The HOWDEE Papers

In the Winter of 1985-86, Eric ran The HOWDEE Papers, a Danger International campaign for his friends, set in the year 2003. The players were to create themselves as characters, seventeen years in the future. The characters were the ultimate in cartoonish wish-fulfillment.

As a backdrop for the campaign, Eric composed a "future history" in December 1985.

Year	World Events	History of Trompler Foundation (or Walden Commune North)
1986	Israeli-Syrian War, beginning in Lebanon and then spreading.
1987	Philippine Civil War; Communist forces begin anti-Marcos activity, Corazon Aquino assumes power.
1988	President Reagan orders troops to Philippenes to protect Subic Bay and Clark AFB, minor civilian protest against involvement George Wallace nominated by Republicans, Jack Kemp running mate Mario Cuomo nominated by Democrats, John Kennedy, Jr. running mate Wallace elected President; Reagan suffers stroke immediately after Cuomo concedes, dies the next day; "Bush administration" lasts for two months
1989	Civil War in South Africa, President Wallace re-institutes the draft and orders 100,000 troopes in to defend apartheid government President Wallace assassinated Order restored in Philippenes
1990	Strategic Defense Initiative operational; President Kemp invites Soviet Union to "just try and get a missile through that, suckers!" Freak mishap during space station construction causes U.S. rocket booster to plunge out of control towards Earth. SDI system fails to intercept the projectile, which crashes in suburban San Antonio, killing over 2,000 people. U.S. and South African troops unable to halt advance of revolutionary forces, Cape Town falls, U.S. charges Angola with complicity in the civil war
1991	Through cold-hearted slashing of social programs, the federal deficit is reduced to only $15 billion 22nd Amendment to the Constitution is repealed The humiliating evacuation scene of Saigon in 1975 is repeated as Pretoria falls to the rebels
1992	27th Amendment to the Constitution is passed, outlawing abortion President Kemp re-elected
1993	Freedom, permanent space station completed U.S. Supreme Court rules that the 1st Amendment does not prohibit school prayer Unilateral Soviet arms freeze caused by need to aid ailing domestic economy
1994	Civil War in Nicaragua instigated by U.S.-backed Contras
1995	Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, and Saudi Arabia all sign new mutual aid treaties with the Soviet Union and begin receiving Warsaw Pact weaponry
1996	Nicaragua falls to Contras, U.S. puppet government installed People's Republic of China signs trade agreements with U.S., cultural assimilarion of the two nation accelerats Japanese penetration of American auto market reaches 50%, protectionism flourishes President Kemp re-elected
1997	Fourth Arab-Israeli War, NATO and Pact equipment gets thorough battlefield testing, 30,000 casualties in the first two months of war Permanent manned lunar base
1998	U.S. military re-occupation of Japan in response to Japanese economic sanctions, martial law declared in Japan NATO, SEATO, and UN demand immediate U.S. withdrawal from Japan Soviet Union withdraws from Afghanistan, invades Iran
1999	Nuclear explosion in Tripoli, Libya kills one million people. Accusations fly, but no one is clearly responsible; U.S. DefCon never proceeds past 4.	Tabb Trompler wins $50 million in Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes, moves to Northern British Columbia and begins construction of private retreat.
2000	Fourth Arab-Israeli War ends with Peace of Beirut, war deaths 10.5 million (25% military, 75% civilian), West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan heights ceded to Jordan, Egypt, and Syria, respectively Increasing farm failures in U.S. (due to vicious trade wars) results in requests by the U.S. government to Canada and Australia to limit grain exports. They refuse. U.S. violates Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 by mobilizing National Guard units along Canadian border. DefCon 3 NATO and SEATO eject U.S. from their ranks, Federal Republic of Germany grants permission for U.S. troops to remain in Europe Rev. Nehemiah Scudder elected President	Construction of retreat completed
2001	European support of Canada makes U.S. reconsider invasion, troops demobilized but permanently stationed along 48th Parallel West European nations drastically accelerate defense spending to compensate for lack of U.S. protection	Tabb disappears; varying sources claim sightings in South America and Tibet. Under recent Canadian law, Tabb is presumed dead after six months. Scott Johnsen, controversial social satirist and musician, is named executor of Tabb's estate in his will. The will also stipulates that his family has no rights whatsoever regarding the distribution of his wealth. Most of his estate is to be inheirited by "those spirits which have risen above the paramecia in the pitri dish of life." Johnsen, anxious to be rid of such materialistic burdens, and not having seen Tabb for over ten years, rules that Tabb's estate belongs to his weird high school friends, exempting himself. Unfortunately, all of Tabb's acquaintances are incommunicado. Finally, Johnsen locates Bob Thorn in Japan. He dumps the estate on Thorn and flies off to WorldCon. Thorn, still dazed, uses the money to incorporate the Trompler Foundation for Impractical Knowledge, moves into Tabb's retreat and spends two weeks trying to decide what to do first.
2002	Chinese land spacecraft on Moon Loyal Citizen Act is passed in U.S., effectively crippling the Bill of Rights with limits on civil liberties. Leading members of the ACLU are executed for treason First recorded large-scale activity of The Cabal, a para-military underground resistance group in the U.S.	Thorn receives a telegram from Mark Rafn. Rafn explains that heard the great news and is coming by to see him. Thorn notices that the date Rafn gives for his arrival is the day after he receives the telegram. Bob and Mark decide to call Stuart Seelye, whom Bob once saw in Japan. Stuart takes one year sabbatical from the Brazilian Space Agency to visit, then decides to stay. Unbeknownst the others, Aaron Finkelstein, after being discharged from the Israeli Defense Forces, has been tracking them down. Aaron shows up one night while Bob, Mark, and Stu are in the observatory; surprise.
2003	?	Brent Krupp, fleeing medieval attitudes regarding science in the U.S., hears of the eccentric hermits in Canada. He opts to exploit the excellent facilities of the Trompler Foundation, and his arrival sparks the first ZK firefight in 17 years. Brian Murphy makes the biggest prostitution bust in the history of Florida, and is given a two month leave of absence. He has been reading about the Trompler Foundation, but he never lets his friends know that he is associated with these people. He like the idea of a vacation with gamers with entirely too much money, and he leaves for Canada. Peter Cooper arrives in Vancouver, B.C. after escaping the CIA with his family. He is trying to build a power base in Canada so that he will have the resources to re-enter the U.S. and cause some major mahyem, when he encounters Aaron in town, mingling with society. Aaron tells of the large resources and free-wheeling lifestyle of the Trompler Doundation. Peter arranges for a safe house for his parents and goes with Aaron to the mountains. *It is Sunday, April 27, 2003.*