Uzay Savaşi Character Profile - Lokmaka

In the 1977 film, Uzay Savaşi, not much was revealed about the Kirmizitavşanan smuggler, Lokmaka. He never spoke Turkish, always communicating in his native language which sounded more like a rat squeaking than a fierce warrior. Despite this, his alien appearance, skill at fighting, and action figures make the big red bunny-man popular with fans of the film.

Much of the original history and background for the character was reveled in the novelization of the film. He grew up on the planet Kir'Kirmiz to one of the equatorial tribes. His larger size and strength allowed him to maintain some freedom in the harsh lands of his people, but he never felt the desire to become the chieftain. He was also intelligent and did not see the point of becoming the ruler of his trim when all the tribes of Kir'Kirmiz were slaves of the İmparatorluğun.

He fled his home planet and acquired his own small transport ship. He become a smuggler, bringing weapons or forbidden luxury items to the desperate people of İmparatorluğun space. During these years is when he first encountered and befriended Berkant, a member of the Blue Stars. He also obtained his favorite weapon, a battle glaive with a built-in laser gun.

Lokmaka's portrayal in the other two films of the series was not much different than in Uzay Savaşi, a loyal friend with no major character developments on screen. The lack of ability to speak so so the audience could understand him was the main factor leading to the shallowness of his character. Where he failed as a character in the films he thrived in comic books and novels, remaining a favorite of many fans.

Quantum Flux - Scandinavian Confederation

May 19, 2014

*In 1923 there was an attempt to create a confederation of Scandinavian states.  In part it was meant to be a mutual protection league to secure themselves against Russian aggression.  Political differences kept it from forming, but what if it actual was successfully created?  That's where this alternate history begins.

*The successful creation of the Scandinavian Confederation in 1923 united Norway, Sweden, Finland, Kareliya, Denmark, Iceland, and Greenland.  The Russian skirmishes with Kareliya that plagued the OTL were much reduced by the threat of the intervention of the rest of the Confederation.

*The stronger cooperation and free trade zone between the member states also helped the Confederation become one of the first European nations to emerge from the global depression of 1925-1929.  This improved economic situation kept Kareliya from falling into chaos during communist revolutions in 1927.  There were some uprisings and riots, but they were easily contained.

*The Confederation held strong and would only meet a true test in the 1980s.  The wealth brought in by the growing oil industry began to disrupt the traditional way of life.  Large oil corporations, both Scandinavian and international, were gaining more and more influence.  Not all regions profited and cultural changes were pushing some in Iceland in Finland to call for secession.  The confederation held, concessions given to reduce the chance of secessionists.

*Other troubles during this time period were the large increase of Russian immigrants coming to work the oil fields and platforms.  This added an additional element to the cultural changes of the '80s and '90s.

*By 2000 unrest in the Confederation dies down.  Increased oil production by other nations and a new generation of Scandinavians helped their nations to adapt to the increasingly complicated world.

*In 2014 a more peaceful Russia has helped insure the peace for the Confederation.  The oil reserves are even larger than were estimated in the '80s ensuring the near future of the economy.  However at some point either supply or demand of the oil will die down.  Hopefully when that day comes the Scandinavian Confederation will be prepared.

The Quantum Flux series of posts are from the point of view of an alternate history blogger in an alternate timeline; the Baltic Event timeline to be specific.

Uzay Savaşi (1977)

In the 1960s Turkish cinema began its climb. Numerous films based off American fiction and pulp magazines was made. Initial quality was poor, but the enthusiasm and skill at using more limited resources than Hollywood paid off in 1977.

Uzay Savaşi was a space opera that struck a cord with international audiences. Its budget was a little higher than most films of its type, but the innovative new special effects helped spring it into a cult sensation.

The plot was fairly straight forward: In the far future on the planet Dağkirişa cosmic energies were being collected on the surface by special solar farms. One farm boy, Ekin Gezginn, was out tending arrays with his trusty robo, Tek Tek Űç Sekiz. They notice an escape pod crashing down nearby and go to investigate. In the pod they find a beautiful woman, a princess named Leyla Barişver. She tells them of her desperate mission to find the last of the Mavi Yildizin-Sirasi in order to help her people.

Not knowing of such a person they begin traveling back to the Gezginn farm. That is when they are ambushed by a horde of alien Kirmizitavşana, a race of furry, humanoid rabbit-like creatures with orange fur. They are controlled by a group of imperial officers determined to capture the princess. A battle ensues but Ekin and company are quickly overwhelmed. When all looks hopeless an old man in grey robes with bits of blue armor arrives and begins to defeat the aliens with his amazing martial arts abilities.

After the fight the old man introduces himself as Berkant. He has lived in a self-imposed exile on Dağkirişa for nearly 20 years now. When he hears from Leyla about the new imperial weapon system he realizes he must act. Sensing something in Ekin he asks the boy to accompany them. Ekin is reluctant but offers to guide them to the spaceport.

The spaceport diner is filled with a wide array of aliens. Dozens of species are represented. In the chaotic mix of lifeforms Berkant finds an old friend and smuggler, Lokmaka. Lokmaka's appearance shocks Berkant's companions. He is a taller, red-furred version of a Kirmizitavşana. Berkant assures his allies that Lokmaka has no loyalty to the Imperial Dominion. The smuggler agrees to transport the group to Leyla's home world. Ekin is planning on leaving for home but Berkant convinces the boy he should make sure the princess gets home safely, using Ekin's attraction to her as a weapon.

In orbit around Dağkirişa a massive ship arrives. It has a shape similar to a giant funnel over 100 miles in size. The narrow end of the funnel points at the planet. This craft is Overlord T'Zarn's new super-weapon. It has arrived to destroy the planet hoping to kill the princess before she escapes. The heroes watch helplessly as a series of asteroids are launched out of the tip of the ship and devastate Dağkirişa, destroying all life on the surface. As they fight their way through a swarm of imperial fighters they receive a message from agents working for the princess. They have assembled a squadron of ships to meet her in a nearby asteroid field to work on their next course of action.

Shortly after arriving and meeting with the anti-imperial forces the weapon arrives nearby. T'Zarn intercepted the message and followed the heroes. The princess' squadron battles the fighter swarm and attempts to engage the weapon. In the confusion Lokmaka's ship, with its stealth shields used for smuggling, manages to dock with the super-weapon the the heroes board to find a way to destroy it!

As they board, Berkant gives Ekin a blue crystal pendant. He tells him to keep it with him if anything happens. The heroes then split up to disable the ship's computers while the other group can then overload the power systems. Both teams are successful. With only minutes to escape they make their way back to their ship. Berkant is confronted by the Overlord's chief lieutenant, Karank Işgalk. The two warriors engage in a melee battle with swords and martial arts. In the end, despite wounding the evil Karank, Berkant is slain. Ekin witness this but can do nothing to help, they have to escape the ship before it explodes.

The heroes escape to Leyla's world as heroes. T'Zarn managed to escape in a personal escape craft with the wounded Karank Işgalk in tow.

The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in this timeline took place in the mid 1920s to the early 1930s. The aftermath was not as severe as in the OTL. Turkey became a more prosperous and secular country than in the OTL.

The super-weapon in this film was influenced by the Baltic Event which was one of the most traumatic event affecting humanity in the 20th century. The unresolved issues about that disaster were harnessed to create a weapon that would terrify moviegoers. The officers of the Imperial Dominion had accents and uniforms reminiscent of Russian uniforms.

Quantum Flux - Roman Solar Empire

April 22, 2014

*Here we go with my first alternate history.  I'm working a little backwards on it, showing how a Roman dominated world might look by 2014!

*In 2014 (2767 AUC) The Roman Empire dominates most of the Earth and has colonies on the moon, Mars, and explorations to much of the remainder of the solar system.

*The Fourth Roman Republic became obsessed with space travel after the disaster of the Baltic Event in 2661 AUC.  Compared to the asteroid that may have killed off the dinosaurs the Baltic impact was not very large, but it did get Rome considering the long-term survival of humanity.

*TIMELINE OF SPACE EXPLORATION (all dates in AUC)*

*2667 - First successful space launch from Congo province in Australia.

*2673 - First chimp sent into space, named Astro.  Astro survives his return to Earth.

*2675 - First man in space, Iuvenalis Viridios Involo.

*2687 - First Roman lands on the Moon.

*2688 - Chinese begin construction of a space lab.  This early research lab is small and has a zero-g environment.  It is used to test concepts for a larger space station that begins construction a few years later.

*2703 - First permanent base on the Moon.  The original name is Luna Alpha.

*2706 - A lunar cycler craft is constructed in a permanent orbit between the Earth and Moon.  This allows cheaper transportation of people and supplies to the new base.

*2711 - A second colony, this one on the dark side of the moon (Luna Beta) is established.

*2714 - First large-scale Chinese space station is completed.  It has two large rings and the station spins to simulate gravity.

*2736 - To help coordinate space exploration and improve relations between the two nations, Rome and China establish the Joint Space Defense Command.

*2742 - As space is seeded with nuclear weapons and mass drivers to defend against space debris the military potential of these systems is noted.  In an historic move the Romans and Chinese transform the Joint Space Defense Command into the Terran Defense Organization.  It is given a great deal of independence from the home nations.  Rome and China still have sovereign territories on other worlds but the weapons of mass destruction and international space-laws are governed by the new entity.

*2743 - Dozens of probes are sent to the asteroid belt in attempt to create accurate maps of it.

*2752 - Joint manned Mars landing.

*2767 - Lunar population reaches 10,000.  Initial mapping of the asteroid belt reveals no immediate threats to the Earth.

*I will continue to build on this timeline (as well as other new ones).

NOTES
This post is a bit of an experiment. It is a copy of a blog post an alternate version of me made to his blog on alternate history! Sort of in the neighborhood of a double-blind what if. I've chosen the Baltic Event timeline (Beta-004) to be the world my analog inhabits. Chances are with a major disruption to European civilization in 1908 I would not have been born, but anything is possible. The Unites States and Ireland were not affected as directly as the Baltic region itself so it is still theoretically possible my great-grandparents and those coming after them would still have met and gotten the timing right on various necessary actions.

In any case here I am in another world with another life (which I'm still working out the details on) but still blogging about alternate history. I envision computer technology being a little bit behind the OTL.

For this first timeline developed by the other-me I've chosen one of my earlier timelines (one where the Roman Empire/Republic kept dominance on Earth) and changed it a second time in AD 1908 for the Baltic Event of the point-of-view universe.

Hope that all makes some sense. Feel free to comment on this post if you have any questions!

Friday Flag - Ukraine

After the Baltic Event crippled the Russian Empire on 30 June 1908 dozens of new nations broke away from the Empire. The new Ukrainian Hetmanate was declared on 29 November 1908. It faced border skirmishes with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1909, a war with the new state of Poland from 1912-1914, and the loss of Crimea to the recovering Russian Empire in a war from 1918 - 1919.

Despite territorial losses Ukraine survived. Once their borders stabilized in the 1920s their primary concern was Ruthenian separatists in their western regions.

Second Crimean War 1918 to 1919

In the decade after the Baltic Event the Russian Empire attempted to rebuild and recover what lost territory it could. Tsar Cyril finally turned his attention on Ukraine in 1918. The Russian Navy had never recovered from the losses of the Russo-Japanese War and the Baltic Event, however a bulk of the surviving ships were in the Black Sea Fleet. That fleet was stationed in Sevastopol, an Imperial enclave in Ukraine. With the diminished strength of the Ukrainian military after the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1912-1914 and continued tension between those two countries Russia struck.

On 12 June 1918 three-hundred thousand Russian troops invaded Ukraine with the stated purpose of annexing Crimea to the Russian Empire. The Black Sea Fleet departed to bombard Odessa, attacking that city on 18 June. The tiny Ukrainian Navy was destroyed.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire, wary of Russian expansion back into Europe, intervened on 7 August 1918 with a declaration of war on Russia. The Habsburg contribution to the war was only a naval battle group built around the SMS Viribus Unitis. That squadron under Rear Admiral Miklós Horthy hunted down and wiped out the Black Sea Fleet on 20 October 1918 at the Battle of Karkinit Bay. Austria-Hungary kept its involvement in the war limited to keeping the Russians from staging further naval attacks on Ukraine, only a volunteer army unit took place in land operations.

By the arrival of winter Russian troops occupied most of Crimea. The Ukrainian military was continuing to mobilize and set up a series of trenches across the north end of the peninsula.

By spring 1919 full-scale hostilities resumed. The initial Russian assaults on the Ukrainian trenches failed with the loss of many Russian soldiers. On 14 May 1919 Russia ignored the Crimean front and launched a three-pronged assault across their common border with Ukraine. The Ukrainian military was overwhelmed and the Russians broke through. On 20 May the Russians had the Crimean trenches surrounded. That, along with Polish troops massing on Ukraine's other border led to their surrender on 24 May.

Russia annexed Crimea, but had suffered some heavy casualties against the machine guns Austria provided to the Ukrainians. Further Russian plans to expand into Ukraine were abandoned as a result. Tsar Cyril decided further recoveries of territory should be made in central Asia where the cost and interference of other European powers would be less.

NOTES
I've decided to expand a few existing timelines this spring/summer. One of them will be the Baltic Event timeline where the Tunguska blast occurred instead in the Baltic Sea and crippled the Russian Empire.

Tsar Cyril is Cyril Vladimirovich, the closest to the throne after the deaths of the Imperial family during the event.

I created the logo for this post using the Russian and Ukrainian flags, the Ukrainian coat of arms, and an image of flame.

The Baltic Event

On 30 June 1908 disaster struck the Earth. At 3:14 am local time the Baltic Sea, just south and east of Åland Islands.

A tsunami was caused by the impact. The angle and velocity of the impact sent a larger portion of the water east. A huge wave was funneled down the Gulf of Finland. Coastal areas along the way were devastated. Helsinki, Tallinn along with other larger settlements are devastated. Some smaller villages are completely washed away. The tsunami actually intensifies as it travels down the Gulf. It strikes St. Petersburg with overwhelming force.

The Winter Palace is devastated and the Imperial Family is killed. Other centers of governmental power for the Russian Empire are destroyed. Governmental control is decapitated.

The Åland Islands have their surface obliterated. Waves pummel Stockholm and destroy a large portion of the Swedish government.

Less devastating waves finally reach the German Empire. While no-where near as destructive as the easterly and westerly waves it is enough to destroy a portion of the German Navy and to ruin a number of ships under construction in the shipyards.

Over the next decade and beyond the Russian Empire is in chaos. Revolution and separatist groups tear at the corpse of the Empire. After the first year of rebellions growing numbers of soldiers begin to long to return home knowing that their homelands may be in danger. Mutinies strike many of the regions of the military.

The United Kingdom, Germany, and France send as much aid as possible the the Baltic region. Denmark even occupies a portion of Swedish territory to 'protect' this humanitarian aid. They never leave.

The death toll of the Baltic Event is unknown but is in the hundreds of thousands. This is followed by starvation, disease, and in Russia's case War. As mentioned these wars span over a decade and give birth to dozens of new nations. By June 1918 this is a map of the region:

The nations existing out of the former territory of the Russian Empire include:
(1) The Russian Empire (in red), (2) Finland, (3) Poland, (4) Ukraine, (5) Kazakhstan, (6) Kara-Kyrgystan, (7) Uzbekistan, (8) Tajikistan, (9) Turkmenistan, (10) Azerbaijan, (11) Georgia, (12) Komi, (13) Maykopiya, (14) Elista, (15) Dagestan, (16) Chechnya, (17) Angusht, (18) Far East Federation, (19) Free Land of Bidzhan (Manchurian enclave), (20) Lesser Transbaikalia, (21) Yenisei, (22) Khakassiya, (23) Izhevsk Zavod, (24) Bashkortostan, (25) Tatarstan, (26) Cheboksaryia, (27) Mariy-El (28) Yakutiya, (29) Kabardiniya, (30) Batalpashinsk, (31) Ulala, (32) Kareliya, (33) Mongolia,

Russia if focusing on re-establishing control over the Caucasus region. It is also has poor relations with Kareliya and Komi, desiring that former territory as well. As of 1918 the borders of all of these nations are still not permanent. Ethnic groups are fighting for territory, resources, ancestral lands, and strategic locations to protect their territory. It will be another generation before things begin to stabilize.

I altered history on this one by changing the timing and exact nature of what was the Tunguska Blast on the OTL. A major change to astronomical events would really have a divergence point not too long after the Big Bang. This timeline is mostly to show how devastating things could have been if such an impact hit a little off course.

I might play around a bit with this one. Perhaps a post on a Polish-Ukrainian War, maybe one on the global reaction and changes due to such a devastating event.

A number of the new countries listed above were not even established by Russia until the 1920s. Due to my own lack of time and limited knowledge of 19th century Russia I've ignored a few things. A decade of civil wars is my excuse for anything that looks out-of-place.

I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave comments.