A NEW REALITYAn alternate history fiction novelMichel pou@2018Cover art byJason Terleck
ad just landedYork, coming from Washington Recuperating his leatherbriefcase andge rack, he then walked towards the forwardxit of the plane, mixing with the nineteen other passengers, which included his twotary the Boeing 224 was by American standards a goodlane, with two radial piston engines an all-metal construction and a true cantilevermono wing, and was the mainstay of many American domesticstandards of Air france it was a hopeless dinosaur lamont had more than once wishedhat American airline companies could buy some of the advanced aircraft designs usedby Air France, but that had hit a wall raised by the owner of Air France, Tasha Lenoir,nstallations in the United States New York City, along with Los Angeles and Honolulue the three sole American cities which had accepted to forgeleir local airports that had in turn brounow importantal hubsnce network of airports routes and radigation beacon stationsyou wanted to go from the United States to Europe and back these days, you basicallyther be ready to spend over a week at sea and travel aboardpassenger liner ship, or to take one of the jet-powered airliners operated by Air francehich made the New york- Paris triphours and this at less coshan the cheapest maritime fare available
Understandably, most people opted for Alance making its new yParis route a heavily frequented and also very profitableso made the maritime companies scream liked skinned cats as they weregradually pushed towards bankruptcyeaving the Air America,s Boeing 224 by its forward left door, Lamont waited forhis three assistants to comeaccess door to the air terminal building The building a big, round affair, had eightarrival/departure aircraft gates, each of which had both a ground level access door andwhat was called jetways, elevated corrimove aroundwheels andextend thto connect with the access doircraft whichd otherwisequire the use of mobile staircases lamoarticles wriabout ailanes and its installations, but the airports in theSA that didnt belong to Air France still didnt have such jetways Once inside the
at would also jive with the reputation of the owner and creator ofnd mystentioned her while discussing trade withbelieved them, this Tasha Lenoir pretty well owns much of FranceShe is als would beone day But enough of this! Let's go to the Air France counter!et booked aboard the next fto Paris wasquite long snaking around moveable poles linked by red tape Lamoral status and jump the line but decidedquarely impolite and patiently waited his turn John Cartwriglhis part, eyedsome misgivings the few dark-skinned people mixed in with white people in the linerHegregated line for negroes: I wouldn 't try that in Alabama or georgiaat is why they dont have Air France service there and still have to usepiston-powered planes
replied Salinger, his tone a bit caustic While on the whole afairly decent man, Cartwright had astreak that tended to sour hisonality Athat poione hattting off athate raclal atmosphererance is quite different from that here in the united statenderstood, sir! "said the chastised aide, who then clamed up Twelve minuteslater Lamont s turn came at the service counter The air france sgreeted him with a big smile was young, very pretty and most appamont wish that he was some thirty years youngershlay i have your passport, sir? Did you have a reservation made in advancesistants behind me hadtsed for thisorning, s flight to Paris, with return tickets for next Friday Here are my passport andthose of my assistantThank you, sir!
le young woman opened first Lamont's passport and looked at the picture and nart ofkeyboalat similar to that of a typewriter she then did the same with thesportstants before looking back up at lamont and smile toeservations are cod and you are now bookedrdAF002, Mister Secretary I just needtyped check our reservationsmiss? And how do you know that i am a federal cabinet memberle young French woman had a cute smile, her eyes glinting, as she answered himat I used is called a computer, sir it was developed by the ' Electroniquesenoir company and is a proprietary systd only bystries Consortium
which includesance andentto bookrifylot specific seatsrs Asour title, sir, our personnel keeps abreast of lists of important officials with VLPWhat the stewardess didn't sayalarm Lamont, was that the air francecomputer reservation system did a lot more than that and had actually flagged Lamontofficial once his name had been entered in the system Shealso didn t tell him that she had scanned his passport, thus recording his picture in theystem Her explanation however seemed to satisfy Lamont, who wastell someone about this 'computer system once back in Washington and took back hispaidg caspassingonestewardess gave a last warm smile to Lamont while pointing at a nearby hallwayyou may now proceed to the departure area, wherwill be able to waiof
ry much, miss said Lamont before leading his three assistantswards the departure areaething tovoice while walkingow! This Air France bunch is starting to seriously impress me That computersystem of theirs looks incredible I will have to mentiohe president and to the reste cabinet on our returnafter saying that, they crossed path with a group of Air France pilots andstewardesses dragging behind them wheeled suitcases Louise Perkins couldn't helpher meyes wideight of those suitcases, held by their owners viatelescopic handles integrated into the hard-cased suitcasesOh my God! Look at those suitcases! I should get some like theseOne of the French stewardesses heard her and turned her head to speak to Louise in agood EnglisParis and althe duty free boutiques of this airportam getting tired of stretchingmy arms with heavy suitcasesto lift andance crew walk away
" Maybe we could reserve half a day for shopping, onceThank you, sir said Louise gleefully, promising herself to use that comingdayle fullestise, they had to empty their pockets of all metallic objects and passo fough a metal detector frame in order to enter the departure area, which was situatede upper floor, while a large, multi-lingual sighe entrance said 'No firearmsamont accehat without fusscertainly wouldantn armedMe neither, Mister Secretary added Louise Once inside the departure areaat aber of waitunters lined thhad over one hour to wait before boarding their fligd hof the boutiques, curious to see what they sold and at what prices What they saw was a
wide variety of luxury items like perfumes, jewelry, watches and articles of clothing, btsale, as the prohibition Act of 1920 made illegalexportation of alcohol products in the United States The boutiques themselveabundance of mirrors bch of an eye-catcher as the products theynned louisewonderment at one pell, a different world just came to us said Adam Salinger, his head turnedowards one of the outer panoramic windowsk at the plane that just lined up at ourAll four Americans then stared at the big sleek jet aircraft that had come forward to theirflights assigned gate Painted mostly sky blue, it wore on its sides a wide tricolor, red-white-and blue bandg from nose to tail, with the words AIR FRANCE paintedbold red letters within the white band
All ideas of shopping terht AF002ked quicklyows to admire theof that beast! "exclaimed John Cartwrights easilythmes the length of the Boeing 224 we came in from Washingtonamont looked at his boarding pass and read the aircraft type they were to flya bleriot-Kruger ATLANTIQUE Model 200, according to our boardingpressive beast Hopefully, its performances and comfort wilooksell, it appears to be an amphibian aircraft as well, sir remarked AdaOh? Damn, you're right, Adam! But why make such a big aircraft an amphibionearound the world sir also thave many overseas territories, especiallyhe sea Such an amphibian airliner could thuseory land about anywhere in theId be aite advantageial termsrtainly a beautifulhose smooth curved lines SaidThat it is
s eyes then caught on a Ford three-engine plane rolling past behind the bleriot-KrugelATLANTIQnt couldn't help cringe at the sharp cbetween theAmerican-made aircraft and theAnd we are claiming to be the most advanced nation on Earthssengersht AF002 could start boarding, with the first class passengersproceed inside first, alongpregnant women and handicapped persons Walkingdown the jetway, Lamont was greeted just inside the aircraft by two smiling and verychseat
The stewardess who greeted Lamont took a brief look at his boarding pass beforea nearby spiral staircase behind her, aall the while smiling tohis staircase will leadGoing down the carpeted stairs, Lamont ended inside a compartment thats long and five meters wide, which contained a total of sixteenwide, well padded seats Ano
ther stewardess looked at his boarding pass and showedm a set of four seats arranged in pairs facing each other, beside two large windows orhe left side of the aircraftve Seat 01-Ahe one nearest the first windowlank you, miss " replied the politician before going to his seat and puttingto be very comfortable, making him sighcontentmentAaah, that seat is as comfortable as my favorite sofa at homedecidedly starting on a good footdown in his own seat, prompting a reply from CartwrigProbably a lot cheaper and narrower thseatto go look atraftnt of thhe eed to travel
WARNING TO POTENTIAL READERSS NOVEL CONTAINS SOME GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONSAND PICTURES OF WAR AND VIOLENCE AS WELL ASCOARSE LANGUAGE AND CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECTSAT ARE UNSUITABLE FOR CHILDREN THIS IS AWORK OF FICTION WHILE SOMIE PERSONS DEPICTEDNOVEL EXISTED, THEIR ACTIONS AND WORDSS NOVEL DO NOT REPRESENSTORICAREALITYhis novel is a sequel to my novel A MINOR GLITCH and can be best described asate History genre as much as being a science-fiction novecontinues the adventures of four women who were accidentally displaced in time andfound themselves marooned in the early parts of the 20h Century, where they did theirbest to adapt and prosperOTHER NOVELS BY THIS AUTHOR( Can be obtained for free online atbooks
net and Goodreads com or can beequested directly for free to the author by sending an email at natai @videotron ca)ADVENTURES THROUGH TIMECHILDREN OF TIME TWINLDS OF CRIMEA TO THE SANDS OF MARSHE ADVENTURES OF NANCY LAPLANTE IN9H CENTURY
Kostroma seriesJOVIAN UPRISING-23Sinner SeriesAMERICAN SINNERU-Boote seriesONE WOLFU-900Lenoir seriesA MINOR GLITCIA NEW REALITYStandalone novelsST CLIPPERODYSSEE TEMPORRIENDS AND FOES
TABLE OF CONTENTCHAPTER 1-LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITECHAPTER 2-SEPARATE DEAlCHAPTER 3-BACKLASHCHAPTER 4-AN UNSTABLE WORLDCHAPTER 5E SHANGHAI INCIDENCHAPTER 6- WAR INCHINA SEA669CHAPTER 7-NAVAL POWERCHAPTER 8-OUTRAGCHAPTER 9-OPERATION ' SAFEGUARDCHAPTER 10-DEAROMSEACHAPTER 11-MANCHURIACHAPTERABUSE OF POWER200CHAPTER 13-OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENTSCHAPTER 14-F EMPERORS AND PRESIDENTS237BIBLIOGRAPHY260
Bastille Day military parade down the Champs Elysees in ParisCHAPTER 1-LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITElaut-Buc( Castle of High-Buc)Buc
southwest of parisancehis afternoon, the Senate finally passed and approved the new law andconstitutional amendment on the equality of womesigned that new law and constitutional amendment less than one hour agoPierre-Paul-Henri-Gaston Doumergue, am thus most happy to announce to the womeof France that they are now fully equal to men in the eyes of the law arvote at every level of government This means in practice that married women will beable to keep control of theiessions and financial assets whi
taken away from them by their husbands or relatives, be they male or female Frenchhile they will have equal rights regardinges, unmarried women aged eighteen and over will be obligated from noworce and Navy, for which positions they will bed in front ofne corner of the big lounge screamed as one with joy as President Doumergueconcluded his televised appearance Tasha Lenoir, the owner of the chateau du hautKbefore hhappyisis a moment that i had beelactually had despaired of seeing this day ever come, madam replied SylvieBroce cook of the residence, while returning Tasha's hugle too! added marthe lecomteaid“ do wish thatcome much earlier: that would have prevented my no-good ex-husband from grabbinghard-earned saasian woman at the age of 52 smiled downhy at martheAnd I made sure that he later paid for his acts, Marthe
Here, you will always beat, knowing that tasha meant what sad said Tashawas a most caring employerance andn the World, being a savy businesswoman and a scientific genius In fact, all forrmanent residents of the manor were rich, to varying degrees Pham Ti Hien, the 43etaldntrolledlyand ever expanding 'Radio France network, to which Radio France Televisihad been added eleven years aghanna Krugeblond, 57 yearengineer, owned the 'Automobiles Kruger company, which had gobbled up the
Automobiles Renault company some thirteen years ago, and was also co-owner andhief designehe 'Aeronautique Bleriot-Krugg Terry Clarkson, a 49 year-old blackan who was strs personal bodygutop of being a top test pilot at bleriot-Kruger and then aoduceradvanced weapons and militaryequipment which was the favorite supplier of the French Armyg in the refrighe maid walked ouce, heading towards the kitchen and leaving the seven otherresident Doumergue's declaration Those comments made evident the fact that theresistance to that new law had been both long and intense, something the women knewtoo well indeed They had hoped for such a law for a long time but had until now toly listenlection ofby theopponents to thehose opponents were theembers of the French Senate, who had blocked for years all the attempts by either thePresident of the Republic or the Prime Minister, also known as the 'President of theCouncil of ministershave such a law pass
However, Tasha Lenediscreet but considerable political power thanks to her fortune and to her friendly linksad worked hard to discredit thoselow those effortsoff, opening new horizons for Tasha, her three friends and partners and for all thewomen of franceJeanne soon came back to the lounge with a service trolley on whichcrystal flute and an ice bucket with two Champagne bottlesfilledQUALITY! "repeated out loud the other women before each taking a sip ofChampagne Sitting back like the others on a sofa, Tasha sighed audibly, her glass stilluldMexpressions appeared on the faces oferry and Johanna at those wordsHenri Deutsch de la meurthe, a rich oil industrialist who had helped all four of them after
8hey had arrived accidentally from the future2, had died over ten years ago andissed by manyosityand hisrt for thdevelopment of aviation and automobile had been widely recognized thomen stayed mostly silent for minutes while sipping their Champagne and listening tohe four feleeping the voen, what are the chances that our actions in this century, by changing historynt Louiss death in 1936?en, who had like her three friends a micro-computer and radio implantedler brain, reviewed mentally the historical files contained in her computer databanksbefore answering Tasha while shaking her head sadlydue to diactions can hardly prevent
At best, the actustances and date of hisdeath may change a bit but Louis has only a few years left to live right now, whether weAnd what thelhanna Krugemay be the co-owner of theAeronautique bleriot-Kruger, but who will succeed him? Our company is now hugelyth the economy and powerance and none of his chie trulready or even willingwill continue Louis work while channeling Louis' part of the profits to hisfamily " declared Tasha in a quiet voice"Our biggest problem is actuadie? The anti-aging genetic treatment that we got as a standard medical procedure inhe 27th celake us live longer than the typical ps century butly, either from old age, accident, disease or assassinats futurld overaven though we could now marry without fear of losingour fortunes to greedy husbands, I am loathe to have children only to push them intothem to be free the kind of life and occupation they would like bestce- feed a child intobecomingstrial baot my idea of being a good parer
Neither is it for me, Tasha replied Johanna Kruger " Losing my husband andon from the 27 Century when that matter transporter accident projecteds very painful to me at first, but I would never have a child just to fulfihilds equally strikes me as pure cynical manipulation and I won't do thatlave in our respective industries and name them as chief designers and managersvills, while naming people we know to be caring and generous personsies of our wills and actual owners of our companies, in orensure that oudustrial empires profit all of France, rather than only just a few very rich peoplecould succeed me as chief designer at bleriot-Kruger As for a future owner of bleriotKruger, I can' t think of anyone better than Eliane Archdeacon: she loves aviation, likeShe also happerbe married to an aristocrat wha painter and a true artist atanna
said Terry Clarkson, Tashas personal bodyguardand owner and chief executive of the 'Armements Clarkson industrial group Choosingsuccessors based on their talents and ideals sounds like the best solution for usAll four women nodded their heads at that and fell silent while sipping on their flabsorbed in their individuhoughtstruth aeen color television set in the lounge proved, their eighteen yearsance hadother countries both technologically and, more importantly for Tasha and helDistrict of Queens, New York CityNew York State, USAather uncomfortable seat in the narrow cabin of his Boeing 224 passenger plane, which