From Alternative History

Mondale levels Capitol Hill? I'm sorry, that's a bit too far-fetched for me, unless this is a silly ATL like Celebrity World. Louisiannan

And besides, what could possibly stop an earthquake from happening. Perhaps you could change the day or week (or month at a stretch), but you couldn't change the date to be 71 years later (the tectonic stress would be too mutch). --Sikulu 13:30, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

I've heard of stranger things happening...I could see, somehow, some strange way that the earthquake was postponed and jumped the total magnitude up, but some of it seems too far-fetched without a number of backing explanations. I look forward to seeing more to make this timeline believable. Louisiannan 13:58, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

There's no way one earthquake is going to be able to do all that. A chain of earthquakes, however, is another story. --Sikulu 14:22, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Why wouldn't Walter Mondale take over the Capitol. Certain experiences in his life may have altered his personality. This is an alternate history after all. And what would stop an eaarthquake or something like it from happening? I admit I don't know. But I recall one timeline where the tectonic plates did not shift all those millions of years ago to seperate Pangea. Stories like these, in my opinion, have no limits to what can written in them. It all depends upon the imagination of the writer. Also I think that the more extreme the POD the more extreme the changes. But I can change the title to have something to do with a chain of earthquakes instead of one giant one. onmybelief

Taking over the capitol is one thing...it says he "levels" it which to me means that he bombards the thing out of existence. I hardly doubt that the military and American people would've let him continue ruling were that the case. Saying that he stages a coup and disbands it is another, and that could possibly happen in time of war...he could say that he's "suspending the legislature because of the crisis." and then never gets around to re-instating it. That's MUCH more believable than that he levels the building to the ground.

As to Mondale's life experience, you'd do well to investigate his life (reading biographies really helps) and then extrapolate POD's that would lead him to do the things you say he does (but without the levelling part).

I have no problem calling it the Great World Wide Earthquake if it's stipulated that the larger earthquake in California set off a tectonic chain reaction around the world...after all, one has only to look at the tectonic maps to know that there's a lot of pent up energy, and that's not a problem for me. But I think stipulating that it really was a series of earthquakes that worked their way around the world from California and back around to Cali would be one thing.

For that matter, and for the record, I think it's a really good POD...after all there are faults that haven't had an earthquake for the better part of a centuries like the central american fault that caused massive flooding in the 1840's I believe and was centered on Cape Girardeau, MO.

I think with some tweaks it's a very inventive timeline, but it needs these for plausibility. The overview leaves a lot of questions in my mind, so I think it would be very useful to create sub-pages about the earthquakes, historical figures, what happened on each continent and so forth to fully explain it, because on the surface, it's hard to believe some of the things you're suggesting...with a detailed explanation, they will become more believable. Louisiannan 18:56, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

This "Massimo DeCaselis" sounds an AWFUL lot like the "Nicolae Carpathia" character from the "Left Behind" series. "Crucifixions"?!?!? Is this some kind of religious althist, maybe?

Plus, gotta go with others. Walter Mondale as a fascist?!?!??!

[edit] Earthquake where?!

Europe in rubbles because of an earthquake? This makes no sense. For that to happen the tension wouldn't just have to build up for years; the tectonic plates of the Earth would have to be rearranged completely. A gargantuan earthquake might open up a rift in the middle of the Mediterranean, but it would never run straight through Europe. So your POD would have to be at least a couple of hundred million years in the past... --Michael riber 16:50, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't think that he's meaning that Europe was reduced entirely to rubble because of the quakes, but there are tectonic plates in Europe and volcanism, after all; the Alpes are an upthrust because of the African plate slamming into Europe. I think we need a further explanation of what the author intends before we completely object to the suggestion. Louisiannan 23:08, 31 March 2007 (UTC)