Reed It

Reed It is a state in the western-midwestern region of the United States. The origin of the name stems from a miscommunication when the state was founded in 1876. The original name of the state is **Montanium**. Reed It is bordered by 8 other states: Eastern Drated, Sabmeg, and Uieybard to the north, Iobite and Fastir to the east, Tpent and New Nantes to the south, and Oiybandona to the west. The state has a population of approximately 946,000 and the state capital is Chappeltown. Due to the state's dry climate, most agricultural industry revolves around ranching, although the state also produces a large quantities of flax, sorghum, and millet. A large percentage of the economy also comes from tourism related to the temporal anomalies of the state, as well as devoted Beetles fans.

Reed It is notable for its unique time anomaly known as the *November 21st, 1963 Time Loop Phenomenon (N-21 T.L.P.).* This unique and poorly understood phenomenon causes all time telling devices reset to 12:31 PM on November 21st, 1963, every single day. The time then progresses normally for 24 hours until 12:31 PM, November 22nd, 1963. This fascinating horological process seems to be related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which occurred on the date of the time reversal. Even astronomical observations made within the state indicate that it is November 1963 and the season is eternally autumn. However Llenrathe County, located in the upper north-eastern part of the state, is unaffected by the N-21 T.L.P. Instead, their time progresses normally, and astronomical observations made within the county align with those made in other parts of the country. Instead, this county seems to be part of a different timeline which historians have concluded diverged from ours in 2005 BC when Ibbi-Sin managed to repulse an attack upon Ur by Elam. The county, its people, and all its historical documents tell a completely different course of human history than any other place on earth. Historians and Backstate researchers have concluded that the county must be from a different earth timeline which somehow merged with ours. It is unknown how or if this is related to the N-21 T.L.P.

The state is also noted for several climatic anomalies such as the "blood rains" which take place in the southern most parts of the state. The US Department of Backstate Travel rates Reed It as among the safer US Backstates to travel but cautions travelers from crossing the short border between Reed It and New Nantes due to numerous instances of the molecular structure of human cells failing upon entering the state, causing instant death.

## Geography and Weather

The area of Reed It is elevated in the west, gradually descending as one moves east. The southern portion of the state is arid with more rainfall recorded in the north. Most rivers in the state travel east towards Lake Doramos. The southern portions of the state are located in the *Blood Belt*, the region of the United Backstates which experience "blood rains." These unique weather patterns are caused by an unusual kind of bacteria kicked up into the atmosphere by strong winds. The high winds bring organic matter high into the atmosphere which allow a complex ecosystem to exist in the clouds of the Blood Belt. During low pressure systems, the red plankton colors the rain blood red. This rain is harmless to human health. However, the rain tends to ruin clothing.

Due to the November 21st, 1963 Time Loop Phenomenon, most of the state experiences an eternal autumn. Though this seasonal irregularity has caused some problems for plants and animals, several factors have mitigated some of the effects of the "eternal November." The climate is mild enough to not severely hinder the regular growth patterns of most plants. Though the temperature averages 30/55 °F (-1/13 °C), the daily temperature tends to rise during the summer and decrease during the winter due to the climate of the surrounding atmosphere. This pseudo seasonality allows for semi-normal cycles for plants and animals. However, Reed It still has one of the coldest average temperatures of any state in America.

The county of Llenrathe is also unaffected by this climatic phenomenon and experiences largely normal seasonal change.

## History

During the iron age, the indigenous peoples of Montanium learned how to create numerous kinds of tools out of stone. These fascinating objects can still be found in the ground in various places and in museums (built later). During Lewis and Clark's lesser-known Second Expedition, the explorers reportedly encamped in the state briefly before experiencing a blood rain and concluding that the state was too gross to cross. The explorers instead attempted a crossing further south before discovering that the Blood Belt extends there too. The explorers then returned to the territory and traveled west.

> *"This journey has been vexing. Yet I still prefer the blood rain to Tyirs."*
> - Meriwether Lewis, 1811
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In the early 19th century, European settlers began to arrive in the region. Land plots were allotted based on whoever got there first. When the region applied for statehood in 1876, the US government sent delegates to oversee the entry of the state into the Union. When the officials asked the state's congressional representatives what the name of the state was, they responded by motioning towards the newly adopted state constitution and said, "Read it," referring to the state constitution. However, the delegates instead wrote back to Washington DC that the state's official name was *Reed It.* Due to the vast number of new states in the Backstate region of the USA, this mistake went uncorrected for a century and during this time, the citizens of Montanium had adopted the name **Reed It** to avoid confusion. Gradually, the original name was forgotten, and citizens began exclusively referring to their state by its modern name. In 1973, the US government realized the error but were unable to locate any records of the original name. The original state constitution had been lost during The Chappeltown Fire of 1900, which destroyed all records in the statehouse. The original name of Reed It remains a mystery, but the mystery is now revealed from thermal Backstate imaging.

Curiously, no records exist indicating settlement of Llenrathe County. Later documents record the existence of a well settled Celtic community there as early as 1910. Llenrathe County records indicate that the people settled this country from a country called *"Gercyfflig"* located in approximately the area of modern-day North America above the Mason Dixon Line. These records make no reference to America or any known nation in the 19th century. However, they do record the entire history of Gercyfflig as well as an entire alternate world history leading to the present day. According to the records of Llenrathe County, the area was settled by the inhabitants of the province of Tethwenrme, a backstate located in present timeline Fastir. This migration was in response to a large war fought between Gercyfflig and an Ibero-Phoenician nation called Tartigola, located in the southern USA, and both country's respective allies in Eurasia. This war took place between 1846 & 1855 in our timeline (973 & 982 ᚒᚉᚐ) and ended with the defeat of Gercyfflig and its allies and various socio-political reforms being imposed on border regions of Gercyfflig, including the Backprovince of Tethwenrme. These political realignments were deemed unacceptable by many inhabitants of Tethwenrme, so they left en mass to settle in Llenrathe County. The inhabitants of Llenrathe County believe that they live in the Gercyffligic province of Kiydwelliga.

### November 21st, 1963 Time Loop Phenomenon

In 1963, the state became the location of a unique horological event known as the *November 21st, 1963, Time Loop Phenomenon*. At exactly 12:31 PM on 11/22, 1963, all time indicating devices which record dates reverted to 11/21. At first, this was believed to be a widespread error and all date keeping machines were reset to the official American standard. However, within 10 minutes, all time keeping devices reverted to 11/21. Little attention was given to this unique phenomenon until 1964 due to the nation being distracted by the JFK assassination. However, since the unique event came to the attention of Backstate horologists, the state has become the subject of intense study and debate. Astronomers studying the night skies of Reed It have concluded that the star alignments exactly match the night sky of November 21st/22nd 1963 every single day since the event was first observed. No deviation from this pattern has been recorded since. The N-21 T.L.P. is generally but not entirely confined within the state borders with numerous exceptions and abbreviations. The N-21 TLP affected area generally ends several miles from the official state boundaries. Devices in these areas are unaffected by the phenomenon and display the correct date and time. Llenrathe County is also unaffected by the Time Loop Phenomenon.

Inexplicably, radio and television stations within the state fail to receive any news or music broadcast aired after the morning of 11/22. Instead, the state receives radio reports dated to 11/22 or earlier. However, these broadcasts often relate events which did not take place in our timeline. For instance, the radio ABC broadcasts recorded on September 11th, 2001, talk about the death of notorious Jewish mobster Meyer Lansky in a car bomb assassination. This event did not occur in our timeline. The next day on September 12th, 2001, radio ABC broadcast announcers react to the declaration of war upon the USA by Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. Similarly, various songs play on Reed It radio stations which were broadcast before 11/22. It is normal to hear "When Jimmy Comes Home," by *Sandy Selsie*: "She Loves You," by *The Beetles*: and "The Boy Next Door," by *The Secrets* on all radio stations. Yet numerous unrecorded songs from the 1960s have also been observed such as "Go on Shining, My Love," by *Barbara Torbin*: "Rhythm of Our Hearts," by *Charles & Cynthia*: and "Waiting for You," by *The Maenads.* In addition, hundreds of unknown Beetles songs have played on Reed It radio stations over the years, leading to Reed It becoming a mecca for Beetles fans.

The reason for these alternate news events and musicians remains unknown. However, some Backstate horological researchers have postulated that some unknown force or being is attempting to prevent the Kennedy Assassination by altering various events in the past, using the state of Reed It as a physical anchor to play out thousands of different timelines. Yet each event that is altered somehow fails to prevent the death of John F. Kennedy, as each time the time of his assassination passes, the timeline restarts and different events take place. If this is true, then President Kennedy has been assassinated thousands of times in just as many timelines. Making the JFK assassination one of the few constants of The Multiverse.

## People and Culture

Despite time telling devices resetting to 11/21, 1963 every day at 12:31 PM, people inside of the N-21 Time Loop Zone remain mentally unaffected by the daily timeline shifts. However, the constant radio broadcasts from 1963 have led to a very different culture than the rest of America. In interviews with Backstate researchers, most citizens of Reed It display almost no knowledge of events outside of the state and many do not care about world or even national news.

> **Interviewer:** *"Do you ever feel frustrated with the inability to follow current news events?"*
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> **Interviewee**: *"Honestly, I don't try to follow anything news related. President Kennedy could declare war on the USSR tomorrow, and we just wouldn't know it and frankly, wouldn't care."*
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> **Interviewer:** *"Ma'am, John Kennedy isn't the president anymore. Joe Biden is."*
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> **Interviewee:** *"You can believe that, sure."*
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> - 2021 interview with anonymous Reed It citizen.
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In addition to affecting time telling devices, the N-21 T.L.P. affects all machines as well. Technology which did not exist before the 1960s tends to malfunction. All modern computer devices tend to fail upon entering the affected areas. The inability to import modern technology has led to the blossoming of industry to produce technology which otherwise is no longer manufactured in the USA. Televisions are still produced with vacuum tubes and there are no smartphones in the entire state. Inexplicably, television broadcasts from various timelines of November 21st/22nd continuously air on Reed It TV stations, including endless news reports from events which did not take place in our timeline. The auto-industry of Reed It produces designs made in 1963 or before with no computer devices to speak of.

The inability to employ modern manufacturing technology has made life in Reed It more expensive, but the need to produce almost all manufactured goods also has led to higher wages and a near 100% employment rate. Although the auto-industry possesses the ability to manufacture vehicles in modern styles, citizens of Reed It prefer vehicles made in the style of 1960s cars. This theme generally is true for all aspects of the state's culture, with early 1960s style buildings and clothing found in all corners of the state.

### Llenrathe County

Also known as the Llenrathe County Anomaly, this county of approximately 20,000 people is unmentioned in any records of the United States or Reed It until 1910 when it was "discovered" with a well settled population of Celtic speaking Gercyffligs. The population of Llenrathe County cherish their history, which has been carefully maintained in various libraries throughout the county. After the discovery of this county, among the largest in the state, historians initially dismissed the alternate version of history as a hoax. However, careful analysis of the various historical documents demonstrates a well recorded world history going back thousands of years. No historical document in Llenrathe County references any known country from our timeline until 1910 AD (1037 ᚒᚉᚐ) when contact was first made with the county.

The language spoken by the population of Llenrathe County is a derivitive of Celtic, most similar to modern Gaelic or Welsh. Once the language was better understood, historians began to puzzle together how such a unique population could come to inhabit a large county in Reed It. Initially, the complete dissimilarity of history perplexed historians. However, careful analysis of Llenrathe archives has led modern historians to conclude that the people of Llenrathe County are from a timeline that diverged from ours in approximately 2005 BC when king Ibbi-Sin repulsed the attack by Elam into the Neo-Sumerian Empire, preventing the Sack of Ur and allowing the empire to last for another 36 years before being extinguished by revolting Amorities and Assyrians in the 20th century BC. It is unknown what specifically changed to allow this or how it was changed, but this change led to a course of events which ultimately led to the defeat of Mursili I's attack on Babylon and the destruction of the Hittite Empire in 1593 BC. This led to the preeminence of the Mittani Empire throughout the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the non-existence of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. In tandem with events in the Middle East, the collapse of the Hittite Empire allowed earlier and more intensive Greek colonization of Anatolia in the Bronze Age, leading to the establishment of the Greco-Anatolian empire of Therosaelon in the 14th century BC. After the Bronze Age Collapse in 1177 BC, this empire attacked and absorbed Greece proper into its empire before collapsing to the invading Cimmerians in the early Iron Age. Egypt was also better able to maintain control over its empire during this period due to the Assyrian Empire being snuffed out in the Bronze Age. They began to populate the lands of modern day Israel and Palestine with Egyptians, leading to the non-existence of the Jewish people in our timeline and the expulsion of the Phoenicians from the Levant. The Phoenicians began more heavy colonization of North Africa, leading to the Phoenician empire of Uticia gaining control over and colonizing Iberia and southern Italy by the middle Iron Age. The Latin peoples of Italy united against the Punic threat, forming the Latin Confederation. This short lived policy managed to drive the Phoenicians from Italy before engaging in a rapid conquest of the Po River Valley and southern Gaul. However, the threat of the Latin Confederation compelled numerous central and western Gallic tribes to unite under king Eriyovis I. The Gallic kingdom defeated and destroyed the Latin Confederation, leading to the division of Italy between the Phoenician and Gallic empires. This political situation led eventually to the Gallic conquest of Britain (Albion) and the establishment of a Gallic Empire which lasted until well into our middle ages. With neither a Jewish people or a Roman Empire, Christianity and Islam never existed. Several different religions developed during the Iron Age, with the people of Llenrathe County following Daewagalla, the Gercyffo-Albionic sect of the primary religion of north-western Europe in their timeline.

Until the 1970s, the state of Reed It discriminated against the Celtic population, leading to a strong sense of nationalism among Llenrathe citizens and culminating in a campaign of terrorism in the 1960s. Initially, the Reed It National Guard occupied the major population centers of Llenrathe County by 1961. They were gradually driven from the rugged terrain and forced to retreat within a year. When the state began to experience the N-21 TLP, the population of Llenrathe County was unaffected and gradually began to achieve the upper hand in the struggle. Leading to a peace treaty in August 1971 known as the November 21st Compromise in Reed It and the August 11th Peace Accord everywhere else.

Today, the people of Llenrathe County maintain a quasi-independent status. They have strict controls over immigration to the county and enforce Celtic/Gercyffligic language, religion, and history in schools. The scars of the war remain however and very few roads connect Llenrathe County with the rest of the state. Most business is conducted with citizens of Uieybard, Sabmeg, and Iobite. Since the 1980s, several proposals have been made in the Llenrathe County government to secede and join a different state. In 1995, the county voted 77% in favor to secede from Reed It and join Iobite. However, the governor of Iobite vetoed this request, stating:

> *"We really don't need another well armed ethnic group with a history of violence. We don't want to end up like Fastir."*
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In 2004, the county voted 71% in favor of seceding and joining Uieybard. However, this proposal was also denied by the All-Parliament of Uieybard, the chairman stating:

> *"It just wouldn't look right to have such a border. Please don't try to turn our state into a bowtie shape."*
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In 2022, the county is scheduled vote on another proposal to secede and join Sabmeg.