I have been writing what is turning
into an alternate history trilogy online for almost three years now.
It occurs to me that, when you read a new chapter in the latest book, The Duke of Oil, you may have no clear idea what you’re reading because you lack any background in what has come before.
It is especially hard to follow since the first two books were written while I was writing Mooreslore at Corante and thus may be hard to find. Also, since many of the characters are, in fact, real people, living real lives which have nothing to do with my fiction, well the more explanation the better.
So for those new to my fiction, here is a synopsis of the stories so far.
The Chinese Century, which was written
in a rush during the last two months of 2004, diverges from real
history soon after the 2004 U.S. election. A simple misunderstanding
between U.S. and Chinese negotiators leads the Chinese government to
let the Yuan float, and to sink the dollar by selling
dollar-denominated assets.
The immediate result is to end the dollar’s status as a reserve currency, as Russia starts demanding Euros for its oil and other nations follow suit. It’s a full-fledged economic crisis, which President George W. Bush handles very badly.
The hero of this book turns out to be
outgoing Chinese Premier Jiang Zemin,
whose mantra is a call for stability and military peace, against
which backdrop the Chinese economic miracle can continue. Jiang
undertakes a risky mission to Afghanistan, making himself a hostage
for the return of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, who is sent to
Beijing to meet Bush. Bush’s reaction to seeing bin Laden may make
him a hero to some.
The practical result is quite different. China achieves peace with Muslim militants while the economic dislocations in America cause labor riots. China uses economic pressure to pull Taiwan more firmly into its orbit.
As the economic dislocation within America continues, the writer Dana Blankenhorn looks for a way out. Unrest rises, and it rises further when the losers of the 2004 election, John Kerry and John Edwards, claim proof the election was stolen. When millions appear outside his door to protest, President Bush demands they be fired upon, destroying American democracy.
Chinese leaders take advantage of this to make peace and isolate the U.S. further. Economic power has done what military might could not.
Meanwhile, entrepreneur Richard Branson
has a plan. A new, computerized trading system, based in South
Africa, outside all government regulation.
He uses Sen. Kerry’s wife, Mozambique native Teresa Heinz Kerry, to get the deal done.
The new market will need trained workers and Dr. Richard Florida knows where to get them, from among the liberal creative class now being oppressed in the U.S. Branson’s partner, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, is among his recruiters, and in Atlanta he chooses an official blogger. Guess who?
The American Diaspora, written during
2005, is mainly set in South Africa, where the Virgin-Maverick
marketplace, staffed by former American liberals who have emigrated
in the face of dictatorship and economic disaster, work to build
something new on the southern edge of the Earth.
The central figure is Dana Blankenhorn, hired as a blogger and journalist, who transforms himself during the course of the book into an entrepreneur and public figure under the tutelege of Richard Branson.
The background consists of real events of 2005, including the East Asian tsunami, the re-election of Thabo Mbeki, and the stem cell research debate.
Branson gives full support to The World of Always On, a set of technology concept I had written about since 2003 on Mooreslore. But my growing fame makes me a target, and much of the book has a Perils of Pauline quality, with me as Pauline.
The economic and social crisis which impacted the real South Africa in the real world is averted by the money and earnestness of the new immigrants. American attempts to slow this new economic rival radically change the character of Cuban, who also emerges heroically.
Given that the centerpiece of this new
world is a replica of the Twin Towers, re-built in Johannesburg, it
was almost inevitable that a terrorist threat would be made against
it.
There is also an unlikely miracle, written during the Katrina
disaster.
Still, the result of all this is a new world, in which the U.S. is a failed state and South Africa is a successful one, in which I’m rich, famous but constantly beset with the risk of possible death. The book ends with me again on tenderhooks.
The Duke of Oil, which was begun early in 2007 on DanaBlankenhorn.Com and is still in process, is a sequel to The Chinese Century and The American Diaspora.
The centerpiece of the book is the
resignation of Vice President Dick Cheney and his move to Dubai,
where he is named to head an electronic market similar to the Virgin
Maverick company I created earlier in South Africa.
The Cheney of my book loves his family but determined to become one of the richest in the world by allowing wealth to trade regardless of provenance, with no income tax and the full backing of the local Sheikh.
What is most amazing to me is how prescient parts of all three books appear in August 2007. The idea of private, unregulated markets, the threat of economic pain caused by China’s American investments, are both realities in the actual world. How they will play out is anyone’s guess. We’ll see where the adventure leads in my alternate universe.
In order to get on with the plot I have to tie up some loose ends, including the fact that Cheney was reported to have died in The Chinese Century. Our fictional Cheney’s plans move ahead rapidly and are quickly seen as a serious threat.
Given that the real Richard Branson was
profiled in The New Yorker as having a keen interest in alternate
fuels,
I decide to create a parallel plot. Branson and I are going to work
hard on alternate forms of energy, specifically solar power and
hydrogen, with the aim of cutting demand for hydrocarbons and cutting
off Cheney’s wealth in that way.
After watching the movie The Pursuit of Happyness I decide to make its hero, Chris
Gardner, a hero in this book, replacing me as Branson’s partner in
the new venture.
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