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{{quote|''Feeling cheerful? Read Ad Astra Per Aspera and [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|lose a little bit more faith in humanity!]]''}}
Written by rvbomally (but with plenty of contributions from other members), [https://web.archive.org/web/20130621182356/http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=181340 Ad Astra Per Aspera] is one of the best timelines on [[
A detailed galactic map can be found [http://i51.tinypic.com/4lnjmr.png here.]
The point of divergence is 1868, when President Andrew Johnson was successfully impeached by Benjamin Wade, who became his successor. The Wade-Davis Bill was passed, leading to increased tensions between the northern and southern states, as well as increased militarization. [[World War
Eventually, three interstellar superpowers emerged from the ashes. The '''Coalition of Western Republics''', the Christian objectivist successor of the American and German Empires, wage constant war to impose [[Manifest Destiny]] across the galaxy. The '''Conseil of Workers' Systems''', a communist state that worship its leader as a living god, wage constant war with the capitalist Coalition. The '''United Technocracies of Man''', a textbook 1984 dictatorship with ''obliteration of the self'' as its official ideology, is a nonaligned kingmaker. Hundreds of minor powers are under the Big Three's yoke. All are more or less equally oppressive, and wages war only to pacify their internal populace.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130621182356/http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=181340 Read it here.] Warning: [[Archive Panic]] is to be expected. The timeline spans a thousand years' worth of galactic history and culture, as well as dozens of pocket universes.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Achilles' Heel]]: Even the most advanced body armor can have weak spots like joints and cables. Minipax Commandos are specifically trained to exploit these weak spots in close-quarters combat.
* [[
* [[Aliens Are Bastards]]: Humanity is bad, but the aliens are little better. The gusano, the second most powerful species in the galaxy, sacrifice their young and kill any gusano unable to continue the fight against humanity.
* [[The Alliance]]: The Springfield Pact.
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* [[Badass Boast]]:
{{quote|'''AMNDA''': ''I am become Death, Shatterer of Worlds, and [[Omnicidal Maniac|I get a hell lot of satisfaction while doing so.]]''}}
* [[Big Book of War]]: The [https://web.archive.org/web/20130621181738/http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=4079686&postcount=18 Pointers for the Smart Bombardier] demonstrates the Coalition's utter disregard for civilian casualties in a hilariously macabre manner.
{{quote|'''Point #4''': ''Show no mercy! Every civilian you leave standing is another guerilla our boys and girls on the ground will have to deal with later! The enemy will mobilize for total war; deny them everything!''}}
* [[Black and Gray Morality]]: The Republic of New Rome against everyone else. New Rome is one of the last remaining democracies in the entire galaxy, but it's far from saintly.
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* [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness]]: Somewhere between [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness/Physics Plus|type 3]] and [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness/One Big Lie|type 4]].
* [[Mutually Assured Destruction]]: The author stated that a real, full-scale war between the three superpowers would cause a second Collapse.
* [[Nations as People]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130621173342/http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=5566596&postcount=2310 See here].
* [[Newspeak]]: Taken to a new level with [https://web.archive.org/web/20130603213633/http://alternatehistory.org/discussion/showpost.php?p=6064692&postcount=2845 Technocracy-Sprache]. Each social caste has its own version of the language, with sophistication increasing with rank.
* [[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain]]: The Conseil invasion of trueline Earth saves Democracy World from Coalition takeover, as invading Coalition forces are cut off from any reinforcements.
* [[Not So Different]]: In theory, the three superpowers have radically different ideologies; in reality, each oppress their people just as much as the other.
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* [[Old School Dogfighting]]: Averted. "Starfighters" have never existed, as missiles were always more cost-effective.
* [[Omnicidal Maniac]]:
** [[
** The [[Names to Run Away From|Children of Oblivion]].
** The American Empire did this ''by accident'': {{spoiler|an experiment gone wrong erases Pluto from existence, creating a multiversal energy wave that collapsed hundreds of incarnations of ''billions of galaxies''.}}
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** "Trench beasts" are created when large groups of bodies are exposed to extreme levels of radiation. The corpses are merged together and reanimated into cannibalistic monstrosities that strikes at night, when troops are most vulnerable.
* [[People's Republic of Tyranny]]: The Conseil of Workers' Systems and many others.
* [[Praetorian Guard]]: The [https://web.archive.org/web/20130603185407/http://alternatehistory.org/discussion/showpost.php?p=5424731&postcount=1987 Presidential Guard]. It's the only institution left from America's democratic era that has any power in the 28th century.
* [[Propaganda Machine]]: The Coalition fights to "preserve Christian civilization and liberty", the Conseil fights to "liberate the proletariat from their bourgeoisie oppressors", and the Technocracy fights to...well, preserve its own power. All three openly admits that they are dictatorships, but propaganda is so ingrained that virtually everyone consider democracy a weak and obsolete form of government.
* [[Puppeteer Parasite]]: The strigoi, who developed a parasitic relationship with the semi-sapient paraszt.
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* [[Unwilling Roboticisation]]: What the Ilya'novrodons do to their captives.
* [[Weapon of Mass Destruction]]: And how. Nuclear and antimatter weaponry is considered standard-issue and are used with abandon. More exotic weapons include missiles that create miniature black holes and Vacuity portals, as well as the Merkwürdigliebe ([[Dr. Strangelove|Strangelove]]) Device - a modified FTL engine that forces a star to collapse upon itself.
* [[We Have Reserves]]: Eerily similar to [[Warhammer
* [[You Cannot Grasp the True Form]] : {{spoiler|AMNDA's hardware is spread across innumerable universes}}, and she can't perceive humans just as we can't perceive our blood cells. Only her dumbed-down subroutines could interact with sentient life on a personal level.
* [[Zerg Rush]]: The favorite strategy of the Conseil's Red Army.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Science Fiction Web Originals]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Ad Astra Per Aspera]]
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