USA 2002 in 1942 section 4

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Written by Dave Knudson
While ISOT American 2002 is the 2002 US transported to 1942 it can serve as a rough template on how the Infopunk and Dieselpunk Earths interact. The formatting at the source archive has issues and so the piece is provided here. Due to its size it is in sections.
*USA 2002 in 1942 section 1
*USA 2002 in 1942 section 2
*USA 2002 in 1942 section 3
*USA 2002 in 1942 section 4
*USA 2002 in 1942 section 5
*USA 2002 in 1942 section 6
*USA 2002 in 1942 section 7
*USA 2002 in 1942 section 8
==USA 2002 ISOT 1942 Part 10 - "Compromises"==
The cinema in London was packed. Londoners - protected from German
bombing raids by the United States Air Force - were coming out of the
long night the Blitz had imposed on their city. The parks were full,
pleasure boats had re-appeared on the Thames, and entertainment
facilities were doing great business. The war was still on, to be
sure, sons and fathers and husbands were away from home, and in danger
all over the Empire. However, for the first time in what seemed like
an eternity, hope was in full blossom in Great Britain. The new
Americans, with their magical technology were going to win the war,
and everyone knew it. The papers were full of the American victory in
the Pacific over the Japanese Fleet, and the pictures taken from the
F-18s of the TIRPITZ had been front-page news.
Furthermore, people from 2002 - not Americans, but good honest
Englishmen and Englishwomen who'd been in the United States when the
event took place - were coming home to England. The Churchill
government had recognized what a tremendous resource these future
people represented, and they'd been welcomed in Britain. The
government had painted a picture for the population; these people from
the future were the children and grandchildren of the people in
Britain. They were lost, and with no homes, and no familiar
relatives. Churchill had asked the people of Britain to open their
hearts and their homes to the future English, and the British people
had responded.
These future British people were already making an impact. 
Apparently, oil lay beneath the North Sea. They'd brought pictures of
great offshore oil derricks, pumping oil for a thirsty Britain. Also,
cars and jets and electric trains, and plans for something called a
"Chunnel" - apparently a tunnel underneath the English Channel.
The most exciting pictures were those from space. The view of Earth
from orbit was breathtaking. It was known that Americans were in
space even now, using powerful tools to watch the Germans. Their
satellites were a priceless advantage, and one that the Germans had no
counter for. The pictures of men on the moon - which had apparently
happened sometime in the 1960s and 1970s - had electrified the British
populace. It had been depressing to learn that Britain's own space
program hadn't ever gotten off the ground in the original history.
That would change, though. Churchill talked openly of the Empire
expanding to space "where the sun truly never sets". This seemed to
amuse many of the 2002 people - space exploration was apparently both
complicated and expensive - but no one would ever accuse Winston of
thinking small.
The movie people were crowding in to see was one from the America of
the future. Technicians from America and from future Britain had
spent a couple weeks "upgrading" the cinema, one of London's largest. 
Now it featured a larger screen, full color and "surround sound" -
whatever that was. The movie was supposed to appeal to the British
audience - it was from the future, but about the past. It was called Titanic, and it was about the great luxury liner. Many of Britain's social elite turned out to see it.
	Titanic had been chosen deliberately by both the 1942 British
government and the 2002 Americans. It represented the most advanced
movie-making techniques available to the Americans, but was about a
subject the British audience would completely understand - for this
reason, the Matrix had been rejected (well, that and the fact that no
one on the American side could stomach the thought of Keanu Reeves
being the first modern American movie star international movie-goers
had access to - and at least Leonardo Di Caprio hadn't been in the US
when the Event took place). The key was to see how the British public
reacted to the (for the time) relatively blatant sexuality, special
effects, and class struggle the picture featured. The movie had been
made, after all, for an audience whose cultural morals were 60 years
more advanced.
The movie got strong reviews from the audience. The special effects
were dazzling, and many in the audience were moved to tears. However,
many objected to some of the messages the movie presented - from the
portrayal of the rich as evil, and self-centered. Still, all in all
the audience loved it, and more movies were planned - starting with
the Indiana Jones series.
Admiral Chuichi Nagumo of the Imperial Japanese Navy was numb with
shock. A little more than six months ago, he had led the IJN to the
most dazzling victory in naval history over the Americans at Pearl
Harbor. The IJN had ruled supreme, and swept the westerners from
Asian waters. The string of conquests - from Java to Wake to
Singapore - had seemed to assure Japan's dominance in the Pacific for
the next century or more.
Now that was all ashes in his mouth. The reports that Nagumo had
heard from the radio room of the SHOKAKU had been met with disbelief
from Nagumo and his staff; it was inconceivable that one carrier, no
matter how advanced, could have sunk the Combined Fleet.
However, two days ago, a courier plane had reached Nagumo's task
force from Japan. The message it carrier sank Nagumo's heart. It was
true - all true. The Navy - Admiral Yamamoto - all of it - was gone. 
Now, almost all that was left of the once-mighty Imperial Navy was
Nagumo's task force; the SHOKAKU, ZUIKAKU, 5 heavy cruisers, 4 light
cruisers, 15 destroyers and support ships. Yamamoto's last orders
were to inflict as much damage as he could on the Americans.
Nagumo was brave, and his heart screamed at him to sail at once for
the Americans and satisfy the honor of the Japanese Navy. However,
his mind told him not to. SHOKAKU and ZUIKAKU were the largest
carriers Japan had - each carried over 90 planes. But that wasn't
enough. According to survivors of the battle, the Americans had
struck at night, with weapons of magic. Nagumo didn't believe in
magic, but he did believe in the value of good intelligence. No, he
would sacrifice himself, and his ships, for the emperor, but not that
way.
Instead, he found himself in the North Pacific, far from the shipping
lanes, and wondering what to do. With tankers, he had range, and
striking power. His biggest advantage was speed, if he left the
tankers behind, he could do 33 knots. He considered targets. The
West Coast of the US was reachable - barely - but these future
Americans seemed to have technology for detecting ships and planes,
and Nagumo had to believe that technology extended to protect the US
homeland as well.
No, the West Coast could not be a target. But there were other
places that could.
Captain Tatu Rahuamaki of the Finnish Army trembled as he
contemplated the Soviet forces being drawn up on the other side of the
Svir river. The German pullback had left the Finns in an awful
position, and the Captain knew it. He was commander of a Finnish
infantry company, and had seen a lot of combat. In 1939, as a young
lieutenant, he'd led ski troops against the invading Soviets.
This was not 1939. The Soviets opposite Rahuamaki were not the
peasant army he'd faced back then. Long lines of T-34 tanks, backed
up by more mobile artillery than Rahuamaki thought existed on the
planet, and shock troops were moving into position. The Soviets were
more experienced, better equipped, better led, and, worst of all from
Rahuamaki's perspective, going to attack in the summer time.
It wasn't going to be all one-sided though. Many Finns gripped about
the German betrayal, as well they should, but the Germans hadn't
simply up and left, either. The Finnish Air Force was now equipped
with BF-109s and even a few FW-190s. Two actual armored divisions
were forming, with PKIIIs and PKIVs that the Germans had somehow
transferred over from Estonia before the pull-back.. Marshall
Mannerheim was an experienced leader, and Finns doughty fighters. 
They would fight the good fight.
Despite the material aid that Germans had provided, and the leadership
of Marshall Mannerheim, Rahuamaki didn't expect to win. There was
just too much combat power facing the Finns, and no one to come to
their aid.
Captain Rahuamaki wasn't the only one noting the Soviet build-up. A
spy satellite did as well. Pictures from the satellite ended up in
Fort Meade, Maryland. After a brief analysis there (it was pretty
obvious what was happening), they made it to the Pentagon and the
White House.
President Bush, and the rest of the National Security Council (NSC)
saw the pictures. No one was exactly shocked - the Germans and
Soviets clearly had made some kind of deal - but the sell-out of the
Finns was unexpected. The question was, what, if anything, to do
about it. Powell pointed out that Finland was, technically, and Axis
power, and the USSR was, technically, an Allied power.
Rice rejected that immediately. Finland wasn't a real Axis power -
they just wanted their 1939 territory back. The message that had been
delivered to Molotov must be enforced - else Finland wouldn't be the
last place that Stalin would attack. Powell broke back in - do we
really want to fight the USSR now, before the defeat of the Nazis? 
That earned him some hard looks. It was unspoken here in the NSC that
after the defeat of Hitler, Stalin would be next. That wasn't policy
- yet - but the idea was gaining strength.
Bush broke in. One thing at a time. Hitler first. But he wanted
options. Short of openly fighting the USSR, what could America do to
help the Finns?
The debate went on.
Erwin Rommel looked at the shattered remains of the Africa Corps, and
despaired. Most of the 21st Panzer division had been destroyed, and
the British 8th Army was pursuing. Tobruk was far to east, and the
uncertain sanctuary of Tripoli was fast approaching. What shipping
was available was gathering there, and in a few other tiny ports in
Western Libya. With the American Navy ruling the Med, Rommel didn't
see how he could make it back to Europe. Or, for that matter, what
good he could do there.
The US destruction of the Italian Navy had effectively ended Rommel's
ability to attack towards Suez and Cairo; air strikes from the
CONSTELLATION, and "satellite intel" given to Montgomery at 8th Army
were cutting him to pieces. He couldn't hide, with no fuel couldn't
manoeuvre, and couldn't really run.
At Tripoli, Rommel planned a Dunkirk-like evacuation. He'd get as
much away as he could, and surrender what was left. Of course, that
was his plan. Others had plans for General Rommel, and those plans
didn't include a POW camp.
The two ships departed Havana harbor before dawn. Marrenda had
delivered what he promised, and the package from Wienstein in LA had
come as well. The soldiers were on board, relieved the side-show in
Cuba was over. They were going to Europe to kill Nazis now.
On the bridge of the FANO, Isaacs stared at the dark sea. Someone in
the US had finally woken up to the fact that a regime-change had taken
place in Cuba, and Havana was being flooded with reporters. The
Israelis had left a little earlier than intended; it would do them no
good if the American press found out about them - yet. Of course, the
eventual participation of the American media was rather central to
what Isaacs - and the people he was working with (people the Israeli
soldiers didn't know about) - were doing.
Issacs would leave the FANO shortly to return to the mainland. Tasks
awaited him still in America. However, the next stage of the
operation required a delicate touch. Issacs would oversee it
personally - and right now.
An aide came to him with haunted eyes. It was time. Issacs followed the aide of the bridge. The packages from Weinstein in LA had caused considerable speculation among the Israeli soldiers - they
had weapons, what could come from Los Angeles of all places to delay
their departure?
Isaacs smiled grimly to himself. Judging from the cries coming from
the compartment ahead, Wienstein's packages had been unwrapped. 
Isaacs entered the compartment, and hubbub died down a bit. Looks of
outrage, shock and horror greeted him. The Israelis were giving one
man their attention, and it wasn't friendly attention either. The man
in question was Captain Yoshi Perlmen, Israeli Army. He was popular
with his men, an accomplished clarinet-player, and fierce in battle. 
He was also wearing, right down to the epaulets, the uniform of an SS Colonel.
==USA 2002 ISOT in 1942 Part 11 - "Movements"==
It should not have been the Trial of the Century, or even the Trial
of the Year. But the courthouse in Chicago was packed. Reporters
from all the major US news services were there, as were
representatives of both Canada and the BBC. The BBC didn't have
televisions cameras, of course, but there was nothing wrong with the
reporters' ability to get to the heart of the story.
At odds in the trial were Malcolm Bryce on one side, and his
relatives on the other. Bryce was a 35 year-old 1942 Chicago
industrialist who'd been in Canada when the Event happened, leaving
him somewhat adrift. In the old history, Bryce had taken the
industrial plants he owned in Milwaukee, Chicago and South Bend, and
morphed them into one of the first post-war US industrial
conglomerates. By 1960, Bryce Enterprises had holdings all over the
world, and in areas as diverse as pharmaceuticals, farm products, and
even textiles.
In 1971, Bryce, somewhat distraught over the death of his wife in an
automobile accident, sold his companies to various other large
corporations. He'd made billions, and lived well (if quietly) until
his death in 1987. Bryce had been (and was again) a man of energy,
integrity, and ambition. He had been successful, and had his fair
share of enemies, but no one ever accused him of a crime. In other
words, Bryce was an industrial capitalist, who realized the best way
to make money in the long term was hard work, and at least a fair
degree of honesty.
The same, unfortunately, could not be said of his children. Bryce
had three children, and none had inherited much of in the way of good
traits from him. He had two sons and a daughter, and a horde of
grandchildren. One son was an alcoholic; the other a 58 year-old
playboy. The daughter was even worse; she'd invested in every new age
cult that had come along over the decades, and was currently a
scientologist in good standing. None had done anything but spend the
money Bryce had left them; and none had done much for anyone except
themselves. The spouses, friends, hangers-ons, and other were not any
better. The grandchildren (the great-grandchildren were infants or
toddlers) were generally speaking, just as bad, with a couple of
notable exceptions.
Bryce was alone except for his lawyers. He was dressed in a
conservative 2002 business suit, and was very well groomed. A
handsome, athletic man, he was utterly unable to conceal his contempt
for his relatives. The children were all born later than 1942, and he
knew none of them. The defendants were a gaggle of competing
interests (all the children had their own, separate teams of lawyers,
and some of the grandchildren did as well), dressed in a variety of
clothing, and in various states of cleanliness.
Bryce's case was simple; he wanted his money back. He didn't mean to
impoverish his heirs - he'd leave them enough to live on - but he
wanted the bulk of the money back, before they squandered any more of
it. Bryce had powerful, and unanticipated allies in this case; both
General Motors and Microsoft contributed to his defence. A senior
manager at GM actually remembered Bryce as a man of integrity and
vision; Microsoft wanted him to lead a management team. Both wanted
his services as a consultant. Bryce was one of the few 1942 American
corporate heads who both had contacts around the world, and had been
out of the country on March 13. He would be invaluable in
facilitating contacts and business deals between the 2002 US
corporations and the 1942 international business environment.
The defendants had a variety of positions (some mutually-exclusive). 
The various lawyers, advisors, spiritual guides, friends, etc. had
boiled it down to a fairly simple position: the will stated the
disbursement of Bryce's holdings, and that will was in force.
Public sympathy was firmly with Bryce. Despite being 60 years behind
the time, he had an intuitive sense of what to say and what not to
say. His children - spoiled by immense wealth their whole lives -
were ridiculous. Bryce talked about building for the future, and the
opportunities that were unexpectedly present. His children talked
about "what they deserved". Which was nothing, according to one CNN
poll.
The real problem Bryce faced was his own will. Written in 1985, it
was, like most things he did, very well crafted. When he'd died in
1987, the will had stood up to challenges from near and far, as the
children wrangled over who got what, and other relatives claimed their
piece of the pie. Complete strangers, claiming to be Bryce's
illegitimate children showed up, as did "business partners" claiming
oral contracts. In the end, the courts had held up the original will.
The Catch-22 that Bryce faced was, that in a way, he was arguing
against himself. Despite his older self's disappointment in his
children and grandchildren, the original Bryce had dispersed money to
them, and to his other relatives. Bryce's lawyers argued that since
Bryce was clearly alive, the Will was null and void. The defendants'
overall argument was that the man was clearly dead - his grave was
available for viewing - and the money was theirs.
In the end, the judge ruled on the basis of the Mildred Myers' case
in California. The Malcolm Bryce alive now and the Malcolm Bryce
who'd died in 1987 were two different people. As such, the will
stood. The relatives were happy. There was an audible gasp from the
public galleries; they'd been on Malcolm's side.
The judge continued. However, inasmuch as the will stood, all of its
provisions were still binding. Malcolm Bryce had distributed his
wealth among his relatives. Malcolm Bryce of 1942 was clearly a
relative of Malcolm Bryce who died in 1987 - they shared the same
parents. Therefore, the Malcolm Bryce of 1942 was entitled to a
percentage of the will. Which meant all the relatives had to pay.
In the end, it only amounted to about 25 million dollars for Bryce. 
Divided up, that was only a couple million per original will
recipient. That should have been no problem, given the size of the
original will settlement. However, some relatives had been truly
proliferate with the money, and couldn't pay.
It didn't matter to Bryce. He had more than enough for seed money,
and juicy consulting fees from GM and Microsoft. It was enough for a
man of energy and skill, and Malcolm Bryce was that.
Before leaving court, Malcolm Bryce informed his relatives that after
they paid, he never wanted to see them again.
The problem that Marty Wilson and his team had at Fort Meade,
Maryland was simple, but then most problems in life were, if distilled
down to their component parts. He had just one task to accomplish:
locate the remaining Japanese task force in the Pacific. It should
have been simple; Nagumo's mini-fleet had no ECM capability, and US
satellites were designed for this kind of thing.
The problem was that the US satellite network was still tattered, and
Europe had a higher priority. The Pacific was a big body of water,
and Wilson had two - count 'em - two dedicated birds for the search. 
They couldn't begin to cover the whole ocean. Even that should have
been OK - listening posts on the US West Coast, a new one in Hawaii,
and AWACS from the CVNs in the Pacific should have been enough to
detect any radio transmissions Nagumo made - but the Japanese had
evidently observed strict radio silence, so that was out.
That left the whole project a guessing game. What would you do if
you were Chuichi Nagumo? Wilson and his team had spent long hours
discussing just that. There were few obvious targets. Hawaii and the
West Coast were out; if Nagumo approached either, local radar would
detect him, making Wilson's problem moot. The STENNIS was in the
Philippines, and quite capable of smashing the two Japanese carriers. 
Indonesia (or, as it was now called the "Netherlands East Indies") was
a concern - there were few US assets there. But Nagumo couldn't
accomplish anything there; and local mischief he raised would be both
irrelevant to the US war effort, and suicidal. The same with the
British base in Sri Lanka ("Ceylon") and the Australians in Darwin.
There were plenty of places to hide, as well. The Marianas,
Marshalls, - even the wastes of the Northern Pacific. The satellites
couldn't be everywhere at once. Wilson sighed as he contemplated the
vastness of the Pacific Ocean, and went back to work.
Isaacs was back in Washington. The Israelis had gotten over their
sense of revulsion at wearing Nazi uniforms - it did make a good
disguise after all - and there was even a sense of ironic justice in
it. Weinstein had stolen as many uniforms from the LA studios as he
could (the only place in 2002 America to get WWII-era military
uniforms was Hollywood), and they would do. There were relatively few
SS uniforms in the bunch - most were simple Wehrmacht - but a body of
Wehrmacht backed by SS should be enough for the Israelis' tasks once
in Europe.
The two Italian ships were almost to Italy. Getting them to
Gibraltar had been easy - both flew the Cuban flag, and no U-Boats
were left to molest them. The problem was getting them to Europe. 
Various ideas had been discussed; a landing in France or Spain seemed
easier than Italy. However, circumstances had intervened. Isaacs saw
an opportunity, and wanted to discuss it with his partners.
As much as it pained him to admit, Isaacs couldn't have pulled this
off without their help. The hardest part was the gas for Cubans and
the weapons for the Israeli soldiers. The Mossad just didn't have
that many assets in place in the US. However, when he'd been trying
to gather these things - his "partners" had contacted him. They could
provide anything and everything that the Israelis needed - they just
wanted a voice in what happened next.
Isaacs had been reluctant to deal, especially where something as
visceral to him (and the Israeli soldiers) as the Holocaust was
involved. However, the people who were his partners calmed him down. 
They'd made sense.
Simply put, 1500 soldiers suiciding against the Reich would make for
headlines and good stories, but wouldn't actually accomplish anything
lasting. Isaacs served Israel, even if Israel didn't exist now. 
Forget Germany - it was dead. One way or another the United States
would crush it. The real issues lay in the future - the post-war
world. Yes, America was powerful, but it had a long memory. The
Middle East in the original time was complicated enough. Adding
Israel to the mix in 1949 had made it worse. The United States' need
for oil had not abated, so the Middle East would still be vital to it.
The US remembered 60 years of Mid East turmoil, culminating in 9/11. 
While it was certain to take steps to prevent the development of
radical Islam, that was a difficult task - even for America. The task
would be eased considerably without an Israel, or at least with a
managed Israel that the Arabs could be persuaded to live with. 
Powerful elements of the US government were talking openly about this
- a reduced Israel as an almost client state of the United States.
While this was practical, Isaacs couldn't believe that the United
States, with its long history of friendship with Israel, and powerful
pro-Israel lobby, would allow this to happen. However, his "partners"
were reliable sources, and Isaacs had been swayed by their arguments.
The thing that bothered Isaacs about his partners was their stake in
this. Clearly, they had goals here, and Isaacs didn't know - and had
no real way of finding out - what they were. He fretted about this,
but wasn't in a position to deal with it. For now. However
disconcerting and confusing their interest might be, they were
powerful, and Isaacs had no intention of betraying their trust.
Now, he was in Washington to meet them. The next phase of the plan
was to be discussed. He arrived at the usual location, but was
surprised at who was waiting for him. Usually, his partners sent
proxies to meet him; today they had come in person. Isaacs smiled as
he sat down with CIA Director George Tenet and National Security
Advisor Condeleeza Rice.
Charles de Gaulle was not happy. Of course, he'd rarely been happy
before June of 1940 (and some suspected before even that), so this
wasn't unusual - to either his own staff or the British. He was in
London, and at the SHAEF. The British and the new Americans were
there as well for a conference.
The immediate source of de Gaulle's unhappiness was a feeling of
being an outsider. Previous to the remarkable events of March, this
feeling had been because of Vichy France. The British, and the
America from 1942 had seemed to be all to ready to deal with the
collaborationists when preparing for Operation TORCH. Their arguments
- that Vichy administrated the areas of North Africa they were
concerned with - had fallen on deaf ears. As for as de Gaulle was
concerned, his Free French were the only true representative of the
French people and French interests.
The Americans from 2002 solved the Vichy issue; they didn't seem to
care (or even know much about) the Vichy regime. They were perfectly
happy to deal with the Free French as the legitimate government of
France. That suited de Gaulle. What did not suit him was the
planning for the liberation of Europe. The reason it didn't suit him
was because he didn't know anything about it.
US troops were arriving steadily in Britain as the summer of 1942
progressed. An invasion was coming - everyone knew it - but the
Americans were playing their cards very carefully. For one thing,
this was a mammoth undertaking, and the US hadn't tried anything this
big since "Desert Storm" - whatever that was. For another, de Gaulle
strongly suspected that the US was planning this without really
consulting the British either.
Oh, the Americans were plenty polite, but the problem was they didn't
actually say anything. They talked of the brotherhood of the west,
and how NATO would come, and how they needed the British. And the
French too, of course. But what the British and French were needed
for was never made clear. If there was one consolation de Gaulle took
from this, it was that Churchill seemed almost as put out as he did.
The conference de Gaulle was attending had been called by the
British. They wanted to know what and where. What was the scope of
the invasion, and where would it occur. It seemed the American were
finally ready to bring them into the loop, and discuss their thinking. The invasion was still months away, but apparently a landing site had
been determined.
Charles de Gaulle had seen the history books, and knew about D-Day,
and the landings at Normandy. He strongly suspected the Americans
would go someplace else - like Calais - but he didn't know where. 
Then he saw the American general pull out a satellite map, and point. 
And Charles de Gaulle's unhappiness increased ten-fold.
Colin Powell did not want to be in Stockholm. He wanted to be at the
CCS (Combined Chiefs of Staff) meeting in London. He had a lot of
faith in the US military (of course), but he wanted to be there to
smooth any ruffled feathers - and he strongly suspected a certain tall
French general would have very ruffled feathers.
Instead, he found himself seated in an ornate conference room in a
palace in Sweden. With Soviet foreign minister Molotov. Neither man
was happy. Molotov's face was it's usual bland mask, but inside he
was seething. He'd warned Stalin about this; that the Americans would
see the Soviet troop movements. He'd warned Stalin, as had Zhukov. 
Now, there was some talking to do.
Powell presented satellite images of Karelia and the Leningrad area. 
They clearly showed a massive build-up of Soviet forces. Additional
satellite images of Talinn, Estonia and Riga, Latvia showed Soviet
troops entering as the Germans left. Molotov sat and looked at the
photos, and his face showed nothing.
Powell wanted an explanation. He thought that the US had made clear
that it would recognize the 1939 border of the USSR. That clearly
meant that the Baltic nations were to be left alone. Additionally, it
was clear that the Soviets planned an attack on Finland. The US
wanted to know why.
Molotov was shocked the American hadn't mentioned the German-Soviet
truce; after all, it had to be clear that the Germans were peacefully
leaving the USSR. That didn't happen without a deal of some kind
being made. He wasn't about to bring it up, though.
Molotov shrugged. The Germans had fled large areas of the eastern
front. The war had been very fierce there; local infrastructure and
government were non-existent. The Red Army was the only organized
force around that could prevent anarchy, and provide humanitarian
(Molotov had learned what that meant) aid to the unfortunate
inhabitants of the region. As for Finland? Molotov shrugged. 
Finland was an enemy of the USSR, and would be treated accordingly.
Powell leaned forward. The United States, he said, would take a very
unfavorable view of Soviet aggression towards Finland. Molotov
pretended surprise. Finland is a German ally. Surely the United
States could understand if the USSR took the appropriate steps to
defend itself.
No, actually, the United States would not, said Powell. Finland
wouldn't be a German ally if Stalin hadn't attacked it for no reason
in 1939. Molotov's eyes bugged; these future Americans got right to
the point. The United States position was firm; it viewed any Soviet
activity against Finland in an unfavorable light.
Molotov noted to himself that Powell had not said "act of war". 
Interesting. He smiled tightly at the American Secretary of State. 
The USSR was an independent country. It would act in it's own best
interest. It had nothing but feelings of brotherhood with the United
States, but would act in its own interest.
Powell sighed to himself. This just got more complicated. Oh well. 
Sooner or later Stalin would have to be dealt with. Might as well
start sooner. Not with US troops of course. Not yet anyway. But
there were other things the US could do.
	Other things indeed.
==USA 2002 in 1942 Part 12 - "Heresy"==
The meeting was held in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. It was highly irregular, of course, but then again, since March 13, very little had not been "highly irregular". Just as people had
to make do with the strangeness of the situation on an individual
level, organizations had to on a collective one. The Catholic Church
was no exception.
The beginning of 2002 had seemed ominous to many in the church. The
sex scandals that had been an uncomfortable, almost subliminal part of
the church for decades seemed to be gaining more and more national
attention, and the dearth of new priests was forcing many to ask hard
questions of the church and its traditions. March 13 had changed all
that. The Event had triggered an upsurge in church attendance as
people sought answers to the simply unbelievable situation the country - and the world - found themselves in.
Yet, Catholics had to ask themselves questions beyond the how and why
of the Event. Regardless of the deeper spiritual meaning of the
Event, the Catholic Church remained a tightly run, highly centralized
organization. Unfortunately, that center was Vatican City, in Rome. 
Rome, Italy, where they thought it was 1942, that Pius XII was Pope,
that Italy was (for the moment) at war with the United States. Oh,
and no one had ever heard of "Vatican II".
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops was an organization of 375
bishops that (among other tasks) interpreted policy as the Holy See
dictated it. Now, meeting along with the thirteen American Cardinals,
and other Church officials, they had a number of decisions and
interpretations to make.
The most important set of these regarded the message they had for the
Pontiff in Rome, Pius XII. The current international situation make
communication with the Pope difficult; officially neutral in the war,
the Vatican was however, located in the middle of the capital city of
the one of the three big powers the US was at war with. Furthermore,
in a panic about US capabilities, the Italians had shut down all
communication to the city - including the Vatican.
The problem was that the Catholic Mass and Liturgy had changed
dramatically in 1963 with the adoption of a set of codicils popularly
known as Vatican II. Vatican II had modernized church doctrine in an
attempt to meet the spiritual needs of Catholics in the fast-paced
modern world. Mass was no longer conducted in Latin, subtle, but
important changes had been made to the manner in which Mass was
conducted, the Liturgy, and so on. Vatican II was the modern Catholic
Church, and its adoption had been hard enough in the 1960s. Many
traditionalists were unhappy with it. Over the decades, however, it
had become part and parcel of the Catholic Faith.
Of course, it was entirely possible that Pius XII would view it as
Heresy.
Vatican I, in the 1870s, had established the doctrine of papal
infallibility; that is, that the Pope is the living representative of
God on Earth, and his writ is law. When Pius XII was contacted, and
the way Catholics worshipped in America was revealed to him, he might
well order a change back to the old ways. Most US bishops shuddered
at the idea of doing Mass in Latin; church membership would likely
plummet. If the US Bishops failed to comply, Pius might simply
excommunicate them; that would make for good laughs on Letterman and
Leno.
In short, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was in a quandary. 
Already religious scholars, both lay and otherwise, were asking
questions about the Church. Should Pius prove intractable, some were
calling for a new Declaration of Independence, and the formation of
the United States Catholic Church. The USCC could be a reformed
church, allowing priests to marry, female priests, and so on. Most of
the US Bishops were firmly against this idea. They were Catholics,
and the Christian Church had seen enough schism in the last millennium
without creating a new one.
Rather, the idea was that when the opportunity arose, they would
present the post-Vatican II of doing business to the Pius. The hope
was that he would acknowledge the strangeness of the situation, and
grant a special dispensation. This dispensation would allow for the
US Churches to carry on as they had, while the tenets of Vatican II
were reviewed by the Holy See.
They agreed on this, and communicated it to the millions of US
Catholics awaiting guidance. It was not a perfect solution, but few
of those existed for anyone these days.
Genoa harbor was a bustle of activity. Ships, coming back from the
disaster in North Africa came into the harbor carrying men and
material. There was no order; quite simply, both Italian and German
commanders expected the Americans to simply blow the ships out of the
water. It was hoped that by scattering the transports, a few might
make it through.
Instead, and much to the delight of the Axis, most of the transports
did make it through. The Germans were at a loss to explain this; the
Constellation had withdrawn through Gibraltar, but detached a couple
of squadrons operating from Malta and Tripoli. However strange it
was, the almost 170,000 troops that made it out (of which 120,000 were
Italian, and therefore of little use, as far as the Germans were
concerned) arrived without schedule, warning, or formation, presenting
a logistical and command nightmare.
Ports from Taranto to Marseilles (and the troops that arrived there
were treated very well by Vichy. America had completely ignored
Vichy, and France, for that matter, except to say that they looked
forward to re-establishing the NATO Alliance - whatever that was - and
Vichy was miffed about being ignored) were receiving troops, without
order or sense.
Therefore, when the two freighters carrying Germans arrived in Genoa,
hardly anyone was there to greet them. Earlier, three other
freighters loaded with troops had arrived, and the port facilities
were swamped with men, material, and confusion. Just as had been
planned by the people on the two freighters, who had timed their
entrance into Genoa with the help of satellite intel. The
Harbormaster sent boats and guides out to meet them, who directed them
to a dock. An ordered procession of troops - both Wehrmacht and SS - 
debarked from both ships, and milled about on the docks.
The SS-uniformed troopers began forming up the men. If anyone
thought it was strange that SS were giving orders to Wehrmacht, no one
said so. The SS also formed a loose perimeter around the Wehrmacht
troops - it would be bad if any Germans from other units were to try
to talk to these troops. As the troops were forming up, a
young-looking SS Colonel and a squad approached the harried-looking
German logistical officer in change. The SS Colonel sneered at the
Italian liaison officer, who quailed and tried to make himself as
small as possible.
Yoshi Greenbaum was a Lieutenant in the IDF - Israeli Defence Forces. He spoke perfect German - a rarity - and, hence, he and the few other Israelis who spoke German were now in SS uniforms. He couldn't
believe he had it on - his whole life he been taught that the uniform
he now wore meant death for Jews. Now he was wearing it. He was no
actor, but he and the "SS squad" had drilled repeatedly to get the
routine down. The Israeli commander had told Greenbaum over and over
again - the SS were arrogant bastards - even to their own. Be
arrogant, and threaten others. Remember, they are afraid of you.
Greenbaum looked over the Major in charge of logistics. He gave a
Hitler salute (and that had taken some practice too...), and demanded
that a train be made ready for them.
It was impossible, the major explained. All available trainswere dedicated to other tasks. Field Marshall Kesselring had ordered
all troops to fortify the ports they landed in, in preparation for a
possible amphibious attack against Italy. Therefore the Colonel and
his men must - Greenbaum grabbed the major by the collar. He snarled at the German. The Colonel and his men had a job to do, Greenbaum said. He
half-dragged, half-walked the major over to one of the ships. They
boarded the ship, and Greenbaum walked him to a cabin with a SS guard.
In the cabin, the major saw three sullen looking men. They were
bound, and looked roughed up. They were wearing unfamiliar uniforms. 
The major did, however, recognize the US flags on the shoulders on the
uniforms.
These US prisoners were taken in North Africa, the SS Colonel explained. They were from the future, and had strange devices - Greenbaum waved a PDA and a cell phone in air in front of the major. 
It was critical that they be delivered at once to the Gestapo.
The major quailed. He said he understood and would be happy to report
the problem to his superiors, but he had strict orders...
Greenbaum roared at him. Report the problem? Why not broadcast it to
the whole world? If the American found out that the SS had prisoners,
they would mount a rescue operation. The most priceless intelligence
asset the Reich had would be lost. And in that case, the Colonel
would ensure that everyone knew that Major - Mohler, was it? - was
responsible!
Taking a deep breathe in an apparent effort to calm himself, Greenbaum gripped Mohler gently by the shoulders. They were both true
sons of the Reich - both Aryans - and they had to stick together. The
Reich faced a great crisis, and it needed great deeds to survive. The
captured Americans meant that fate was not against them - that hope
existed. They just needed to act.
Mohler sighed, and nodded once. A train could be provided to take the SS man and his Wehrmacht men to Berlin.
No, not Berlin. There was an SS facility in Poland, near - well, Mohler didn't need to know exactly where. A train to Warsaw would suffice.
As they left the cabin Greenbaum winked at the "prisoners". 
The "roughing up" they had taken wasn't real, of course, anymore than
the handcuffs they wore. They were simply three more IDF men who'd
volunteered to play the parts of prisoners. They had done so, and now
they were on their way.
President George Bush rubbed his eyes as he looked over the
"short list" his staff had put together. The AG was right - a veep
was needed. There were several names on the list - Powell, JC Watts
of Oklahoma, Elizabeth Dole, and even a Democratic Senator. Bush
sighed - he didn't really want of these candidates in the job - Powell
and Watts because he needed them where they were.
The other reports on his desk had more depressing news. There
had been several problems across the country - particularly in the
south. People from 1942 were having a hard time adjusting to modern
culture. Race relations were different in 1942, and there had been a
couple of ugly incidents - one in Alabama, another in Texas. Despite
the best efforts of both the government and NGOs, some Americans from
1942 were still in culture shock. On top of that, they didn't really
trust the government because they didn't know it. No one in
government in 1942 was still alive of course. What they needed was a
representative they trusted.
Bush stopped shuffling reports, and smiled. Two birds, one stone. And the man was even a Republican.
Marshall Mannerheim of the Finnish Army was near despair. He
now commanded the biggest, best equipped force Finland had ever had,
and it was doomed. Intelligence estimated upwards of seventy Soviet
divisions would attack, backed by another fifty in reserve. To meet
that, the Finnish Army had 21 divisions.
They would fight, of course. Stalin meant to annex the whole
country, and no one wanted that. Yet as the Soviets massed,
Mannerheim's despair grew. This was not the peasant army he had
routed in 1939. The Red Army of 1942 was a highly mobile, more
professional force. Man for man it was not as proficient as the
Finnish Army, of course, but had gone through school with the Germans,
and learned its lessons well. Lessons it would apply against Finland.
Mannerheim was surprised by a knock on his office door. His
aide entered, with two other men. Mannerheim rose from his chair in
shock, but his aide's ashen face precluded any immediate orders. 
Instead, one of the new men spoke. He introduced himself as the
Finnish ambassador to the United States in 2002. He smiled at
Mannerheim, and shook his hand. He then introduced the man with him -
who spoke Finnish as well. He was an American, from an organization
called the Central Intelligence Agency, and they wanted a few minutes
of the Marshall's time.
Mannerheim was shocked. The stories of the future Americans
were almost too bizarre to believe, but here was one in the flesh. 
Mannerheim couldn't imagine what they were doing here.
The Finnish ambassador continued. The United States
government was well aware of the Soviet build-up, and had no desire to
see Finland conquered by the Soviet Union. Indeed, they had made this
clear to Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov. However, the Soviets were
intractable, and the American diplomatic effort had failed.
Hope brightened Mannerheim's face. Does this mean that the
United States will send soldiers and planes to defend Finland?
Alas, no. That was not possible until the Germans were
defeated. The ambassador spoke without acknowledging that the Germans
were allies of the Finns.
Mannerheim schooled his face to prevent any sign of
disappointment from showing. Then what were they doing here.
The man from the CIA spoke as he sat down, and placed a
briefcase on the Marshall's desk. The United States wanted to offer
assistance to the Finns. Although direct military intervention was
out - for now - there were other things that the US could provide.
Mannerheim was doubtful. Then he saw what the CIA man had in
his briefcase. The Marshall was still doubtful, but again felt a
twinge of hope.
Category:Timelines
Category:ISOT American 2002