Thirteen

***Thirteen*** (styled as ***Thir13en)*** is a dystopian alternate history action-adventure drama series written by EDStudios. Beginning in the year 2077 in an alternate reality where the British won the American Revolutionary War at the Battle of Saratoga and subsequently conquered much of the world, the series follows the modern-day incarnation of the American Resistance, known as the Congress, as they continue to fight for American freedom from the British.

Two spin-offs are in development: the first, set in the 1970s, is titled *Pacifica* and follows the in-universe depiction of the Korean War; the second, set in the 2070s, is under the working title *Fantom* and will follow the resistance movement in the Yugoslav Reich.

## Plot

*What if the United States of America as we know it had never existed?*

*Three hundred years after the British Empire proved victorious over the United States, the remaining descendants of the American rebellion continue their ancestor's fight for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.*

## Setting

*Thirteen* is set in an alternate reality that diverged from history in 1777 during the Battle of Saratoga; in our timeline, the American forces won the battle and it was considered a major turning point in the war, eventually leading to American victory and independence. In the reality of *Thirteen*, the British crushed the American forces at the battle, setting off a chain of events that led to the British proving victorious in the war. The British then proceeded to mercilessly hunt down and kill all of the leaders of the Continental Congress, leading to the complete collapse of the United States of America. George Washington, the leader of the Continental Army and a figurehead of the American independence movement, was forced to watch his family be hanged, drawn and quartered before he was given a similar public execution.

In the aftermath, the few surviving members of the American Resistance convened to form the Congress, an underground resistance movement which would continue the fight by covertly fighting the British and their influence. The movement was co-founded by Washington's slave and lover, Cora Davis, who had secretly fathered a son with George Washington. The Washington line subsequently became sacred to the Congress, who added to their charter that the descendents of Washington must be watched over and the bloodline must be protected by the Congress.

By 2077, 300 years after Washington's death, the Congress are still active but are losing their war. The British Empire has conquered almost the entirety of the North American continent and directly rules over more than half of the world's land area; the area comprising the real-life United States is a province of British America known as Gilead. During World War Two, the British signed a peace agreement with the Greater Nazi Reich, in which the British and the Reich would each rule half of Europe; with Britain being the far superior force, they managed to restrict the Nazi's quest for total conquest. The British also have strong alliances with the United Latin Republic, and are locked in a Cold War-like detente with the Japanese Empire, which has evolved to become a more democratic state with widespread freedoms for its people. The British Empire is in a state of war with the Soviet Union over control of the Alyaska Soviet Socialist Republic, which would complete Britain's conquering of North America were it to succeed.

In the 300 years since the British defeated the Americans, technology has surged forward; cybernetic and biological augmentation is now commonplace, with entire armies consisting of nothing but cybernetic soldiers and drones. The nations of the world have come together to combat climate change and expand humanity to the stars, having set up a colony on Mars in the 2050s. However, civilian freedoms are severely limited in all but the Japanese Empire; despite this, the Japanese Empire still maintains heavy imperialist rule on its citizens and puppet states.

Only a few political entities exist by 2077: the British Empire, the Soviet Union, the Greater Nazi Reich, the Japanese Empire, the United Latin Republic and the United Cities of Borealis.

## World of *Thirteen*

### Europe

> *Main Article: Europe (Thirteen)*
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Europe is the centre of political power and home to several major superpowers in the world of *Thirteen*; it is the home of the British Empire, which rules western Europe, and the Greater Nazi Reich, which rules central, northern and eastern Europe.

The British Empire, despite its lesser land area on continental Europe, is by far the most powerful nation, home to a vast cybernetically-enhanced military and a massive GDP fuelled by industry from its various provinces and colonies. The jewel of the Empire's European territory is the British Isles, an archipelago located in north-west Europe that serves as the core of the Empire and the seat of the Emperor. The Empire is governed either directly or indirectly from London by both the Emperor and the British parliament. Aside from Britain, the Empire also controls the former countries of France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Estonia and Latvia, having fought a war with the Soviet Union over the latter two.

In comparison, the Greater Nazi Reich controls more than three-quarters of Europe's land area, including the core nation of Germany and its former ally Italy. Under the terms of Nazi Germany's peace agreement with the British, the Reich retains control of the majority of the territory that they captured during World War II; only one area, the Yugoslav Reich, remains autonomous. Despite its greater land area, the Reich's political, economic and military power pales in comparison to the British Empire; the only nation with a lower GDP than the Reich is the Soviet Union.

The former nations of Belgium and Switzerland are considered neutral territory, jointly governed by the Reich and the Empire.

### Americas

Both North and South America have faced colonization from European powers, but South America has managed to free itself from colonialism to create a unified, continent-spanning superpower, the United Latin Republic. In comparison, North America is divided into five entities: Gilead and New Scotland, both territories of the British Empire; the American Reich, a small portion of eastern Gilead ruled by the Greater Nazi Reich; the Alyaska Soviet Socialist Republic, and the United Latin Republic, which controls most of central America.

Both Gilead and New Scotland are a part of British America, the Empire-controlled territories of North America. Gilead stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, as well as portions of the former United Mexican States. Gilead is bordered to the north by New Scotland and to the south by several provinces of the United Latin Republic. New Scotland, briefly the Republic of Canada, is primarily used for its natural resources, which are used to fuel industry in Gilead. The island of Greenland, controlled by the Empire since their successful annexation of Denmark, is home to the bulk of the Empire's military forces.

Bordering Gilead to the south is the United Latin Republic, a federal union assembled to prevent British colonization of South America. The ULR dominates central America and all of South America, with the British controlling a few regions in central America that are known as Latin Britain.

### Asia

Like the Americas, Asia has seen extensive colonization by European powers, specifically the British Empire. In the world of *Thirteen*, the Empire has maintained ownership and control of the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as conquered large portions of China. The other superpower in Asia is the Japanese Empire, which controls all of Indonesia, numerous islands in the Pacific and eastern China. Finally, the Soviet Union controls northern Asia, as well as three-quarters of Turkey.

Unlike the British, the Reich, the USSR and the ULR, the Japanese Empire has adopted a democratic and socialist system of government despite remaining an imperialist state. Since a civilian uprising in the 1960s that led to widespread reformations, citizens of the Japanese Empire enjoy widespread social and economic freedoms, with a multi-party political system made up of many political parties from its various territories; each constituent country is given equal governing power in the National Diet, Japan's bicameral legislature. Due to the peace and freedoms that the Japanese Empire brings to its colonies, it has faced very few rebellions in its post-WWII history; the most notable example was the secession of Greater Korea to form the Greater Korean Republic, a Stalinist state that aimed to conquer eastern Asia and remove Japan from power in the Korean War. Since their victory in the war, Japan has been locked in a Cold War-like détente with the other world superpowers, especially with the British, and is the only superpower to recognise the United Cities of Borealis. The Congress, the modern incarnation of the American Resistance, holds a strong alliance with various *Yakuza* groups in the Japanese Empire and as a result has taken on many Japanese customs, most notably the use of Samurai swords.

### Africa

Africa is dominated by the British Empire, which claimed all former French, Belgian and German colonies on the continent during the 19th and 20th Centuries. The British control a near-continuous territory ranging from the north coast of Africa down to its southern coast, with two distinct territories of the Central African Proctorate in the centre of the continent and the Greater Nazi Reich controlling a small portion of east Africa and northern Madagascar. The Kingdom of Lesotho, a British puppet state, is located in southern Africa.

The Central African Protectorate is a British protectorate that consists of two territories, Victoria and Malawi, in the African Great Lakes region.

Africa has been raped of its natural resources for centuries, leaving its native population almost completely powerless. Several uprisings have been attempted across history, but all have failed.

### Oceania

The geographical region of Oceania is controlled by two world superpowers: the British Empire, which controls the Australian landmass and the south island of New Zealand, and the Japanese Empire, which controls the Pacific islands. Australia enjoys limited autonomy, being one of the few British provinces to be given the chance, and thus has cool relations with the Japanese. The island of Tasmania, however, is fully controlled by the British, who hold most of their prisoners from across the Empire on the island.

Like the rest of the Japanese Empire, the Japanese territories in Oceania enjoy many freedoms and a fair democracy.

### Antarctica

The world's southernmost continent is home to a single political entity: the United Cities of Borealis, a network of free Antarctic colonies controlled by the Secretariat, a separatist group made up of scientists and engineers. The UCB's independence is solely secured by their advanced technology - which keeps even the British Empire at bay - and their loose relations with the Japanese Empire, the only country to recognise the UCB.