Silverberg, Robert,
The Gate of Worlds
(Holt, Rinehart & Winston 1967; Methuen 1980, 041704710X; Tor 1984,
081255454X, 0812554558)
Trans.:
German tr. by Thomas Ziegler,
Auf zu Hesperiden!
(Droemer Knaur 1982)
What if:
The Black Plague of 1348 killed more than half of Europe, leaving it
defenseless before the invasion of the Ottoman Turks.
Story:
A yound man from the backwater of London seeks his fortune in 1960s Aztec
N America.
Silverberg, Robert,
"Lion Time in Timbuctoo", in
IAsfm Oct 1990;
Lion Time in Timbuctoo
(Axolotl 1990);
and
Beyond the Gate of Worlds
(Tor 1991, 0812554442)
Silverberg, Robert,
"Looking for the Fountain", in
IAsfm May 1992; and
WMHB4
What if:
A shipload of Crusaders was blown off course and ended up in Florida.
Story:
While looking for the Fountain of "Youth", Ponce de Leon finds a tribe of
Christian AmerInds who want to sail to Palestine and free Jerusalem.
Silverberg, Robert,
"A Sleep and a Forgetting", in
Playboy Jul 1989;
WMHB2; and
The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg: Volume I, Secret Sharers
(Bantam 1992, 055308996X, 0553370685)
What if:
Genghis Khan was abducted at age 11, and after being sold into slavery
became a prince's guard in Constantinople.
Story:
Modern scientists in our timeline somehow communicate with a palace guard in
old Constantinople, and one reminds him of sense of destiny.
Silverberg, Robert,
"An Outpost of the Empire", in
IAsfm Nov 1991
What if:
The first Exodus failed on the shores of the Red Sea, preventing the rise of
Christianity and its inclement effect on the Roman empire.
Story:
2200 years after the founding of Rome, a clash between the Western
(Roman-influenced) and the declining Eastern (Greek-influenced) empires.
------------------,
"Via Roma", in
Asimov's Science Fiction Apr 1994
Story:
A Britannic visitor to Rome finds himself among the political "jet set" and
sees from the sidelines the bloody creation of the 2nd Roman Republic.
------------------,
"Tales from the Venia Woods", in
f&sf Oct 1989; and
The Year's Best Science Fiction, Seventh Annual Collection
(ed. Gardner Dozois)
(St. Martin's 1990, 0312044518, 0312044526)
Story:
Early during the 2nd Republic, two children meet a mysterious old man hiding
in a ruined imperial hunting lodge in the Teutonic provinces.
------------------,
"To the Promised Land", in
WMHB1; and
The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg: Volume I, Secret Sharers
(Bantam 1992, 055308996X, 0553370685)
Story:
4000 years after the failed Exodus, the few remaining Hebrews in Egypt plan
a new Exodus, to space, and recruit an historian to write their tale.
Silverberg, Robert,
"Translation Error", in
Astounding Mar 1959;
WoM;
Transformation II
(ed. ... Roselle)
(Fawcett 1974);
and
The Cube Root of Uncertainty
(Macmillan 1976)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by Elza Martins, "Error de Leitura", in
Rumo à Estrela Negra
(Expressão & Cultura 1974)
Story:
An alien returns to Earth after tampering with history in 1914, finds things
are askew and decides that he has shifted onto a parallel by mistake.
Silverberg, Robert,
"Trips", in
Final Stage: The Ultimate Science Fiction Anthology
(eds. Edward Ferman & Barry N. Malzberg)
(Charterhouse 1974, 0883270358; Penguin 1975);
exp, The Feast of Dionysius
(Scribner's 1975, 0684139987; Berkley 1975)
The Best of Robert Silverberg Volume 2
(Gregg 1978);
and
Lost Worlds, Unknown Horizons: None Stories of Science Fiction
(Thomas
Nelson 1978, 0840766017)
Story:
A man visits a number of different San Franciscos, one in a timeline where
Pres. Willkie maintained US neutrality in WW2.
Silverberg, Robert,
Up the Line
(Ballantine 1969, 0345325850;
Ballantine 1973, 0345234456)
Trans.:
Czech tr. by ..., title unknown (Navrat 1992)
Story:
A time-travel tour leader gets in trouble.
Comments:
Basically non-AH, but the result of assassinating Jesus at age 11 is briefly
described.
Comments:
Follow-ups include Baron's
Glory's End, Kingston's
Caesar's Time Legions, MacDonald &
Doyle's
Timecrime, Inc., and Wu's
The Robin Hood Ambush.
Comments:
Nominee: 1970 Hugo for best novel.
Simak, Clifford,
The Fellowship of the Talisman
(Ballantine 1978, 0345277511)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by Eurico Fonseca, A Irmandade do Talismã
(Livros do Brasil 1980)
What if:
A series of "blights" periodically prevented Europe from advancing beyond
the Dark Ages.
Also, magic works.
Story:
A young man accompanies a woman and her griffin on a quest to retrieve a
talisman to fight the blight.
Simak, Clifford,
Ring Around the Sun
(Musson 1953; SFBC 1953; Ace 1954; World 1960; Avon 1967; Four Square
1967; New English Library 1977; Carroll & Graf 1992, 0881848522)
Story:
A whole series of parallel Earths (uninhabited) can be reached by mental
means.
Emphasis on the mutants and androids than on crosstime aspect.
Simak, Clifford,
Special Deliverance
(Ballantine 1982, 0345298977)
Story:
Six people from different timelines join together on a quest.
Simak, Clifford,
Where the Evil Dwells
(Ballantine 1982, 0345307704)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by Eurico Fonseca, Onde Mora o Mal
(Livros do Brasil 1985)
What if:
Dragons, fairies, etc, are real. Also, Rome did not split into two empires.
Story:
The appearance of "The Evil" from over the river provides incentive to hold
the Roman Empire together in a time of schism (c. 1400).
Simmons, Mark,
"The American Civil War: Another Story", in
Miniature Wargames #105 (Feb 1992)
What if:
Shiloh was a one-day Confederate victory, and Grant did not rise to Union
command so speedily.
Comments:
Summary of war-gamers' simulation of a complete Civil War, including the
fall and recapture of Washington, and the final rebel surrender in Aug 1865.
Simner, Janni Lee,
""Learning Magic", in
AO
Simner, Janni Lee,
"Out of Sight", in
BAOF
What if:
Helen Keller was not deaf and blind, but her little sister was.
Story:
Actress Keller recalls the trauma of living with her sister and the awful
result while she decides what to do with her illegitimate baby.
Skimin, Leonard,
Gray Victory
(St. Martin's 1988, 0312013744)
What if:
Joe Johnston retained command at Atlanta and held Sherman off so long that
McClellan won the 1864 US presidential election.
Story:
In 1866, while Jeb Stuart is on trial for his actions at Gettysburg, John
Brown's son lays plans for a black insurrection.
Sladek, John T.,
"1937 AD!", in
New Worlds Jul 1967;
Best SF: 1967
(eds. Harry Harrison & Brian Aldiss)
(Berkley 1968;
vt The Year's Best Science Fiction No. 1,
Sphere 1968);
The Steam-Driven Boy, and Other Strangers
(Panther 1973, 0586038019);
and
The Best of John Sladek
(Pocket 1981)
Story:
An inventor from the US of Columbia in 1878 sets out for 1937, where he
encounters a man who can change history with the stroke of a pen.
Slonimski, Antoni,
Torpeda czasu: powiesc fantastyczna
(Towarzystwo
wydawnicze Ignis 1924; Czytelnik 1967)
What if:
Time travellers seeking to prevent the nationalism of the 19th century end
up in 1796 Italy, where they defeat both Napoleon and the Austrians.
Story:
Carnot takes power in France, but is deposed by one of the time travellers,
who fails in an attempt to create a benevolent society.
Smith, Allen J.M.,
"The Cab Driver from Hell in the Land of the Pieux Hawks", in
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future: Volume VII
(ed. Algis Budrys)
(Bridge 1991)
Story:
A taxi somehow travels sideways to a N America never colonized by Europeans.
Smith, Dean Wesley,
"A Bubble for a Minute", in
BAOF
What if:
Wallis Simpson fell in love with FDR rather than the King of England.
Story:
A high-school kid interviewing old Mrs. Simpson at the old folks home finds
reality changes as she changes the details of her life story.
Smith, George Henry,
"Take Me to Your Leader", in
Microcosmic Tales: 100 Wondrous Science Fiction Short-Short Stories
(eds. Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg & Joseph D. Olander)
(Taplinger 1980, 0800852389; DAW 1992, 0886775329)
What if:
The South won the Civil War.
Story:
A scientist from another Earth warns of Russian attack, but the narrator
lives in a world where Jeff Davis VI is hereditary president of the CSA.
Smith, L. Neil,
Contact and Commune
(publ. unknown)
--------------,
Converse and Conflict
(publ. unknown)
What if:
Creatures other than humans achieved sapience.
Story:
...
Smith, L. Neil,
The Crystal Empire
(Bluejay/Tor 1986, 031294070X; Tor 1989, 0812554256)
What if:
Christendom was destroyed in 1349 when an attempt to ship plague-ridden rats
to Saracen lands backfired disastrously.
Story:
In 2042, a Helvetic N American escorts a mission from the Saracen Caliph of
Rome into the secretive, mysterious Aztec empire.
Smith, L. Neil,
The Probability Broach
(Ballantine 1980, 034528593X)
What if:
The Whiskey Rebellion succeeded and the US Constitution was revoked.
Story:
In 1987, a Denver cop investigating a scientist's murder crosses timelines
and finds himself in a Libertarian utopia.
--------------,
"The Spirit of Exmas Sideways", in
Alt
Story:
In 1988, Detective Bear investigates another murder involving the crosstime
machine.
--------------,
The Nagasaki Vector
(Ballantine 1983, 0345303822)
--------------,
The Venus Belt
(Ballantine 1981)
Story:
In 1999, with friends and relatives mysteriously disappearing, Bear is off
to the asteroid belt to investigate a crosstime Hamiltonian plot.
--------------,
The Gallatin Divergence
(Ballantine 1985, 0345303830)
--------------,
Brightsuit McBear
(Avon 1988)
--------------,
Taflak Lysandra
(Avon 1988)
--------------,
Tom Paine Maru
(Avon ...)
Smith, Martin Cruz,
The Indians Won
(Belmont 1970; Leisure 1981)
Trans.:
German tr. by Michael Gorden, Der andere sieger
(Bastei-Lübbe 1984)
What if:
N American Plains Indians banded together to stop the white man's spread,
resulting in East and West USAs with an AmerInd nation in the middle.
Story:
History of the AmerInd nation alternates with Washington intrigues during
20th-century white vs. red tensions.
Snodgrass, Melinda M.,
Queen's Gambit Declined
(Warner/Popular Library 1989, 0445207671)
What if:
Magic exists, as do forces for good and evil.
Story:
William of Nassau works with the White Queen to defeat the evil forces in
Paris, eventually invading France in 1672.
Snodgrass, Melinda M.,
Wild Cards X: Double Solitaire
(Bantam 1992, 0553294938)
Sobel, Robert,
For Want of a Nail...; If Burgoyne Had Won at
Saratoga
(Macmillan 1973)
What if:
Burgoyne beat Gates at Saratoga, and the American rebellion collapsed.
Story:
Dual history text of the Confederation of N America and the US of Mexico,
from 1775 to 1971.
Comments:
Synopsis in Fadness's
"What If the British Had Won the
Revolutionary War?".
Somtow, S.P.,
The Aquiliad [: Aquila in the New World]
(Ballantine 1983, 0345338677);
fixup of
"Aquila", in
IAsfm 18 Jan 1982; and
Fire from the Wine Dark Sea
(Donning 1983, 0898652529)
"Aquila the God", in
IAsfm Apr 1982;
"Aquila Meets Bigfoot", in
Amazing Stories Jan 1983; and
"Aquila: The Final Conflict", in
Amazing Stories May 1983
Trans.:
German tr. by of "Aquila" by Ruediger Hipp, "Aquila", in
HSL
Comments:
"Aquila" nominee: 1983 Hugo for best novelette.
------------,
The Aquiliad II: Aquila and the Iron Horse
(Ballantine 1988, 0345338685)
------------,
The Aquiliad III: Aquila and the Sphinx
(Ballantine 1989, 0345347919)
What if:
Romans discovered the steam engine and conquered the world.
Story:
Farcical adventures of a Roman general in the Americas (Terra Novum) and
his entanglements with time guardians.
Somtow, S.P.,
"Sunsteps", in
Unearth Summer 1977; and
Fire from the Wine Dark Sea
(Donning 1983, 0898652529)
Story:
Aztecs depopulate the world in order to meet sacrificial needs.
Soukup, Martha,
"Good Girl, Bad Dog", in
AO
Story:
A Hollywood dog gets tired of being called a female name: Lassie.
Soukup, Martha,
"Plowshare", in
AP
What if:
William Jennings Bryan was elected president in 1896 and decided to serve
only one term.
Also, Teddy Roosevelt never became president.
Story:
In 1915, as Bryan and his wife look back at the years, the Lusitania is sunk
and war looks imminent, giving Bryan a new message to preach.
Soukup, Martha,
"Rosemary's Brain", in
AK
What if:
Instead of a lobotomy, Rosemary Kennedy received an experimental operation
that turned her into a genius.
Story:
Rosemary discusses her plans for her future with her godfather.
Spelman, Dick,
"The Forgotten Worldcon of '45", in
AWC
Spinrad, Norman,
The Iron Dream
(Avon 1972, 0380002000; Gregg
1977, 0839823614; Jove/HBJ 1978; Pocket 1982; Bantam 1986, 0553252895)
Trans.:
German tr. by Walter Brumm, Der stahlerne Traum
(Heyne 1983)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by José Sanz, O Sonho de ferro
(José Olympio 1976)
What if:
Hitler emigrated to the USA in 1919 and after several years as a commercial
artist turned to writing SF.
Story:
The text of Hitler's Hugo Award-winning novel Lord of the Swastika.
Spruill, Steven G.,
"The Janus Equation", in
Binary Star No. 4
(ed. James R. Frenkel)
(Dell 1980, 044010821X)
What if:
JFK wasn't assassinated.
Story:
C. 2200, a man trying to create a time machine in a world dominated by
multi-nat'l corporations is over-aggressively recruited by a competitor.
Squire, J.C.,
"If It Had Been Discovered in 1930 that Bacon Really Did
Write Shakespeare" (vt "Professor Gubbin's Revolution"), in
London Mercury Jan 1931;
IIHHO (all eds.); and
Outside Eden
(Heinemann 1933; Books for Libraries 1971, 0836938607)
What if:
As the title says.
Story:
Satirical look at the ensuing literary chaos.
Squire, J.C.,
"What Might Have Happened", in
Outside Eden
(Heinemann 1933; Books for Libraries 1971, 0836938607)
What if:
Britain adopted Prohibition.
Story:
...
Stableford, Brian,
"Complications", in
Amazing Stories Feb 1992
What if:
Males of all vertebrate species are worm-like parasites living within female
hosts.
Story:
Tongue-in-cheek description of the present-day in that world, mentioning
Pope Joan and Anna Freud.
Stableford, Brian,
The Empire of Fear
(Simon & Schuster UK 1988;
Carroll & Graf 1991, 0881847429; Ballantine 1993, 0345377575);
expansion of
"The Man who Loved the Vampire Lady", in
f&sf Aug 1988;
The Year's Best Science Fiction, Sixth Annual Collection
(ed. Gardner Dozois)
(St. Martin's 1989, 0312030096, 0312030088);
and
Tomorrow Sucks
(eds. Greg Cox & T.K.F. Weisskopf)
(Baen 1994, 0671876260)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by Trindade Santos, O Império do Medo
(Clássica 1991)
What if:
Attila's horde brought real vampirism to Europe and the vampires took
control, creating the empires of Gaul and Walachia.
Story:
A 17th-century scientist's search for the secret of vampire immortality
takes him to central Africa, and to later confrontation with Dragulya.
Stafford, Terry: see
Gygax, E. Gary, & Terry Stafford
Stall, Michael,
"Rice Brandy", in
New Writings in SF 25
(ed. ... Bulmer)
(Sidgwick & Jackson 1975; Corgi 1976)
Story:
With 20th-century help, a 15th-century Khmer king turns back a Thai
invasion, then industrializes.
Stapledon, Olaf,
"East is West", in
Far Future Calling
(Oswald Train 1979)
Story:
An Englishman temporarily trades places with his counterpart in a world
where England prepares to challenge Japanese world domination.
Stapp, Robert,
A More Perfect Union
(Harper's Magazine 1970; Berkley 1971)
What if:
Lincoln ordered the evacuation of Fort Sumter, and the South was allowed to
go in peace.
Story:
In 1981, the USA faces a hostile, nuclear-capable, police-state CSA and
decides that assassination is the only solution.
Stasheff, Christopher,
Her Majesty's Wizard
(Ballantine 1986, 0345274563)
---------------------,
The Oathbound Wizard
(Ballantine 1993, 0345385470)
---------------------,
The Witch Doctor
(Ballantine 1994, 034537584X; SFBC 1994)
---------------------,
The Secular Wizard
(Ballantine 1995, not yet published)
Story:
A grad student finds a manuscript which sends him to an another Earth where
magic works and N Europe and most of Britain are covered with ice.
Steele, Allen,
"Goddard's People", in
IAsfm Jul 1991;
WMHB3; and
Rude Astronauts: Real and Imagined Stories
(Old Earth 1993, 1882968018)
What if:
Warned that Nazi Germany was developing a trans-Atlantic rocket, the US
started a crash rocket development program, headed by Robert Goddard.
Story:
A history of Project Blue Horizon and its critical race with the Nazis;
concludes with mention of the first manned mission to Mars in 1976.
-------------,
"John Harper Wilson", in
IAsfm Jun 1989; and
Rude Astronauts: Real and Imagined Stories
(Old Earth 1993, 1882968018)
Story:
The US gov't plans to claim the moon, but the commander of the first manned
landing goes in peace for all mankind.
Steele, Allen,
"Riders in the Sky", in
AO
What if:
The dirigible was invented in 1860.
Story:
Jesse and Frank James become infamous airship robbers, but
Northfield, Minnesota, and Bob Ford still lie in their future.
Steele, Allen,
"The Tranquil Alternative"
(not yet published)
Stephenson, Andrew M.,
The Wall of Years
(Futura 1979; rev Dell 1980)
Story:
Crosstime and time-travel intrigue centered on attempts to alter Alfred's
dealing with the Danes.
Sterling, Bruce, & Lewis Shiner,
"Mozart in Mirrorshades", in
Omni Sep 1985;
Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology
(Arbor House 1986, 0877958688; Ace 1988, 0441533825);
and
The Seventh Omni Book of Science Fiction
(ed. Ellen Datlow)
(publ. unknown)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by Eduardo Salo, "Mozart de îculos Espelhados", in
Reflexos do Futuro
(Livros do Brasil 1989)
Story:
Europe and America of 1775 are exploited by the future of another timeline
hungry for oil, but resistance forms.
Sterling, Bruce: see also
Gibson, William, & Bruce Sterling
Stevens, Gordon,
And All the King's Men
(Chapman 1990; Pan 1991, 033031534X)
What if:
Germany decided in November 1939 to invade Britain the next year.
Story:
Operation Seelöwe begins 7 Sep 1940.
Scottish resistance alone stands free till British forces gain liberation in
April 1942.
Stevermer, Caroline: see
Wrede, Patricia C., & Caroline Stevermer
Stirling, S.M.,
"Cops and Robbers", in
Far Frontiers, Winter 1985
(eds. Jerry Pournelle & Jim Baen)
(Baen 1986)
What if:
Pitt led Britain on to an overwhelming victory in the Seven/Ten Years War
and the American Revolution never happened.
Story:
An FBI agent investigating a strange coin is kidnapped by a crosstime
science-industrial spy.
Stirling, S.M.,
Marching Through Georgia
(Baen 1988, 0671650471)
--------------,
Under the Yoke
(Baen 1989, 0671698435)
--------------,
The Stone Dogs
(Baen 1990, 0671720090)
--------------,
Heavy Iron
(not yet published)
What if:
After the Netherlands declared war, Britain captured its Cape colony and
later used it to resettle Tory refugees from the American Revolution.
Story:
The Dominion of the Draka strives to take over the world (1940-2000) and
only the US stands in the way.
With much supplemental info in appendices.
Stith, John E.,
"One Giant Step", in
Dinosaur Fantastic
(eds. Mike Resnick & Martin H. Greenberg)
(DAW 1993; SFBC 1994)
Story:
Intelligent reptiles go back 65M years, where one causes the death of the
dinosaurs.
Instead, insects develop intelligence and go back 65M years...
Stone, Vince: see
Shetterly, Will, & Vince Stone
Sucharitkul, Somtow: see
Somtow, S.P.
Sullivan, Tim,
"Dinosaur on a Bicycle", in
IAsfm May 1987; and
Dinosaurs!
(eds. Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois)
(publ. unknown)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by Fábio Fernandes, "Dinossauro de Bicicleta", in
Dinossauros!
(eds. Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois)
(Zenith 1993)
What if:
The dinosaurs did not die out.
Story:
Saurian time-travelers to the past encounter travelers from futures in which
various species dominate.
Chaos ensues.
Sumner, M.C.,
"In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety-Three, Columbus Crossed the Frozen Sea", in
Tomorrow Speculative Fiction Aug 1993
What if:
A deep ice age began in the early second millenium.
Story:
Even after being abandoned by the Santa Maria and the Hielo, Columbus
presses westward across the frozen-over Atlantic.
Swanwick, Michael,
"The Edge of the World", in
Full Spectrum 2
(eds. Lou Aronica, et al)
(Doubleday 1989, 0385260199);
The Year's Best Science Fiction, Seventh Annual Collection
(ed. Gardner Dozois)
(St. Martin's 1990, 0312044518, 0312044526);
and
The Legend Book of Science Fiction
(ed. Gardner Dozois)
(Legend 1991;
vt Modern Classics of Science Fiction,
St. Martin's 1992, 0312072384; St. Martin's 1993, 0312088477)
What if:
Earth has an edge.
Story:
Three teen-agers living at an American air force base in the Middle East
climb down a stairway on the edge of the world.
Comments:
Nominee: 1990 Hugo for best short story.
Swanwick, Michael,
"In Concert", in
IAsfm Sept 1992
What if:
Rock & roll started decades earlier, and had the power to shape history.
Story:
An American attends the final performance of Lenin, "The Boss", hearing such
standards as "The Workers Control the Means of Production".
Swanwick, Michael,
In the Drift
(Ace 1985, 0441358691);
revision of
"Mummer Kiss", in
Universe 11
(ed. Terry Carr)
(Doubleday 1981);
and
"Marrow Death", in
IAsfm Dec 1984
What if:
Three Mile Island melted down, irradiating eastern Pennsylvania.
Story:
Life in Philadelphia and the adjacent Drift, 100 years later, and the
conflict for power.
Comments:
"Mummer Kiss" nominee: 1981 Nebula for best novelette.
Talbot, Bryan,
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
(vol 1, Prout
1982; vol 2, Valkyrie 1987; vol 3, Prout 1989)
What if:
The British monarchy was never restored and Cromwellian Puritans
still rule.
Story:
...
Tarr, Judith,
"Cowards Die: A Tragicomedy in Several Fits", in
AO
What if:
Julius Ceasar's voicebox was permanently damaged by Sulla, and he was
forced to grab power through the Roman underworld.
Story:
Centuries later, a young man from the Alexandria "family" is involved
with an ambitious Roman woman.
Tarr, Judith,
"Queen of Asia", in
AW
What if:
Dismayed by her son Darius's show of cowardice in fighting Alexander,
Sisygambis had him killed and became regent for her grand-son.
Story:
Under Sisygambis's direction, the Persians attack Alexander from behind at
Tyre, and she comes up with a novel fate for her new prisoner.
Tarr, Judith,
"Roncesvalles", in
WMHB2
What if:
Upon hearing of Roland's death and Ganelon's treachery, Charlemagne
converted to Islam.
Story:
Describes the event, but no follow through.
Tarr, Judith,
"Them Old Hyannis Blues", in
AK
What if:
Numerous musicians were instead politicians, and some politicians were
instead musicians.
Story:
After switching from big band to rock 'n roll, the Kennedy bros. play at
President Presley's first inaugural ball, and foil an assassination attempt.
------------,
"Elvis Invictus", in
BAOF
Story:
An overview of Presley's first term, a girl's visit years later to meet the
King, and a much later leadership change in the Church of Elvis.
Teng, Tais,
Aan de Oevers van de Nacht
(Kraaikop cube-reeks 1983)
(--------),
"Alle namen in het zonlicht", in
SF Terra #73 (1985);
and
Aan de Oevers van de Nacht
(Kraaikop cube-reeks 1983)
(--------),
"Bevers voeren", in
SF Terra #73 (1985);
and
Aan de Oevers van de Nacht
(Kraaikop cube-reeks 1983)
(--------),
"Een dukaat voor de veerman", in
Bizarre Visioenen
(Diram 1988);
and
Aan de Oevers van de Nacht
(Kraaikop cube-reeks 1983)
(--------),
"Hoe de wijze handelt", in
King Kong Kerstgeschenk (1988);
Science Fiction Festival (...Con 1989);
and
Aan de Oevers van de Nacht
(Kraaikop cube-reeks 1983)
What if:
Elephants evolved only to a small size, and Hannibal's sea-borne attack
on Rome succeeded.
Story:
Tales of a Dutch empire.
Tengbergen, Thijs van Ebberhorst: see
Teng, Tais
Tenn, William,
"Brooklyn Project", in
Shot in the Dark
(ed. Judith Merrill)
(Bantam 1950);
17 * Infinity
(ed. Groff Conklin)
(Dell 1963, 1969);
Voyagers in Time: Twelve Stories of Science Fiction
(ed. Robert Silverberg)
(Meredith 1967);
The Wooden Star
(Ballantine 1968);
The Road to Science Fiction #3: From Heinlein to Here
(ed. James Gunn)
(NAL/Mentor 1979, 0451617843);
and
The Great SF Stories: 10
(eds. Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg)
(DAW ...)
Story:
Scientists send a sphere back in time, claiming it has no effect.
Each time it comes back, things change but they just don't notice.
Thayer, James Stewart,
S-Day: A Memoir of the Invasion of England
(St. Martin's 1990, 0312041489)
What if:
Nazi Germany did not invade Russia, but geared up for an invasion of Britain
on 28 May 1942.
Story:
The American Expeditionary Force takes the brunt of the invasion and its
commander violates the articles of war in order to save London.
Thiry, Marcel,
Échec au temps
(Nouvelle France 1945; La Renaissance
du Livre 1962; Jacques Antoine 1986, 2871320268)
What if:
Napoleon won at Waterloo.
Story:
Time travelers reverse the event.
Thomas, Donald,
Prince Charlie's Bluff
(Macmillan 1974, 0333150422)
What if:
Montcalm defeated Wolfe, leading to French victory in the French and Indian
War.
Story:
The battle and subsequent break-up of BNA, with the Stuart restoration in
Virginia following Bonnie Prince Charlie's victory at Annapolis.
Thompson, Don,
"Worlds Enough", in
BT
Story:
Stealing a timeline jumper in an accident, a man looks around for an
invention, yet undiscovered in his home timeline, that will make him rich.
Thompson, Roger,
"If I had been... the Earl of Sherburne in 1762-5", in
IIHB
What if:
The Earl of Sherburne was placed in charge of peace negotiations with France
after the 7 Year War, and then became Treasury Minister.
Comments:
The earl contemplates returning Canada to the French and avoiding taxes on
the 13 colonies, actions which would prevent the American Revolution.
Thompson, W.R.,
"The Plot to Save Hitler", in
Analog Sep 1993
Story:
Two time travelers to 1903 Linz fight over the life of Adolf Hitler, one to
prevent WW2 and the other to prevent murder.
Thomsen, Brian M.,
"Bigger Than U.S. Steel", in
AO
Story:
Narrative of a ghostwriter for the late Meyer Lansky, chairman of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue.
Thomsen, Brian M.,
"Iguanacon, Too", in
AWC
Thomsen, Brian M.,
"Infallibility, Obedience, and Acts of Contrition", in
AT
Thomsen, Brian M.,
"A Night on the Plantation", in
BAOF
What if:
Instead of script approval, David O. Selznick let Margaret Mitchell pick the
lead actor for Gone With the Wind.
Story:
Mitchell doesn't like Clark Gable, and after an argument with the studio
picks Groucho Marx to play Rhett Butler.
Thomsen, Brian M.,
"Paper Trail", in
AP
What if:
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were fired by the Washington Post but
continued their investigation of the Watergate break-in.
Story:
Woodward's articles in the New York Post about Watergate and the murder of
Bernstein lead to McGovern's election in 1972.
Thomsen, Brian M.,
"A Sense of Loyalty, a Sense of Betrayal", in
AW
What if:
Sidney Reilly, caught as he prepares to overthrow Lenin and Trotsky, was
offered a deal.
Story:
The failure of the ace of spies' plot, with an epilog in 1943.
Thurber, James,
"If Grant Had Been Drinking at Appomattox", in
New Yorker 6 Dec 1930;
The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze
(Harper 1935);
The Thurber Carnival
(Harper 1945; Harper & Row 1975, 0060904453; Franklin
Library 1978-1980);
f&sf Feb 1952; and
Vintage Thurber
(Hamish Hamilton 1963)
What if:
As the title says.
Story:
Grant gives his sword to Lee.
Tilton, Lois,
"A Just and Lasting Peace", in
f&sf Oct/Nov 1991; and
The Year's Best Science Fiction, Ninth Annual Collection
(ed. Gardner Dozois)
(St. Martin's 1992, 0312078919, 0312078897, 0312078900)
What if:
Lincoln was assassinated early by Jesse and Frank James, and the South,
suffering a harsher Reconstruction, never actually stopped fighting.
Story:
The tale of a Southern boy during Reconstruction, with an afterword written
in 1952 by his grandson, a member of the Nazi's RE Lee Brigade.
Tilton, Lois,
"Wunderwaffen", in
The 14th Alternative Spring 1990
What if:
Nazi Germany got some of Hitler's secret weapons into action.
Story:
A worker at Peenemünde participates in the struggle to get the V-rockets,
including the V-X, on-line, but the Allies have the ultimate weapon.
Toyota Aritsune,
Mongoru no zanko
(Kadokawa Shoten 1967)
What if:
The Mongols conquered Europe during the 13th century.
Story:
Centuries later, a Caucasian falsely accused of murder steals a time machine
in order to prevent the Mongol dominance.
Toyota Aritsune,
Taime surippu daisenso
(Kadokawa Shoten 1967)
Toynbee, Arnold J.,
"The Forfeited Birthright of the Abortive Far Eastern
Christian Civilization", in
A Study of History, Volume II
(Oxford Univ 1934)
What if:
The Umayyads did not press on after their defeat at the Kish-Samarkand pass
in 731.
Comments:
How Nestorian Christianity could have spread into Asia, later leading to
Moslem destruction at the hands of Christianized Seljuks and Mongols.
Toynbee, Arnold J.,
"The Forfeited Birthright of the Abortive Far Western
Christian Civilization", in
A Study of History, Volume II
(Oxford Univ 1934)
What if:
The Synod of Whitby (664) adopted the teachings of Colman, and Charles
Martel lost at Tours.
Comments:
How European Christianity would have divided between the Celts of the North
and the Roman-Orthodox of the South and East, with France Muslim.
Toynbee, Arnold J.,
"The Forfeited Birthright of the Abortive Scandinavian
Civilization", in
A Study of History, Volume II
(Oxford Univ 1934)
What if:
The Vikings captured Constantinople in 860, established stronger colonies in
N America, harassed the Muslims in the Caspian, etc.
Comments:
How more aggressive expansion would have resulted in Viking control of N
America, Europe and northern Asia by 1400.
Toynbee, Arnold J.,
"If Alexander the Great had Lived On", in
Some Problems in Greek History
(Oxford Univ 1969)
What if:
Alexander of Macedon listened to his physicians' advice in 323 BC, and later
returned to the Mediterranean.
Story:
How Alexander made the Pheonicians his Navy, conquered Carthage, allied with
Rome, conquered India and Ch'in and finally died in 287 BC.
Comments:
Synopsis in Demandt's
Ungeschehene Geschichte.
Toynbee, Arnold J.,
"If Ochus and Philip had Lived On", in
Some Problems in Greek History
(Oxford Univ 1969)
What if:
Artaxerxes III Ochus did not die in 338 BC and Philip II of Macedon did not
die in 336 BC.
Story:
Surviving an assassination attempt, Philip ends up killing son Alexander,
conquers Rome and pushes Ochus's Persia back to the Euphrates.
Trevelyan, G.M.,
"If Napoleon had Won the Battle of Waterloo", in
Westminster Gazette Jul 1907;
Clio: A Muse
(Longmans, Green 1913; Longmans, Green 1930; Books for
Libraries 1968);
and
IIHHO (1972, 1974 eds. only)
Trans.:
German tr. by Walter Brumm, "Wenn Napoleon die Schlacht von Waterloo gewonnen
hatte", in
Heyne Science Fiction Magazin #10
What if:
Blucher's breach of faith led to Napoleon's victory at "Mont St. Jean".
Story:
Despite the Napoleon of Peace, his former enemies maintain their standing
armies, stifling all reformist movements for decades.
Comments:
Synopsis in Fadness's
"What If Napoleon Had Won at Waterloo?".
Tsouras, Peter,
Disaster at D-Day: The German Defeats the Allies, June
1944
(Greenhill/Stackpole 1994, 1853671606)
Story:
A slight variation in unit placement changes the course of the invasion.
Tuchman, Barbara,
"If Mao Had Come to Washington", in
Foreign Affairs Oct 1972;
Notes from China
(Collier 1972);
and
Practicing History: Selected Essays
(Knopf 1981, 0394520866; Ballantine 1982, 0345303636)
What if:
Ambassador Hurley relayed Mao and Chou En-lai's request for a meeting with
FDR in 1945.
Comments:
Primarily a discussion of why it made no difference, but a few brief
comments on how it might have averted the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Turtledove, Harry,
The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump
(Baen 1993, 0671721968)
What if:
Magic works.
Story:
Adventures of an inspector for the US Environmental Perfection Agency.
Turtledove, Harry,
"Counting Potsherds", in
Amazing Stories Mar 89;
WMHB1; and
Departures
(Ballantine 1993, 0345380118)
What if:
Xerxes led the Persians to victory over the Greeks, thereby preventing the
spread of democracy.
Story:
Several hundred years later, a Persian court eunuch is sent to Greece to
learn the name of the Greek king defeated by Xerxes.
Turtledove, Harry,
"Departures", in
IAsfm Jan 1989
WMHB2; and
Departures
(Ballantine 1993, 0345380118)
What if:
Mohammed became a Christian, and the lack of Moslem pressure meant Byzantium
never fell but faced a technologically sophisticated Persia.
Story:
Christian monks, including a powerful hymn writer named Mouamet, flee a
Sinai monastery for Constantinople as Persian forces approach.
-----------------,
Agent of Byzantium
(Congdon & Weed 1987, 0865531838;
Worldwide 1988; exp Baen 1994, 0671875930)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by ...,
O Agente de Bizâncio
(Livros do Brasil 1990)
Comments:
1987 and 1988 eds. do not contain "Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire".
(---------------),
"The Eyes of Argos" (vt "Etos Kosmou 6814"), in
Amazing Stories Jan 1986
Story:
In the 14th century, Byzantine agent Basil Argyros discovers that the
telescope has been invented in the steppes north of the Danube.
(---------------),
"Strange Eruptions" (vt "Etos Kosmou 6816"), in
IAsfm Aug 1986
Story:
Argyros finds a cure for smallpox.
(---------------),
"Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire" (vt "Etos Kosmou 6818"), in
IAsfm 15 Dec 1989; and
Departures
(Ballantine 1993, 0345380118)
Story:
Argyros is sent to investigate the delay in the building of the new
Alexandria lighthouse and discovers a labor strike.
(---------------),
"Unholy Trinity" (vt "Etos Kosmou 6824"), in
Amazing Stories Jul 1985
Story:
Argyros discovers the invention of dynamite.
(---------------),
"Archetypes" (vt "Etos Kosmou 6825"), in
Amazing Stories Nov 1985
Story:
Argyros investigates numerous identical seditious handbills appearing near
the Persian frontier.
(---------------),
"Images" (vt "Etos Kosmou 6826"), in
IAsfm Mar 1987
Story:
Argyros is embroiled in an argument about religious icons.
(---------------),
"Superwine" (vt "Etos Kosmou 6829"), in
IAsfm Apr 1987; and
High Adventure: Tales of Exploration, Escape, and Intrigue
(eds. ... Manson & ... Ardai)
(Barnes & Noble ...)
Story:
Argyros is also there for the invention of brandy.
Turtledove, Harry,
A Different Flesh
(Congdon & Weed 1988, 0865531986;
Baen 1994, 0671876228)
What if:
European explorers discovered Ramapithecan "sims" instead of red-skinned
men when they reached the New World.
(---------------),
"Vilest Beast", in
Analog Sep 1985
Story:
In 1610, sims steal a babe from a Jamestown cradle and her father
ventures into the wilderness to save her.
(---------------),
"And So to Bed", in
Terry Carr's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year
(ed. Terry Carr)
(Tor 1987, 0312930259);
and
Kaleidoscope
(Ballantine 1990, 0345364775)
Story:
In 1661, Samuel Pepys purchases two sims to help out around the house and
contemplates the origins of species.
(---------------),
"Around the Salt Lick", in
Analog Feb 1986
Story:
In 1691, a Virginia hunter is captured by wild sims and hopes that his
sim assistant will think of rescuing him.
(---------------),
"The Iron Elephant", in
Analog May 1986
Story:
In 1782, steam-driven trains first appear, and a race is held with one of
the mammoth-pulled trains they threaten to replace.
(---------------),
"Though the Heavens Fall", in
Analog Sep 1986
Story:
In 1804, a lawyer uses the existence of sims to argue that a runaway
Negro slave should not be returned to his one-time owner.
(---------------),
"Trapping Run"
Story:
In 1812, a trapper in the Rockies is wounded by a bear and is nursed back to
health by sims.
(---------------),
"Freedom"
Story:
In 1988, university students opposed to medical experiments on sims
kidnap a sim carrying AIDS but do not take enough of the new HIV inhibitor.
Turtledove, Harry,
"Down in the Bottomlands", in
Analog Jan 1993
What if:
The Mediterranean basin never opened to the ocean.
Story:
In modern days, a murder during a tour of the Bottomlands Trench reveals
a plot to destroy the "Gibraltar" mountains with a nuclear weapon.
Comments:
Winner: 1994 Hugo for best novella.
Turtledove, Harry,
The Guns of the South: A Novel of the Civil War
(Ballantine 1992, 0345376757; Ballantine 1993, 0345384687);
excerpt "The Long Drum Roll", in
The Fantastic Civil War
(ed. Frank McSherry, Jr.)
(Baen 1991, 0671720635)
What if:
The Confederacy obtained advanced weaponry just before the Wilderness.
Story:
Afrikaaners from 2014 provide the CSA with AK-47s, etc, leading to
Confederate victory in the U.S. Civil War, but strings are attached to the gift.
Turtledove, Harry,
"Hindsight", in
Analog mid-Dec 1984; and
Kaleidoscope
(Ballantine 1990, 0345364775)
Story:
A woman from 1988 goes back 40 years and sells stories written in between
(e.g., "Neutron Star") plus accounts of famous events (e.g., "Watergate").
Turtledove, Harry,
"In the Presence of Mine Enemies", in
IAsfm Jan 1992; and
Departures
(Ballantine 1993, 0345380118)
What if:
Isolationist America stayed out of WW2 until it was attacked by Germany and
Japan a generation after the fall of Britain and Russia.
Story:
Even in a 2010 Berlin, at the heart of a world dominated by Nazi Germany,
Jews will still survive.
Turtledove, Harry,
"Islands in the Sea", in
Alt; and
Departures
(Ballantine 1993, 0345380118)
What if:
Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire fell to the Muslims in the early
700s.
Story:
Fifty years after the fall of Constantinople, the king of the Bulgars invites
Muslims and Christians to decide which faith he should adopt.
Turtledove, Harry,
"King of All", in
New Destinies Volume VI/Winter 1988
(ed. Jim Baen)
(Baen 1988, 067169796X)
What if:
The mysteries of coffee were never discovered.
Story:
A cop watches several news reports about the new drug from Columbia, caffeine,
and orders a hit of "coke" at a MacDonald's the next day.
Turtledove, Harry,
"The Last Article", in
f&sf Jan 1988;
The Fantastic World War II
(ed. Frank McSherry, Jr.)
(Baen 1990, 0671698818);
and
WMHB2
Trans.:
German tr. by Michael Windgassen, "Das letzte Gebot", in
HSL
What if:
Hitler's armies penetrated all the way to India.
Story:
Gandhi preaches non-violent resistance to the German occupation.
Turtledove, Harry,
"The Pugnacious Peacemaker", in
The Wheels of If & The Pugnacious Peacemaker
(Tor SF Double #20)
(Tor 1990,
0812502027)
Comments:
Sequel to de Camp's
"The Wheels of If".
Story:
Now a judge of an internat'l court, the bishop is sent to S America to
adjudicate a territorial dispute between the Incas and the Moslem Amazon.
Turtledove, Harry,
"Ready for the Fatherland", in
WMHB3
What if:
Hitler was shot and killed by one of his generals on 19 Feb 1943 in
retaliation for an insult, and his successors made peace with the Soviets.
Story:
In 1979 fascist Croatia, British agents meet with a Serbian partisan seeking
weapons.
Turtledove, Harry,
"Report of the Special Committee on the Quality of
Life", in
Universe 10
(ed. Terry Carr)
(Doubleday 1980);
WMHB4; and
Departures
(Ballantine 1993, 0345380118)
What if:
Columbus's proposed voyage was subject to an environmental impact study.
Story:
The text of the report, suggesting that Columbus be turned down.
Turtledove, Harry,
A World of Difference
(Ballantine 1990, 0345360761)
What if:
The formation of Mars resulted in a larger planet, capable of sustaining a
thicker atmosphere and surface water.
Story:
After a tool-bearing lifeform destroys a Viking probe on the surface of
"Minerva", competitive American and Soviet manned missions are sent out.
Comments:
Synopsis in Lodi-Ribeiro's
"Hist—rias Naturais Alternativas".
Turtledove, Harry,
Worldwar: In the Balance
(Ballantine 1994,
0345382412; SFBC 1994; Hodder & Stoughton 1994, 0340624906)
What if:
Space aliens arrived on Earth in May 1942.
Story:
Surprised to find Earth's technology so advanced after a visit 1600 years
before, the aliens still invade, forcing odd alliances between enemies.
-----------------,
Worldwar: Tilting the Balance
(Ballantine 1995,
0345389972, not yet published)
-----------------,
Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance
(Ballantine ..., not
yet published)
-----------------,
Worldwar: Finding the Balance
(Ballantine ..., not
yet published)
Turtledove, Harry, & Richard Dreyfuss,
The Two Georges
(Tor ..., not yet published)
What if:
The American Revolution ended peacefully, with the colonies still part
of the British crown.
Story:
...
Utley, Steven,
"Look Away", in
f&sf Feb 1992
What if:
Albert Sidney Johnston survived Shiloh (a Confederate victory) and carried
the Civil War north to Ohio.
Story:
After the war, former army officers debate whether the CSA should pursue its
own version of "manifest destiny" in Mexico and points south.
Utley, Steven, & Howard Waldrop,
"Custer's Last Jump", in
Universe 6
(ed. Terry Carr)
(Doubleday 1976; Popular Library 1977, 0445040343);
The Best Science Fiction of the Year #6
(ed. Terry Carr)
(Holt, Rinehart & Winston 1977, 0030207169);
Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, Sixth Annual Collection
(ed. Gardner Dozois)
(Dutton 1977, 0525064958; Ace 1978, 044105482X);
and
Science Fiction A to Z: A Dictionary of the Great SF Themes
(eds. Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg & Charles G. Waugh)
(Houghton Mifflin 1982, 039531285X);
and
AH
What if:
Ben Franklin invented the internal combustion engine and the Civil War was
fought with mechanized transport.
Story:
Info about the airplane Crazy Horse inherited from the Confederacy and later
flew at the Little Big Horn.
Van Arnam, Dave: see
White, Ted, & Dave Van Arnam
van Belkom, Edo,
"The October Crisis", in
AT
van den Daele, Wolfgang: see
Böhme, Gernot, Wolfgang van den Daele & Wolfgang
Krohn
Van Herck, Paul,
Caroline oh Caroline
(publ. unknown)
Trans.:
French tr. by Michel Vedewe, Caroline oh Caroline
(Champs-Elysee 1976)
What if:
Napoleon won at Waterloo.
Story:
Hitler leads an AmerInd-Negro army against Europe.
Van Herck, Paul,
Opération Bonaparte
(publ. unknown)
Van Loon, Hendrik Willem,
"If the Dutch had Kept Nieuw Amsterdam", in
IIHHO (1931 Viking, 1964 eds. only)
What if:
After recapturing Manhattan in 1673, the Dutch decided to keep it while
negotiating the Treaty of Westminster.
Story:
Overview of the colony's history until its purchase by the United States in
1841, particularly its role as arms merchant to N America.
Van Rjndt, Phillipe,
The Trial of Adolf Hitler
(Summit 1978, 0671400282)
What if:
Hitler faked his suicide and survived WW2, but was found in the 1970s.
Story:
An internat'l tribunal considers his fate.
Vanauken, Sheldon,
"The World After the South Won", in
Southern Partisan Spring 1984
What if:
Britain recognized the Confederacy in Dec 1862, and her contribution of
troops tipped the scales at Gettysburg.
Story:
The story of the intervention, and some of the later effects of the
British-Confederate alliance.
Veiga, José J.,
A casca da serpente
(Bestseller 1989)
What if:
Canudos revolt leader Ant™nio Conselheiro was not killed by the Brazilian
army in 1898.
Story:
Conselheiro and followers create a utopian village in the N Brazilian
badlands, and their ideals inspire revolts elsewhere.
Villard, Oswald Garrison,
"Issue and Men", in
The Nation 22 Oct 1938
What if:
Germany won the Battle of the Marne.
Story:
...
Voermans, Paul,
The Weird Colonial Boy
(Gollancz 1993, 0575053259; Gollancz 1994)
Von Rospach, Charles,
"'Til Death Do Us Part", in
AK
What if:
Marilyn Monroe was caught sneaking out of the White House in the middle of a
1962 night.
Story:
After her suicide, Monroe's ghost haunts JFK, urging him to find a way to be
with her.
Vonarburg, Elisabeth,
Les voyageurs malgré eux
(Québec/Amérique 1994)
Trans.:
English tr. by ...,
Reluctant Voyagers
(not yet published)
Story:
...
Waldman, Milton,
"If Booth had Missed Lincoln", in
Scribner's Nov 1930; and
IIHHO (all eds.)
Trans.:
German tr. by Walter Brumm, "Wenn Booth Prasident Lincoln verfehlt hatte", in
Heyne Science Fiction Magazin #11
What if:
John Wilkes Booth's gun misfired.
Story:
Critical review of a Lincoln biography which blamed the president's woes on
the Radical Republicans rather than on his reconstruction policies.
Comments:
Synopsis in Fadness's
"What If Booth's Bullet Had Missed
Lincoln?".
Waldron, Webb,
"If Lincoln had Yielded", in
Century Magazine Jun 1926
What if:
Lincoln withdrew Major Anderson et al from Fort Sumter.
Story:
In 1926, an Englishman discusses society, literature and politics with three
Northerners variously happy and unhappy with the events of 1861.
Waldrop, Howard,
"The Effects of Alienation", in
Omni Jun 1992
What if:
On the brink of defeat, Nazi Germany employed nuclear-tipped rockets to win
WW2.
Story:
15 years later, a Nazi secret policeman attends "The Three Stooges Space
Opera" at a Zurich cafe run by the widow of Berthold Brecht.
Waldrop, Howard,
"Fin de Cycle", in
Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stories
(Ursus/Ziesing 1990, 0942681053;
Ace 1993, 0441574734;
rev vt Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stuff,
Legend 1991);
and
IAsfm mid-Dec 1991
What if:
The industrial revolution took an odd twist, resulting in steam-powered
stilts and multi-wheel cycles for transport.
Story:
In 1890s Paris, Melies joins with Rousseau, Satie, Proust and Picasso to
make a movie about the Dreyfus affair.
Comments:
Nominee: 1992 Hugo for best novelette.
Waldrop, Howard,
"Hoover's Men", in
Omni Oct 1988;
Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stories
(Ursus/Ziesing 1990, 0942681053;
Ace 1993, 0441574734;
rev vt Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stuff,
Legend 1991);
and
Omni Visions One
(ed. Ellen Datlow)
(Omni 1993)
What if:
Al Smith beat Herbert Hoover in the election of 1928.
Story:
Afterwards, Smith asks Hoover to become head of the new Federal Radio
Agency, which also gives TV an early push.
Waldrop, Howard,
"Household Words; or, The Powers-That-Be", in
Amazing Stories Winter 1994
What if:
The Industrial Revolution followed a different path, with electric power
widely available by the 1840s.
Story:
Charles Dickens gives a public reading of The Christmas Garland, featuring
Eben Mizer, Giant Tim, et al.
Waldrop, Howard,
"Ike at the Mike", in
Omni Jun 1982;
The First Omni Book of Science Fiction
(ed. Ellen Datlow)
(Zebra 1983);
Howard Who? Twelve Outstanding Stories of Speculative Fiction
(Doubleday 1986, 038519708X);
and
Strange Things in Close-Up
(Legend 1990, 0099644401)
What if:
Dwight Eisenhower cashed in his train ticket to West Point so that he could
learn to play jazz clarinet.
Story:
In 1968, Senator Aron Presley attends Ike's final performance when President
Joe Kennedy awards medals to him and Louis Armstrong.
Comments:
Nominee: 1983 Hugo for best short story.
Waldrop, Howard,
"The Lions are Asleep This Night", in
Omni Aug 1986;
All About Strange Monsters of the Recent Past: Neat Stories
(Ursus 1987, 0942681002);
The 1987 Annual World's Best SF
(eds. Donald A. Wollheim & Arthur W. Saha)
(DAW 1987);
Strange Things in Close-Up
(Legend 1990, 0099644401);
Strange Monsters of the Recent Past
(Ace 1991, 0441160697);
Future Earths: Under African Skies
(eds. Mike Resnick & Gardner Dozois)
(DAW 1993, 0886775442);
and
Omni Visions Two
(ed. Ellen Datlow)
(Omni 1994, 0874553083)
What if:
Columbus found the Americas uninhabited.
Later, African slaves imported to mine Peruvian gold rebelled, leading to
white decline worldwide.
Story:
In 1894, an African boy writes a play about an African king while reading a
history of the fall of European power.
Comments:
Nominee: 1986 Nebula for best short story.
Waldrop, Howard,
"The Passing of the Western", in
Razored Saddles
(eds. Joe R. Lansdale & Pat LoBrutto)
(Dark Harvest 1989,
0913165492; Avon 1990, 0380711680);
and
Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stories
(Ursus/Ziesing 1990, 0942681053;
Ace 1993, 0441574734;
rev. vt Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stuff,
Legend 1991)
What if:
Taming the American West also involved bringing water to it, plus the film
industry set up in Boise.
Story:
Excerpts from books and magazine articles about Boise's one-time fascination
with cloudbusters.
Waldrop, Howard,
Them Bones
(Ace 1984, 0441805574; Ziesing 1989, 092948004X, 0929480058; Legend 1993)
Story:
Time travelers trying to avert WW3 end up in wrong locales: one in right
time, wrong timeline; the rest vice versa.
Waldrop, Howard,
"...The World as We Know't", in
Shayol #6;
Howard Who? Twelve Outstanding Stories of Speculative Fiction
(Doubleday 1986, 038519708X);
Strange Things in Close-Up
(Legend 1989, 0099644401);
and
The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction,
1960-1990
(eds. Ursula K. LeGuin & Brian Attebery)
(Norton 1993, 0393034568)
What if:
Phlogiston exists.
Story:
A late 19th-century scientist attempts to isolate pure phlogiston, with
apocalyptic results.
Waldrop, Howard: see also
Utley, Steven, & Howard Waldrop
Wall, John W.: see
Sarban
Walling, William,
"Memo to the Leader", serial in
Galaxy Dec 1977 & Jan 1978
What if:
The British army at Dunkirk was lost, and Germany subsequently invaded and
conquered England.
Story:
An American historian from a Nazi-dominated 2075 goes back to 1940 to stop a
neo-Nazi from 1974 who traveled back to effect the divergence.
Watson, Ian,
Chekhov's Journey
(Carroll & Graf 1989, 088184523X; Carroll & Graf 1991, 0881856759)
Story:
Hypnotized to portray Anton Chekhov's Sakhalin trip, an actor instead
describes an anachronistic expedition to the Tunguska site.
Watt-Evans, Lawrence,
"The Murderer", in
Asimov's Science Fiction Apr 1993
What if:
Men responsible for mass deaths of the 20th century died prematurely.
Story:
A man arrested for murder claims to be a time traveler who has prevented
greater carnage.
Watt-Evans, Lawrence,
"New Worlds", in
IAsfm Dec 1991; and
Crosstime Traffic
(Ballantine 1992, 0345373952)
Story:
Crosstime traveler offers to sell the secret to parallel worlds, and
finds one with faster-than-light travel.
Both sides fear the other.
Comments:
Crosstimers are from world where Hitler was killed in 1923 by a thrown
beer bottle, but no further development is given.
Watt-Evans, Lawrence,
"Storm Trooper", in
IAsfm Jan 1992; and
Crosstime Traffic
(Ballantine 1992, 0345373952)
Story:
Reality storms occasionally swap pieces of Earth with pieces of
alternates, and New York sets up a Discontinuity Control Squad.
Watt-Evans, Lawrence,
"Truth, Justice, and the American Way", in
AP; and
Crosstime Traffic
(Ballantine 1992, 0345373952)
What if:
Smith split the Democrats in 1932, causing Hoover to beat FDR.
The US-Japan fight started earlier, and a firm response at Munich averted WW2.
Story:
20 years later, the Secretary of State looks for a country to which he can
name a Jewish consul without offending the host government.
Watt-Evans, Lawrence,
"Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers", in
IAsfm ... 1987;
The New Hugo Winners, Volume II
(ed. Isaac Asimov)
(publ. unknown);
Crosstime Traffic
(Ballantine 1992, 0345373952);
and
Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers and Other Stories from Isaac
Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
(eds. Sheila Williams & Charles Ardai)
(Delacorte 1990)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by Ronaldo Sérgio de Biasi, "Por Que Saí do Harry's 24 Horas",
in
Isaac Asimov Magazine de Ficção Científica #20
Comments:
Winner: 1988 Hugo for best short story;
Nominee: 1987 Nebula for best short story.
--------------------,
"A Flying Saucer with Minnesota Plates", in
IAsfm Aug 1991;
Crosstime Traffic
(Ballantine 1992, 0345373952);
and
UFO's and Aliens: Extraterrestrial Stories from Asimov's Science Fiction
and Analog Science Fiction and Fact
(eds. ... Manson & Charles Ardai)
(Smithmark 1993)
Trans.:
Portuguese tr. by Ronaldo Sérgio de Biasi, "Um Disco Voadar com Placa de
Minnesota", in
Isaac Asimov Magazine de Ficção Científica #22
Story:
A West Virginia diner caters to late-night customers from parallel Earths.
Comments:
Except for short comments on possibilities, neither story is particularly AH.
Webb, Lucas: see
Reginald, Robert
Weissman, Barry Alan,
"Past Touch-the-Sky Mountain", in
If May 1968
What if:
Marco Polo discovered America.
Story:
An English merchant and wives in Chinese America is mysteriously transported
crosstime to the Lone Star State, where he meets a traffic cop.
Wells, H.G.,
A Modern Utopia
(Chapman & Hall 1905; Univ Nebraska
1967);
included in
Works, vol. 9 (Scribner's 1925)
What if:
The Dark Ages never happened.
Story:
A look at a Utopian 20th century.
Comments:
Borderline AH, as the world is identical to Earth except that it is "beyond
Sirius".
Wentz, Richard E.,
"Reflections of a Rebellion Averted", in
Christian Century 23-30 Jun 1976
What if:
The American Revolution never occurred.
Story:
Musings on life in idyllic, non-nationalist N America, but without any
detail.
West, Wallace,
River of Time
(Avalon 1963)
Story:
Teen-agers try to avert WW3 by saving Julius Caesar.
Westheimer, David,
Lighter than a Feather: A Novel
(Little Brown 1971;
vt Downfall,
Bantam 1972)
What if:
The atomic bomb was not used on Japan.
Story:
A soldier's eye view of Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyushu.
Whitbourn, John,
A Dangerous Energy
(Gollancz 1992, 0575053550; Gollancz 1993, 0575055766)
What if:
Magic works. Also, the English Civil War ended in 1649 with the exile of
Oliver Cromwell.
Story:
London in a 1967 where the Protestant reformation failed.
Charts the rise of Tobias Oakley as a Church magician.
Whitbourn, John,
Popes and Phantoms
(Gollancz 1993, 0575056533; Gollancz 1994, 0575057637);
revision of
stories in
Popes & Phantoms
(Haunted Library 1992)
Story:
Admiral Slovo looks back on his life fom 1486 in a world which is not quite
ours.
White, James,
The Silent Stars Go By
(Ballantine 1991, 0345371100)
What if:
C. 200 BC, an Irishman returned home from Alexandria with the plans for
Hero's aeolipile, leading to an industrial revolution 1000 years early.
Story:
In 1491, the Empire of Hibernia launches man's first starship, and her
outspoken surgeon suspects a religious conspiracy aboard.
White, Mel.,
"Sam Clemens and the Notable Mare", in
AW
What if:
Sam Clemens headed east from Nevada in 1864 and was captured by Quantrill's
Raiders
Story:
Sam's Indian horse does his part to rout the guerilla band when Union
soldiers arrive.
White, Ted,
The Jewels of Elsewhen
(Belmont 1967)
White, Ted, & Dave Van Arnam,
Sideslip
(Pyramid 1968)
What if:
Alien intervention averted WW2.
Story:
Hitler ends up in America, calling for resistance against the "angels".
Wildavsky, Aaron,
"What If the U.S. Had Had One Law for Its Allies and
Another for Its Adversaries? The Suez Crisis (1956)", in
WIESSF
What if:
The US did not come down hard on France and Britain during the 1956 war.
Comments:
Scholarly speculations on alternative outcomes, including friendlier
relations with France, and an Israel less threatened by Arabs.
Wilder, Cherry,
"Kaleidoscope", in
...
What if:
The Aztecs were not conquered.
Story:
...
Williams, Emlyn,
Headlong: A Novel
(Heinemann 1980, 0434866059; Viking
1981, 0670364398; Magnum 1982)
What if:
The British royal family was wiped out by a 1935 airship disaster, and it
took 5 weeks to locate an heir.
Story:
A 25-year-old stage actor becomes king of England and discovers the limits on
royal power in the 1900s.
Comments:
Basis for the non-AH movie King Ralph.
Williams, Frank Purdy,
Hallie Marshall: A True Daughter of the South
(Abbey 1900)
What if:
The South won at Gettysburg, and the British recognized the Confederacy and
broke the Northern blockade.
Story:
A man awakens in a 1900 in which slavery still exists, in a much altered
form, and is in fact superior to the lives of Northern factory workers.
Williams, Philip M.,
"What If Hugh Gaitskell Had Become Prime Minister?
(1963)", in
WIESSF
What if:
The British Labour party leader did not suddenly die in Jan 1963.
Comments:
A more moderate party and movement results, with general economic success
and an early end to Rhodesia's UDI plans.
Williams, Walter Jon,
"No Spot of Ground", in
IAsfm Nov 1989;
WMHB2; and
Facets
(Tor 1990, 0312850190, 0812501810)
What if:
Edgar Allen Poe did not die in 1849, but lived to become a Confederate
general.
Story:
After Pickett becomes ill, Poe takes command of his troops at the battle of
Hanover Junction during the Forty Days.
Williams, Walter Jon,
"Red Elvis", in
AO
What if:
Gladys Presley's boy started reading Marx, Engels, Gandhi, etc.
Story:
The story of a rebel rocker, hated for dodging the draft but later honored
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Williams, Walter Jon,
"Wall, Stone, Craft", in
f&sf Oct/Nov 1993;
Wall, Stone, Craft
(Pulphouse/Axolotl 1993);
and
The Year's Best Science Fiction, Eleventh Annual Collection
(ed. Gardner Dozois)
(St. Martin's 1994; SFBC 1994)
What if:
Lord Byron was not born with a club foot and went on to be a famous
cavalryman, making his name by capturing Napoleon at Waterloo.
Story:
Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley twice meet the famous soldier.
Comments:
Nominee: 1994 Hugo for best novella, 1994 World Fantasy Award for best
novella.
Williamson, Jack,
The Legion of Time
(Fantasy Press 1952; Pyramid 1967; Bluejay 1985)
Story:
A man from 1930s is shown two possible futures which hinge on whether or
not a particular event happens; future woman tries to affect what happens.
Wilson, Robert Charles,
Gypsies
(Doubleday 1989, 0385249330)
Wilson, Robert Charles,
Mysterium
(Bantam 1994, 055337365X; SFBC 1994)
What if:
The Roman empire was not Christianized, and gnosticism became the dominant
branch of Christianity.
Story:
An accident in a secret lab moves an entire Michigan town sideways to a
world where the Anglo-French N American republic is at war with Spain.
Windsor, Philip,
"If I had been... Alexander Dubcek in 1968", in
IIHB
What if:
Dubcek retained more control over events during Prague Spring.
Comments:
Musings on a middle course which might have averted a Soviet invasion.
Wodhams, Jack,
"Try Again", in
Amazing Stories Nov 1968
What if:
Germany pursued a more rational course in WW2, avoiding the invasion of
Russia til 44 and tipping the US off to Japanese plans in the Pacific.
Story:
A man is reborn as himself, with all his adult knowledge.
When word spreads, he is kidnaped by the Nazis and a different WW2 results.
Wolfe, Gene,
"How I Lost the Second World War and Helped Turn Back the German Invasion",
in
Analog May 1973;
The Best of Analog
(ed. Ben Bova)
(Baronet 1978, 0894370340; Ace ..., 0441054706);
Gene Wolfe's Book of Days
(Doubleday 1981, 0385159919);
and
Castle of Days
(Tor 1992, 0312852096)
What if:
Germany and Japan used economic warfare instead of military conquest in the
1930s and 40s.
Also, Churchill returned to journalism after WW1.
Story:
A retired US Army officer from Abilene KS invents a game called World War,
and participates in a race between German and British compact cars.
Comments:
Nominee: 1973 Nebula for best short story.
Womack, Jack,
Terraplane: A Novel
(Tor 1990, 0812506235)
What if:
Lincoln was murdered in Baltimore on the way to his inauguration, and Teddy
Roosevelt freed the slaves in 1905.
Later, Zangara killed FDR.
Story:
Fleeing an ultra-violent future Moscow, corporate agents somehow end up in
1939 New York of a different past.
-------------,
Elvissey
(Tor 1993, 0312852029; Easton 1993;
HarperCollins UK 1994, 0586213015)
Story:
Two agents from that future go back to the alternate world's 1953 to kidnap
the analog of their messiah, Elvis Presley.
Comments:
Non-AH entries in series are Ambient and Heathern.
Comments:
Co-winner: 1994 Philip K. Dick Award
Wrede, Patricia C., & Caroline Stervermer,
Sorcery and Cecilia
(Ace 1989, 0441775594)
What if:
Magic works, in Regency London.
Story:
...
Wright, Esmond,
"If I had been... Benjamin Franklin in the Early
1770s", in
IIHB
What if:
Franklin returned to America in 1775 with evidence of a softening British
attitude towards dealings with the colonies.
Comments:
Franklin contemplates the troubles, and then describes the appointment of
Washington as governor of Vandalia (Ohio) and other compromises.
Wu, William,
Robert Silverberg's Time Tours #1: The Robin Hood
Ambush
(Harper 1990)
Story:
...
Comments:
Follow-up to Silverberg's
Up the Line.
Wyndham, John,
"Random Quest", in
The Infinite Moment
(Ballantine 1961);
Consider Her Ways & Others
(M. Joseph 1961, 0718100662; Penguin 1965);
The Vintage Anthology of Science Fantasy
(ed. Christopher Cerf)
(Vintage 1966);
and
As Tomorrow Becomes Today
(ed. Charles W. Sullivan)
(Prentice-Hall 1974, 0130500399, 0130500216)
What if:
The League of Nations prevented WW2.
Story:
A man searches for the analog of a woman with whom he fell in love in a
parallel world.
Comments:
Basis for the movie Quest for Love.
Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn,
Ariosto: Ariosto Furioso, A Romance for an Alternative
Renaissance
(Pocket 1980, 0671832948)
What if:
Lorenzo de Medici did not die in 1492, but lived to unite Italy in 1515.
Story:
In 1533, a court poet to Damiano de Medici is involved in intrigues to hold
Italy together but dreams of a world where he is a famous soldier-poet.
Comments:
Nominee: 1981 World Fantasy Award for best novel.
Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn,
"An Exaltation of Spiders", in
Beyond the Gate of Worlds
(Tor 1991, 0812554442)
Comments:
In same timeline as Silverberg's
The Gate of Worlds.
Story:
The True Inca, seeking a solution to possible invasion by the False Inca
of Brazil, sends a mission to the Maori nation.
Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn,
On Saint Hubert's Thing
(Cheap Street 1982, no ISBN)
What if:
Christianity in Europe was divided into northern and southern churhces.
Story:
A prince of Poland and a metropolitan of the Northern Church strive to reach
Lodz to prevent the assassination of the northern Archpatriarch.
Yulsman, Jerry,
Elleander Morning: A Novel
(St. Martin's/Marek 1984, 0312243693, Tor 1985, 0812590732, 0812590740)
What if:
Hitler died in 1913 while still a starving artist.
Story:
A woman is mystified by a strange book entitled the Time-Life History of
WW2 and by her grandmother's murder of an obscure Viennese artist.
Zebrowski, George,
"The Cliometricon", in
Amazing Stories May 1975;
BT; and
The Monadic Universe
(Ace 1977, 044153540?)
Story:
A machine lets historians study AHs, with looks at D-Day and Thermopylae.
-----------------,
"The Number of the Sand", in
Amazing Stories Aug 1991; and
WMHB3
Story:
A cliometrician examines the possible lives of Hannibal and their effect on
the 2nd Punic War.
-----------------,
"Let Time Shape", in
Amazing Stories Mar 1992; and
WMHB4
Story:
Examines the possibilities of Columbus finding the Americas populated by the
techonologically sophisticated descendants of refugees from Carthage.
Zebrowski, George,
"The Eichmann Variations", in
Light Years and Dark: Science Fiction and Fantasy of and for Our Time
(ed. Michael Bishop)
(Berkley 1984, 0425072142);
and
Nebula Awards 20: SFWA'S Choice for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of
the Year 1984
(ed. George Zebrowski)
(HBJ 1985, 0151649278, 0156654776)
What if:
WW2 ended with Japan surrendering after the Allies dropped nuclear weapons on
Germany in 1946.
Story:
Adolf Eichmann, captured by the Israelis in 1961, is executed 6e6 times.
Comments:
Nominee: 1984 Nebula for best short story.
Zebrowski, George,
"Lenin in Odessa", in
Amazing Stories Mar 1990; and
WMHB2
What if:
Lenin was assassinated in 1918 by a Russian expatriate.
Story:
Stalin describes the assassin and the occasion.
Zebrowski, George,
Stranger Suns
(Bantam 1991, 0553291750);
revision of
"Stranger Suns", serial in
Amazing Stories Jan & Mar 1991
Story:
An alien ship found in Antarctica includes portals to alternate Earths, but
those who explore them can never return to their home lines.
Zelazny, Roger,
"The Game of Blood and Dust", in
Galaxy Apr 1975;
The Best from Galaxy Volume IV
(ed. Jim Baen)
(Award 1976);
Science Fiction: Contemporary Mythology
(eds. Patricia Warrick, Martin H. Greenberg & Joseph D. Olander)
(Harper & Row 1978);
Galaxy: The Best of My Years
(ed. Jim Baen)
(Ace 1980);
and
The Last Defender of Camelot
(Pocket 1980; Underwood/Miller 1981; Avon 1988)
Story:
Two aliens play at changing events in our past to compete in achieving their
individual goals (success or failure for humanity).
Zelazny, Roger,
Roadmarks
(Ballantine 1979, 0345285301; Ballantine 1994, 0345345150)
Story:
On a strange road that reaches from past to future, a man fights assassins
and attempts to prevent a Greek defeat at Marathon.
Ziegler, Thomas,
Die Stimmen der Nacht
(Ullstein 1984; Heyne 1993, 3453066286);
revision of
"Die Stimmen der Nacht", in
Phantastische Literatur 83
(ed. Michael Görden)
(Bastei-Lübbe 1983)
What if:
FDR didn't die in 1945, and it required use of the bomb on Berlin to force a
German surrender.
Story:
Refugees from the agrarian German state dominate S America and cause a
nuclear war in 1984.
Go to next section.
Robert B. Schmunk
(altworld@panix.com)