James Dean

**James Dean**, a notable character in *The Monument Mythos* series, rose to become the 37th president of the United Zones of America after triumphing over Richard Nixon and George Wallace in the 1968 United States presidential election.

## Personality

James Dean was a highly dedicated and enthusiastic president, known for his cheerful eccentricity. His amiable and charismatic nature, along with his unwavering commitment to the public good and fostering hope, showcased his deep love for peace.

Furthermore, Dean's profound love for his family was evident in his deep concern for his sister, Eunice Dean, and the tremendous distress he experienced following her tragic suicide.

Though Dean portrayed an enthusiastic demeanor, he possessed remarkable logic and tactical intelligence. Unfortunately, he resorted to extreme and deceptive measures such as employing terrorists to be "reformed" near national monuments and exploiting the Statue of Freedom to eliminate any remaining members of the ADA, transforming them into Canyon Crowns. Additionally, his controversial actions included the consolidation of all tech companies in the nation under a singular governmental body, enforcing compulsory mechanical implants for all Americans, and labeling anyone opposing his presidency as "anti-American." These actions may raise questions about their ethical nature.

## Story

### Background

James Dean was an American actor who became a cultural icon in the 1950s. Despite having a very short film career, he had a significant impact on popular culture and is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time.

### “*Deanverse*”

#### Presidential Campaign

In 1967, James Dean stuns the nation with his unexpected announcement on ABC news, declaring his candidacy for president. The anticipation leading up to his TV spot was intense, fueled by cryptic news reports heralding a momentous event in American history. Although Dean's spot was relatively concise, showcasing his headshots and powerful images of the Vietnam war, his anti-war sentiments resonated deeply with countless Americans. The overwhelmingly positive reaction to his ad led to exuberant celebrations engulfing the nation for an entire week, but it also triggered backlash from a group known as the Anti-Dean Association. Comprised mainly of conservative individuals, particularly those concerned with the growing reliance on technology, the ADA vehemently opposed Dean's campaign, even going so far as to label him "no man" and "Satan".

Despite the opposition, James Dean achieves a resounding victory with over 300 electoral votes. On January 20, 1969, he was inaugurated as the President. Rather than delivering a lengthy speech, Dean chooses brevity, speaking for just a minute and inviting other notable figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. to address the nation. This marked King's first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt nine months prior. To cap off his inauguration, Dean engages in a brief bongo session before engaging in a friendly race against Richard Nixon on a race track.

#### Presidency

On April 20, 1969, James Dean takes to live television, delivering a powerful address to the nation that showcased his impressive achievements during his initial three months in office. However, just six seconds into his speech, the audio abruptly ceases due to an attack attributed to the ADA. Despite this setback, President Dean's charm and authenticity resonates strongly with the public, leading to an even greater surge in his popularity. Notably, acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick famously refers to the broadcast as "the greatest silent film ever made" in recognition of its impact.

In May 13th, 1969, the ADA broadcasted a message on television, stating that "James Dean's America is Hell". They said that the viewers would hear the truth from Dean himself. After the announcement, all air raid sirens across all 50 states blared four times louder than normal. Most Americans suffered some form of hearing damage, if not total deafness. Some even had arteries rupture, causing deaths. Many entered fallout shelters, and the amount of cars left idling when drivers fled the sirens caused a lethal amount of carbon monoxide to enter the air.

After a few hours, all air raid sirens were successfully turned off, but America had been hit hardly by the incident. James Dean, who even deactivated a siren himself, had severe hearing issues, and suffered from major injuries, including extensive bruising and internal bleeding.

Dean launched a radio broadcast the next day, oddly over the same siren loudspeakers, accompanied by captions on TV for the many newly deaf, stating that ADA members would be sent to rehabilitation camps near or directly at monuments. These camps were so effective in transforming personality, demeanor, and strangely enough appearance, this is only made stranger by the fact that several national monuments contain trans-dimensional creatures, such as the Special Trees. The camps were so effective that even those who supported Dean wanted to enter the camps. Dean refused to let his supporters go to these "prisons", stating they'd no longer serve their intended purpose if everyone went.

After this, Dean collaborated with the new technology company Maize Machines. Maize Machines created the Maize Kernel, an extremely effective hearing aid. Thus, Dean held an emergency session of Congress, where he gave such a passionate speech (partly due to his new hearing aid malfunctioning) that the senators were deeply moved. In no time and the government rushed to create the Department of Technology to help with hearing loss around the country.

Over the course of May 1969, surgical androids helped implant hearing aids to all of those affected across the country, including Helen Keller.

By July 1969, the United States of America had become the very first country to eradicate deafness. Although strangely, people who did not want to have implants inserted into their ears suffered societal pressure and some where pressured to flee the country.

#### Other actions as president

The Dean Administration claims that they had shut down Project Giza Guardian in 1969, though this has been contested. Dean also legalized same-sex marriage. James Dean classified humanity and climate change as True Forces of Mass Destruction.

#### Late Presidency

In December of 1976, during a Saturday morning press conference, Dean was informed that a George Washington's body was preserved in the ice of the Delaware River. Dean's only response was "I'm surprised."

On January 6, 1977, the ADA stormed the Capitol Building. During this, an ADA member shot down the Freedom Statue. This resulted in the Freedom Statue going berserk and killing 150 people, presumably mostly ADA members and insurgents inside the capitol.

After this incident, President Dean and the Department of the Interior sent Freedom to the Grand Canyon, where they told the public it would be free from harm. However, the true purpose of moving Freedom was so it could eliminate ADA members and persons of interest lured into the canyon, one of the victims of the Freedom statue was Maya Arnoldson.

#### Legacy

President Dean's legacy has been positive. Today, James Dean receives praise as one of the greatest presidents of America's history. In 2002, a documentary about him, titled DEANDEMOCRACY, was created, primarily discussing his victory in the election, the ADA, and a hijacking called DEAN DISASTER.

## "Montyverse"

#### Election of 1968

In an alternate 1968, James Dean's older sister Eunice Dean committed suicide by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge. James was left distraught and ultimately refrained from making a presidential run, as he did in the "Deanverse". He instead called upon Montgomery Clift to run for President, and ran as Vice-President on the Montgomery Clift ticket in the 1968 election. They won the Democratic Primary in a landslide, with 70% of the vote.

Dean wins the election as Montgomery Clift's running mate, but faced a great deal of grief over the death of his sister. Howard Melrose is placed on the FBI's most wanted fugitives list for his involvement in Eunice's suicide. Dean is later informed by special agent Rod Serling in a phone call that Melrose was on a flight from LAX to Washington DC. Dean takes Air Force Two and intercepts the passenger plane containing Melrose, colliding with it in midair and presumably killing both Dean and Melrose in the process.

Dean and Melrose enter a white void after the collision, where they are scolded by Cthonaut A. The Cthonaut explains that they represent two monuments, Dean being Comedy and Melrose being Tragedy. They are both explained to hold their universe together, but tear each other apart. The Cthonaut refers to Dean as "Dean the Devil" and Melrose as "Howard the Coward", before stating that he will not let them ruin humanity, telling them to "Try again, fools."

A trial is later held in the form of a poll regarding the impeachment of James Dean for conspiracy to commit an act of vigilantism. Ultimately the results are 40% Yea, 60% Nay, keeping Dean in power.

#### The Statue of Liberty Platform Incident

Dean reportedly disappeared for around two weeks after Cthonaut A ended the world. After the Statue of Liberty Platform Explosion, Dean reappeared in a spotlight on the platform to state “Monty Clift is the one man in the world who can prevent nuclear war.” It is implied that this may have been a campaign advertisement.

### Legacy

At some point, Rod Serling was removed as FBI Director and later published a book entitled "The Death of President Dean - A True Story by Rod Serling". Serling is also attributed to the quote "I should've stayed a writer." This is likely a reference to him enabling Dean's attack on Melrose.

### Trivia

* James Dean's relation to Eunice Dean was revealed by the DC Representative, who also stated that Eunice was the reason that he was unable to run like he did in the original timeline.

## References

1. ↑ DELAWAREDOUBLE
2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `DEAN`
3. ↑ GOLDENGATEGIRL
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 As per a Community Poll on the MISTER MANTICORE channel.
5. ↑ DEANDEVIL
6. ↑ CLIFTCHAOS
7. ↑ FREEDOMFOREVER