The Alt-Hist File: Cthulhu in the Deep South by Kirk Battle

The world of audio fiction podcasts has gone through many changes over the years. The mid-2000s brought us short story podcasts such as Escape Pod, The Drabblecast, and Lightspeed Magazine. By the 2010s, the audio drama boom was in full swing, and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Earlier than either, however, were podiobooks. Podiobooks, as their name suggests, were serialized audiobooks made available as podcasts. Podiobooks aren’t as common these days, but you do see some new ones pop up from time to time. Such is the case with the podiobooks we’ll be reviewing today. We’re taking a look at Cthulhu in the Deep South by Kirk Battle.

Cthulhu in the Deep South is a series of books set in South Carolina between the 1830s and 1860s. Usually, the action is set in or around Charleston, but two mysterious islands, named Ryland and Carcosa, also play a major role in the plot. Another common thread is people from New England, more specifically Arkham, finding themselves in South Carolina. But above all, the core of the series is the way that the creatures of H.P. Lovecraft combine with real world historical events to produce some fine historical horror.

Okay, so I think I ought to be upfront about a few things before we move forward. Many of you come here for my audio drama reviews. However, Cthulhu in the Deep South is a podiobook. It is like a standard audiobook; no bells and whistles beyond that. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, so I’m good with that. But I know some people feel differently, some I’m giving you all the info upfront. If that sounds good to you, let’s press on. I should also note that all six books of Cthulhu in the Deep South are also available as eBooks. 

I was approached by Kirk Battle to review Cthulhu in the Deep South after he saw my review of Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature. Each season of Cthulhu in the Deep South is a book in the series. I’ll give general thoughts and remarks before we get into each individual book. I liked the way that Kirk Battle incorporates actual history into the story. Kirk includes a bonus episode at the end of each season. In the bonus episodes, he explains his thought process when crafting each book. Naturally, he talks about which works of H.P. Lovecraft he draws upon. However, he also talks about which primary historical sources he uses. He will also spends quite a bit of time discussing what those primary sources are, and what they’re about. As someone with a history degree, I very much appreciate all of this.

Okay, so let’s get into the individual stories. Book one begins in the 1830s. It follows a man from Arkham, Massachusetts. He was part of an ice harvesting crew. The crew have collected their ice from the Arctic, and now they’re bound for balmy South Carolina to sell the ice. However, strange things begin to happen. Our protagonist begins to wonder if, perhaps, the crew has brought more than just ice with them. Things get even stranger when our protagonist finds himself on a pair of twin islands, located just off the South Carolina coast, called Ryland and Carcosa. They are a strange otherworldly place where White planters seem to take orders from their own slaves. There is something strange about the people of Ryland and Carcosa. Almost as if they aren’t exactly human.

Okay, so Cthulhu in the Deep South starts out strong. Out of all the books in the series, this is the one that comes closest to mimicking Lovecraft’s writing style, and the general feel of a Lovecraft story. I don’t mean that as a slight against the other books in the series. Kirk Battle has stated that he wanted each of the books to have their own style, and to play into other genres. Overall, I would say he succeeded in that goal. But all of that is to say that the genre for the first book is straight Lovecraft.

That being said, and as previously noted, Kirk Battle also included quite a bit of historical research into this one. One detail is that a lot of the crew of the ice harvester are Black. A lot of free Blacks did indeed find work on sailing ships. Quite a few whaling ships had predominantly Black crews. I also liked the details the bonus episode gave about the history of ice selling. I’m alway fascinated how people were able to preserve ice in the days before refrigeration. Apparently, ice water wasn’t then instant hit you might think it would be. A lot of people didn’t like that it made their teeth hurt, and others were worried that ice water would be dirty. To be fair, that latter concern probably wasn’t totally unfounded. Not that room temperature water was much better, mind you. Still, ice salesmen often had to pay people to give ice water a try, and to sing its praises. A little underhanded, perhaps, be it certainly bore fruit in the long run.

Book one poses a question that crops up a lot throughout Cthulhu in the Deep South. That question is this: at what point is turning a blind eye towards something horrible the same as being complacent in it? Our protagonist comes from an abolitionist family, and considers himself on as well. However, he clearly holds deeply racist views of Blacks. True, he doesn’t own any slaves himself. However, he doesn’t really do much to oppose slavery, beyond some hollow words. This is, sadly, not to far removed from actual history. Many abolitionists were opposed to slavery on philosophical grounds. However, this didn’t mean they believed Blacks should be equal to Whites. The number of people who did was comparatively small. Many abolitionists proposed sending Blacks back to Africa. The nation of Liberia was the results of such attempts.

Okay, history is all well and good, but what about the Lovecraft? Book one takes inspiration from “The Shadow Out of Time.” So, unsurprisingly, the inhabitants of Ryland are members of the Great Race of Yith. I always thought that “The Shadow Out of Time” was one of the more underrated stories from the Lovecraft Mythos. I loved the way all of the different authors put their own signature styles into the story. I have also found the Great Race of Yith to be underrated, as far as Lovecraft creatures. It is mentioned briefly, but our protagonist attended Miskatonic University, which frequently pops-up in the works of Lovecraft.

There were a few minor anachronisms. For example, at one point, one of the Yith makes reference to dinosaurs and genetics. The term dinosaur didn’t come into common use until 1842, and Gregor Mendel was still a kid in the 1830s. Granted, the Yith are time travelers, but the protagonist should have been tripped up by such terms. Still, just a minor instance that I noticed. Overall, the historical research was extremely well-done.

Cthulhu in the Deep South comes out of the gate with a strong first book. Let’s see if it can mainline that momentum.

Book two takes place in Charleston, South Carolina only a few years before the outbreak of the American Civil War. The protagonist of book two is a woman from New England who married the son of a wealthy plantation owner. Her family has pretty much disowned her, as they are all abolitionists. Still, she was convinced that she can build a happy new life in the Deep South. She assumed that she could reform her husband’s plantation into a kinder gentler place. Oh how very wrong she was. Our heroine finds herself drawn into the casually, and not so casual, cruelty of plantation life. This tears her apart mentally, and it only gets worse when her young son Daniel dies. The protagonist begins to hear voices that sound an awful lot like Daniel. Has he returned from the dead? Our heroine teeters on the edge insanity and mental breakdown as South Caroline, and the South as a who, draws ever closer to secession.

Well, well, it would seem that Cthulhu in the Deep South was able to maintain that momentum quite well indeed. The main Lovecraft influence for this one is the Dreamlands Cycle. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was also a major influence on book two. However, the real horror from this one comes not from eldritch horrors, but from the all too real horrors of history. It is tempting to laugh at the protagonist’s naïvety. When you get down to it, there is no such thing as a truly benevolent slave owner. Slavery wasn’t horrible just because of the physical violence, but also the psychological violence that slaves endured. At any moment, you or your loved ones could be sold completely on a whim, and you’d never see them again. In fact, slave marriages often included the phrase “til death or distance do you part.” Slaves were property, not people, so slave marriages were not legally binding.

I’m reminded of something that Augustine of Hippo once wrote. He wrote about a friend of his who decided to go to a gladiator game. The friend assumed that, as a good Christian man, there was no way he’d get drawn into the violence and bloodshed of the arena. Well, suffice it to say, it didn’t take long for the friend to be jeering loudly for the gladiators to kill each other. The supposedly good Christian man had found himself drawn in by the arena.

It is in book two that we meet the most vile and despicable creature in all of Cthulhu in the Deep South: the heroine’s mother-in-law. Now, you might think I’m joking, but let me assure you that I’m not. On most plantations, it wasn’t the actual owner you had to watch out for. He’d usually be off playing sports, or hunting, or doing other rich people things. Oh, the overseers were certainly nasty, particularly to field slaves. However, it was the lady of the house you really had to watch out for. The wives and mothers of plantation owners were expected to run a tight ship. Many of them often took sadistic glee in the power they lorded over their slaves. They’d often do things like forcing slaves to whistle while they cooked, to ensure they slaves didn’t eat anything. Any slaves who failed to whistle would be hit with a wooden spoon. Kirk Battle drew upon the personal diaries of plantation owner’s wives for his historical research.

Our heroine is frequently tormented by her mother-in-law, who resents her for being a Yankee. Things only get worse when the protagonist’s husband becomes involved with the newly formed government of the Palmetto Republic. That was what South Carolina was called before the other Southern states formed the Confederate States of America. Kirk Battle mentioned that he wanted to tell a story where the protagonist is driven to insanity, per Lovecraft tradition. However, he wanted to depict that insanity as a means of escape and liberation, rather than a terrible fate. I won’t give away the ending, but Kirk certainly achieved that goal. Then again, given how horrible the main heroine’s life is, pretty much anything would be an improvement for her.

Book two of Cthulhu in the Deep South is a worthy follow-up to book one.

Book three takes place during the American Civil War. We follow a young Free Black man from Arkham. He felt the swell of patriotism and decided to enlist in the Union army. However, he soon finds himself facing discrimination from all sides. Many of his commanding officers assume that he’s trying to swindle money out of them. Most of his fellow Black soldiers are former slaves, and he has quite a bit of cultural difference with them. As for the Confederate soldiers he fights against, well, that goes without saying. Our protagonist is assigned to a dangerous mission to the islands of Ryland and Carcosa. It is a mission that will lead him straight into the heart of darkness.

I just didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought that I would. Don’t get me wrong, book three had its moments, and it did have some interesting historical and literary influences. Still, I just feel like it never quite came together for me.

Let’s take a moment to talk about those influences. The main Lovecraft influence on book three is “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.” The big non-Lovecraft influence is Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Kirk Battle admits that he’s always had a certain fondness for that novel. Yeah, I guess I can see the influence. Our protagonist goes on a riverboat trip with a man who slowly looses his mind. Some people say that Heart of Darkness is racist. I wouldn’t say that, but I do feel it could have been a bit harsher towards the horrors of the Belgian Congo. On the other hand, it was one of the first novels to speak-out against the horrors of European colonialism in Africa. Ultimately, Heart of Darkness is a product of its time; take a bad with the good.

I did like the historical details. Many freed slaves did indeed join the Union army. Many slaves ran towards the Union army whenever they were nearby. However, many of these former slaves needed to be taught how things were going to work now. Many slaves developed several forms of passive resistance against overseers. They might pretend that they didn’t hear the instructions, or they might do their work as slowly as possible. However, once the slaves joined the Union army, they had to be taught that doing such things was now treason. The Harriet Tubman cameo was also fun. Still it just wasn’t enough to salvage book three for me.

So, unfortunately, book three was a bit of a misfire. Let’s see if Cthulhu in the Deep South can shake it off and recover.

Book four begins in the middle of the American Civil War, and ends not too long after Reconstruction begins. We follow a Christian missionary abolitionist from Arkham. She is heading to South Carolina as part of an effort to help newly freed slaves make better lives for themselves. She finds herself on Ryland and Carcosa, naturally. She becomes acquainted with a conjuring woman named Mam Ruth. Mam Ruth is the leader of the Black community on the isles. Mam Ruth is also privy to the many supernatural happenings on the isles.

Ah, it would seem that Cthulhu in the Deep South recovered quite well. Book four is our first introduction to Mam Ruth. She becomes a very important supporting character from this point forward. Mam Ruth is a root doctor, which were practitioners of folk magic common in Gullah communities. Kirk Battle said he wanted to take a root doctor character, and make her into a wise sorcerer type character, like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. I liked that he drew from Gullah culture for inspiration. The Gullah are a very fascinating people group. They live in the Sea Isles, off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. Unlike most other enslaved peoples, the Gullah managed to retain a fair bit of the ancestral African culture. They also have a very distinctive dialect.

Another fun bit of real history is one of the characters who is part of the main character’s group. He’s an anthropologist who is interviewing the newly freed slave about if their traditions have roots in African culture. He is heavily inspired by an actual anthropologist who did pretty much the same thing. This wasn’t necessarily bad in and of itself, but the Black people he interviewed wished that he would talk more about the racism and discrimination they were facing. The main character disparages him, but she’s not as different as she’d like to think. Sure, she is trying to give the former slaves an education, but she goes about it in a very White Man’s Burden kind of way. She tends to put most emphasis on teaching them the Bible, and her primary motivation for teaching them to read is so they can read the Bible.

Of course, later in the book, the protagonist runs into trouble trying to get charities in New England to help the former slaves. Most charities focus on helping Union soldiers and their families. Certainly an admirable cause, but it also highlights a major part of the North’s reaction to the Civil War. 

There are many reasons why Reconstruction failed. I would say the biggest was that the South was granted amnesty way sooner than it should have been. Thanks at lot, Andrew Johnson. Southerners, including several former Confederate generals, were able to fight Reconstruction from within Congress. That Confederate leaders never got hanged for treasons is, in my humble opinion, one of the biggest mistakes in American History.

All of that having been said, the second biggest reason Reconstruction failed was the apathy of Northerners. I would compare Reconstruction to the War in Afghanistan. It was a very controversial military operation, there were numerous calls to pull out, and everything went to hell when the troops actually did pull out. Northerners might have been willing to fight to end slavery, but weren’t necessarily going to invest in the Black community afterwards.

Cthulhu in the Deep South manages to dust itself off and stand proud once again with book four.

Book five is set in 1866. It follows a man from New England who has recently moved to Charleston. He’s a bit of a hustler and a conman, and is always looking for a get-rich-quick scheme. He has recently become part of a group of similar-minded men of fortune who are looking to strike it big by finding buried treasure.

I’m just going to be honest, this was probably the weakest book in the whole series. In fairness, Kirk Battle said that book five was where he struggled the most as a writer. He wanted to tell a story from the perspective of a Carpetbagger. Problem is, there aren’t really any primary sources to use. Carpetbagger was a pejorative used by Southerners against Northerners who moved to the South following Reconstruction. The Lost Cause Narrative painted Carpetbaggers as evil swindlers who swindled innocent Southerners. In reality, however, most “Carpetbaggers” were, basically, White Northerners who didn’t totally hate Black people. Same goes for Scalawags, who were viewed as basically like Carpetbaggers, but Southern rather than Northern in origin. Again, most “Scalawags” were simply White Southerners who didn’t totally hate Black people.

There were some fun ideas. I liked how book five drew parallels between the Plat-Eye of Gullah Folklore and the Shoggoth from the Lovecraft Mythos. And there’s a bit towards the end that draws upon “The Thing on the Doorstep” for inspiration. Unfortunately, on the whole, I just couldn’t get into book five. Oh well, maybe book six will improve things.

Book six takes place during the 1870s. We follow a young Black woman who managed to get sent up North to get an education. Unfortunately, the North didn’t prove to be the land of opportunity she was hoping for. So, she moved back to South Carolina to be with her sister. It is a very turbulent time for Charleston. There’s a lot of unrest and race riots. Still, our heroine has managed to land a job as a maid for a wealthy family. They’re very peculiar folks. In fact, at times they almost seem not quite human. Things only get strange when she discovers a mysterious metal box in the attic. The box introduces itself as Mam Ruth.

It has often been joked that the even number Star Trek movies tend to be better than the odd numbered ones. I’m not sure I’d agree with that; the only truly bad Star Trek movie was Final Frontier, though that was the fifth movie. I’m tempted to say that the same pattern holds true with Cthulhu in the Deep South. Book six was a significant improvement over book five.

Kirk Battle said that he wanted to write book six as maid fiction. Think like the parts of Downton Abby that focus on the servants. It is a genre that hasn’t been popular in decades, but I feel that Kirk Battle pulled it off pretty well. He also drew upon the novel Kindred by Octavia Butler. Well, not just in book six. Kindred informed Cthulhu in the Deep South in general. Kindred is a great book, so I’m glad to hear it was an inspiration. In terms of Lovecraftian influences, we’ve got “The Whisperer in Darkness.” The mi-go do appear, and their habit of putting brains into canisters plays a big role in the plot. We also get “The Thing on the Doorstep” once again.

We also get some insight into social dynamics. Our protagonist finds herself competing against another housekeeper named Maeve. Maeve is a recent immigrant from Ireland, and constantly tries to sabotage the protagonist. Maeve particularly resents that the protagonist got the coveted job of house cook, which pays better than being just a maid. Maeve can’t cook to save her life, but still resents loosing the position. Of course, our protagonist can give just as good as she gets. I’m reminded of something Chris Rock once said about how there’s nothing a White man who only has a penny hates more than a Black man who only has a nickel.

Our protagonist is presented with a tantalizing proposition. She could switch bodies with someone from 1968, and escape the horrors of her own time. Of course, to do that, she’d be condemning someone from 1968 to a life in the 1870s. And, as far as she knows, there’s no guarantee that 1968 will necessarily be much better. In fairness, while 1968 was better than Reconstruction, there was still plenty of racism and discrimination. Still, interesting plot to have someone from the past contemplate potentially escaping to a better future.

And with that, we’ve covered all six books that are part of Cthulhu in the Deep South. It is a series that combines Lovecraftian horrors with the real life historical horrors of the 19th Century South. There were a couple misfires along the way, but on the whole, it is an excellent series of novels. Kirk Battle is planning more entries in the series, however, he’s taking a break from Cthulhu in the Deep South. He’s currently working on a purely historical fiction novel set in the Reconstruction era South titled These Hallowed Halls. And yes, it is available both as an eBook and a podiobook. I wish Kirk Battle the best of luck with all his future endeavors. I’m sure they will be excellent.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Alt-Hist File: Brave New Frontiersman

I’ve encountered a lot of very friendly and helpful people within the audio drama community. This has only increased since I have begun work on my own audio drama. So, with that in mind, I thought I’d give back to an audio drama that offered its help to me. And by give back, I mean write a review. We’re taking a look at Brave New Frontiersman. 

Brave New Frontiersman is set in an alternate version of 18th Century Colonial America. This version of North America is a land filled with magic and mythical creatures. You have creatures from the Old World, such as banshees and trolls, but also creatures from the New World, such as Sasquatch and Raven Mockers. Our hero is simply known as The Frontiersman. He travels across the frontier to aid those in need of help. He is joined by his old fur trapping companion Coyote. Along the way, they pick up a noble named Jame Byron, who has an aptitude for magic. Our three heroes will travel the frontier and encounter many strange creatures and strange magics.

I had known about Brave New Frontiersman for a while. Recently, however, I was contacted by the Brave New Frontiersman Twitter account. They had seen my casting call for my upcoming audio dram The Books of Thoth, and wanted to know if I needed people sent my way. I already cast the roles for the first three episodes, but I’ll certainly keep them in mind for future episodes. I also figured it would be nice if I gave them a review.

Now, normally I prefer an audio drama to have at least one complete season before I write a review. However, given that there tends to be a bit of a gap between episodes of Brave New Frontiersman, I am waving my usual requirement.

I’ve always found America to be a place with a look of potential to be a fantasy setting. I like to think that American folklore and history are just as rich and varied as the lore of any fantasy world. That our landscapes could rival any fantasy geography. I’m always happy to find more American-inspired fantasy. So, big point in Brave New Frontiersmen’s favor. Being set in the 18th Century, and dealing with the frontier, I was immediately reminded of the Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper. The most famous book in the series being The Last of the Mohicans.

The frontier has always had a special place in the mythology of America. I’m reminded of when Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition. He asked them to bring back a wooly mammoth, as many people believed that mammoths still roamed the lands of the Louisiana Purchase. Well, obviously, they didn’t have much luck finding a live mammoth. However, they did find a fossilized mammoth tusk. Hmm, I wonder if there are mammoths in Brave New Frontiersman. None have appeared so far, but they could always pop-up later.

Point being, frontier has often been mythologized as a land of adventure and discovery. A land completely unknown, well, except for the numerous Indigenous tribes that were already living there. The point I’m trying to make is that Brave New Frontiersman taps into that mythologized notion of the frontier as “here be dragons” territory.

As previously mentioned, Brave New Frontiersman is alternate history. Obviously, there’s the magic and mythical creatures bit, but there’s other aspects as well. One episode begins with the characters reading a newspaper. From this, we learn that the Aztec Empire still fell to Spanish Conquest. However, it did so in the 18th Century, rather than the 16th Century, and rather recently in terms of when the story takes place. The Inca Empire remains independent, at least for the moment. Also, the mythical king Prester John is apparently real, and his kingdom has recently been discovered. 

We also learn that the Seven Years War, known to Americans as the French and Indian War, lasted twenty years in the world of Brave New Frontiersman. I guess it will be called the Twenty Years War instead. I do wonder what effect that will have on the American Revolution. We’re already getting hints of friction between the colonists and the British. It is mentioned that nobles have an affinity for magic, but what does that mean? Do nobles have a greater aptitude for magic? Or can anyone learn magic with enough time and practice, and nobles are just more likely to have better training? It is repeatedly mentioned that lead cancels out the effects of magic, so an anti-monarchist rebellion could still work.

Another interesting point is the depiction of religion. So far, we’ve only seen Catholic priests. Now, the first time was in a town populated by Irish settlers, so that was understandable. As for the second time, it made me wonder whether the Protestant Reformation still happened in the world of Brave New Frontiersman. Granted, settlements of English Catholics weren’t unheard of. Maryland was founded so that English Catholics would have somewhere to freely practice their religion. There is, eventually, mention of Martin Luther being viewed as a heretic by the Catholic Church. So, clearly there was a Reformation in this world. What the exact details were, however, remain to be seen. 

Now, let’s talk a bit about the voice acting. The first couple episodes were a bit rough at times. It was clear that the Brave New Frontiersman team hadn’t quite found their footing yet, and were still trying to figure out how the characters should sound. However, as the series progresses, the casts gets more of a handle on their characters, and the performances get stronger. I see more improvement with each new episode. I’ve also noticed that sometimes the sound levels will be a tad uneven. Again, this is improving, but it is important to make sure all the dialogue is equalized. That way, it helps create the illusion that everyone is together in the same place. Also, this is a minor point, the characters pronounce New Orleans as New Or-Leans. I’m from Louisiana, as many of you know, and we pronounce it as New Or-Lens. I realize this doesn’t make a lot of sense to people who aren’t from Louisiana. However, pronouncing it as Or-Leans is a goo way to mark yourself as someone who isn’t from Louisiana.

Let’s shift gears and talk about the bestiary. One episode had our heroes facing off against a dullahan, a type of headless horseman from Irish Folklore. It makes for a clever reference to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. In fact, one of the twists in the episodes has its roots in the twist of “Sleepy Hollow.” Very nice use of literary allusions. Another episode see the heroes deal with a Raven Mocker. It is a creature from Cherokee Mythology. They’re shapeshifting spirits who target the dead and dying, and eat their victims’ hearts to extend their own lives. They can only be seen by an experienced medicine man, and usually his presence will be enough to keep them at bay. I always enjoy when I get to learn about a new mythical creature.

There are only seven episodes of Brave New Frontiersman out so far. That means there’s still a lot of places for the story to go. Obviously, I’m very interested in the alternate history aspects of the setting. I’m also hoping that we’ll get to meet some Native Americans at some point. Native Americans aren’t very common in pop culture, which is a real shame. I did raise my eyebrow a bit when it was mentioned that all Indigenous spirits are vulnerable to tobacco. That felt like it was playing into the unfortunate trope where all Native American cultures are lumped together into a single category. Though, thankfully, the Raven Mocker was specifically identified as a creature from Cherokee Mythology. So, I have hope that Brave New Frontiersman will be able to handle Native Americans with tact.

I’m also hoping we learn a bit more about the backstories of the Frontiersman and Coyote. At the moment, we don’t know too much. Going by the cover art, the Frontiersman does look vaguely similar to Natty Bumppo, the protagonist of the Leatherstocking Tales. So, I wonder if he might have a similar backstory. The way Coyote talks kind of reminds me of Tonto from The Lone Ranger. Though, I don’t think Coyote is suppose to be Native American. On the other hand, the Coyote is a trickster spirit common to many Native American tribes. So, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The keyword with Brave New Frontiersman is potential. There is a lot of potential in the characters and the setting. We’ve got seven episodes so far, and I feel a clear sense of improvement and progress as the episodes go on. I feel confident that Brave New Frontiersman will be able to keep up the momentum, and spread its wings even further in the future. And I certainly can’t wait to see where the adventure takes us next.

So, there you have it. Brave New Frontiersman is an audio drama set upon the frontier of an 18th Century America filled with magic and mythical creatures. Only seven episodes out so far, but it improves with every episode, and has a lot of potential.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Alt-Hist File: Prototype World of Tomorrow: The Infinite Journey

I’ve been on a roll reviewing the latest seasons of several audio dramas. We find ourselves once again at Prototype World of Tomorrow, a show I utterly adore. Not much more to add, so let get on to the main event. We’ve taking a look at season three of Prototype World of Tomorrow: The Infinite Journey. 

Just to recap, Prototype World of Tomorrow is set in a world where Walt Disney’s dream to build an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow became a reality. Everyone in Progress City is gearing up for the Eleusinian Tournament. It is a competitive video game tournament, and Tim E. Less is determined to win with a little help from his friends. This year, the players will be dematerialized, and reassembled within the game itself. It might seem like fun and games, but lurks around every corner within the digital world. Tim’s fellow private investigator, Eve R. Moore, wants him to help her investigate the companies behind the Eleusinian Tournament from within. Hold on tight, Tim and the gang are about to take a journey beyond their wildest imagination.

I think by know that it should be obvious that I absolutely adore Prototype World of Tomorrow. It started off strong with season one, and continued the momentum with season two. So, how does season three do? Quite well indeed. As usual, there are numerous references to Disney Park attractions. Specifically, there are numerous references to all three incarnations of Journey into Imagination. Contestants exit the game through a rainbow tunnel, as a nod to how Journey into Imagination featured a rainbow tunnel. Fun fact, the Journey into Imagination tunnel also appears in one of Michael Jackson’s music videos. At one point, Tim and company meet a computer program that takes the form of a purple dragon. Obviously, this is meant to be Figment, and I shall refer to him as such from here on out. Figment mentions that he used to have a friend, but hasn’t seen said friend in a while. This is a reference to Dreamfinder, and how he was absent from both the Journey into Your Imagination and Journey into Imagination with Figment incarnations of the ride. Speaking of which, Ron Schneider, who played Dreamfinder, once again returns as one of the computer voices.

This segue’s nice into my next point. The game for this years tournament is partially powered by the players’ own imaginations. Oh, there are servers, very powerful ones, but part of the computing power is offset by utilizing the players’ own minds. For example, when Tim and his teammates look at a berry, it looks different to all of them, because everyone has their own mental image of how a berry should look. Though as mentioned, the servers do play some role. For example, all of the trees share the exact same four designs. Honestly, using the contestants’ own minds to generate the game was actually kind of brilliant. I haven’t really seen anything quite like that in fiction about virtual reality. I especially liked some aspects of the game being subjective based on the players’ own imaginations. Let it never be said that Ben Lancaster is lacking in creativity and imagination. Also, the part where the announcer says “right now there’s not a whole lot going on in your imaginations” was a nod to Journey Into Your Imagination, when Eric Idle says the same thing.

Oh, and one more reference. In the first episode, Tim is excited that his friends got handwiches. Handwitches were a short lived Disney food item. They were billed as the sandwiches of the future by then Disney CEO Michael Eisner. Handwiches were bread cones which held a variety of both sweet and savory fillings. Unfortunately, pretty much only Michael Eisner thought they were a good idea. Even the people working the handwich stands were skeptical of them, and handwiches died a swift death. Still, handwiches developed a minor cult following. In fact, they became a minor meme after Defunctland made a video about them. It also occurs to me that Bonnie, the waitress at Tim’s favorite greasy spoon, might possibly be a reference to Bonnie Appetite from Kitchen Kabaret.

Now, lets talk about the new characters. Tim’s team is down a player, so they take on Pauline, who works at the same company as Tim’s girlfriend Annie. At first, Tim doesn’t want Pauline on the team, and it was at this point I worried that this season was going to become one of those preachy “gamers are sexists” stories. Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case. Tim just wants to have a chance to play alongside his buddies, and proudly admits to having lost to numerous all-female teams in the past. Pauline has a true passion for retrogames, but Tim and his team initially dismiss her because of this. And yet, not too long after this, they mention that past Eleusinian Tournaments have incorporated elements of retrogames. So, one would think that they wouldn’t be so quick to brush her off. Initially, Pauline comes across as introverted, shy, and slightly dorky. In fact, at first I wondered if perhaps she might have autism. You don’t often see women with autism depicted in fiction. However, once everyone gets into the game, she becomes far more confident and in her element.

I also really liked Tim’s friend Morris. He’s a huge paleontology nerd, and is very excited that this year’s game has a dinosaur theme. He can name all of the dinosaurs, and other prehistoric animals, and rattles of a list of facts about each of them. He must be really good at the game right? Yeah, no. He get’s killed in the tutorial of the game, but he emerges from the game with little more than a bruised ego. Yeah, that would be me in that scenario. I also have a deep love of prehistoric animals, and with my luck, I’d probably get killed in the tutorial as well.

There is an obvious comparison to TRON with this season taking place in the digital world. However, while the programs interact with humans, their appearance isn’t as anthropomorphized as programs are in TRON. It is explain that the processing power of the severs is far faster than that of a human mind. I looked it up, and that does check out. As such, a human mind can’t be plugged directly into the computer mainframe. Thus, programs are rendered as series of geometric shapes.

Well, mostly. We do meet a program who looks suspiciously similar to Eve’s supposedly dead fiancé. We don’t get confirmation as to whether or not it really was him. That having been said, many strange things have been shown to happen in Progress. Personally, if I was the gambling sort, I’d put money on it actually being him. I’ll be genuinely surprised if it turns out it wasn’t actually him. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see what future seasons have in store for us.

The virtual world setting does provide some humorous moments as well. At one point, Eve hacks into the game, and enters via the microphone she gave Tim. However, because Tim swallowed the mic, Tim winds-up vomiting Eve into the game. This is one of those time that it is good that Prototype World of Tomorrow has no visual component. That scene would probably be pretty terrifying in a visual medium. There were points were it seemed that something would go wrong, and the characters might get mutated or glitched somehow. My personal speculations was that somehow everyone would switch bodies. It would be interesting to see the actors portray each other’s characters. But it would seem that I was wrong.

I liked the part where Tim and company muse on the fact that the game contains temple ruins. Does this mean that humans and dinosaurs coexist in the game? Or did the dinosaurs develop their own religion? My take? Probably a nod to how early video games often featured ruins that often seemed to have no function beyond being ruins. There’s also a scene at a digital circus where Pauline eats some peanuts, and notes that she’s a allergic to peanuts in the real world. She finds them to be okay. 

Series creator Benjamin Lancaster has a deep love for the original EPCOT theme park. That loves really shines through in this season, even more so than usual. 

And so there you have it. The Infinite Journey, season three of Prototype World of Tomorrow, keeps up the momentum of its predecessors. Prototype World of Tomorrow has bowled a turkey; three-for-three for great seasons of alternate history science fiction goodness. I can’t wait to see what surprise season four will have for us. From the looks of it, some exciting stuff is on the way.

Speaking of exciting stuff, I’d like to take a moment to talk about one of the projects Brian Ballance, the voice of Tim, is up to. He has recently started a podcast called The Interesting Podcast. As the title says, he interviews people he thinks are interesting. For example, he interviewed, Callie Wills, the voice of Eve. I would encourage everyone to go checkout Brain’s podcast.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time. 

The Alt-Hist File: Age of Confusion: Season 2

We’re already over a month into the new year, and that means I need to get around following up on my reviews. Today’s review is the first step in that direction. There isn’t much more to add, so let’s get straight to it. We’re taking a look at season 2 of Age of Confusion. 

To recap, Age of Confusion is an alternate history podcast, but told in the style of an non-fiction history podcast. It imagines a world where John. F. Kennedy survived his assassination attempt, and examines how history changes from there. Last time, we left off with the election of George Romney in 1968. Romney takes office in a time of change and turmoil. The Counterculture Movement is in full swing, and will bring big changes to the American cultural landscape. Meanwhile, Soviet Premier Alexander Shelepin is gaging Romney’s character. Shelepin, and his counterparts in East Germany, have been eyeing West Berlin hungrily. Back in America, both political parties are already focusing on the 1972 Election. It is an age of wonders, it is an age of terrors, but above all else, it is an Age of Confusion.

For those who have missed my review of season 1, you can find that over here. I thought that season 1 of Age of Confusion was absolutely fantastic. Season 2 not only matched its predecessor in terms of quality, but also exceeded it. Sean Munger built upon the groundwork he laid in season 1 to great effect. This was a season where a lot of shoes dropped. The intro to each episode lets us know that three things are going to happen: West Berlin will be invaded by East Germany, Robert F. Kennedy will be elected President, and something is going differently for the Apollo program.

First, let’s talk about President George Romney. Sean portrays Romney as a good man at heart, and someone who genuinely wants what is best for the America. However, that goodness is also Romany’s biggest weakness. Romney simply doesn’t know how to play the game of politics, and quickly finds himself way over his head. Romney doesn’t get as much flack for his Mormonism as you might think, but I think this makes sense. Most Americans had never heard of Mormons in the late 1960/early 1970s. Romney also specifically speaks of his strong Christian faith, but not specifically his Mormonism. In other views, Romney is a strong supporter of civil rights for African-Americans and Native Americans.

The one true success of Romney’s presidency is that he gets Medicare passed. JFK was unable to do this, as he did in our world, due to focusing on getting the Comprehensive Civil Rights Act passed. Romney takes office in the middle of a recession, and he argues that Medicare will help take financial burdens off of the American people. He also allows individuals age twenty-five and under to be covered by Medicare. Medicare is a big hit with the American people, but Republicans are absolutely furious. Many claim than Romney isn’t a true Republican. Romney winds up pretty much destroying the moderate wing of the Republican Party. The 1960s and 1970s were when the Democrats and Republicans solidified into their current forms. Before that, both parties had members from across the political spectrum. Kennedy, was a Democrat, and supported Civl Rights, but he also had to fight against members of his own party who opposed the Civil Rights Act.

I liked that this season also took time to focus on alternate history related to pop culture. A band called Refraction becomes America’s answer to The Beatles. Sean says that he had this happen because he was unsatisfied with how America never produced a band capable of rivaling The Beatles. The members of Refraction collaborates with director Frank Perry to make a movie adaption of the novel On the Road. Said adaptation is a massive hit, and wins a bunch of Academy Awards.

Meanwhile, Elvis Presley’s wife introduces him to L. Ron Hubbard. Elvis becomes very close to Hubbard, converts to Scientology, and donates a bunch of money to the Church of Scientology. I’m not sure if I can see this happening. Elvis was an extremely devout Christian in our world. In fact, he refused to be called The King because he thought it was blasphemous. Priscilla Beaulieu Presley did become a Scientologist in our world, but that was after Elvis’ death in 1977. Though, I guess anything is theoretically possible.

The outcome of the Moon Race is…underwhelming. Sean said that the Space Race wouldn’t be getting much focus, but it feels like it was tacked on almost as an afterthought. Romney guts NASA’s budget at a critical moment, and this allows the Soviets to get their act together and land a manned mission on the Moon first. There were a lot of politicians in our world who wanted to defund NASA on the grounds that the money could be better spent on programs on Earth. Walter Mondale is one example that comes to mind. It is also theoretically possible that the N1 rocket could have gotten a Soyuz craft to the Moon. So, this is a reasonably believable scenario. Still, it could easily have been an episode in and of itself. Actually, it could potentially be multiple episodes. I can’t help but feel that there was a massive missed opportunity here.

Let’s move onto something that was most certainly not a missed opportunity. East Germany is concerned about the brain drain they suffer thanks to West Berlin. Alexander Shelepin agrees, and decides that the time is right to finally invade West Berlin. Shelepin deemed Romney to be a weak-willed pushover, and didn’t expect any serious consequences. The war machine springs to life, and both West and East are on high alert. Soviet and East German troops move into West Berlin, while NATO forces mobilize to counter them. Citizens on the East Coast of America are told to head for the bomb shelters and prepare for the worst. The military is at DEFCON 1, and President Romney must decide if he should push the button or not.

Oh, and wouldn’t you know it, pretty much the entire presidential cabinet is away on various trips. Romney takes some time to pray and makes his choice. He knows that Shelepin is a madman who will make good on his threats of retaliation. Romney decides he will let the Soviets have West Berlin, but American forces will evacuate anyone, regardless of nationality, who wants to be evacuated. Hundreds of thousands of citizens are evacuated from both halves of Berlin. More importantly, all of the intellectuals and educated workers are successfully evacuated. And so the Berlin Wall falls twenty years ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, it falls because Berlin is united under communist rule.

Shelepin technically succeeded, as now Berlin is united under East German rule, but the brain drain is even worse than if he’d done nothing. A victory, but a rather pyrrhic one. On the other hand, relations between the NATO nations are seriously strained. West Germany is furious that America threw them under the bus. Britain and France also fear that America may betray them to the Soviets.

Still, Shelepin does find other bits of success. He manages to pretty much completely reverse the Sino-Soviet Split. Shelepin also enacts a new wave of political purges, but not quite to the extent that Stalin did. He doesn’t have enough charisma, and isn’t enough of a people person, to start a cult of personality like Stalin did. The Chinese Cultural Revolution goes pretty much exactly as it did in our world. The biggest difference is that Mao dies about five years ahead of schedule. That’s definitely going to have an impacts on future seasons of Age of Confusion.

As you might imagine, the events of the Berlin Crisis play a major role in the 1972 Presidential Election. It comes down to Ronald Reagan vs. Robert F. Kennedy. As for how that line-up come to be, I’ll leave that for you to discover. Obviously, we know from the intro that Kennedy wins. Ultimately, it was the war scare that swing things. Americans wanted someone who was going to deescalate things with the Soviets, not ramp them up. George Wallace also ran again, but only managed to win three states this time round. Of course, the real fun is going to start next season, when RFK officially takes office.

That covers all of the major points I wanted to discuss. There’s still several bits that I didn’t mention, but I’ll leave those for you to discover. Season 1 of Age of Confusion was amazing, but it was just the warm up act. Season 2 is where the fun really starts. Sean has said he wants to take some time off to rest before working on season 3. I can respect that. It is import to avoid overexerting yourself in your creative endeavors. There’s no shame in taking time off to rest and recuperate. And hey, based on how season 2 turned out, I know that season 3 and 4 will be absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to listen to them whenever they come out.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Alt-Hist File: Out of Place: Season 1

More often than not I find audio dramas by pure luck more than anything. But that just makes it all the more special when I find a true hidden gem. Such was the case with the show that we are reviewing today. We're taking a look at season one of Out of Place.

Out of Place follows a man named Andrew Moss. He had been studying history in university, but wound up dropping out. Still, he's making the best of things. He's gotten hired as an archivist for a mysterious organization called The Carruthers Institute. He's cataloging historical artifacts, but there's something off about them. The artifacts seem to contradict recorded history. It soon becomes clear that the artifacts are from parallel worlds where history went differently. Andrew must examine the artifacts to determine how the history of their worlds differs from our own. All the while, Andrew ponders who his mysterious benefactor is.

I first became aware of Out of Place when I chanced upon a post on the r/audiodrama subreddit. I click on the post, which spoke quite highly of the show, and I saw the two magic words: alternate history. Specifically, the show was recommended for lovers of alternate history. In that moment I knew I had to give this show a listen. I proceeded to binge the entire show, and here we are now.

Out of Place is part of the Midnight Disease network of audio dramas. It includes several other fine show, like Theatre of Tomorrow. Out of Place is created by Ben Counter, who also voices Andrew. It is produced by Pacific S. Obadiah, who is the founder of Midnight Disease. The episodes are presented in the form of audio logs that Andrew has recorded. This means that Ben has to carry the entire show all by himself. Well, with the exception of the final episode of the season, but we'll get to that in due time. Anyway, there's no music or sound effects; it's just purely him narrating. In situations like this the narrator is going to make or break the show. Thankfully, Ben's narration is all that Out of Place needed to succeed.

Out of Place managed to do something I would have previously said was impossible. It combined alternate history and horror, and did so to great effect. It also did so without resorting to the typical Nazi victory or Confederate victory scenarios. Some episodes hint at supernatural elements, but for the most part, the horror is derived from down-to-earth alternate history. Much of the horror comes simply from the cruelty of humans to their fellow humans. The premise of a man cataloging strange artifacts for a mysterious organization reminded me of the SCP Foundation. In fact, I'd argue that Out of Place is almost a better SCP podcast than most of the actual SCP podcasts.

All right then, so just what are these artifacts? Let's have a look, shall we?

Before we got further, a brief warning. Due to the short run time of each episode, usually in the neighborhood of fifteen minutes or so, it is impossible to talk about the episodes without spoilers. So, consider this your one and only warning. If everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

Well, actually, just one more little thing I'd like to add. The episodes often include bits at the beginning and end where Andrew talks about his life. He will often talk about how things are with his boyfriend, and his boyfriend's niece, who has moved in with them temporarily. Now, this might seem innocuous, but don't be fooled. It becomes very important by the end of the season. As such, it really pays to listen to the episodes in sequential order. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let’s properly get into it.

Our first item is a skull that has received trepanning. It was a practice some ancient cultures did to release evil spirits from a skull, or relieve pressure from a head injury. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Well, other than that this skull clearly comes from modern times. Only a few decades in the past, in fact.

This episodes is actually numbered as episode zero. Out of Place uses episode zero to set the tone and style for each season, or in this case, for the series. So, in that regard, it isn't bad. That said, I get the sense that we can do better here. Let's see what the first official episode has to offer.

The first official artifact is a pamphlet advertising the Italian town of Rosaria. It's one of those picturesque Italian countryside town tourists love to flock to. It wasn't always called Rosaria. That was the name it changed to in the 19th Century. Prior to that it had a name you might be more familiar with: Pompeii.

This was the episode where I felt I could properly gage what Out of Place would be like. Would it be totally crazy and off the rails, or would hew closer to realism? It seems that Out of Place is hewing closer to realism, but adding a few twists along the way. In all likelihood, something along these lines probably would have happened if Pompeii hadn't been destroyed by Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii was a resort town, and can best be thought of as an Ancient Roman version of Las Vegas. In the grand scheme of things, Pompeii just wasn't that important. It probably would have developed into a sleepy little Italian town. There probably wouldn't be as many ruins in our world, but I'd imagine it would have at least a few.

But wait, what is this? One of the major tourist attractions in Rosaria is a temple built into the side of Mount Vesuvius. The temple is dedicated to Jupiter, and it is recommended that visitors not bring children younger than sixteen due to disturbing imagery within the temple. Just what did the people of Pompeii do, or believe that had to do, to keep Vesuvius from erupting?

One of the recurring themes of Out of Place is that there is only so much that Andrew can learns from studying the artifacts. We just don't know the full context behind the artifacts. Of course, given what Andrew can surmise, the worlds they come from seem like they aren't very nice places. This is all to the advantage of Out of Place. Horror thrives in the margins. That is, horror often does best when you don't explain everything, and leave some ambiguities. It doesn't matter if the knock at the door is because of a serial killer or a monster. What matter is that there is something behind the door, and it wants in. That was one of the principals that Alfred Hitchcock operated under in his films.

Alright, the first official episode is pretty good, let's see if we can keep up the momentum.

Our next item is a Faberge egg, and a large one at that. Interior includes a map of the Russian Empire. Ah, but not the one form our world. The map includes Korea, Japan, and assorted islands of the Pacific as part of Russia. So, we're dealing with an alternate Russo-Japanese War, where Russia emerged victorious. Okay, points for creativity. The Russo-Japanese War doesn't appear too often in alternate history. But this is Out of Place, so surly it isn't that simple?

Examining the egg further we find a jeweled flea. Why a flea of all things? Well, fleas do help spread the bubonic plague. Germ Theory was only developed in relatively recent times, but disease warfare has been used for centuries. The Mongols often threw dead bodies at the enemies in hopes of spreading disease. Cortez and his troops did something similar during the Siege of Tenochtitlan. So, perhaps this alternate Russia utilized disease warfare against Japan. For reference, the Russo-Japanese War happened about a decade before World War I. What would the Great War have been like if it had unrestricted biological warfare on top of everything else? Or here's a thought, what if it really was the war to end all wars? As in, what if humanity got totally whipped out by the unrestricted germ warfare? There's a lot of very dark possibilities now that Russia has let the genie out the bottle.

Okay, so Out of Place can keep the momentum up. Let's see if episode three will bowl a turkey.

Out third item is an ornately carved Louis XVII desk. In our world, Louis XVII never actually ruled as King of France. In fact, he died in prison while he was still a child. He was called Louis XVII by the various Pro-Bourbon factions. However, it would seem that the events of the French Revolution went a bit differently in the world of this desk. The carvings depict scenes from Classical Mythology, but with Louis XVII in the starring roles. It's all rather reminiscent of the artwork produced under Louis XIV, the great Sun King himself.

But that's not the most noteworthy thing about that desk. That would be a group of hidden carvings. They depict the royals eating the revolutionaries and violently tearing them asunder. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette watch the proceeding accompanied by a mysterious bearded man. I kind of get the feeling that the carvings aren't meant to be symbolic.

In our world, Louis XVI wasn't a bad king per se. Well, he was certainly incompetent, and didn't really have a good grasp on statecraft. I've always gotten the impression that he'd rather have spent all day attending to his beloved clocks. He was incompetent, but certainly not a tyrant. You could argue he had the deck stacked against him. Louis XIV crafted a court where the affair of state revolved around him, and him alone. Making things tailored specifically to him created issues for his successors.

In the world of this desk, however, it appears that Louis XVI went a bit insane. It also appears that the Royalists successfully crushed the Revolutionaries. Perhaps, Louis became paranoid, and felt the need to take harsher measures? Or here's another thought. Many of the great empires of Europe hoped to become a new Roman Empire. Perhaps, Louis wished this for France, and closely emulated Rome, including the bits of Rome best left to the dustbin of history. Perhaps, the Kings of France went mad with power after crushing opposition to their rule?

And what about the mysterious bearded man with the thunderbolts? Who is he? Is he a mad monk a la Rasputin? Did the Royalist create their own religion, a reverse Cult of the Supreme Being, and he is their high priest? Or maybe, just maybe, Louis XVI managed to get the gods of old to intercede on his behalf? Or perhaps the man is some sort of Lovecraftian abomination? Hey, there are at least a couple episodes that do hint at supernatural happenings. It's a big, big multiverse, after all. Then again, sometimes a pipe is just a pipe, and maybe I'm overthinking it. After all, the darkness within the hearts of mankind can bring forth plenty of terrors all on its own.

Right, I think we need to move it along. Suffice it to say, we have bowled a turkey with this one. And it is at the start, so that makes it a sizzling turkey.

Our fourth item is a copy of Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer. It was that book that claimed to have all sorts of secret information about the ways of witches, how to identify witches, and how to combat them. However, this version doesn't speak of witch trials in the past tense. It has entries on executing witches using steam-looms, and the use of electro shock and chemical injections to induce confessions. It would seem that this edition of Malleus Maleficarum comes from a world where Witch Hunts and Witch Trials never ended.

We all like to think that the arrow of morality inevitably arcs towards justice and equality, but this isn't always the case. True, Western Civilization did, in large part, reject superstition and religious fundamentalism in favor of the values of the Enlightenment. But, had circumstances been slightly different, this might not have been the case. Even today we are still haunted by the specters of the past. Look at how many people take horoscopes and astrology seriously. For that matter, look at how many people don't believe in climate change, or who think vaccines are a conspiracy to spread autism.

I grew up in what could be considered part of the Bible Belt, and can well remember what things were like during the George W. Bush years. It certainly felt like America was speeding towards religious extremism, jingoism, and a new unenlightened Dark Ages. I often worried about what would happen to America if things kept going that way. Sometimes, it certainly felt like we'd go back to burning people for witchcraft before long. Thankfully, that's mostly not how things turned out. Though there are times I'm reminded the threat hasn't totally vanished.

The point is, our enlightened modern world exists on a knife’s edge, and I'd argue came about via luck as much as anything else. I guess the moral of this episode is about how delicate our freedoms and liberties are, and how we shouldn't take them for granted. Never say "it could never happen here." What sort of world would still treat Malleus Maleficarum as a serious book? Certainly not one I want to visit any time soon. And yet, maybe it isn't as far off as we'd all like to think. This was a very thought-provoking episode, and I applaud the writers for that.

Our next item is a stone marker with writing on it in Hebrew. The text speaks of a massacre that happened to the Jewish residents of London's East End. Specifically, one that occurred during the Jack the Ripper murders.

This one is going to need some more context. Jack the Ripper is one of the most notorious serial killers, but nobody knows who he was. This has led to quite a bit of speculation about his identity. This was especially true during the murders. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the people of London searched for targets to lash-out at in their fear. There were rumors that the Ripper was Jewish, and this did lead to small scale antisemitic riots. The police considered several Jewish individuals as candidates for the Ripper's identity, but never made this information public. The fear was that this would lead to more antisemitic violence. In the world of this artifact, however, the police weren't so prudent. This resulted in several pogroms against the Jewish population of London.

You don't need much to create a dystopia. Sometimes, all you need is a localized tragedy. On the whole, this world probably isn't too different than ours. The London Pogroms would certainly be a black mark on British History, but honestly, I don't see them leading to any major changes in the grand scheme of things. Still, this world is worse off because of that tragedy. This kind of ties in with what I said about the previous episode. Jewish Britons won't be able to say "it can't happen here" because it did happen to them. I wonder what World War II would be like for them? They would surely think back to the horrors of the London Pogroms, and perhaps fear that Britain might throw them under the bus to appease Germany.

This was an unexpected, but quite powerful, episode to be sure.

Our next artifact is a poster from the Monterey Pop Music Fest of 1967. There's plenty of big-name bands, including one called The Family, with lead vocals by Charlie Manson. Yes, it would seem that Charles Manson's dreams of being a musician actually panned out in the world of this poster. They're listed as playing many songs, including one called "Helter Skelter." It could be a cover of The Beatles song...or possibly a reference to the race war that Manson believed was coming.

There is a tendency within alternate history towards the dystopian. Or at least, there is something of an unwritten assumption that our world is the best of all possible timelines. There are several reasons why this is. However, I think that one of the most likely reasons is that it is generally more fun when things go wrong. A lot of alternate history fiction are set in objectively horrible worlds, but they make for entertaining fiction. This episode kind of makes me feel that Andrew suffers from this thinking as well. Well, he strikes me as a pessimistic and cynical fellow, so maybe that contributes to it.

Is it possible that Charles Manson is still a depraved racist lunatic in the world of the poster? Potentially, and that certainly the interpretation that Ben Counter wants us to go with. However, Andrew seems to assume that Manson was preprogrammed to be evil. There is the whole debate over nature vs. nurture, but personally, I think it is a bit of both. I think we all have inclinations towards certain things, but we're also very much products of our environments. Nothing is set in stone when it comes to alternate history.

Also, I'm not sure race war is the term I'd use for the conflict between the United States and the Native Americans. That's not to say it wasn't terrible, and that there weren't deliberate efforts to destroy indigenous cultures and peoples, but I'm not sure comparing it to the Helter Skelter is fitting. Especially since ninety percent of all indigenous peoples in the Americas were killed by disease.

Now, none of this is to say I thought this was a bad episode. I did very much enjoy it. However, I feel that Andrew is a bit too unimaginative in his thinking at times. Perhaps the leaders of The Project should have scouted for someone who reads alternate history, or has an interest in alternate history.

Moving along, our next time is a series of aerial photographs of a Soviet gulag. Ah, but this isn't just any gulag. The photos come from the Moon in 1968. It would seem that the Space Race took a very different direction in the world of these photos.

Astute readers of this blog will recall that love alternate histories of the Space Race, or one that involve manned spaceflight. So, I enjoyed this one. It would seem that the Space Race kicked into gear earlier in the timeline of the photos. I often wondered about the possibility of lunar gulags. I've come to the conclusion that mostly likely they wouldn't be worth the effort. Why bother with the logistic of space colonization when Siberia is much more cost-effective? However, I'm willing to overlook implausibility if it results in a good story. To me, it is important that alternate history fiction be entertaining first and foremost. Plausibility, while it can make for good fiction, is an attribute, not a virtue. And this episode certainly grabbed my attention.

I guess maybe a lunar gulag might not be too implausible if the Soviets were serious about lunar colonization. They could use the prisoners as a free labor force to construct the colonies. And if they get sick and die, well, they were only prisoners. Plus, being able to control the very air they breathe is a great deterrent against riots and revolts. An objectively terrible stimulation for the unlucky prisoners, but it makes for entertaining fiction.

Next up we have a statue from the Republic of Arizona. It is a statue of Timothy McVeigh, the man behind the Oklahoma City bombings in our world. He was in the army prior to that, but got kicked out for insubordination. In the world of this statue, however, McVeigh stays in the military, and had quite the career.

Well, this episode went in a very different direction than I expected. When I heard Arizona Republic, I assumed this was going to be a world where the Constitution never got adopted. It is a semi-popular scenario in alternate history fiction to have the Articles of Confederation remain the governing document of America. This inevitably leads the United States to Balkanize early on, with each state, more or less, becoming its own nation. The Articles of Confederation had a lot of issue that the Constitution fixed. Under the Articles, all decisions by Congress had to be unanimous, Congress couldn't raise funds for an army, and there was a distinct lack of centralized federal authority. 

Could an alternate Timothy McVeigh have staged a coup against the American government? I mean, I guess it isn't totally impossible, given the right circumstance. Not totally impossible, but I think extremely unlikely. Andrew monologs at the end about how America is fragile and teetering on the edge of collapse. However, I find that to be more than a tad hyperbolic. True, there are many instances where America might have turned into a dictatorship had circumstances been different, and yet here we still stand. We had a Civil War, but the rebels, and their slavery loving ways, were soundly defeated. We've had peaceful transfer of power for over 200 years. We did have bit of a hiccup in 2021, but you'll notice that those conspiratorial lunatics were soundly defeated, and failed to achieve their goals.

Not a bad episode, and I will certainly give points for originality. Still, I certainly don't agree with the conclusions that the episode draws.

Next up, in our catalog of the strange, is a newspaper article. It tells of a viral outbreak that occurred in Central Africa. The virus started from chimps, but apparently it could spread to humans as well. It worked by attacking the immune system itself. Thankfully, the virus was successfully contained and eradicated before it could get too far. In our world, we know this virus as AIDS.

This was a nice change of pace. I have mentioned that alternate history has a tendency towards the pessimistic. So, it was nice to see an episode that attempted to imagine a better world. It was also nice to see an episode the shook up the formula a bit. I didn't have to wait for the other shoe to fall, or try to figure out what the twist would be. On the surface, this is a world where the AIDS Epidemic never happened, and this is a very good thing. Beneath the surface, that's exactly what this world is.

Perhaps, there would be less prejudice against homosexuals. Oh, there would still be plenty of prejudice against homosexuals. Religious groups would no doubt still be trying to pray the gay away. Still, gays wouldn't be associated with the stigma of AIDS. Maybe, just maybe, this would means acceptance of LGBT individuals would happen sooner. Perhaps, just perhaps, the victories of the Gay Rights Movement would be achieved quicker. I'd certainly like to think that it would be possible. So, I applaud Ben Counter for going against the grain, and daring to envision a better world.

The next addition of the collection is a record dating from World War I. One side plays a song called "Eat Your Mushroom, Kaiser Bill." It's a jaunty marching song about giving the kraut's what they deserve. On the flip side is a sad, mournful song drawing attention to the suffering people of Belgium. You see, the mushroom in the first song refers to a mushroom cloud. This record comes from a world where Britain developed the atomic bomb in the middle of World War I.

This is one of those alternate history scenarios you don't see too often, but has a lot of potential. Now, in terms of plausibility, this is perhaps not the most realistic timeline. You need more than just scientific know-how to build an atomic bomb. You also need an industrial base capable of supporting your production. I'm not sure that World War I-era Britain had that sort of industrial capacity. They could possibly have compensated for that by pooling their resources with other members of the Entente. However, I get the feeling that the British Empire would not share such a big advantage with other nations. So, maybe not plausible, but it has a lot of potential for storytelling.

World War I was a war fought with 19th Century battle tactics, but 20th Century weaponry. The nations of Europe barely comprehended the deadly potential of the new weapons of war they had created. So, what if you were to add atomic bombs to the mix? This was an era when generals still believed they had to achieve total surrender from enemy forces. World War I also marked the first step in the decline of the British Empire, and European imperialism as a whole. The British Empire of this alternate timeline now has quite the Sword of Damocles to ensure its dominance over the world. Imagine if the British were to use atomic bombs to quell uprisings within their colonial empire.

This certainly sounds like a world heading for some very dark places. But I do see much storytelling potential here. I also really liked that we actually get to hear what the songs sound like. It really helped add to the immersion of the experience.

Our penultimate item is a series of lead sheets covered in Latin writing. Ah, Ancient Roman curse tablets. It curses Septimius Severin for a failed expedition beyond Hadrian's Wall. The tablets speak of the absolute massacre of the legion Severin lead, but it also curses the Son of Neptune. It was someone, or something, that fought on the side of the Caledonian tribes.

This was an interesting episode, and in a way, a fitting bookend for the first season. Our first official episode involved Ancient Rome, and here we are with the Romans once again. It would seem that Septimius Severin lived a couple years longer than he did in our world, but this doesn't seem to have made too big of a splash on history. But oh, what is this? The backs of the tablets contain an image of a monster straight out of the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Is this the Son of Neptune? More importantly, is the image symbolic, or might it be representative? Well, in another fitting bookend, it starts off mundane, and then goes totally off the rails. As I've said before, it's a big, big multiverse. Who knows what might be lurking out there?

An excellent bookend to our collection of the strange and extra-contextual. Now, onto the finale.

Our final item is a warning sign from Los Alamos, New Mexico. Specifically, near where the Manhattan Project was conducted. It warns about encountering unusual humanoids and entities from other dimensions. Andrew is about figure out who his mysterious benefactors are.

I'll admit, maybe not the strongest finale, if only because I guess most of the major twist, but not terrible. The Project is indeed from another universe, and they travel between universe conducting research. So, then we discover...actually, know what? I know I've had to spoil the episode for the sake of dissecting the alternate history, but I'll leave the finale for you to discover on your own. I will say I liked the choice Andrew made, and it was a fitting conclusion to his character arc. He goes from a loner who doesn't feel he has much to live for. But he realizes how much his boyfriend, and his boyfriend's niece, really mean to him. His life isn't perfect, but they make it just a little better, and that something to take comfort and joy in.

And so that was season one of Out of Place. It was absolutely fantastic, and you better believe I immediately dived into season two. So, expect a review of season two before too long. There are plans for a possible season three at the moment, but that's kind of up in the air. Personally, I'd love to see some of the worlds featured in season one fleshed out and expanded. There is a lot of storytelling potential here. Still, whatever comes, I have full faith that Ben and the gang will make it absolutely fantastic.

So, there you have it. Season one of Out of Place combines alternate history and horror to frighteningly successfully degree. Give it a listen if you're a fan of either genre, or if you're a fan of both. Believe me, you will be extremely glad that you did.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Alt-Hist File: Age of Confusion: Season 1

I'm a big fan of historical fiction and alternate history, but I don't listen to very many history podcast. That is, podcast where it's usually one or two guys talking about various historical events. I find them to generally be low quality, interchangeable in terms of style and execution, and just not very good, barring a few notable exceptions. That's what makes the podcast we'll be looking at today so notable. It is alternate history, but told in the style of a non-fiction history podcast. Yet despite this it manages to be incredibly entertaining and engaging. What it this podcast? It is Age of Confusion.

What would have happened if President John F. Kennedy had survived his assassination attempt in Dallas, Texas? Perhaps it would be an age of wonders, or an age of terrors, but it certainly would be an Age of Confusion. Age of Confusion tells the story of just such a world. It chronicles the alternate history of America, and the world at large, from 1963-1983, starting with JFK dodging a literal bullet.

Age of Confusion is created, written, and produced by Sean Munger. He's a professional historian. He also runs the Second Decade podcast, which is about things that happened between 1810-1820; as well as Green Screen, an environmental movie review podcast. I first became aware of Age of Confusion when I read about it in the weekly new relates thread on the r/audiodrama subreddit. It looked promising, I gave it a listen, and now here we are.

As I've previously mentioned, due to the nature of this podcast, Sean has to carry the entire production all by himself. This is no small task, and there is a lot that can easily go wrong. Thankfully, I'm happy to report that Sean succeeds with flying colors. He presents the alternate history in a sort of narrative non-fiction format. Understandable, given that he's the one controlling the course of events, and it makes for an entertaining listening experience. It also helps that Sean's voice is very easy to listen to.

On the podcast's website, each episode page has a segment where Sean compares how things when in real history. He also uses these segments to explain his though process, and why he chose to make the changes that he did. I think that this is really great, and I applaud him for going that extra mile. Perhaps these segments, combined with the show proper, will get listeners to think more about the real history of the era. I know it has gotten me thinking.

The style of Age of Confusion reminds me of the novel For Want of a Nail: If Burgoyne Had Won at Saratoga by Robert Sobel. If is an alternate history novel set in a world where the American Revolution failed, and is notable for being told in the style of a non-fiction history book. It is a novel that proved quite influential on the online alternate history fandom. If you can't find the book itself, I recommend checking out the very detailed Sobel Wiki, which is dedicated to the world to For Want of a Nail.

So, how is the alternate history. I think it should be clear by now that Sean pays a great deal of care when crafting the alternate history of Age of Confusion. You can tell that he pays considerable attention to details. Why don't we go over a few highlights of this seasons? I should add that, every five episodes or so, Sean puts out a recap episode to help new listeners catch-up with the story so far, and to provide a refresher for returning listeners.

The first major changes happens when Kennedy returns to Washington DC. Congress moves to vote on the 1963 Civil Rights Act, and segregationist politicians successfully kill the bill in the senate. As you might imagine, this has major ripples. Martin Luther King Jr loses a lot of his clout within the Civil Rights Movement. He'd been banking on Kennedy getting the Civil Right Act passed. Many in the movement also begin to question King's non-violent methods. Instead, the movement pivots towards Stokely Carmichael. He was one of the founders of the Black Power Movement. He encourages Blacks to go on strikes and hold sit-in demonstrate how much of the economy is dependent on Black people. He also says he wants the strikes and sit-in in Northern cities as well as Southern cities. That way, it will show that the struggle for Civil Rights isn't just a Southern issue.

The series starts off with a bang, and I think Sean does a good case for his choices in altering history. In our world, Lyndon B. Johnson was able to use Kennedy's tragic death to push the Civil Rights Act through Congress. He framed it as Kennedy's legacy. In a world where Kennedy survives, there is no guarantee that the 1963 Civil Rights Act is going to get passed; especially if Congress votes on it in December.

I can also see MLK falling out of favor with the Civil Rights Movement. Even in our own timeline, King was starting to fall out of favor with the movement around the time he was assassinated. Sean has confirmed that King will not be assassinated in the world of Age of Confusion. It was only a minor mention, but we see that Malcolm X also survived his assassination attempt. He's been seriously reconsidering the direction of his life. Sean takes the view that assassinations are disruptions to the flow of history, and he wants to imagine a world where the major assassinations of the mid-twentieth century never happened.

Sean also has a very interesting method for determining the outcome of elections. He uses Thirteen Keys to the White House system devised by historian Allan Lichtman. They determine who will be president based on factors such as which party is in power, what were the midterm gains and/or loses, were there any scandals or major policy changes, how charismatic are the candidates, and so on.

It's actually really interesting stuff. The Thirteen Keys system has successful predicted every presidential election from 1984 to 2020. The only exception was the 2000 Election. To be fair, Florida having faulty voting machines was a factor nobody saw coming. The Thirteen Key successfully predicted the election of Donald Trump, something that most other analysts said was impossible, as well as his defeat at the hands of Joe Biden.

The first application of the Thirteen Keys is applied to the 1964 Election. Kennedy faces off against Nelson Rockefeller and ekes out a narrator victory. However, what I found most interesting was that a segregationist politician managed to carry Mississippi. Third party candidates almost never carry states in elections. The two main exceptions were Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party in 1912, and George Wallace's segregationist platform in 1968. I figured this would have major ramifications for the 1969 election, but we'll get to that in a minute.

A new Civil Rights Act is proposed, and this time, Kennedy fights harder. There had been previous attempts to get a Civil Rights Act passed prior to 1963, but they always got defeated. On the whole, Kennedy did support civil rights for minorities, but he had to contend with the segregationist win of the Democrat Party. He also didn't want thing to move so fast that they scared white voters. To be fair, most other white politicians sympathetic to Civil Rights tended to hold this attitude. Although, one of Kennedy's motivations to fight for the new Civil Rights Act is that it will be his legacy.

The Comprehensive Civil Rights Act officially gets signed into law in 1966. As the name suggests, it's actually a somewhat expanded version of the 1963 Civil Rights Act. For example, one its provisions is the establishment of a national department to investigate instances of police brutality. It will be interesting to see how thinks turn out in future seasons now that we have the Comprehensive Civil Rights Act.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union has been experiencing some political turmoil. A coup was successfully carried out against Nikita Khrushchev. There's a lot of squabbling and in-fighting, but once the dust settles, a hardline Stalinist named Alexander Shelepin. He wants to undo Khrushchev's reforms and take a more aggressive approach to the United States. The beginning to each episode begins with snippets from in-universe new reels and recordings. One of these is a broadcast from West Berlin saying that East German tanks are invading the city. My guess is that, at some point in the future, Shelepin is going to put pressure on East Germany to retake West Berlin. Also, the podcast cover art is a collage several pictures, include a hydrogen bomb exploding. That has...troubling implications, to say the least.

Meanwhile, things heat up in Vietnam like they did in our world. Sean makes a good case that Kennedy would probably choose to commit American troops to the conflict due to not wanting to look soft on communism. Albeit, Kennedy doesn't commit nearly the number than LBJ did in our timeline. At the same time, Sean also makes a strong case that Kennedy would pull America out of Vietnam sooner than in our timeline. It would still be viewed as a tragedy, but there would far less loss of life.

One aspect about JFK that isn't often discussed is that he had Addison's Disease. In our timeline, Kennedy actually lied to voters during the 1960 Presidential Election, and claimed to not have Addison's. Oh, you better believe this comes back to bite him in the ass, and leads to a major scandal. Again, this is further proof of the attention to details that Sean puts into Age of Confusion.

Now we're going to talk about the 1968 Election. It was the most recent episode, as of this writing, so I figured I should maybe do a spoiler warning for it. So, if you don't want spoilers, skip down a few paragraphs.

Last chance, you sure you want to keep going?

Well, if everyone who wants out is gone, let's continue.

Lyndon B. Johnson has his sights set on being Kennedy's successor, and he wins the Democratic nomination. The Republicans do some more scuffling, but ultimately nominate George Romney as their pick. In our timeline, his son Willard, known by his nickname Mitt, unsuccessfully ran for president in 2012. Romney runs into some trouble because he was born in Mexico, and is accused of not being a real American. However, his parents were both American citizens, so it is a moot point. I can't decide if it is funny or groan-worthy how this parallels similar accusations leveled against Barack Obama in our world.

Personally, I'm amazed that Romney's Mormon faith didn't prove to be more of a stumbling block. In our world, JFK was frequently hounded about his Catholicism throughout the 1960 Presidential Election. There was a still a fair bit of anti-Catholic sentiment in America at the time. Sean justifies things going easier for Romney by having him downplay his Mormonism. Romney speaks of his strong Christian faith, but almost never specifically identifies as Mormon. That said, Sean has hinted that this will come back to bite Romney in the ass, and he'll be involved in a scandal.

From the intro, we know that Bobby Kennedy will become the 37th President, and JFK was 35th. So, the only question now is will RFK win in 1972 or 1976? Well, that and how many terms will Romney serve.

Meanwhile, George Wallace runs on a platform of segregation and repelling the Comprehensive Civil Rights Act. He chooses Strom Thurmond, rather than Curtis LeMay, as his running mate. Troublingly, they do even better than Wallace did in our timeline. They win every former Confederate state, minus Florida, but plus West Virginia. They didn't bother campaigning in Florida because they thought it was too full of Jews and Cubans. They almost succeed in throwing the election to Congress, but Romney manages to get just enough electoral votes to win.

I would assume that there will be no attempt on Wallace's life in 1972. That is, if we are to go by the theme of assassinations never happening. In our world, Wallace was not killed, but he was paralyzed from the waist down. This caused him to reevaluate his life, and eventually lead him to renounce his racist views. In fact, towards the end of his life, Wallace worked toward the betterment of racial relations. If the assassination attempt never happens, Wallace will probably continue to fight for segregation. That's bound to have impacts future down the line.

Sean has stated that there won't be very many episodes about the Space Race. I guess it's going to go more or less as it did in our world. That said, there are some differences. The Apollo 1 disaster never happens, but something equally tragic happens. A Saturn V rocket, with crew already loaded into it, explodes on the launch pad. I bring this up because it is what costs Johnson the election. Much as in our world, Johnson really pushed NASA to kick the Apollo program into gear. He does this in hopes that the Moon Landing will happen after he is elected, and he can take credit for it. In the world of Age of Confusion, however, Johnson is under scrutiny for pressuring NASA to ignore safety regulations.

And so that is everything of note so far. It is very exciting stuff, and we're just getting started. Sean said that he played things safe with season one. He stuck fairly close to the actual historical record. However, in future seasons, things are going to diverge much more. I can't wait to see how it plays out.

The only suggestion I have, and I admit it is a minor one, is that perhaps Sean could vary up the style of the show a bit. I really enjoy the opening of each episode where we get snippets from news bulletins and recordings from the world of Age of Confusion. Perhaps, in future episode, he could play some extended clips in the middle of the episodes. I think I might add to the immersion of the podcast. Maybe also bring on a fellow historian, either a real one or an actor, to discuss in-universe events. Or perhaps interview people who witnessed the events of episodes. Obviously, they'd be played by actors. These would also be great ways to build the immersion.

Of course, if Sean chooses to keep the show as is, well, I know I'll be perfectly happy. I also hope that you give Age of Confusion a try. It is an alternate history audio drama in the style of a non-fiction podcast. It is a really creative and interesting twists on alternate history audio dramas.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.