Alternative History
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In the year 1985, March 13, Chevron sent out an expedition team to the Persian Gulf to conduct oil surveys and try to discover new reserves. After several weeks of searching, they reported that they had found nothing. Upon investigation by Chevron and several other oil companies, these had been the results of every expedition team in that region for the past two years. When word that no more oil reserves in the Persian gulf could be found spread to public, pandemonium broke out across much of the developed world in what we now call the "Great Panic" an event in which occurred hundreds of riots across cities and suburban areas around the world, destroying millions (and in some estimates billions) of dollars in property. The death toll world wide from these riots alone is estimated to be around 2500 people.

UN attempts[]

A conference was held at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City, USA, on April, 1 1985. France, America, Soviet Union, Nigeria, Spain, Norway, China, England, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Japan, all agreed to either look for more oil reserves in their home nations, or to finance such expeditions undertaken by organizations that have also taken up the search. The undertaking was dubbed Operation : shooting star.

UN conferance

The UN conference agreeing on Operation: shooting star


Panic in the Middle East[]

Anarchy had rang out across all nations of the Middle East. Several mass riots in Kuwait City, Kuwait, had caused the royal family to flee to Iraq on April 3, 1985. Kuwait was without government or rule of law. Several gangs, or rebel groups had seized large tracks of land and sections of Kuwait city. Fighting between these gangs was daily. The most prominent of these groups would be Anazar lam Allah (victory for God) a Muslim fundamentalist group seeking to take control of the remaining government and to declare a Caliphate. Another group was Korah Kuwait (Strength of Kuwait) The remaining officers of the Kuwaiti armed forces whom banded together in an attempts to restore order to the nation, and to re-institute the monarchy. Both sides had been reported to have committed crimes against humanity, however, most of Kuwait was still loyal to one side or another.

Iraq had gone through several revolts in its northwestern province of Mosul since the crisis had begun. The revolts were staged by the workers of INOC (Iraqi National Oil Company) when military forces where sent to the oil fields and barred the workers form leaving. The Iraqi government released a report saying that "At this time it is essential that we have oil production around the clock. Therefore, it is with regret that we must keep the workers at Mosul form leaving, until further employees are sent to relieve them of their duty." After one week of constant work and still no new employees, the workers revolted on April, 11 1985. The initial revolt was caused when one of the men struck a soldier with a rock and stole his gun. Soon after, other employees started taking up the example. Firefights started breaking out all across the Mosul area, eventually reaching the outskirts of Mosul it self. After five days of fighting, the Iraqi government had quelled the revolts. The final death toll was 800 workers dead or wounded, 70 soldiers dead or wounded.

In Saudi Arabia, a full on revolution had broken out. Government forces were battling dozens of Whabti cells across the nation. The Whabti, a Muslim fundamentalist group that helped the Al-Asaud family gain power, but would later feel betrayed, had seized the opportunity of the crisis to rise up against the government in an attempts to try to create a caliphate. The beginning of the revolution occurred in April 28, 1985 when Whabti agents seized several radio stations around Mecca and Medina and called for Jihad against the "corrupt government'" The ensuing violence across the whole of the western coast of Saudi Arabia had proven to be too wide spread for the military to keep it under control. On May, 15 1985, Whabti officials, along with several other rebel groups met in al-rashara, a village outside of Mecca. At this meeting, the group formed Colimbemetorlia lam Allah (Empire for God) The formation of the Empire of God had split Saudi Arabia in half. East vs West.

Iran, remarkably, was able to keep stable throughout this time. Upon hearing of the crisis, the government immediately seized all media and communications in the nation. Iran had also closed the border to its nation. No citizen was allowed to leave the nation, and no one was allowed to get in. The Iranian people were told that the governments actions were in response to a supposed air strike form Israel and that these actions were taken on the basis of "national security".

Success in Operation shooting star[]

On May, 28 1985, three large oil reserves were discovered in northern Alaska. Two large reserves were found in central Siberia. One medium reserve was found off the coast of Scotland. The United states sold the areas where the reserves were found at an astonishingly low price. Almost immediately as the reserves were found, thousands of Americans (and even some Canadians) started emigrating to Alaska, in search of these new found and highly sought after positions to fill. The citizens of Alaska showed their distaste for the massive influx of people to their state, many of them illegal, by staging several protests in Wasilla, Juneau and Fairbanks. These protests did nothing to stop the influx of emigrants. By June of 1985, it was estimated that 40,000 people had emigrated there in two months. In the Soviet Union, the Russian Oil Ministry ordered Gasprom and Kinef to immediately start construction of refineries in these areas. A new practice was adopted by the Kremlin on June, 12 1985 to force minor convicts to man the new refineries 24 hours a day as a form of forced labor. The details of this new practice would remain secret for quite some time. The Kremlin also signed into law stating that "only members of the Soviet Government and members of the party could be allowed to drive automobiles." This was an attempted on behalf of the Soviet government to try to conserve fuel. Some public unrest was felt because of the decision, however, no substantial threat was ever felt. One officer, Maj Gen. Mikhail Yaakov, wrote a furious letter to Konstantin Chernenko (General secretary at the time) about the absurdity of the depriving the citizens of vehicles. In response, he would be under KGB surveillance for the next six months. England was able to send BP to build their offshore refinery with little difficulty as compared to the US and the USSR. However, concessions had to be made with Glasgow. Scotland would receive 13% percent of all oil revenue, a 5% increase. Although some more radical groups were hoping for 50%, the majority of Scottish parties were satisfied.

Crisis in Europe and America[]

As the amount of oil supply around the world decreased, the price of oil skyrocketed. In Europe, a gallon of gas went from 1.946 to 3.992 (in euros). in America, the cost went from $1.20 to $3.86. Gas stations across both continents were looted for what ever remaining gas there was. June, 8 1985 Outside of Tulsa Oklahoma, a Texaco gas truck was pulled over and raided by thieves. On June, 30 1985, it was signed into law that all oil trucks, and tankers had to be accompanied by military personal throughout their entire journey. In West Germany, the "Grun Zukunft Partei" (Green Future Party or GZP) was founded in Frankfurt July, 5 1985. The parties stance was for the abolition of oil and all other fossil fuel usage in Germany, in exchange for cleaner, more sustainable Nuclear power. The party gained much support across the nation and influence several other parties across the western world. In 1987, would gain almost a majority of the Bundestag seats. On July, 21 1985, in southwest Romania, Bulgarian secessionists seized several oil fields demanding to be allowed to succeed to Bulgaria. The Romanian military launched a minor counter assault against the Secessionist forces, believing that Bulgaria would also assist in the battle. When the small force of Romanians reached secessionist controlled territory, they discovered that no reinforcements were in the area. Shortly after, the secessionists ambushed the Romanian force. After two hours, the entire Romanian force was either killed or captured. On July 24, 1985, Bulgarian armed forces entered secessionist controlled Romanian territory in the name of restoring order to the area. No fighting had broken out between the secessionist forces or the Bulgarians; in fact, several of the secessionist leaders were put in charge of restoring order to the region. Bulgaria showed no signs of leaving the oil fields, yet did not make any official claim for the territory. Romanian forces had several skirmishes with the Bulgarian/secessionist forces, but no war was officially declared. The Soviet Union having official control over both nations commanded an immediate end to all hostilities in the area stating that "a war would be too costly to our already diminishing supply of Petroleum that we must attempt to avoid it at all costs."


Tension grows in the Middle East[]

On September, 15 1985, Anazar lam Allah forces surrounded the final Korah Kuwait stronghold in Kuwait city. Korah Kuwait was given the chance to surrender. The proposal was immediately rejected. Several of the officers brought the messenger to the top of the compound and threw him off of the roof, sending him plunging to his death. The ensuing battle lasted nine hours. Anazar lam Allah, won the battle with heavy losses, every member of Korah Kuwait was killed in the battle. The final death toll Anazar lam Allah: 2000 dead or wounded. Korah Kuwait: 1200 dead. September, 17 1985, The Caliphate of Kuwait was declared, with Mohammad Badie as the Caliphate.

On September 9, 1985, after an attempt on Saddam Hussein's life by Whabti terrorists, Saddam officially gave his support to the Saudi government in their civil war. Saddam provided the Saudis with 7000 foot soldiers, and 20 MiG-15s. Few vehicles were sent at the time due to the shortage of gasoline and other oil products. The Iraqi government also positioned 28,000 troops near the Kuwaiti border, our of fear that the Kuwaiti Caliphate may launch a surprise attack from their southern border. In addition to these troops, the Iraqi secret services also sent several agents into Kuwait in order to try to spur the populace into a revolt against the new regime in order to restore the monarchy.

On September 20, 1985, The Saudi government won a crushing victory against the Empire of God forces at the Battle of Ma-araha. A retreating of force of 4388 Saudi troops took refuge in the small desert town. Soon after, 23,000 Empire of God forces surrounded the town and began a furious mortar barrage. After several days of fighting, and nearly 2500 dead, Saudi reinforcements arrived and beat back the Empire of God forces. The victory over the Empire of God allowed the Saudi government to take back much of its southern west coast. The final death toll of the battle. Empire of God: 13,000 dead or wounded. Saudi forces: 3000 dead or wounded.


Nationalization and enslavement[]

December, 18 1985, The first drills and a small but temporary refinery are set in the new oil fields in Alaska. The starting employment rate for this new field would be around 200. Nearly 6000 people signed up. Mass demonstrations throughout Alaska were held against Anderes Oil, Inc. (the owners of the new oil field) for not building it quickly enough. The state government of Alaska, also seeing the problem, quickly seized control of the company. 600 people were immediately fired and were replaced by bureaucrats. The state then poured millions of dollars into building the quick construction of the other two oil fields and to the immediate upgrade in the current one. The government also increased the number of employees that the current oil field could man to 450. Due to the number of employees being accepted into the new oil field, many of the workers wages were cut. Outrage across the entire state of Alaska was expressed by the creation of the new "Populist Party". The Populist Party was set up by both right and left wing supporters in Fairbanks, with the platform of getting rid of government involvement in Anderes Oil, Inc. and for the improvement of the workers conditions in the field. On January 6, 1986, The Soviet Union stationed its first drills and temporary refinery in one of the Siberian oil fields. Shortly after, 300 minor convicts were trucked out to the new field and were immediately put to work. The convicts were given no pay, and were forced to sleep in barren apartment buildings built around the refinery. Conditions were brutal, to the extent that several convicts attempted to escape. Of the several convicts were tried to escape, only one managed to evade capture. Josef Zhukov.


Riots in Western and Eastern world[]

January 20, 1986. In America, the price of a gallon of gasoline has risen from $3.86$ to $6.02$. Civilian gas reserves are running low, and with rising chaos, the government decides to react. They place a ban on all non-essential civilians from purchasing gasoline or other oil products for their own purposes. The only civilian personnel whom can purchase gasoline or other oil products are Doctors, Power plant workers, Farmers, teachers, and certain scientists (mostly in the chemical field). Public transportation or private non-combustible modes of transportation become the public's only option of travel. An outraged public begins to aggressively protest in every major city in the United States. By January 21, 1986, most of the protests have been broken up. However, the protests in New York, Los Angeles, and Memphis, have become an all out riot. Police forces in all three cities have been overwhelmed and national guard has been called in, in all cases. Several corporations in California and Wyoming have petitioned to set up massive geothermal energy facilities in their states. Europe Fares similarly. January 19, 1986, the price of a gallon of gasoline goes from 3.992 euros, to 8.443 euros. In West Germany, the Munich "east Nuclear power plant", Hamburg's "Blue Dove" Nuclear power plant, and Essen's " K-strong Nuclear power plant" are all half way complete. Minor opposition is posed by anti-nuclear activists. In England, a BP truck full of diesel fuel was caught up in and East London neighbor hood due to still unknown reasons. A crowd of people gathered around the truck and began to attack the driver. The crowd began to fight each other over the diesel reserves left in the truck. Eventually, an unknown man pulled a gun out and fired three shots at a man standing in front of a full gallon of diesel. The can exploded and killed several other people close near by. The flames spread into the tanker where the entire truck burst into a massive ball of fire. The fire began to engulf near by homes. January 24, 1986, East London has been completely burned to the ground due to the fire. Over 800 civilians have been reported dead, 16,000 injured in some way or other. 103 firemen have been killed with no injuries. 59,159 people, have been displaced. February 2, 1986, in Beijing, China, the Peoples National Committee has announced

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