NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, someone in the go back and assassinate someone thread complained that it was always about which person you would kill, so I have taken it upon myself to start this thread.

So, NSG, which person would you keep alive? Which person do you think prematurely died and might have done something useful had they lived?

The person I would probably keep alive would be President Harrison - it would have been interesting to see what he would have done.

Me! Or else meh...

Obama

So, NSG, which person would you keep alive? Which person do you think prematurely died and might have done something useful had they lived?

Jesus - but not for the reason specified. Just to make sure those resurrection myths would not arise. That there would not be crucifixes and detailed images of Jesus dripping blood with horrible wounds everywhere would be a nice bonus - I much prefer looking at fluffy bunnies.

Jesus - but not for the reason specified. Just to make sure those resurrection myths would not arise. That there would not be crucifixes and detailed images of Jesus dripping blood with horrible wounds everywhere would be a nice bonus - I much prefer looking at fluffy bunnies.

but the we would all go to hell for the original sin

Purely out of interest, I'll go for Trotsky, not sure if he held any real influence on death but I can imagine his symbolism would grow, would have been fairly interesting.

Otherwise, perhaps Edward the Black Prince.

but the we would all go to hell for the original sin

I am certain the devil would very much appreciate that, and reward me with a nice condo with airconditioning.

Ogadai Kahn...I'm curious to know how much farther the Mongols would have gotten had he died at say, 75, instead of 55.

Prince Albert Saxe-Coburg, Prince Regent and husband to Queen Victoria.

A skilled diplomat, trained in the art of rulership and highly intelligent, Prince Albert was one of the driving forces of the early Victorian Era. He was a believer in balance of power between Parliament and Monarch, and acted to maintain real power and relevance in the hands of the throne of England. His last official act - the rewriting of a demand for Confederate diplomats taken illegally from a British vessel into more palatable form - almost certainly prevented a diplomatic incident from becoming British intervention in the US Civil War.

Had he not contracted the disease that caused his untimely death shortly thereafter, Victoria would not have retired to her long mourning, and the (admittedly often brilliant, but equally often abysmal) dominance of Parliament would not have been assured. Rather than the rather ineffectual and useless Monarchs of the 20th century, Britain could have enjoyed a vigorous and powerful monarchy balancing the self-serving Parliaments they have on occasion suffered through.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand or Lee Harvey Oswald

Lincoln. His not dying at Ford's Theatre might have prevented a lot of the bitterness that sprang up in the wake of Reconstruction, and may have even prevented the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, or led to a mightily abbreviated version of same.

Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Germanicus...just to see what would happen.

William Adelin, just to see how the history of england would of gone

George Armstrong Custer so he could be court martialed for his total Incompetence

John Lennon

I'd save the guy who treid to take over Galactica... I'd let the VP die though.

Julius Caesar, I think he could have done more for his country alive than dead. Sure, his death was a rallying point for Mark Anthony and Augustus, but that just led to another civil war.

I'd save the guy who treid to take over Galactica... I'd let the VP die though.

you mean Felix Gaeta?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The various powers would have found another excuse to go to war.

you mean Felix Gaeta?

Yeah him (bad with names)

Fred West.

The various powers would have found another excuse to go to war.

True, if I could also keep Jean Jaurès alive in France.

King Harold Godwinson.

Jesus - but not for the reason specified. Just to make sure those resurrection myths would not arise. That there would not be crucifixes and detailed images of Jesus dripping blood with horrible wounds everywhere would be a nice bonus - I much prefer looking at fluffy bunnies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFrufPxjwX0

:D

John Lennon

This one.

JFK. I wonder if he would have done more for the civil rights issue. I'm not saying LBJ did a bad job, just curious about how it would have been different with Kennedy.

John Conner :P

Jesus - but not for the reason specified. Just to make sure those resurrection myths would not arise. That there would not be crucifixes and detailed images of Jesus dripping blood with horrible wounds everywhere would be a nice bonus - I much prefer looking at fluffy bunnies.
In an ironic twist, it is Alma Mater's interference to save Jesus that ends up being the cause of his "resurrection." Also Mary Magdalene turns out to have been a robot, who knew?

I wouldn't for the same reason I wouldn't in the assassination thread. But if I had to, maybe Alexander the great. To see how big of an empire he could create.

In an ironic twist, it is Alma Mater's interference to save Jesus that ends up being the cause of his "resurrection." Also Mary Magdalene turns out to have been a robot, who knew?

In which case I would probably be converted. So... a win-win situation ;)

Alexander of Macedon, JFK, or perhaps Gaius Julius.

You saw how much Einstein did in 76 years; imagine how much he could do in 130 years! :eek:

Frederick III of Germany. World War I crisis over.

Douglas Adams.

Perhaps Mozart, to see what he would have accomplished for music if he'd lived into his 50s or 60s.

Perhaps Alexander the Great, as already mentioned.

Perhaps Warren G. Harding. I'm not sure why.

Douglas Adams.

Definitely. Him or maybe Alexander.

Boudicca's husband. His death was one of things that spurred her resistance to Roman occupation of England. He would have continued as a Roman client king, the occupation would have been somewhat more peaceful and less onerous and there would have been some changes in English history

FDR. If Truman had not been in the White House, it's possible that the Atom bomb would not have been dropped on Japan and Korea would not have happened - which in turn might have prevented or postponed Viet Nam.

You saw how much Einstein did in 76 years; imagine how much he could do in 130 years! :eek:Did he do much in his later years? His most notable work was fairly early on.

Me...

Heath Ledger, cause going back any further and saving someone more important could have strange consequences. Plus I'm sure everyone wants to see him as the Joker again.

Obama
he's not dead yet. i wonder how he will turn out. i don't like the iraq war and he wants to end it, but time will tell how good or not he is.

John Conner :P

Steve Rogers :p

Neils Abel.

Incredible mathematician, but died age 26 in poverty from being unable to find a teaching post. Two days after his death, the letter notifying him of a professorship in Germany arrived.

Given the amount of work he did before his death, his survival and continued work could have been incredible.

Yoshitsune because he seems to have been a better man than his brother.

Gertrude Baines.

Abraham Lincoln, or the one we need around now more than ever, Ronald Reagan.

or the one we need around now more than ever, Ronald Reagan.

Because the country isnt fucked up enough already. How could we make it worse? Oh yeah, bring back Reagonomics.

Anyway, Id keep alive whoever everyone else wanted to kill. Just to thwart.

alan turing
eugene debs
u utah phillips
john lennon
mahatma ghandi
douglas adams

those are just the first few off the top of my head

it would also be different if that guy from nazarith a couple of thousand years ago hadn't been exicuted when he was, if he hadn't been, would we even have ever heard of him today?

leonardo devincci
agricola
pleni the younger and pleni the elder
pythagoris
tutancamin
wavoka
sara winnimucca
kulkulkan
djangonawida
redjacket

really ... and more ...
all of bunches of them

i can't believe i forgot jfk and fdr! senior moment bigtime.

Nixon's head in a jar.

Or Jim Morrison. I'm not sure if I'd want to continue Morrison's life as a fat junkie, in the hopes that he could get himself back together, or use my time-altering magic to keep him from falling completely apart in the first place.

Alexander the Great
Harald Hardrada
Julian the Apostate

Layne Staley (singer for Alice in Chains)
Shannon Hoon (singer for Blind Melon)
Kurt Kobain
Quorthon (singer for Bathory)

just to name a few off the top of my head

Murray Rothbard.

John Bonham. If he hadn't gotten too drunk to play and die by suffocating on him vomit as he slept, Led Zeppelin wouldn't have split up in 1980 and Coda probably wouldn't have been their last album. That album, while awesome, was just a collection of unreleased songs that were left on the cutting room floor for a reason.

Or Jim Morrison. I'm not sure if I'd want to continue Morrison's life as a fat junkie, in the hopes that he could get himself back together, or use my time-altering magic to keep him from falling completely apart in the first place.

Yeah, I didn't choose Jimi Hendrix out of fear he'd become some sort of fat, folksy country musician or something, some people are better left dead.

FDR. If Truman had not been in the White House, it's possible that the Atom bomb would not have been dropped on Japan and Korea would not have happened - which in turn might have prevented or postponed Viet Nam.

I don't know about that. The U.S. was in the market for pretty much any other option other than invading Japan, which, in the absence of dropping the bomb, they would have had to do. A study done for Secretary of War Henry Stimson's staff by William Shockley estimated that conquering Japan would cost 1.7 to 4 million American casualties, including 400,000 to 800,000 fatalities, and five to ten million Japanese fatalities. Compared to that, Japanese fatalities from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were roughly about 220,000, and even if you double that to account for radiation poising and radiation induced cancers and the like, it still only tops out at 440,000.

I think FDR would have sucked it up and made the same hard decision.

I don't know about that. The U.S. was in the market for pretty much any other option other than invading Japan, which, in the absence of dropping the bomb, they would have had to do. A study done for Secretary of War Henry Stimson's staff by William Shockley estimated that conquering Japan would cost 1.7 to 4 million American casualties, including 400,000 to 800,000 fatalities, and five to ten million Japanese fatalities. Compared to that, Japanese fatalities from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were roughly about 220,000, and even if you double that to account for radiation poising and radiation induced cancers and the like, it still only tops out at 440,000.

I think FDR would have sucked it up and made the same hard decision.

Iffy. FDR didn't see Stalin and the USSR as quite as much of a problem as Truman did, which had to be a collateral aspect to his decision. OTOH, FDR said in several speeches that "The Emperor must be dethroned", so he might have authorized the nuking of Tokyo, which Truman avoided for political and cultural reasons.

Galois. The man died very young and very pointlessly, and yet contributed an amazing amount to mathematics in his brief life.

you mean Felix Gaeta?

I ould have kept alive the writer of the first season or something, cause these last two episodes almost made me cry, it was like watchin a fukin soap opera! :(

It would have been interesting to see how history might have played out differently had Ito Hirobumi not been gunned down in Harbin.

Iffy. FDR didn't see Stalin and the USSR as quite as much of a problem as Truman did, which had to be a collateral aspect to his decision. OTOH, FDR said in several speeches that "The Emperor must be dethroned", so he might have authorized the nuking of Tokyo, which Truman avoided for political and cultural reasons.

Yeah, I'd have gone with Tokyo myself, if it'd been up to me. Cut the heart right out and be done with it.

Louis Charles Antoine Desaix, the real victor of Marengo to see how History would treat Boney over that battle

Jean Lannes, the Napoleonic war would probably ended differently

Galois. The man died very young and very pointlessly, and yet contributed an amazing amount to mathematics in his brief life.

Also a good choice, while we are picking mathematicians.

prevented the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, or led to a mightily abbreviated version of same.

Eh, I dunno about that, I'm sure a racist group like the KKK would've risen up regardless of how well Reconstruction went. There are just some people who are going to hate you base on physical characteristic no matter what.

As for me: Socrates

Robert Jordan, dammit! :mad:

Ngô Đình Diệm so the Vietnam war could have been over really fucking quickly.

King Harold Godwinson.

Harold Godwinson, who died in the conflict at the Battle of Hastings, had been the king of England before William the conqueror.

In addition to the obvious change of ruler, his reign also saw a programme of building and fortification, changes to the English language, a shift in the upper levels of society and the church, and adoption of some aspects of continental church reform. More controversial are possible changes in law, royal administration, trade, agriculture, the peasantry, women's roles and rights, and education.

What, indeed, would have happened if Harold had won the day???

alan turing
eugene debs
u utah phillips
john lennon
mahatma ghandi
douglas adams

those are just the first few off the top of my head

it would also be different if that guy from nazarith a couple of thousand years ago hadn't been exicuted when he was, if he hadn't been, would we even have ever heard of him today?

leonardo devincci
agricola
pleni the younger and pleni the elder
pythagoris
tutancamin
wavoka
sara winnimucca
kulkulkan
djangonawida
redjacket

really ... and more ...
all of bunches of them

i can't believe i forgot jfk and fdr! senior moment bigtime.
you mean jesus? there was a reason for that. i think this world would suck if he had not died. it was either him or barrabus that had to die.

you mean jesus? there was a reason for that. i think this world would suck if he had not died. it was either him or barrabus that had to die.

Jesus had to die for a religious purpose. Some may ascribe a lot of significance to that, but others may think he died in vain and would like to go back in time and keep him alive. I would like that, a lot. But this may very well plunge us into a religious debate that I don't wish to engage in at the moment. Actually, not now, not ever.

FDR, just so that America could become the beautiful socialist utopia that it's always meant to be. :)

[QUOTE=Nanatsu no Tsuki;14565133]Jesus had to die for a religious purpose. Some may ascribe a lot of significance to that, but others may think he died in vain and would like to go back in time and keep him alive. QUOTE]
you're right about that.

Albert Einstein. Had he the time to flesh out his ideas further, we might be that much closer to a Grand Unified Theory or even the fabled ToE.

What, indeed, would have happened if Harold had won the day???

Well there wouldn't have been a genocide in the North, democracy with elections would have continued, England wouldn't have been so dominated by the Church for so long, we would have kept hold of Wales and subjugated Scotland, and things would have been a lot better.

Salvador Allende.

I'll just refer back to my last two reasons for refraining from interfereing in the other thread: I have no garuntee that the new timeline will be better, and I have no right to errase billions of lives from history by changing the timeline.

Valentinian I.

John Connor :P

Win. I'd also prefer him to save humanity than meddling with the, not-so-bad, past.

Yeah, I'd have gone with Tokyo myself, if it'd been up to me. Cut the heart right out and be done with it.

Nah. Victory depended on the emperor being alive. Kill him and you'll just piss off an entire culture that prided itself in fighting to the death for honor.

I still say I'd save Bonham. The world needed more Zeppelin. Especially now with rock being dominated by punk rockers and pancies.

Nah. Victory depended on the emperor being alive. Kill him and you'll just piss off an entire culture that prided itself in fighting to the death for honor. I still say I'd save Bonham. The world needed more Zeppelin. Especially now with rock being dominated by punk rockers and pancies.

Yeah, I think you're right. I thought of that about fifteen minutes after I posted the last entry. Also, I think you mean 'pansies' and you're right about that as well.

Bobby Kennedy

Adolf Hitler....Twice.

Could have been an interesting character had he stayed alive...might've even spared the world of few neo-nazis.