Some key figures[]
Clyde Harness - Captain, Alabama State Police when Doomsday breaks out; cool, calm under pressure, prone to holding long grudges and waiting his turn to get even with his perceived or real enemy; occasionally interested in women (but not gay), most interested in power; sympathetic to white power/racist groups in the region; later became Captain of the Alabama State Army, led white racist insurgencies in Tuskegee and Auburn, covertly in Tuskegee and overtly when confronted by Governor Baxley in Dec. 1983; led group of whites who fled area in January 1984 and ended up in Selma, Alabama; led the so-called White Army of America during the Selma War; grudgingly agreed to ceasefire with his Republic of Selma counterpart in light of the vast belief the two sides represented the whole human race (Auburn, south Georgia was dismissed as 'probably dead'); led group of whites that founded the citystate of New Montgomery; presence is one reason Hattiesburg officials were so wary of New Montgomery; rumors about Harness's fate run wild, ranging from his survival as a brain-damaged dependent to death in battle; Harness was not seen nor spoken of in the presence of visitors to New Montgomery in '09 and '10; nevertheless, people still fear the man based on his reputation.
Bill Baxley - Lt. Governor of Alabama on Doomsday; became Governor upon Wallace's death; made decision to flee chaos in Tuskegee for Auburn University; barely escaped Auburn with his life; fled to south Georgia with approximately 7,100 other people in wake of destruction of Auburn and the university; passed away in 2006 in Neonotia
George Wallace - Governor of Alabama on Doomsday; former Presidential candidate; once supported segregation, did a 180 in those views; Harness despised him as a result; assassinated on Nov. 16, 1983 in Tuskegee on Harness's secret orders
Ricky Hatton - local kid who grew up on a farm outside of Tuskegee; parents killed by looters who were subsequently shot to death by Alabama Army patrolmen; Ricky, his two sisters and younger brother as their farm was taken over by "professional farmers"; Ricky joined the Alabama Army; later became covert spy for Baxley, gave information that tipped Baxley off to the "final assault" on the state government, info that helped saved thousands of lives
Claude Higgins - African-American police chief of Tuskegee, Alabama and former player at Alabama A&M University in TTL; led Tuskegee police, civilians (with cooperation of Baxley and state legislators) to "run" state gov't out of town in wake of Harness's activities; coordinated theft of Alabama Army munititions that prevented Harness from totally destroying the city and its inhabitants, but not preventing him from killing state government officials
Gene McDonald - U.S. Army veteran, fought in 'Nam TTL; dishonorably discharged after murder of innocent South Vietnamese civilians in 1971; drifter, ended up joining the Klan; on Alabama State Police and FBI watch lists TTL when Doomsday broke out; became Harness's chief lieutenant; his knowledge of Vietcong sabotage and terrorist tactics proved useful in creating chaos in Tuskegee that forced the govenrment to flee to Auburn, and subsequent attacks and victory over the Alabama state government; also fought in Selman War
Carole Harris - waitress at Johnny's Pub outside Tuskegee; witness to series of provocations that helped spark racial violence in town;
William Burrus - representative of former President Jimmy Carter
Pat Dye - had just begun his third season as head football coach at Auburn when Doomsday broke out
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson - former football and baseball player at Auburn University; loyal to Baxley's forces; stood up to Harness, killed as a consequence; remembered fondly by those who fled Auburn into what is now known as Neonotia; given a posthumous Medal of Valor by the League of Nations in a ceremony in Tuskegee, Neonotia in July 2010.
Charles Barkley - former basketball player at Auburn; became close friend of Jackson's when they fought in the Alabama State Army (loyal to Baxley); part of the thousands who fled Auburn for south Georgia; eventually went into politics in Neonotia
...and anyone else who presents themselves as the narrative progresses.
To paraphrase SouthWriter, 'it's good to know where you are going with a timeline'. BrianD 17:50, September 5, 2010 (UTC)
Incredible Work, Brian! Now I have to do a little with Neonotia to bring it up to speed. SouthWriter 15:23, September 9, 2010 (UTC)
Is it okay if I use Clyde Harness as a villain in Virginian Comics?
Yankovic270 17:52, September 9, 2010 (UTC)
I'd rather you not, because I haven't fully developed the character yet and want to control his development. BrianD 20:18, September 9, 2010 (UTC)
Any ideas for the supervillain name for a fictionalized (By in-timeline standards) version of him? I'm leaning towards either the Hate-Monger or the Krimson Klansman.
Yankovic270 20:36, September 9, 2010 (UTC)
I like Krimson Klansman better as a name for a racist supervillain. If you were doing a realistic comic based on him, he's eschew a code name and go by his own. Though I fully haven't fleshed him out, Harness is intended to be a real guy, a charismatic sociopath who in his own way believe he's doing the right thing. Of course cutting the throat of an injured man, sending another man to kill a defenseless governor and other things you'll see him do or approve aren't the things the vast majority of people would remotely consider to be the right thing...even in a dystopia. BrianD 21:10, September 9, 2010 (UTC)
I doubt they would do a realistic comic based on him. Remember, the Virginian Republic (despite it's seemingly neo-Confederate symbols) is based in Weast Virginia. His rascist views and post-Doomsday crimes are more than enough reason to demonize him.
Yankovic270 23:45, September 9, 2010 (UTC)
Coach Dye & the Tigers[]
Great story, Brian. I think the time has to be changed, though. I made the same mistake originally as well. I had gone by the original articles, that spoke of 8:40 instead of 7:40 EST for the time of the Soviet launch. The times have been adjusted to allow for strikes beginning all over America at 01:20 UTC (GMT). That would be 8:20 pm EST and 7:20 CST. The scary thing is that for church goers the warnings came in the middle of most evening services in the CST zone of the US (services here in Greenville started at 6:00 pm).
Anyway, back to Coach and his liquor bottle. Is that based on any known problem with alcohol, or just a general understanding of southern men? I think I remember a tv program that had a coach with a drinking problem. But the wetting of the pants is the greatest part. Booze or no booze! Like you said, he probably wasn't the only one.
Meanwhile, when the power went out, do you think the emergency lights in the hall ways would have been fried? Anything plugged in and running was susceptable (if not to the high altitude EMP then to the two from nearby explosions), but the lights would have been hooked to batteries and turned on AFTER the first EMP, and then were low tech wiring separate from the power lines. They would relieve the darkness for a while - at least until the bomb exploded 30 miles away with a new EMP. That might have messed with some of the wiring even on battery operated stuff. SouthWriter 03:22, September 10, 2010 (UTC)
- Regarding the strike, I used a little bit of license. I doubt that all of the missiles would have been launched simultaneously, and that there would have been somewhat of a staggered launch sequence over a series of minutes. 8:40 or thereabouts local time would have been enough time probably for the Governor's caravan to get to Tuskegee, too. I'd like to stick with that.
- As far as the whiskey bottle, I don't want to portray Dye as an alcoholic if he wasn't one, and a cursory search online doesn't show any hard evidence he ever was or is (just one comment on an Alabama Live Q&A). I used a little bit of literary license in that, too; you could chalk the bottle up as a gift from a well-intended booster. Even if Dye was a teetotaler, emptying the bottle in the face of a nuclear attack would be understandable.
- The soaking wet scene was inspired by a brief scene in the movie Threads right after a military base near Sheffield is nuked and the reaction of a lady watching the mushroom cloud rise in the sky.
- I didn't think about the backup generator or lights. BrianD 03:41, September 10, 2010 (UTC)
More Incredible Writing![]
Brian, I have to admit, you can really tell a good story! I have been so distracted by the small stuff going on in the wiki that I haven't had a chance to work on any of my own stuff. Your framework with Carter and Baxley makes a good anchor to establish Neonotia as a commanding presense in the South.
If I put up a Taccoa proposal, could you perhaps create some characters up there as well. Remember, these guys have to be all as evil as Haness and his cronies. By the way, you did an excellent job of getting into the psychopath's head. The guys that trashed Athens and the University of Georgia (my alma mater) need to be capable of harboring enough hate for "diversity" to eventually murder over 4000 men, women, and children at one time, but be "normal" enough to pass as trustworthy contractors working on "improvements" to an aging auditorium.
Anyway, this should be on your talk page, so I will copy it and put it there as well. :-)
Again, GREAT work! SouthWriter 02:49, September 30, 2010 (UTC)
President-General Sumrall (F-VR) at Auburn - 1983[]
I mentioned this to Yank when it came time to change president-generals, but he ignored the implications and/or problems of getting Michael Sumrall from Alabama to (West) Virginia. On Doomsday, he was a Army National Guard Captain stationed in Opelika (twin city to Auburn), in charge of Air Defense Missile Maintenance with the 111th Ordinance group. In January of 1984 (OTL), he was promoted to Major as an administrator at the 109th Evacuation Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama. Of course, this assignment would not have happened in TTL, but another similar one would have been necessary in the scenario seen here.
Sumrall ended up finally moving to Ft. Lee, Virginia for an assignment in 1985 for eight months (OTL). That is when he would have come under the influence of Thompson (TTL) - if it could concievably have happened, that is. You need to work with Yank <grin> to make this feasable. Meantime, you have to write him in (and out) of the saga that you are creating here. SouthWriter 17:38, October 21, 2010 (UTC)
He would have to be part of the Baxley led group that went into Neonotia. The question would be why he left Neonotia for Virginia. He may have decided to scout the East Coast on behalf of Carter and chosen to stay in Virginia.--BrianD 18:11, October 21, 2010 (UTC)
- That makes sense. We don't want to mess with Yank's scenario too much. There is no reason that the time table need match our time line, though. Sumrall may be an officer in the armed forces that develop in Neonotia and end up being an ambassador or something to Virginia. I am not sure what the "citizenship" requirements are for leader of the Republic are (Sumrall appears to be native Alabaman), but somehow he will have to get on the good side of Thomson and decide to move his citizenship there. Thomspon might be the one to promote him to General based on his performance in Alabama and Neonotia. SouthWriter 19:02, October 21, 2010 (UTC)
South, thanks for the heads up. I left a message on Yank's talk page. Sumrall would be useful as a man who, representing the bonafide U.S. military, stood up to what he saw as best as a group of thugs. --BrianD 20:32, October 21, 2010 (UTC)
- Hey, I steered him away from Jay Rockefeller as Thompson's successor since J.R. was the governor in 1983 and would have been "in exile" for twenty years. I thought that J.R. would have made a great transition back to democracy. Sumrall would serve the same purpose, but as an "outsider." I forsee that Yank will not take kindly to this reminder. SouthWriter 20:56, October 21, 2010 (UTC)
Perhaps he won't, or perhaps he will. I think I can make Sumrall work. I like Virginia, and I believe that Sumrall could be spun as a true American hero and the best representative of the Virginian military: an officer who, without concern for his own fate, fought against bigotry, racism and genocide. A man's man and a survivor who stood up to the American Hitler, then journeyed through a decentralized, largely depopulated region dodging pockets of radioactive death to get to the Republic. --BrianD 21:08, October 21, 2010 (UTC)
- Yes, Sumrall will work. You'll have to mold him into a military man with whom the Gen. Thompson of TTL will be impressed Do you see him discovering the warfare in Virginia and deciding to help out instead of reporting back to Carter? This would have to be during the Carter years (1984 to 1992) before Virginia is officially established as a republic (in 1996). Sumrall would have probably traveled up I-75 (after dodging Atlanta) and then to I-81 up into Southern Virginia having encountered the feuding parties in East Tennessee. I'd say this would have to be around 1986. Also, if he had contact with Zell Miller in Rome, a messenger was probably sent from Rome to Plains (or radio contact?) and Sumrall continuing on his trek. SouthWriter 23:16, October 21, 2010 (UTC)
Barkley and Jackson[]
It's a shame that a character like Barkley survives and Jackson gets cut down in action. But the narrative is great! Of course, the fact that Jackson is heroic in battle and a martyr for the cause of freedom says far more for him as a person than just escaping. SouthWriter 15:47, November 19, 2010 (UTC)
- Somebody's gotta die for others to survive. BrianD 21:35, November 19, 2010 (UTC)
- Reading about the subsequent careers of the two, I'd say Barkley is the more exciting of the two. But just because he talks a good game in political matters in OTL doesn't mean he could be a popular governor in Neonotia. But then, post-apocolyptic can change a man quite a bit. By the way, you did know that Barkley was a Republican in the Reagan years, didn't you? It is not a given that he would switch parties -- though tutelage under Jimmy Carter might do the trick. By the way, besides deciding to "kill him off" to make him a martyr, what are your thoughts about Bo Jackson? SouthWriter 22:26, November 19, 2010 (UTC)