#100DaysToForever
Day 35: I know what you’re saying.
“Um, Anthony… India and Ireland are independent countries, yeah. But Hong Kong is part of China, and Scotland is part of the UK.”
That’s true. In our world.
From the Book
“Indians still raised many a glass to the nameless hero who had arisen after The Blast, united the country as it had never been united before, and dismantled the British Empire in India.”
— Forever the Road
Today, July 4, 2014, is Independence Day in the USA.
I’d like to give a happy birthday shout-out to the country of my birth and home. But I also wanted to raise a toast to some of the other countries of the Rucksack Universe, where independence not only came, but also came in different ways at different times.
The Blast
During the chaos following The Blast, the world changed. Instead of becoming the world as we know it today, the US Civil War didn’t happen. The British Empire fell. And a lot of places under British colonial rule suddenly weren’t, such as Hong Kong, Ireland, India, and Scotland.
Hong Kong
As you may recall from The Martini of Destiny, Hong Kong is an independent city-nation.
Hong Kong is the World’s Greatest City. More renown than New York or Tokyo. More glamorous than Paris. And not on fire and rebuilding like London. Hong Kong built its way up intensively after The Blast. Using its commercial power to throw off British rule, it since has maintained an economic and political power that has helped it stay independent despite…
Oh, sorry. Nearly got spoilery there. Another story for another time.
Ireland
From Home Sweet Road we know of the Awen of Ireland, a protector. The Awen is not all-powerful; she could not prevent the British takeover of Ireland. Under British rule, the Irish suffered greatly.
In the aftermath of The Blast, a hero rose in Ireland who did far more than protect the island nation. The hero set Ireland free, far earlier than the twentieth century. Instead of years of warfare, a nearly bloodless revolution unified Ireland and cast off British rule.
Ireland is different in many ways from what we know in our world, and we’ll be exploring those differences in future stories…
India
As we’ll learn in Forever the Road, India had a similar experience to Ireland. A nameless hero arose, and with little bloodshed threw off colonial rule. The British, far from their decimated homeland, offered virtually no resistance and were treated with mercy and forgiveness by the new Indian government.
Scotland
This one is pretty dear to my heart. I lived in Edinburgh for about a year, and will always love Scotland greatly.
So I can’t help but love that in the Rucksack Universe, Scotland also gained independence after The Blast. Scotland is its own country, not that that’s ever simple. And being another country where worlds seem to meld and collide, well…
Oh, there I go nearly getting spoilery again.
I better stop now. Happy Independence Day, USA!
Tune in Next for…
- Sat., July 5, Day 36: 65 Days Till Forever the Road
- Wed., July 9, Day 40: A special feature about Forever the Road and the Rucksack Universe
100 Days to Forever
On Sept. 8, 2014, Forever the Road, the third Rucksack Universe book, will be released as an e-book and trade paperback worldwide.
During our 100 Days to Forever lead-up, you can follow all the adventure on the blog via the 100 Days to Forever category, on my email list, and at the #100DaysToForever hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.