Alien Space Bats Discussion of settings and scenarios involving time travel, magic, aliens, and other implausible elements. Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:57:39 +0000 Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:57:39 +0000 What If Machine http://whatifmachine.org/forums/alien-space-bats.42/ The Worst of All Possible Timelines Thu, 08 Feb 2018 06:07:29 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-worst-of-all-possible-timelines.128/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-worst-of-all-possible-timelines.128/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy Wolfenstein on the concept. The original idea was more than a little meta, and so will this, but the original idea is ripe for dystopia, and so this shall be.

Without further ado:

THE WORST OF ALL POSSIBLE TIMELINES
BY SPANISHSPY


July 1940

The British Empire thought it could breath. The evacuations at Dunkirk had...​

The Worst of All Possible Timelines]]> 8 Do You Know What I Know: A Holiday Timeline Mon, 25 Dec 2017 06:17:38 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/do-you-know-what-i-know-a-holiday-timeline.125/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/do-you-know-what-i-know-a-holiday-timeline.125/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy
This year has been brutal on me. I've been coming to terms with how I have been psychologically abused for most of my life, and my academics have been struggling. Being held up as the straight-A student for over a decade didn't help matters.

But the holidays come every year, which is a time we ought to celebrate. As such, I continue my tradition of holiday timelines with its fifth incarnation, if only to help dull the pain. I've legitimately enjoyed coming up with strange and...

Do You Know What I Know: A Holiday Timeline]]> 12 ISOT: 1966 Royal Navy at Jutland (1916) Sat, 11 Nov 2017 07:04:20 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/isot-1966-royal-navy-at-jutland-1916.123/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/isot-1966-royal-navy-at-jutland-1916.123/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force Battle of Jutland. He decides to send the fleet back in time to see how the battle plays out, replacing the Royal Navy of June 1916. The Imperial German Navy order of battle remains as it was historically (see here). He decides to try the battle out a few...

ISOT: 1966 Royal Navy at Jutland (1916)]]> Worthy of Their Mettle: A Superhero Timeline Sun, 24 Sep 2017 04:54:41 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/worthy-of-their-mettle-a-superhero-timeline.47/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/worthy-of-their-mettle-a-superhero-timeline.47/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy
This timeline is being concurrently posted on six other AH sites, and is a return to form after a year and a half of relative inactivity.

Without further ado:

WORTHY OF THEIR METTLE:
A SUPERHERO TIMELINE
BY SPANISHSPY

"Super-heroes are fascinating, in and of themselves. But, just as Joe Louis would have been less of a hero without Max Schmelling, super-heroes need a villain worthy of their mettle. The super-villain." -...​

Worthy of Their Mettle: A Superhero Timeline]]> 59 Marching Through the Wrong Georgia Fri, 25 Aug 2017 04:39:42 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/marching-through-the-wrong-georgia.105/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/marching-through-the-wrong-georgia.105/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy
MARCHING THROUGH THE WRONG GEORGIA
BY SPANISHSPY​
Moscow in the year 2008 was a city preparing for war against a power that was so weak in comparison it seemed like international bullying. The small nation of Georgia was host to two republics, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which eagerly wanted their independence and petitioned Russia to aid them; President Putin of Russia was happy to oblige. It would put a damper on...

Marching Through the Wrong Georgia]]> Never Forget Your Wars Fri, 25 Aug 2017 04:38:17 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/never-forget-your-wars.104/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/never-forget-your-wars.104/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy NEVER FORGET YOUR WARS
BY SPANISHSPY​
The year was 1961; the Iron Curtain predicted by Churchill at Missouri had fully descended upon the European Continent. The Second World War had ended with the division of that continent, with the German nation severed in two, with its capital at Berlin divided, its western portion encircled by a cold and unflinching wall. The world was divided by ideology, with liberal capitalism...

Never Forget Your Wars]]> To Flee from the Phoenix's Nest Fri, 25 Aug 2017 04:28:55 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/to-flee-from-the-phoenixs-nest.101/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/to-flee-from-the-phoenixs-nest.101/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy This is a story I wrote for Zioneer's Brainstorming thread, where he challenged us to write a thousand words in three days.

I exceeded that; this is in the neighborhood of 4,500 words; I wanted to finish this. This is a world that I have constructed based in part on my old
Minecraft servers - names of countries are taken from there, as well as aesthetic details.

The world herein is something I have been considering making its own thread for along the lines of Rvbomally's...

To Flee from the Phoenix's Nest]]> The Arm of Nationalism Fri, 25 Aug 2017 04:24:45 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-arm-of-nationalism.98/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-arm-of-nationalism.98/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy THE ARM OF NATIONALISM
By SpanishSpy

"In the 1936 Olympics, Hitler became the first to exploit sports as an arm of nationalism." - James A. Michener, Sports in America.



“Thank you for choosing United, and welcome to Geneva,” said the feminine voice onboard the airliner as it touched down on the landing pad in Geneva International Airport. Julia DeSanto scoffed at the insinuation that she...

The Arm of Nationalism]]> Es braust ein Ruf wie Donnerhall: a Timeline in a Single Post Fri, 25 Aug 2017 04:23:26 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/es-braust-ein-ruf-wie-donnerhall-a-timeline-in-a-single-post.97/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/es-braust-ein-ruf-wie-donnerhall-a-timeline-in-a-single-post.97/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy Preface:

I read a debate some time ago, on Reddit I believe, about the differences between American and European patriotism, how the latter is much more reserved and less bombastic than the former. This led me to wonder how a modern form of patriotism, closer but not as extreme as American patriotism, could arise in a European state, in this case, Germany. It is completely ASB, but it nevertheless proved to be an interesting exercise...

Es braust ein Ruf wie Donnerhall: a Timeline in a Single Post]]> The Chief that Now Commands, or the Reign of Emperor Norton I Fri, 25 Aug 2017 04:22:22 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-chief-that-now-commands-or-the-reign-of-emperor-norton-i.96/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-chief-that-now-commands-or-the-reign-of-emperor-norton-i.96/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy Preface: This is the longest one-shot I have ever written, and have taken too long to finish. The idea came to me one day looking for an idea for a new one-shot since the completion of My Words are Backed by Nuclear Weapons, and I resolved to write this idea. I have tried to represent the opinions of the historical Emperor Norton accurately, but allowed for a change in position through the course of the timeline that I feel is realistic.

Without further ado:...

The Chief that Now Commands, or the Reign of Emperor Norton I]]> An Atomic Great War Tue, 04 Apr 2017 16:17:16 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/an-atomic-great-war.18/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/an-atomic-great-war.18/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force Shaped charges were tested as early as 1894, and exploding-bridgewire detonator technology was developed during the Manhattan Project. By the 1920s precision machining was possible with items...

An Atomic Great War]]> 6