trouble, but I got it done, too."
"Well, that's always good. How do you think you did?"
"I'm not sure. I'm working on that last essay question. You know, the one about writing a journal entry - as President Lincoln, of course - showing your first impression of the Iroquois. I mean, I know the history. I know that they eventually eliminated that bear claw thing from the flag and simply called themselves Canadians. Sure they still called their nation Iroquois-Canada and kept that bear claw emblem on the national seal, and even on their quarters and their dollar bills-"
"You're babbling, man."
"I know. I did the essay question, but I'm not sure I did it right. I remembered that we were still wary of the Iroquois because, let's face it, we hadn't had the best experience with other civilizations, and how relieved we were to discover the Iroquois practiced Christianity - in what would later be called the Protestant style after the European Reformation, just like us before the massive influx of Catholic immigrants - and how Lincoln was glad America had technological superiority... you get the picture."
"Yeah, it's good that you remembered all that. A lot of kids probably answered that question with just the xenophobic attitude of Lincoln's advisor - particularly his Military advisor, who was always 'kill, kill, kill,' until Secretary of War Washington fired him."
"You know you're babbling, too, man."
"Shut up."
"Okay. But dude, you were babbling."
"Cut it out, Tad."
BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!
"Good morning, class. I trust the homework wasn't too difficult."
"No way, Mr. Grant."
"Very good. Is everyone ready for the story of America and Iroquois-Canada? Well, here it goes. This chapter is called 'NATO and Christopher Columbus.' Who knows the significance of this man?"
"He discovered America for Europe?"
"Very good, Tad, but that's not all. He also truly introduced Europe to America, and the alliance between America and Iroquois-Canada became one of the world's first truly strategic alliances, in case Europe came to try and conquer what they called the 'New World'..."

Lincoln's Cabinet was greeted with a very unexpected surprise when Lincoln entered the White House with Hiawatha close behind.
While Hiawatha's people had grown fond of the writings of Karl Marx - the Russians in Alaska had given them copies of his Communist Manifesto in exchange for maps (the Russians had not realized the significance of this document, and so did not discover Communism for almost five hundred years) - they decided to make the people happy and adopt Democracy. Much to the relief of America.
Hiawatha left his guard outside Lincoln's primary meeting room, a room where he regularly held meetings with his Cabinet.
As Lincoln found out, the Iroquois were a people devoted to expansion, and a very religious people. They had only recently grown interested in science.
Hiawatha was immortal, connected to his people just like Lincoln.
"You took a very big risk coming here with only armored guards escorting you," Lincoln said.
"I know you are a man of honor and a man of your word. You would also not harm a handful of men riding toward your land in peace."
Lincoln nodded. "You've obviously done your homework."
Hiawatha's brow furrowed.
Lincoln laughed. "I apologize. An American expression, you see."
"I see." Hiawatha was suddenly all smiles again. "That is one of the things my people heard about. Our settlement near what you call Ni-a-ga-ra Falls," he said, pronouncing the name very carefully, "is close to what you call a power plant that somehow turns the energy of the falling water into light and heat for your homes. That alone was astounding. I also heard much of your great culture, your system of education, your extensive libraries - half the books in our land come from American printing presses - and your grand cathedrals. People even flock to see your ancient walls..."
"Merely symbolic now. There has not been a war fought on American soil in more than half a millennium."
"...and the ruins of the Mexican temples. Your land is so culturally rich that it boggles the mind."
Lincoln smiled. "I trust that your people, at least, must have a great culture. Great traditions."
Hiawatha chuckled. "America is a land that makes its own traditions, and my land is a land that lives in tradition and memory. We still hunt our own food in many places. Our people are steeped in tradition, but the young are making their own traditions." He laughed, with real mirth. "Our people are in awe of your cultural influence."
"And that is why you have come here, to Washington City?"
"Partly. The main reason I am here is in the hopes of forming an alliance."
"What sort of alliance?"
"You have seen the great bear of Russia on our very doorstep from the maps I have given you. Our scouts have extensive maps of Russian Alaska. We hoped you would assist us in capturing this land that is so rich in resources. Czarina Catherine having a foothold in North America remains a great source of tension among we Iroquois."
Lincoln stroked his beard for a moment. "I have an idea."
Hiawatha leaned in closer. "Tell me."
"America has the most extensive treasury... well, that we know of. My advisors have seen the potential of the Alaskan wilderness. We have also seen what the Russians are doing to it, tearing up such pristine wilderness... something I'm sure you nature-minded Iroquois could appreciate."
"Yes, yes. But, my dear friend, what does this have to do with attacking?" Hiawatha asked eagerly.
"Hiawatha, attacking the Russians and driving them away would surely demonstrate the might of America to the great bear that is the Russian Empire, but it would also gain us an eternal enemy. America wishes to make friends, not enemies. My suggestion is simply purchasing the land from Czarina Catherine and saving the lives of hundreds of American and Iroquois boys in uniform."
Hiawatha could not help gasping. "Genius, my friend. Sheer genius!"

It was the first communication in American history - indeed, in the history of the world - to stretch across the Pacific Ocean. Upon arriving in New Moscow in Alaska, Catherine immediately asked for maps of American territory. Lincoln declined, and they went right to business.
But Catherine was not too happy with the idea. "Mr. President," she said - she refused to call him simply Lincoln - "I am at a loss for words. These people have been part of the Russian Empire for as long as many can remeber. For a thousand years they have been Russian citizens. And now you take advice from these... Iroquois," she sneered the word, "and you expect me to take this seriously."
Lincoln took off his stovepipe hat - a fashion being replicated even in Iroquois lands in honor of their new friendship, as many American children replicated the ceremonial feathered headdress of Hiawatha - then kneaded his hands together, leanded forward over the table and said, "Let's dicker, Czarina Catherine."
It took her a moment to realize he meant "bargain."
[I looked it up - it's an actual term during the real Lincoln's presidency, during the American Civil War.]
As Lincoln explained the American proposition, she was astonished. He spoke perfect Russian - the isolationist that she was, she did not realize that the leaders gifted with immortality had a natural gift with languages, and not a word of American was spoken - and he was an eloquent conversationalist. He was also very polite.
Lincoln's charisma has become legendary simply because of that famous conversation.
No maps changed hand - except a map of Alaska that Catherine threw in to "sweeten the deal," as she put it - but the Alaskan cities, including a few on the Aleutian Islands, as the Inuit called them, immediately fell under American control, the infrastructure already in place.
New Moscow was renamed Anchorage, and New Smolensk was renamed Juneau. A few weeks later, Alaska was named the forty-ninth American State.
A contest was held throughout Alaska, as well as the rest of America, to come up with a flag for the new state [OCC: true story, well, there really was a contest for a flag, but Alaska was merely a territory for a long time] and it was a long and heated debate. Eventually a flag depicting Ursa Major - or at least the part of the constellation called the Big Dipper - and the North Star on a dark blue background, was accepted. Alaska was nicknamed "The Last Frontier," [OCC: also true, the flag looks like that and Alaskan license plates have the caption "The Last Frontier" stamped on them] even though there wasn't an inch of the new state that hadn't been explored by the Russians. It was, however, re-explored by the Americans. New, more up-to-date maps were made, and a new star added to the American flag.
Iroquois and Inuit immigrants flooded into the new city, as well as many Americans who came to work in the gold mines.
To celebrate their new friendship, and the expulsion of Russia from the continent, the two nations formed the North American Treaty Organization...
Or NATO for short - Hiawatha was amused with the American love of acronyms.

The first NATO command post was built deep in the Rocky Mountains, near the small town of Colorado Springs. Iroquois and Americans manned the post at all times. The site was chosen because it was far from all coasts, and the high altitude mady the post easy to defend.
The city grew through a constant supply of food from nearby Denver, but in later years, the city would experiment with underground farms and artificial sunlight. Colorado Springs was, for the most part, a mining town.
Things remained quiet in the North American continent for four hundred years.
In that time, technology changed hands and Iroquois-Canada caught up with the United States. Things were quiet as America advanced into the Modern Age, with the Iroquois not far behind.
The year was 1492.
As often happened, Lincoln and Hiawatha met at Camp David - a place where Lincoln would regularly meet foreign dignitaries or leaders - for a weekend of relaxation. Even immortals need to relax every now and then.
He had hired contractors to make Camp David a perfect getaway. In later years, the facilities would be upgraded, but it was at the peak of luxury for the time.
Nobody minded - for their Eternal Leader, nothing but the best would do. Since America was at peace, and crime and corruption were all but nonexistent, he spent almost more time at Camp David with his good friend Hiawatha than he did at the White House.
They were enjoying a quiet game of tennis when a message came through.
"Hold on a minute, Hiawatha," Lincoln said. "That's my telegraph."
The telegraph was of the latest model, and the officer running it - a soldier posted there during the day - read the incoming message.
"Sir! This is NATO Command, Carribean Sector" - Central Command was in Chicago - "in Port-a-Prince, Haiti. I have news."
"Well, out with it, man!" Lincoln said. "I've got a game of tennis to get back to."
"Better cancel it, sir."
"I can't. Prime Minister Hiawatha is here!"
"Bring him, too, sir. This is a matter that considers both nations."
Hiawatha came into the telegraph room. He was a giant compared to Lincoln, at least as far as physique. Lincoln was taller, but not as heavily muscled, even though he was on a workout program with an Iroquois personal trainer. She was very beautiful, but there was nothing to worry about - Lincoln was celibate anyway.
"My ears are burning," Hiawatha laughed. "Someone is talking about me." He had long since changed into the business suit he had grown fond of wearing, realizing that their tennis game was probably over. He needed to get back to Salamanca anyway.
His grasp of the American language was better these days - no accent at all.
Lincoln shushed him then told the soldier, "What could be so important?"
Lincoln hated these telegraphs - it took forever to go through - but it was better than the old alternatives. Better than the Pony Express.
"Someone just landed north of here near an old Taino village. Three old wooden ships. No armor at all on the ships. The men who are wearing armor are wearing steel polished like silver. Strange-looking. Flying a strange flag and speaking a bizarre language."
Lincoln's eyes widened. "Who is their leader?"
"A man who calls himself... well, the translator gave his name as Columbus. Christopher Columbus. He says, according to our translator who learned their language from one of the diplomats, that he represents Ferdinand and Isabella, the great king and immortal queen of Spain, to claim the riches of Asia for Spain."
"This isn't... Asia, or whatever the hell he's talking about. He is on sovereign NATO territory. Detain all of them. Are they armed?"
"Muskets, sir. Very inaccurate."
Lincoln sighed. "Hiawatha and I will be on the USS Virginia and we'll be there in a week."
"Yes, sir! We will detain the... Spaniards, they said they were... and await your arrival."
Lincoln thanked the officer, hung up the phone, and turned to Hiawatha. "Let's get going before we have an international incident to deal with."

"Wow! That was cool."
"It most certainly was, Robbie. The Europeans were still primitive, still in the Middle Ages. They had just barely discovered gunpowder. Lincoln had not expected to run into the Europeans so soon. And with their mostly high-and-mighty position when it came to those who were not like them, it would almost certainly come to war."
"It did, didn't it?"
"We will get to that tomorrow. I hope you took good notes."
BRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG!

Next: Columbus and Colonization
Also, the first poke into the history of an alternate Europe!

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Keep it coming .

[Centauri18]

I'm glad to have a fan.

[vovan]

Now that I've gotten through the thing, you have two

[Centauri18]

Nice to have two fans!

[SKILORD]

make that 3.

[Centauri18]

[Centauri18]

I'll have the next part out as soon as I can.

[TheGuitarist]

Call me the fourth, this is going great. More please!

[Centauri18]

Thanks Guitarist, wish granted.

New Washington Junior High School, 2003 A.D.
"So where were you yesterday, Tad? Your mom pulled you out of school."
"You don't wanna know, man."
"Yeah, Tad, I do. Tell me."
"Negotiations are starting to fall through with the Egyptians. The Red Queen is being a real b!tch."
"Red Queen?"
"Duh. Cleopatra? Queen of Red Egypt? The Communist Empire that conquered the Zulus, man, don't you watch the History Channel?"
"I didn't know they were Communists."
"Where the hell have you been all these years? I'm sorry, man... it's just... Miss Cleo, as Lincoln still affectionately calls her, is thinking of going to war again. The Ottomans took Jerusalem from the Arabs, which led to the war down there and such, and now Cleopatra is thinking of expanding her empire."
"Why?"
"Who knows. We're gonna have to stop them."
"So... we'd be going to war?"
"Yeah. Maybe. Let's just hope it never comes to that."
BRRIIIINNNNGGG!
"Good morning, class. I trust you all watched the news last night. Yeah? Well, you probably know that Egypt just might go to war with the rest of the world."
"I know, Mr. Grant. Mom told me."
"My dad told me."
"My uncle's in the military. Is there gonna be another war?"
"Now let's not get too hasty, kids. At best, it's another regional conflict. Especially between Egypt and Carthage... but then those are mostly economic disoutes these days. God knows there are enough conflicts in the Middle East. But then Egypt took southern Africa from the Zulus. Before the Arabs took it from them, anyways."
"At least they instituted the policy that outlawed grazing at the edge of the Sahara. It was adopted by the United Nations, and the desert is getting smaller instead of bigger."
"That is very true, Robert. Very true. But we have to remember that Communist nations historically are known for swallowing other nations whole. I don't mean to propose the degree of paranoia that took place during the revolution in Egypt at the turn of the twentieth century, about Communist infiltrators that were supposedly feeding American technology to the Egyptians. I merely mean that we must be careful. Our intelligence system is much more extensive than during those days. And the Department of Homeland Security can handle most forms of espionage."
"And it's very hard to get an American to betray President Lincoln."
"Very true. Next to impossible to do that, in fact. Because of the connections I've been talking about. Well, enough preaching for now. Please turn in your textbooks to the next chapter... Columbus and Colonization.

The USS Virginia was a Monitor-class Ironclad that had never seen real combat. NATO military training in those days was basically drill, drill, drill, and war games. Drills and war games, but it kept the army on its toes. As new techniques were considered and tried and then improved upon, the American military got better. Washington, Lee, and Sherman always brought their experience, but used their old experience to discover something new. The troops were also allowed to make guesses, to improvise, and when they found something that worked well, they ran with it. Military training ideas also came from a book published in China, bought from a Chinese immigrant in San Francisco: The Art of War by Sun Tzu, who also wrote a book called The Art of Tactics, and Lincoln bought a copy of that book, too. Using his uncanny grasp of languages, Lincoln himself translated both works into American. It was required reading at West Point.
The American military - and, of course, the Iroquois military - was getting more and more powerful. And it was getting better at what it did. Machiavelli's writings - obtained from a Roman refugee - were also recieved well in America, but the military philosophy of The Prince never really caught on.
The Virginia had just come out of a war game off the coast of Virginia, destroying a small fleet of obsolete wooden ships, and was later engaged by the original, the Monitor, and the Monitor won. The Virginia was towed back to base, repaired, and then headed to Washington City to pick up Lincoln and Hiawatha.
A small escort guarded the Virginia, including the USS Anchorage, the San Francisco, the Ohio, and the Arizona, fresh from war games in Hudson Bay against new Iroquois Wolf-class and Bear-class ironclads. The first age of international cooperation had begun between the two nations.
But Lincoln's mind was not on how historic his alliance with the Iroquois was, but on this foreigner who had invaded and actually claimed American-held soil for a foreign nation. It was absurd!
He had to remember that Haiti was under NATO's jurisdiction. He had to remember that.
The natives had benefited from modern technology. They had a police force recruited from local tribes, the finest medicine in the world, and full American citizenship.
I wonder what Mr. Columbus thinks about that, Lincoln thought. Damn xenophobic Europeans.
He knew about their tendencies, if Catherine of the Russians was any indication.

Christopher Columbus was in a NATO prison facility in the small town of Ankuash when Lincoln and Hiawatha arrived. The local officer, a Taino, took the two leaders right to the foreign explorer.
"They headed right for the cell where Columbus was being held. He was calling out to the soldiers - Lincoln immediately understood that because of their color he was calling them "savages" - and they were ignoring him.
"Leave them alone, Columbus," Lincoln said, in perfect Spanish.
"Finally," Columbus replied, "someone who speaks an actual language."
"Actual language?" Lincoln asked, incredulous. In American, he told Hiawatha, "Typical European arrogance."
"How do you know?"
"Remember Czarina Catherine?"
Hiawatha was silent.
To Columbus, Lincoln said, in Spanish, "My friend, you are locked up in a military holding facility. Who are you to call the people around you savages?"
"I came here expecting to find Cipangu or the Spice Islands. Instead I find these people, walking around in what look like regular clothes, but... much different." He gazed at Lincoln's suit, and then at the massive Iriquois standing beside him. His eyes widened. "What sort of man are you?"
Also in perfect Spanish - as previously mentioned, the immortals have natural gifts when it comes to language - Hiawatha spoke. "I am Hiawatha, Prime Minister of the United Provinces of Iroquois-Canada, friend of President Abraham Lincoln of the United States of America."
All the words were in Spanish, except for "President" and "Prime Minister."
"Are you kings?" Columbus asked.
"We are no different than your queen, Isabella. We have lived since the beginning of human history."
"You are nothing like her." Columbus was shaking his head. In denial or disbelief, it was difficult to tell.
The two leaders looked at each other. "We are taking possession of your ships for the time being. We can only hope that you can see the error of your shallow judgment of human beings."
"These are savages."
Lincoln and Hiawatha looked at each other again. "We are getting nowhere here," Hiawatha sighed. "We will obviously have to talk to him further."
"I'll do it," Lincoln said. "I look more... European than you do. He is more likely to believe a fellow white man. No offense."
"None taken."
Columbus was astounded by this. The two men talking to each other as friends was obviously a strange sight for Columbus, who had been raised around no one but white Europeans. The poor and the different were looked down upon. He probably thought all Americans were like the soldiers here.
Lincoln hoped that he could convince Columbus to realize the kind of people the Caribbean tribes and the former Mexica and the Iroquois really were.

Columbus was actually a good man at heart. He realized that the people of North America were truly Christians, for the most part, anyway, and people who did not judge. His men were not so forgiving for the most part. Many of them died trying to escape. One or two even tried to seize control of Ankuash or even the main city of Port-a-prince. It was insane.
After his rehabilitation was complete, Columbus provided the Americans with maps of the known world. Despite the map's obvious errors, it was the start of what would happen in the future - the Americans would eventually visit Europe.
Lincoln decided to install operatives from the new government agency - the CIA - in Europe. One would be following Columbus to Asia, and then back to Spain, learning all he could and sending more reliable maps and information on European cities home.
No sense in taking chances.
Columbus and what men remained loyal to him were given the option of becoming American citizens. Some of the younger sailors - a couple were only kids - said they'd like to stay in America. Many decided to stay on the island.
But Columbus eventually wanted to go home and show Europe what he had discovered. Lincoln wondered if he had learned anything.
"Please, good sir. I have to go back to Spain and tell them not to pursue exploration in this direction any further. They must know that such a civilization exists!"
"Christopher, my friend, Europe does not know of us. Even the Russians have only maps of Alaska to go on and we have large armored ships constantly patrolling the shore to make sure it stays that way."
"But why?"
"We have received news of the upheaval in Europe from too many immigrants here. We welcome all those without a country here in America."
"People like me," Columbus breathed.
"Yes. People like you. You have told me of your efforts to travel all of Europe to find a few caravels for a trip to secure the riches of a vast empire across the sea. Did you mean Asia?"
"I had thought we were in the Orient at first. Until I saw the people... and the technology. And those soldiers dressed in the most bizarre uniforms..."
"Soon the world will change, Columbus. Soon things will change greatly. When the time is right, we shall reveal ourselves. We shall perhaps initiate trade with your homeland. But for now, we will allow you the option of going home, or staying here to start a new life in a country where riches or status of birth means nothing."
Columbus had to think about that for a while.
"Or I could even allow you to continue on. You could even reach Asia and go back home."
"I would need maps."
"We have mapped some of the ocean. But we have had to be careful not to let ourselves be discovered by Europe. They would try to wage war on us to obtain our resources."
"Like my men," Columbus said sadly. "They would have raped the land, killed people..."
"Yes. Such is the European attitude. The European belief is that you are superior. Once something is known in Europe, it is known everywhere that matters. A bevy of fragmented, warring factions that ought to try and settle their differences."
"How do you know all this?"
Lincoln smiled. "Immigrants fleeing the upheaval in England, Celtic Ireland, and even Zululand, struggling against the encroaching Egyptians. We even house Muslims-"
Columbus froze in his tracks.
I seem to have hit a nerve, Lincoln thought.
"The Turk is the enemy of Cristendom," Columbus said.
"Wrong. Our Constitution says it all, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.' All men, Christopher. Men, women, and children, all are equal here, just as they are before God."
Columbus smiled at this. "I guess I have a lot to learn."
"You do indeed, my friend. You do indeed."

"That was a cool chapter, Mr. Grant."
"It was. And it proves again that no man, no matter how set in their ways is beyond redemption. All they have to do is want to redeem themselves."
"One of Lincoln's core beliefs."
"Yes. Egalitarianism was little more than a word in Europe, but in America it lived and breathed. Or so it seemed to Columbus, who was in awe. He spent the rest of his life in awe of America."
"Did he stay?"
"No. He stayed for a time, then left for Asia with a crew of European immigrants who were familiar with the old sailing ships. Columbus got to Asia and then headed back via Panama City and the new Panama Canal. But this had an interesting effect once Columbus returned to Europe."
"And what was that?"
"Europeans realized that sailing around the world was possible. Columbus and his voyage forever dispelled the myth that the world was flat. But there was a problem."
"And what was that?"
"Europeans had discovered South America. An Egyptian excursion had come across the western tip of Brazil. The Spaniards sent more voyages. But it was an American who was the first to circle the Earth, seen only by Zulus at the southern tip of Africa, tribes in the Amazon rain forest, and natives in the rain forests of the Pacific, and of the Amazon. It was the American Age of Exploration, and it happened at the same time as the European equivalent. A man named Magellan eventually circled the world, but Americans had done it first, and faster."
"Did Columbus ever reveal the Americans?"
"That's a good question. Robert. In a way, he did. He was the loudest voice - and one of the only voices in a Europe still firmly set in its ways - against attempting to colonize South America. Egypt and Spain argued and nearly went to war over claiming the new land. But one voice of reason stopped it."
"Who was that?"
"In Catholic Europe? The Pope, of course."
"But I thought that Egypt didn't acknowledge the Pope."
"They were Egyptians, not Arabs. The Arabs were Muslim, like the Ottomans, and so Europe considered them enemies. So did the Catholic church - it authorized four Crusades, for heaven's sake. The Egyptians listened to the Pope because what he said made sense."
"What did the Pope do?"
"He obtained a map of South America from Cortez, who had conquered the Incas and mapped South America. The remnants of the Incas fled to America, and it was then that they found out about the colonization."
"What then? The Pope, I mean."
"The Pope drew a line on the map. Everything west of the map went to Spain. Everything east went to Egypt."
"The Egyptian line went through Brazil, right?"
"Right. Which is why many people in Brazil - even the local natives - now speak Egyptian."
"But what did the Americans do, now that they were being invaded?"
"It was then... that the Americans decided now was the time to reveal themselves, but to Spain's enemy, the English. And the Celts in Ireland and Denmark. And even the Vikings."
"What then?"
"Well, you'll find out tomorrow class. Now read the chapter and do the questions in the Chapter Review section, and I'll see you tomorrow."
BRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG!

Next: The Colony War!

[Centauri18]

Enjoy!

[vovan]

Keep the goods coming, Centauri18.

[Centauri18]

Corrected the errors in my posts so far. Got rid of some inconsistencies, too.
And by the way, Pax America is the back story for my next story, with characters introduced in the school scenes. This is the history portion.
For Columbus and Colonization, I read Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card, for a clue on how Columbus's voyage might go differently encountering an advanced American civilization. It also helped me a little bit with that time period's European xenophobia. It's a good book. It was what gave me the idea to reimagine world history the way I have. I'm also really eager to get into Communist Egypt, Egyptian Brazil (not sure what they would call it, though), and alternate versions of the two World Wars. Not to mention the alternate version of Desert Storm against a united Arabia moving in on America's ally, the Ottoman Empire.
But I have said too much!
Thanks for listening to me ramble on and on.
Later!

Oh, and thanks so much, vovansim (sorry), TheGuitarist, SKILORD, and ChrisiusMaximus for your support. Glad you like hearing from a young college kid like me.

[vovan]

Originally posted by Centauri18
Oh, and thanks so much, voyanism, TheGuitarist, SKILORD, and ChrisiusMaximus for your support.

Well, I am always ready to say good words about good stories, but... voyanism? I barely recognized my nickname in that.

[Centauri18]

Okay, I changed it. Sorry about that.