Friday, May 15, 2009

Arrested development factor

We owe you some explanations, so let's start with something really important.
Saunders-Roe (SARO) SR.45 Princess flying boat
 
In brief, the Strangers' 1972 looks rather old-fashioned compared to OTL 1972. Here are some points of interest. Feel the difference.
  • Flying boat is still a popular way to travel between the North Sea and Baltic ports.
  • Pneumatic mail is still widely used, and not only for in-office communication.
  • Transistor radio is a novelty. You've got television, but cannot enjoy satellite transmission - there are no satellites. And nobody has landed on the Moon yet (no 'Good luck, Mr. Gorsky!'). Actually, nobody has entered the Space.
  • Nuclear threat is pure science-fiction - the Bomb hasn't been tested, it simply doesn't exist.
  • There are battleships in different navies, some of them completed not so long ago.
  • No Japanese cars in the Western world. Japanese cameras and home electronics are illegal, but you can purchase them from a trusted vendor - in case you are a trusted customer.
  • And jazz festivals are held every summer in Fiume, which is still Fiume and not Rijeka. The map is different. Very different from real 1972, very much alike a prewar one.
The pace of progress is slower. Something has never happened.

Image: (Global Aviation Resource)

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