Poor dear, died before her time... literaly.
Otherwise a nice call back to the older chapters... and a reminder that a reread might be in the cards.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Otherwise a nice call back to the older chapters... and a reminder that a reread might be in the cards.
Part 155, Chapter 2835
New
Chapter Two Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five
17th July 1980
Kashmir, North-West India
For the last several days Malcolm had been hiking ever upwards, gaining in elevation as well as distance. The forested slopes had given way to snow covered mountains towering over steep baren valleys strewn with rocks. Gerhard Schmatz, the expedition’s leader had told them the old military dictate “Sweat saves blood” when he had told them the amount of gear that they would be packing to the base camp. While they had the help of dozens of porters who had been hired for the expedition, everyone had a part to play. Malcolm was reminded of this as he felt the straps from his backpack against his shoulders.
“Bloody Hell” Malcolm heard Fennel mutter as they came around a bend in the trail.
Looking up, Malcolm noticed that the overcast that had loomed over them all day had broken. Through the clouds he could see the mountain itself looming. It almost looked serene, except Malcolm knew her reputation.
When Fennel had asked to join the expedition, Malcolm had been certain that he would be told no by either Gerhard or Hannelore after what had happened last time and afterwards. Instead they had welcomed him. It seemed that an experienced climber with experience in the Himalayas, particularly on this mountain, was always welcome. Reaching into his coat pocket, Malcolm pulled the compact Leica camera that had been specially made for the expedition. When Malcolm had received it from the company they had not charged him, telling him that if it reached the summit then they would sell identical cameras by the thousands. If not, then there was a good chance that paying them back for it would be the least of his worries. With that cheerful thought Malcolm snapped a photograph of K2 with George Fennel in the foreground.
Detroit, Michigan
There had been a whole lot of mirth going into the Republican National Convention. With everyone amused by the Democratic Party not having a clear candidate as they went into their convention at Madison Square Garden next month. What no one had seem coming was that Montana Governor John S. Brenner, the presumed Republican nominee, had unexpectedly withdrawn his name for undisclosed health reasons. Suddenly they were in the exact same situation as the Democratic Party, only they didn’t have a ready list of candidates and it turned into a messy floor fight on National Television. None of this was helped by news that Richard Nixon was waiting in the wings to be renominated in the very likely event that Democratic Party couldn’t reach a consensus about a different candidate. No one wanted to face the prospect of facing an incumbent President during good economic times whatever their ambitions might be.
What followed was a surreal three days of arguments about who would be the nominee, eventually settling on Mark Felt, the Junior Senator from Idaho. Felt had originally put his name forward for the Presidential nomination, not because he had actually wanted it but had been advised that it would improve his stature in the National Party. When he gave his acceptance speech it was compared to the coerced public statement made by the Aegean Airlines Pilot during the Hamburg Airport incident a few years earlier. The only difference was that there wasn’t a group of heavily armed Turkish Nationalists just out of frame. Unfortunately for Felt, he remembered what had happened to the Pilot and the Turks when the German Federal Police’s Counterterrorism Unit had used the distraction to blast their way into the Airport Terminal. The whole world had watched that play its way out.
Near Tyson, Vermont
“Get your feet up!” The Counselor yelled as they ran towards the buildings that made up Camp Laconia. As Stevie had come to figure out, they were expected to run everywhere.
The Instructor almost looked embarrassed as he dismissed them to get cleaned up before going to lunch. When they had arrived at Laconia, Stevie had assumed that their Counselors were just more of the grown ups yelling at them. Then he had noticed that the Head Counselor was yelling at many of them the same way that he was getting yelled at. It had been a bit jarring to notice that many of the Counselors were teenagers, kids who had been sent to Laconia in prior years not much older than he was. Stevie pushed that thought out of his head as he followed the others into the showers. It was painfully obvious if you didn’t bathe every chance you got and there had been some of the others who had gotten into trouble over that. “Act like a pig and be treated like one” had been how the response had been termed and the punishment had involved crawling through mud. After that, if anyone had hang-ups about the situation they got over them very quickly.
The showers themselves were always lukewarm because the tanks that fed them were up on the roof and painted black, extremely cheap passive solar heating was how it had been termed and one of their “afternoon activities” had involved siphoning well water up into the tanks. Doud had joked with everyone about how it would really suck to be here during the winter, only to have it pointed out to him that no one had any reason to be by one of the Counselors. One of the last things that they would do at the end of the summer before they went home would be to drain the tanks so they wouldn’t be damaged by ice forming inside them over the winter.
That was a bit of a bewildering moment for Stevie. Until that had been said, it had not occurred to him that the summer would end eventually. After grabbing fresh clothes from his locker, he ran to join the others waiting in line for lunch.
17th July 1980
Kashmir, North-West India
For the last several days Malcolm had been hiking ever upwards, gaining in elevation as well as distance. The forested slopes had given way to snow covered mountains towering over steep baren valleys strewn with rocks. Gerhard Schmatz, the expedition’s leader had told them the old military dictate “Sweat saves blood” when he had told them the amount of gear that they would be packing to the base camp. While they had the help of dozens of porters who had been hired for the expedition, everyone had a part to play. Malcolm was reminded of this as he felt the straps from his backpack against his shoulders.
“Bloody Hell” Malcolm heard Fennel mutter as they came around a bend in the trail.
Looking up, Malcolm noticed that the overcast that had loomed over them all day had broken. Through the clouds he could see the mountain itself looming. It almost looked serene, except Malcolm knew her reputation.
When Fennel had asked to join the expedition, Malcolm had been certain that he would be told no by either Gerhard or Hannelore after what had happened last time and afterwards. Instead they had welcomed him. It seemed that an experienced climber with experience in the Himalayas, particularly on this mountain, was always welcome. Reaching into his coat pocket, Malcolm pulled the compact Leica camera that had been specially made for the expedition. When Malcolm had received it from the company they had not charged him, telling him that if it reached the summit then they would sell identical cameras by the thousands. If not, then there was a good chance that paying them back for it would be the least of his worries. With that cheerful thought Malcolm snapped a photograph of K2 with George Fennel in the foreground.
Detroit, Michigan
There had been a whole lot of mirth going into the Republican National Convention. With everyone amused by the Democratic Party not having a clear candidate as they went into their convention at Madison Square Garden next month. What no one had seem coming was that Montana Governor John S. Brenner, the presumed Republican nominee, had unexpectedly withdrawn his name for undisclosed health reasons. Suddenly they were in the exact same situation as the Democratic Party, only they didn’t have a ready list of candidates and it turned into a messy floor fight on National Television. None of this was helped by news that Richard Nixon was waiting in the wings to be renominated in the very likely event that Democratic Party couldn’t reach a consensus about a different candidate. No one wanted to face the prospect of facing an incumbent President during good economic times whatever their ambitions might be.
What followed was a surreal three days of arguments about who would be the nominee, eventually settling on Mark Felt, the Junior Senator from Idaho. Felt had originally put his name forward for the Presidential nomination, not because he had actually wanted it but had been advised that it would improve his stature in the National Party. When he gave his acceptance speech it was compared to the coerced public statement made by the Aegean Airlines Pilot during the Hamburg Airport incident a few years earlier. The only difference was that there wasn’t a group of heavily armed Turkish Nationalists just out of frame. Unfortunately for Felt, he remembered what had happened to the Pilot and the Turks when the German Federal Police’s Counterterrorism Unit had used the distraction to blast their way into the Airport Terminal. The whole world had watched that play its way out.
Near Tyson, Vermont
“Get your feet up!” The Counselor yelled as they ran towards the buildings that made up Camp Laconia. As Stevie had come to figure out, they were expected to run everywhere.
The Instructor almost looked embarrassed as he dismissed them to get cleaned up before going to lunch. When they had arrived at Laconia, Stevie had assumed that their Counselors were just more of the grown ups yelling at them. Then he had noticed that the Head Counselor was yelling at many of them the same way that he was getting yelled at. It had been a bit jarring to notice that many of the Counselors were teenagers, kids who had been sent to Laconia in prior years not much older than he was. Stevie pushed that thought out of his head as he followed the others into the showers. It was painfully obvious if you didn’t bathe every chance you got and there had been some of the others who had gotten into trouble over that. “Act like a pig and be treated like one” had been how the response had been termed and the punishment had involved crawling through mud. After that, if anyone had hang-ups about the situation they got over them very quickly.
The showers themselves were always lukewarm because the tanks that fed them were up on the roof and painted black, extremely cheap passive solar heating was how it had been termed and one of their “afternoon activities” had involved siphoning well water up into the tanks. Doud had joked with everyone about how it would really suck to be here during the winter, only to have it pointed out to him that no one had any reason to be by one of the Counselors. One of the last things that they would do at the end of the summer before they went home would be to drain the tanks so they wouldn’t be damaged by ice forming inside them over the winter.
That was a bit of a bewildering moment for Stevie. Until that had been said, it had not occurred to him that the summer would end eventually. After grabbing fresh clothes from his locker, he ran to join the others waiting in line for lunch.
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That photo is going to become famous, isn't it? Hopefully in a good way.
Felt: "Why do I get the feeling that, win or lose, I'm fucked?"
Love the reference to Sparta and more than half expecting for one of the kids at the camp to be called Percy.
And when they find out that the photographer is the son of the famed war photographer Malcolm Blackwood, he may find himself receiving more cameras.
The only difference between winning an losing is if he gets dinner and flowers first or not.
It is more likely than not only does the camera company already knows that Malcolm is the son of Douglas Blackwood, but also Doug made some inquires to various camera and film companies to provide the equipment.
This is because if the summit is reached on the "Killer Mountain" the picture is going to be one of the most famous photos of the 20th Century and the camera will become a hot ticket item for those who will want a high quality, rugged, compact camera that takes great pictures under extreme stress.
The chaos the Republican Convention only ensures that the "Draft Nixion" campaign is going to win on the first ballot after a series of "Spontaneous Demonstrations" erupt from the convention gallery and floor with shouts of "WE WANT NIXON" and "FOUR MORE YEARS".
Of course, a "very reluctant" Nixon will very "humbly" accept the nomination.
BTW the IOTL Mark Felt was not a good person as he was convicted of violating the Civil Rights of members of the Weather Underground and was pardoned by President Reagan while appealing his conviction.
He was passed over by President Nixon for the FBI director after the death of J, Edgar Hoover because Nixon wanted his own people in charge and have more control over the FBI.
Because of that, Felt as the Number Two person in the FBI, became the " Deep Throat" source to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward as a way to get back at Nixon for passing him over.
Still don't see the reason for Stevie and Doud spending practically the whole summer at this camp, maybe a two- or three-week camp would have been more reasonable, but six to eight weeks seems to be extreme to me.
Of course, with the new baby, not having Stevie around takes some extra pressure off of Ritchie and Lucia, and I am sure that Krissy doesn't mind not having Stevie being a pain to her over the summer.
As for Doud, he seems to be the Odd Duck of the Eisenhower Family, and they hope that a summer at this camp will straighten him out and fit in with the rest of the family.
Part 155, Chapter 2836
New
Chapter Two Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Six
19th July 1980
Munich, Bavaria
“You are flying out on Monday?” Vicky asked, with a bit of trepidation. She was seven months pregnant and Kiki had present at the births of her other children. She knew that she could trust Kiki without reservation to mind her interests. This time though that would not be the case.
“I think that you will be fine” Kiki said, “Even if you have Frau Aue, Franz, Anna looking out for you this time. Charlotte is also planning on coming down to Munich.”
Kiki was talking about Frau Aue, the Midwife who had delivered most of the babies born to this generation of the women of the German Imperial Family. That was a staggering thing to consider, but they needed someone they could trust and Ermintrude Aue was exactly that. Prinz Franz von Bayern was Vicky’s husband, though the two of them had a mutual arrangement necessitated by the conservative society within Bavaria. Oddly, the two of them had a caring and supportive relationship that was actually better than most of the Royal marriages that Kiki had watched over the years. Anna Muller was Vicky’s actual partner, though to the outside world she was Vicky’s Courtly appointed Friend and Companion. Whenever Kiki considered that term, she always thought that it was a bit too suggestive of what was actually happening. Of course, Kiki had Zella and Aurora as appointed friends and companions. Regardless, Vicky and Anna had been together since they had met in an extracurricular Pottery Class when they had both been at University in Jena fourteen years earlier.
“I am really hoping for a girl this time” Vicky said, changing the subject. The scans had been inconclusive and Vicky was hoping for a little girl to round out her family.
“If not, Max and Bert would probably love having a little brother” Kiki replied.
Vicky frowned, “My God!” She exclaimed, “Do you have any idea what boys are like? Especially when they have been around their grandfathers. To have another one.”
Kiki knew what boys were like, unlike Vicky she had grown up with their brothers without a twin sister to act as buffer. She also had a five-year-old who had stayed in Berlin with his grandparents. The problem with grandfathers in this case was plain as day. King Albrecht of Bavaria, Vicky’s father-in-law, prided himself on being a man’s man. Gambling, hunting, every kind of outdoor activity and sports of every type. When he wasn’t doing that, he was pursuing the sort of strange intellectualism that was perfectly in keeping with his other activities. He had recently earned a Doctorate in Biology from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich after publishing a thesis on the distribution and management of Fallow Deer. It was Kiki’s understanding that Albrecht could have received an honorary Doctorate from the same University but had earned it instead to set an example for his grandchildren, as he had made sure to tell the press. Kiki’s father was a whole lot less bombastic. Still there was his love of classic Mercedies-Benz racecars and vintage airplanes, a number of Hollywood and Babelsburg actors who he had as friends, and finally a large number of associates from Médecins Sans Frontières. Things a child would find extremely fascinating, much to the complete mortification of a straightlaced parent like Vicky. Kiki knew that Vicky was deluding herself if she thought that a girl would not be as interested in those things. There was also the aspect of Kiki having worked in various Emergency Departments over the last two decades, she knew that the world could be a very unkind place for children, especially girls.
“Having a daughter is different set of complications” Kiki said, “There are times when Nina is going out of her way to be a real pill and I am not looking forward to when she gets older, the moodiness and drama. I can already see that coming. Then there is Elene, she isn’t going to remain a small child forever despite what I might wish.”
“It would be nice to find out for myself” Vicky replied. She had been advised by the Doctor that had overseen the process that Vicky and Franz had used to get her pregnant that any future pregnancy would not be advisable. They had told the Doctor that his efforts were due to a wound that Franz had sustained in Korea which made conceiving naturally impossible for them. Kiki had to believe that the Doctor suspected something was off with that but had the good sense never to bring it up. Regardless, this was the last time that they would need his services.
“I know” Kiki said, “And even if this is another boy you have other options. You could always adopt, like what Poppa and Charlotte did with Annette. There are entirely too many children out there like her.”
That gave Vicky pause. “I cannot imagine that there are too many children that come from a situation like hers” She replied.
Their youngest sister, Annette, had been adopted by their father and stepmother after coming from a situation that was like something from a Horror movie. While she had not been physically harmed by what she had gone through over the first few years of her life, Kiki had seen how it had taken Nan years to get past the trauma. Much later an act of legal trickery performed by Friedrich, their oldest brother, had resulted in Nan being proclaimed as the Margravine of Brandenburg, freeing her to become engaged to the Crown Prince of Italy. It truly was Kiki’s hope that Nan would get the sort of happy ending that she probably deserved more than anyone else.
“I doubt that there would be too many who might come from the sort of notoriety or extreme circumstances that Nan endured” Kiki said, “What I mean is those who have no one else.”
Vicky just smiled at that. Kiki knew from experience that her sister seldom took a suggestion directly. Vicky would think it over and when she eventually came to a decision, she rarely mentioned that it had originally been someone else’s idea.
19th July 1980
Munich, Bavaria
“You are flying out on Monday?” Vicky asked, with a bit of trepidation. She was seven months pregnant and Kiki had present at the births of her other children. She knew that she could trust Kiki without reservation to mind her interests. This time though that would not be the case.
“I think that you will be fine” Kiki said, “Even if you have Frau Aue, Franz, Anna looking out for you this time. Charlotte is also planning on coming down to Munich.”
Kiki was talking about Frau Aue, the Midwife who had delivered most of the babies born to this generation of the women of the German Imperial Family. That was a staggering thing to consider, but they needed someone they could trust and Ermintrude Aue was exactly that. Prinz Franz von Bayern was Vicky’s husband, though the two of them had a mutual arrangement necessitated by the conservative society within Bavaria. Oddly, the two of them had a caring and supportive relationship that was actually better than most of the Royal marriages that Kiki had watched over the years. Anna Muller was Vicky’s actual partner, though to the outside world she was Vicky’s Courtly appointed Friend and Companion. Whenever Kiki considered that term, she always thought that it was a bit too suggestive of what was actually happening. Of course, Kiki had Zella and Aurora as appointed friends and companions. Regardless, Vicky and Anna had been together since they had met in an extracurricular Pottery Class when they had both been at University in Jena fourteen years earlier.
“I am really hoping for a girl this time” Vicky said, changing the subject. The scans had been inconclusive and Vicky was hoping for a little girl to round out her family.
“If not, Max and Bert would probably love having a little brother” Kiki replied.
Vicky frowned, “My God!” She exclaimed, “Do you have any idea what boys are like? Especially when they have been around their grandfathers. To have another one.”
Kiki knew what boys were like, unlike Vicky she had grown up with their brothers without a twin sister to act as buffer. She also had a five-year-old who had stayed in Berlin with his grandparents. The problem with grandfathers in this case was plain as day. King Albrecht of Bavaria, Vicky’s father-in-law, prided himself on being a man’s man. Gambling, hunting, every kind of outdoor activity and sports of every type. When he wasn’t doing that, he was pursuing the sort of strange intellectualism that was perfectly in keeping with his other activities. He had recently earned a Doctorate in Biology from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich after publishing a thesis on the distribution and management of Fallow Deer. It was Kiki’s understanding that Albrecht could have received an honorary Doctorate from the same University but had earned it instead to set an example for his grandchildren, as he had made sure to tell the press. Kiki’s father was a whole lot less bombastic. Still there was his love of classic Mercedies-Benz racecars and vintage airplanes, a number of Hollywood and Babelsburg actors who he had as friends, and finally a large number of associates from Médecins Sans Frontières. Things a child would find extremely fascinating, much to the complete mortification of a straightlaced parent like Vicky. Kiki knew that Vicky was deluding herself if she thought that a girl would not be as interested in those things. There was also the aspect of Kiki having worked in various Emergency Departments over the last two decades, she knew that the world could be a very unkind place for children, especially girls.
“Having a daughter is different set of complications” Kiki said, “There are times when Nina is going out of her way to be a real pill and I am not looking forward to when she gets older, the moodiness and drama. I can already see that coming. Then there is Elene, she isn’t going to remain a small child forever despite what I might wish.”
“It would be nice to find out for myself” Vicky replied. She had been advised by the Doctor that had overseen the process that Vicky and Franz had used to get her pregnant that any future pregnancy would not be advisable. They had told the Doctor that his efforts were due to a wound that Franz had sustained in Korea which made conceiving naturally impossible for them. Kiki had to believe that the Doctor suspected something was off with that but had the good sense never to bring it up. Regardless, this was the last time that they would need his services.
“I know” Kiki said, “And even if this is another boy you have other options. You could always adopt, like what Poppa and Charlotte did with Annette. There are entirely too many children out there like her.”
That gave Vicky pause. “I cannot imagine that there are too many children that come from a situation like hers” She replied.
Their youngest sister, Annette, had been adopted by their father and stepmother after coming from a situation that was like something from a Horror movie. While she had not been physically harmed by what she had gone through over the first few years of her life, Kiki had seen how it had taken Nan years to get past the trauma. Much later an act of legal trickery performed by Friedrich, their oldest brother, had resulted in Nan being proclaimed as the Margravine of Brandenburg, freeing her to become engaged to the Crown Prince of Italy. It truly was Kiki’s hope that Nan would get the sort of happy ending that she probably deserved more than anyone else.
“I doubt that there would be too many who might come from the sort of notoriety or extreme circumstances that Nan endured” Kiki said, “What I mean is those who have no one else.”
Vicky just smiled at that. Kiki knew from experience that her sister seldom took a suggestion directly. Vicky would think it over and when she eventually came to a decision, she rarely mentioned that it had originally been someone else’s idea.
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Vicky in the SL&H universe, is going to have a girl but she will be very much a cisgender heterosexual tomboy whom Opa Albrecht will love to bits, and this will cause a revolution in women sports in Bavaria, as Opa Albrecht will support an increase in access to traditional sports like football among other things for girls because his beloved granddaughter wants to play them on a more competitive level.
IOTL in the United States, because of Title IX, which mandated equal access to things like admissions to law and medical schools, and other academic endeavors, university athletic departments were forced to expand their offerings in sports and athletic scholarships to women on par with the men and sports like soccer were very cheap to fund which led to the dominance of the US Women Soccer team in international competition until recently.
IOTL in the United States, because of Title IX, which mandated equal access to things like admissions to law and medical schools, and other academic endeavors, university athletic departments were forced to expand their offerings in sports and athletic scholarships to women on par with the men and sports like soccer were very cheap to fund which led to the dominance of the US Women Soccer team in international competition until recently.
What would be even more funny would be she is straight but at the same time can out shoot, outrun, outfight, is a genius, rides like the wind, drives and flys like its nothing to her and does all this better than her Opa ever could.
The King would probably say that many parents talents and skills skip a generation only for them to re-emerge with the grandchildren…