ALL NOVEL Omake: American Dream Trailer
AN: All credit goes to Night Gaul on the Alternatehistory forum for this piece!
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Here's one for The American Dream:
Open on Israel Putnam's tent outside Charlestown, Massachusetts, as a messenger walks in
MESSENGER: General Putnam, we found a man near our siege lines with strange clothes and stranger goods. We took him to a tent. You want to talk to him?
PUTNAM: Very well. Colonel Prescott, come with me.
cut to another tent, where an Asian man in a 21st-century USMC dress uniform is tied to a chair
PUTNAM: Who are you? Are you a British spy?
Text: Experience the story
???: First Lieutenant Samuel Kim, United States Marine Corps. Why are you dressed like that? Are you re-enactors?
Text: Of the birth of America
PUTNAM: What is the United States? I've never heard of it before.
KIM: What's the current date, and where am I?
Text: As it could have been
PUTNAM: It's the 17th of June in 1775. We're on Breed's Hill, just outside the city of Boston. Why?
KIM: This may be hard to believe, but I'm from the distant future.
Cut to Kim in a planning session with Putnam, Prescott, and other Colonial officers. They are gathered around Kim's laptop as he shows a digital map of the battlefield.
PRESCOTT: What changes do you advise for us to win the battle?
Cut to scenes of the alternate Battle of Bunker Hill
KIM: (voice-over) We have our first lines bait the British by falling back to a more defensible position after their initial assault, then play to our defensive advantage when they bite the hook. Stiff resistance will cause them to retreat, and then we'll chase them down.
Cut to a redcoat in a relatively fancy uniform holding up both hands in surrender as colonial troops led by Kim point their guns at him
KIM: Name and rank.
REDCOAT OFFICER: I am William Howe, General of His Majesty's Army.
KIM: *blinks in surprise*
Cut to Kim talking to Putnam as the newly-formed Continental Marines engage in training exercises
KIM: There's a saying in my time: "God is a Yankee". And I'm starting to believe there's truth to that.
Cut to Kim holding a piece of paper in front of him; the camera switches to a different angle, and zooms in, showing the text "Time to make a difference" appear on it as if being written by an invisible hand
KIM: (voiceover) There's a reason I was sent back: to make sure America truly lives up to its ideals.
Cut to George Washington riding into camp as the Marines stand at attention
WASHINGTON: *approaching Kim* You must be Samuel Kim. I've heard about your heroics. On behalf of the Continental Congress, I'm here to help escort you into Philadelphia.
KIM: *somewhat flustered* The pleasure's all mine, General Washington.
Cut to Washington, Putnam and Kim in a meeting
WASHINGTON: Your suggestions are... radical, but you were no doubt sent by the Almighty to guide us, so your ideas of equality and freedom are undoubtedly the example He wishes for us to set. So you have my support, and to show that support, I will release my slaves and allow them to work for me with pay if they wish.
KIM: No offense, General, but you came around more easily than I expected.
WASHINGTON: I see the wisdom in what you suggest we do, but unfortunately, there are many in Congress who may not.
cut to Washington, Putnam and Kim standing before the Continental Congress in Independence Hall
RUTLEDGE: You can't seriously expect us to just release our slaves on your say so!
JEFFERSON: If we don't address slavery now, the issue will continue to fester and eventually erupt.
RUTLEDGE: You can address it without us, can't you?
FRANKLIN: King George has already declared South Carolina to be in a state of rebellion. We must hang together, or we will all hang separately.
ANOTHER VOICE: *from offscreen* Slavery is one thing, but do you honestly expect us to accept negroes and Indians as equals? Grant women the vote? This is nothing short of madness.
WASHINGTON: Samuel Kim was undoubtedly sent to us by God Almighty to ensure we take a better path in the future. Listening to what he has to say will undoubtedly avoid countless mistakes and failures in the future.
cut to interior of Kim's tent, where he is speaking with Benedict Arnold
KIM: I'm not sharing this information about your other self lightly.
BENEDICT: I am not him, and I will prove it. I'm in control of my own destiny.
Montage of notable events, including Kim shaking hands with Desagondesta, Arnold leading a charge in Quebec, Loyalist guerillas ambushing Patriot militiamen in South Carolina, Washington commanding troops in Nova Scotia, Salem Poor running at the head of the Free South Carolina Regiment, Patriot guerillas firing at marching British soldiers from a woodland beside a road, Hwachas unleashing volleys on advancing British troops, a Loyalist plantation in flames as the last of the slaves who used to live there walk away from it, and finally the signing of the Declaration of Independence, as Kim speaks over the clips:
KIM: *voiceover* I know that we have the potential to make something truly great of ourselves. What I ask you to do will not be easy, but it will be rewarding. Together, we are capable of moving mountains, of triumphing over seemingly insurmountable odds.
Cut to Kim speaking in close-up
KIM: I know that we have the potential to change the world and set an example for countless others to follow.
montage of Continental troops fighting British and loyalists and freeing slaves, as a voice begins singing:
"Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men"
Cut to French citizens led by the Marquis de Lafayette marching on the Bastille as another voice joins in:
"It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again"
Cut to Haitian slaves on a plantation rising up, overpowering their overseers, as yet another voice joins in:
"When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums"
More scenes of rebellion taking place in many different places are shown: Holland, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Ireland, Jamaica, India and others. As this happens, more and more voices join in on the song; it also becomes louder and louder, going from soft and solemn to almost yelling:
"There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes
Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free!
Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again
When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes"
As the final line sounds, we cut to a meeting of the Watchmen Society, where Kim is speaking:
KIM: We have been granted the power to bring freedom and equality to the entire world, not just the United States. Now is the time to live up to our ideals and be the City on the Hill we have claimed to be.
Cut to an American flag with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes waving in a breeze as text fades in:
The American Dream
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AN: Also, I mentioned this in the Alternatehistory forum, so I'll repeat it here.
Hi guys!
I've been busy with real-life issues, mainly some family stuff and work (I'll start teaching in a local high school around January!). So I've been skimming some of the replies in the thread, but I've been unable to finish the next update for the timeline. However, it is in the works and I'm trying to climb over a wall that I've hit while writing the update.
There have been pages of questions and suggestions and even though this is a bit embarrassing, I would like to formally ask anyone that asked/suggested something in my period of absence to mention them again after this post so I can give a proper reply.
Once again, thank you for maintaining interest in the timeline and making sure the thread stays alive. You're all awesome