Quiet day today, so I’ve got time to answer a couple of questions. Though, at this point, my backlog’s back with a vengeance. x)
“If the USSR is “resurgent,” then how bad is the Cold War in Pacific? Does the Cold War ever heat up?”
Good question, and this is one that I get more often than I’d have predicted. The answer is that it is more intense in certain areas, and less intense in certain others. Let me give you a few examples.
The USSR has excellent heavy industry. As such, US steelmakers – to take a simple example – will be facing stiff competition. The US is still a steel/iron importer in Pacific, after all, and our free market system naturally encourages businesses to purchase from the best source. Given that the war is less “cold” because of a tacit permissiveness to allow the other to co-exist, however, the competition is positive in nature, as it spurs both countries to seek better solutions.
Remember that Pacific’s USSR and US are both considerably less interventionist (albeit for different reasons), and there will be differences in the balance of power (at least in terms of state to state alignments).
As for how “bad,” well, “bad” is difficult to quantify. The USSR is doing fine and the US is doing great as of “modern” time Pacific (1990), so in that sense, whatever the Cold War might have done, it ultimately turned things out better than our own timeline.
Actual military conflicts are considerably less as well. The Korean War was much costlier to the US in Pacific’s timeline due to several factors (Abyssal interference, poor intelligence gathering, unusual decision making, luck, China, politics, and more), and the bloodiness of that conflict left a very deep impression in the psyche of America. America, as I’ve noted in the AR books, is less willing to intervene in matters that are not absolutely necessary. Military adventures such as the Bay of Pigs incident would likely not have happened, though we’ll set things in stone as we get to that point.
Part of the challenge here in terms of creating Pacific’s own timeline is that a balance is necessary. I want people to read a particular event and go, “aha, I knew that one,” and I am, first and foremost, an adherent of suspension of disbelief. Thus, it is necessary from my perspective to keep as close to our real-life timeline as possible, as it would be a disservice to this work and a purely selfish “fixit” exercise otherwise.
However, there is the matter of Abyssals. At this stage in the story, even one is a force of nature capable of upsetting fragile geopolitical balances or status quos. We aren’t taking a carbon copy of history either. So you’ll just have to watch and see. 🙂
Hi everyone, today’ll be the first time that we start to give updates using this particular format. Now that Zero’s finally figured out automation (to weibo and twitter – though we’re testing both), I think it’d be great that the website’s going to see more use.
To our regular readers, I think I’m going to set some ground rules for these updates.
Anything in a block quote – like so – can be considered canonical. In other words, in-universe updates and answers (again, in-universe) questions will be placed in these block quotes. I’ll likely be presenting in-universe documents in this format if it’s good.
Ditto with anything in different colored text.
By default, we’ll always have one colored text for me or Sune or K9 or anyone else writing these updates. Anything else, well, it’s probably our girls having a bit of fun with the site.
I’ll use this space to answer questions and provide comments on the whereabouts/status of the team. Anything more substantial and we’ll probably use the article format that you’re all familiar with.
So, what’s everyone up to? The answer’s making Pacific.
My attention is largely focused on tidying up 2016 at this point, since it’s not something really in our domain of expertise. That, and organizing it for electronic release is always a hassle and I think our older (in terms of following our work) readers know that.
As such, the generation of Pacific-related content (at least for the last couple of weeks) have been largely relegated to Sune and K9. There’s a lot of fun stuff involving subgirls. Some we’re almost done.
Today, though, to answer a question…
“How does the foreign officers at STEC work, exactly? If it’s super top secret, and only a handful of people at the Pentagon even know what STEC is supposed to do, then how does STEC obtain approval to get the officers to visit, exactly?”
SPECIAL TASK AND EVALUATION COMMAND
FOREIGN LIAISON DIRECTORATE
—— — – — — — – —–, CALIFORNIA, —– —-
SUBJECT: Arrival of Soviet Military Attaché, Special Class
This is to inform you that COMMANDER (O-6), VIKTOR Z. KOVALEVSKY will be arriving on DECEMBER 21st, 1989 to SPECIAL NAVAL BASE AVALON.
CMDR. KOVALEVSKY’s AUTHORIZATION OF FOREIGN MILITARY OFFICER (CLASS 1) is attached.
CMDR. KOVALEVSKY’s LETTER OF SPECIAL ACCREDITATION is affixed to this document. Due to the special status of his visit, any and all affairs pertaining to CMDR. KOVALEVSKY is to be directed to FOREIGN DISCLOSURE BRANCH, SPECIAL TASK AND EVALUATION COMMAND, WASHINGTON DC —– —-
To answer the first question, the handful of non-American officers (Tatsuko, Viktor, Peiying, Garrett) are a part of a special military attaché program. Think of this as similar to military observers in WW1/WW2.
In Pacific, this particular program is designed (from an out of the universe perspective) after the (real) Defense Attaché programs, and the goals are largely similar. It’s to provide foreign officers crucial training and understanding of everything pertaining to shipgirls and the Abyssals.
Our keen-eyed readers may have noticed that STEC routes all of its foreign officers through its own internal program. This is intentional. Again, most of the Pentagon assumes that STEC is just the navy’s research division, but because of its nature as a “research organization,” STEC is considered to be a closed/restricted office. Access to its sites are granted on a case-by-case basis, and requires the direct approval of the president.
In other words, normal diplomats and military visitors won’t get to see STEC even if they wanted to, and the president of the US (and his staff – those that oversee STEC’s operations and act as STEC’s oversight committee) basically hands out access to STEC sites on a case-by-case basis. In most cases, the officers selected are the result of high-level talks between the leaders of their respective countries and appointed discreetly. In other cases, the officers or special visitors are recommended by STEC (e.g. Alan Turing’s appointment to special joint research project —-) and approved by the same group.
Alright. After Zero and I spent quite a bit of time reorganizing the site, we now have a few things. Enhanced security and twitter/social media integration.
Hopefully this means we’ll be able to consolidate our updates more regularly. The navy foods series is going out. We’ve got more shipgirls on the way, and I’m working to reorganize the site so it’s easier to read our stuff.
Today’s update (photo credit) to NEIGHBORS over in Japan. That’s what a Pacific collection looks like. Unfortunately, they’re all sold out at melonbooks and Taobao, so if you want a physical copy, you’ll have to wait for our landing in Boston (yes, we’re coming back to it this year) this year.
Looking forward to adding vol. 3 to the mix this summer. 🙂
Donald J. Trump was sworn in as President of the United States on Jan. 20th, 2016.
今天特朗普当了美国总统。
Unfortunately, I was not able to watch it live – I’ve got a job to do, after all, though the other members of our team did stay up and watch. Heard it was fine.
可惜我今天因为工作的缘故，不能看直播。不过呢，我听说我们队伍的其他人看了。听他们说也不错。
Just fine.
是啊，一切都不错呢。
For what it’s worth, our little mini-series now come to a close. It’s been an amazing year, and you can just flip through this site’s archives or visit Sima’s Pixiv site to see how much we’ve done.
(Of course, I’ve spent a lot of time fixing my own writing, and Sima’s polishing his art too. Believe me, we’ll give you guys something even better than what you’ve seen out of us before.)
（莫根正在认真的修理文字，司马也在修理画中。相信我，我们的书肯定会比我们现在有的更好的）
We’ve been working on this piece feverishly since last December, and well, let’s just say, the little book we’re working on, it’s finally getting there, too. In fact, this last piece has gotten so large, that we’re having trouble compressing it. So what you see here on the site is only a preview, but I hope you can feel what we’re feeling now. We’re excited. We want to show you what we’ve made, too.
Believe me, we span five different countries, each with very different social, political, and life experiences. But the one thing that we’re all encouraged by? You could say 2016.
And so, Mr. Trump? Mr. President. This one’s to you. Congratulations on your new job, and – for those of our readers who want to know why, simply read the man’s own words below. You don’t have to agree with everything, but remember that there are those that take his ideas seriously over his words, and those that take his words seriously over his ideas.
所以，特朗普先生？总统先生？This one’s to you. 祝贺你顺利赢得新的工作。我想，大家看看他的话，你就知道我为什么兴奋了。你不需要与他所有观点达成一致，但，别忘了。有些人很认真的对待他的概念以及意念，而有些人则只认真对待他的用词或者用语。
You decide which is for you.
你自己来选择到底你是属于哪个角度吧。
As for me? We’ll do things as we’ve always have. I’ve got one last promise to fulfill on my end. I promised you all a book. I intend to make good on that promise.
…Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.
The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation’s Capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.
That all changes – starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you! It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.
What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.
The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.
今天，这个国家里被遗弃的男人们，女人们，再也不会被遗弃了。
Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens.
Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves.
美国人民想要的，是给孩子们一个优秀的学校，家庭们一个安全的小区，自己们，好的工作。
These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.
This American carnage stops RIGHT HERE and stops RIGHT NOW. We are one nation – and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.
The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans. For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry. We’ve subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military; We’ve defended other nation’s borders while refusing to defend our own, and spent trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.
The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire world.
我们的中产阶级的财产，已经被这些人从他们家中盗窃，然后分配给了整个世界。
But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future.
但是，那些只是过去。我们今天只会面对将来。
We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power.
我们今天，要向所有的城市，所有的外国首都，以及所有的权利来发出新的一条规则。
From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land.
从今天起，美国将被新的理念来引导。
From this moment on, it’s going to be America First. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.
I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down.
America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.
We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation.
我们会在我们这个优秀的国家造新的路，高速公路，桥，机场，山洞，火车道。
We will get our people off of welfare and back to work – rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.
我们会让我们的人民放弃福利，回到工作岗位上，用美国人的双手以及劳动来重建这个国家。
We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American.
我们会跟随两个简单的规矩。买美国货，雇美国人。
We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world – but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.
We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow.
我们不会把我们的生存方式强加给任何人，但我们会让它闪烁，作为例子，来引导大家来跟随。
We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones – and unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.
我们会巩固老的盟友，创造新的盟友。我们会把文明世界统一起来，从地球上抹掉极端伊斯兰恐怖主义。
At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other.
我们的政治会完全对美国效忠。当我们为国家献出忠诚时，我们也会再次发现如何对彼此忠诚。
When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.
当你对爱国主义开放你的心境的时候，你也就不会歧视他人了。
The Bible tells us, “how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”
圣经说，上帝的子民们一起齐心生活是好的。
We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable. There should be no fear – we are protected, and we will always be protected.
We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement and, most importantly, we are protected by God.
我们不但被我们军队以及执法部门伟大的人们保护，并且更重要的是我们被上帝保护。
Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving.
最后，我们不但要在思想上胆大，并且我们要做更大的梦。只有一个努力的国家它才是真正的活着的国家。
We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action – constantly complaining but never doing anything about it.
我们再也不会接受那些光说，光抱怨，但什么也不做的政治家了。
The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.
说空话的时候已经结束了。现在是行动的时刻。
Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America.
不要让任何人告诉你，这个不行。没有任何的挑战能难倒美国的意志。
We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again. We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow.
A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions. It is time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget: that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American Flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.
So to all Americans, in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams, will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.
