Eastern Texas (1983: Doomsday)
From Alternative History
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| Capital: | Nacogdoches | ||||
| Largest city: | Nacogdoches | ||||
| Other cities: | Tyler, Bryan, College Station, Hemphill, San Augustine, Madisonville, Crockett, Lufkin, Appleby, Rusk, Palestine, Huntsville | ||||
| Language: official: | English | ||||
| Other languages: | Spanish | ||||
| Religion: | Christianity | ||||
| Ethnic group: | 59% Caucasian, 31% Hispanic, 8% African-American, 2% other | ||||
| Area: | Nacogdoches/Tyler/College Station region km² | ||||
| Population: | 80,000 (estimated) inh. | ||||
| Established: | 1989 | ||||
| Currency: | Barter; West Texas dollar | ||||
Eastern Texas got hit hard on Doomsday, particularly around the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston areas. No known expeditions had been taken into the area from Doomsday through 2009 except for a World Census and Reclamation Bureau team that scouted former Galveston, Corpus Christi and Houston in the summer of 2009 and a West Texas Army-led team that made contact with survivors in the Nacogdoches area in November 2009.
The Republic of Texas/eastern Texas is centered in the Tyler/College Station/Nacogdoches region of former eastern Texas. Roger Van Horn is its Governor at present.
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[edit] History
[edit] Post-Doomsday
The destruction caused by Doomsday led to an influx of refugees not only from Texarkana, Longview and other military targets, but from the destroyed cities of Dallas and Fort Worth in the north and Houston and Galveston from the south. Effects from fallout, starvation and fighting over scarce resources led to a reduction in population to a mere 60,000 people by fall of 1984.
The surviving city-states, notably Tyler, College Station and Nacogdoches, alternately fought each other for remaining resources and worked with each other to secure said resources. It became clear to many people that cooperation, not fighting, provided the region's best chance of survival.
On May 8, 1989, the 13 remaining city-states agreed to join as the "Republic of Texas". Their standard of living had reverted back to a 19th-century level, as people were unable to restart power plants damaged on Doomsday or in subsequent fighting. Efforts continued at restarting the power plants, and finally paid off in 2007, when what is now called the Central Nacogdoches power plant was restarted.
From 1989 to 1992, scouts were sent into the Dallas, Texarkana, Houston and Waco regions to see if anyone else had survived. Scouts returned from the Houston and Texarkana areas reporting no signs of life and "massive" devastation; scouts assigned to Dallas and Waco never returned. When Houston scouts died of radiation-related causes, the political leaders called off all subsequent expeditions.
One unauthorized attempt into western Texas was made in 1995; the scout's written records was found amongst his remains west of Waco by the first West Texas Army-led expedition into eastern Texas.
The 20 years after the 13 cities formed their Republic of Texas were highlighted by survival and building a viable society in the wake of their circumstances. The population increased to an estimated 80,000 due to "baby booms" in the 1990s and the 2000s, and society had stabilized into the equivalent of a late 19th-century state.
[edit] 2009
In April 2009, engineers finally got a functional AM radio working, and immediately began monitoring for signals. They also found a way to restore a local radio station's transmitter to operation, and convinced the Republic of Texas's governor that, if anyone else survived Doomsday, it represented the best immediate way to communicate with them.
Engineers soon discovered, at night, signals from the Republic of Superior and Billings, Montana, listening for any news they could get of the outside world. In June, another signal was discovered, from Midland in western Texas. This led government leaders to put top priority on getting the transmitter working, as it would be the region's first contact with western Texas; the uncertainty over radiation between the two regions, as well as the fates of previous scouting teams, led to the use of radio for first contact.
On October 4, a rancher outside Sweetwater was surprised to pick up a faint signal on 860 AM in his home at 10:21 a.m., playing the song Deep in the Heart of Texas as sung by Gene Autry. He contacted the Sweetwater sheriff, who was also able to get the signal on his office radio. He and Texas Ranger agents heard the song play repeatedly; then, the signal then faded to where it was barely audible and went out.
On October 5, 860 AM again went on the air, playing the song, and this time it could be heard (albeit weakly) as far away as Odessa. The song played a dozen times, and then an announcer's voice was heard, stating "This is KVRT 860 AM, Nacogdoches, Texas, the voice of the Republic of Texas." The song then played a dozen more times before going off the air.
Senator Harry Reeder, the West Texas Democratic presidential candidate, put forth a proposal to the West Texas Senate on October 19 asking for Republic explorers to be sent into Nacogdoches "immediately" to explore the region and find the source of the transmission, and see if there is anyone alive in the area.
On the evening of October 20, the sequence was heard again at its previous strength at 10 a.m., and then again at 9 p.m., but this time loud and clear throughout the Republic. What was broadcast was no different from before, but the signal was much, much stronger. Not only was it heard through West Texas, but also as far north and west as Billings, N.A.U. and Provo, Deseret; as far north as the Republic of Superior; and even heard, faintly, as far east as Charleston, Virginia. It also was heard in several towns in the Mexican states of Durango, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi.
President Mike Conaway met that night with his cabinet, and military leaders. At 9 a.m. local time October 21, Conaway held a press conference, where he announced that a military-led expedition would leave by Friday, October 22, for the Nacogdoches region. The military was there for protection, but the purpose would be to scout out the area and offer "aid and assistance". An hour later, he was said to be taking phone calls from other national leaders as 860 AM again went on the air, this time with the same signal strength it had the previous night.
The signal continues to broadcast at full-strength at 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time.
[edit] Reunion
On October 23, an expedition of 400 men and women, comprised of diplomats, Texas Rangers, military and medical personnel, along with engineers, mechanics and other personnel, embarked on their expedition to Nacogdoches. They reached the outskirts of the bombed town of San Angelo on October 26. Their plan is to spend the 27th investigating its ruins, then leave on the 28th following old State Road 67 to the town of Dublin. From there, the expedition plans to follow State Road 6 to Waco, investigate its (presumed) ruins, and travel State Road 84 into Palestine before following State Road 284 into Nacogdoches.
West Texas Brigadier-General Edward M. Hawkins told reporters on the 23rd that the expedition was, more or less, on its own. "They won't have air support, no telephones to call for help, no satellites we can track them with," Hawkins said. "They are on their own. Hopefully they come back having made friends. But this group is as prepared for all contingencies as they can be. We have complete trust in them, and anticipate a successful mission."
This was contradicted on October 29, when Colonel Peter Gonzales told reporters that the Army was establishing a "network" of outposts and temporary radio towers, trailing the expedition so that if needed, the military would be able to quickly render aid.
On November 2, the Army-led expedition had advanced to the outskirts of old Waco. Meanwhile, that morning, the radio signal believed to be coming from the Nacogdoches broke its established pattern. A one-minute announcement beginning at 10AM local time (4PM GMT) was repeated over the next hour and 15 minutes. The announcer first identified the station as "KVRT, the voice of the Republic of Texas", then paused for five seconds before making the following statement:
Over the past month we have been broadcasting twice each day over this frequency, from the city of Nacogdoches in the state of Texas, now the Republic of Texas. We acknowledge the nation of western Texas, and also that our broadcast must have surprised all of you out west. We are in Nacogdoches, the capital of our region, which also includes 12 other towns: Tyler, Bryan, College Station, Hemphill, San Augustine, Madisonville, Crockett, Lufkin, Appleby, Rusk, Palestine, and Huntsville. We have been able to monitor radio stations out of western Texas and other states in the area at night, and are overjoyed that others have survived the cataclysm that destroyed our country in 1983. We are eager to meet representatives from the Republic of western Texas in the coming days and will extend every courtesy. We look forward to further communications, and to learning more about you, as you learn more about us. Thank you, and God bless Texas.
On November 6, 860 AM began broadcasting three times a day, at 10 am, 3pm and 9 pm, carrying a question and answer format with local leaders regarding the history of the region and its society, as well as stating that a welcoming party made up of local law enforcement and the Republic's Secretary of State would meet the West Texas Army in Palestine, for an escort into Nacogdoches.
That meeting indeed occurred at 11:17 a.m. local time on November 9 just west of Palestine, between the West Texas expedition and members of a similar expedition from eastern Texas. A radio report described the meeting as "20th-century Army meets sheriffs from the old West". West Texas President Mike Conaway decided to travel to Nacogdoches that evening, and was escorted by military caravan nonstop to the eastern Texas capital.
The morning of November 11, a press conference with Conaway and Republic of Texas Governor Roger Van Horn was held at the Main Theater in downtown Nacogdoches. Much of the press conference was spent detailing the histories of the two republics, but it was announced that the two countries had signed a treaty including provisions for medical and infrastructure aid from West Texas and its allies, as well as talks to determine the future "political" relationship between the two parties. The conference was briefly interrupted by a heckler - a locally known comedian - who yelled twice from the back of the theatre "where the hell were you West Texans all this time?" The heckler was led away by local sheriff's deputies, but Conaway replied "no, he has a point. We should have been out here sooner. We had our own issues. We're committed now to working with your Republic, and with other nations in the former United States and other areas of the region." Van Horn said he had appointed Tyler Sheriff Roger Fergersen to work with West Texas Colonel Rafael Ramirez in "regards to law enforcement matters here and in West Texas helping us to set up an Army." Conaway also said that Ramirez would oversee a group of 600 West Texas Army personnel assigned to eastern Texas for a six-month period.
[edit] Government and politics
More to come
[edit] Economy
More to come
[edit] Military/law enforcement
More to come
[edit] International relations
More to come
[edit] Culture
More to come
[edit] Music
[edit] Arts
[edit] Religion
[edit] Sports
[edit] Communications
More to come
[edit] Education
Two universities reopened in the years after Doomsday.
Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, and Texas A&M University in College Station.
[edit] Attractions
More to come
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