History Literature / TheFountainheadFilibusterTalesFromObjectivistKatanga

A WebOriginal AlternateHistory series created by AlternateHistoryDotCom member Linkwerk. Set in the late 1950s and 1960s, it features everyone's [[LoveItOrHateIt favourite/hated]] wacky founder of UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}}, Creator/AynRand, and a lot of various {{Historical Domain Character}}s. All of them get involved in a rather peculiar game of geopolitics.

* {{Crossover}}: None so far, but several AH.com members who read the series suggested doing one with ''MadMen''.

* ShoutOut: "My name is Ernesto Guevara. [[TheTerminator Come with me if you want to live.]]"

* XMeetsY: ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'', but without the science fantasy elements and '''[-[[RecycledInSpace IN COLD WAR ERA AFRICA]]-]!'''
** Alternatively, ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' with a touch of ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness''.

* AlternateHistory: A pretty unusual one, set during the height of the early ColdWar, referencing a lot of the changing geopolitics (the decolonisation of Africa and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katanga_Crisis conflicts it spawned]], etc.).

* AlternateHistory : A pretty unusual one, set during the height of the early ColdWar, referencing a lot of the changing geopolitics (the decolonisation of Africa and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katanga_Crisis conflicts it spawned]], etc.).
* AllohistoricalAllusion : The military and diplomatic doctrine of Rand's African regime grows eeriely similar to that of the unrecognized [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia Republic of Rhodesia]], which appeared a few years later in our own history. Linkwerk has confirmed the parallels and said he's deliberately aiming for some overlap of historical patterns in this area.
* AnachronicOrder : All of the episodes so far have been of this variety. Hell, the ''first'' episode of the series is set in [[{{Foreshadowing}} what looks like the beginning of the end of Rand's regime-building experiment]].
* Creator/AynRand : Well, ''duh''. Pretty much the VillainProtagonist of the series. She starts out as a relatively reasonable (if kooky) writer, philosopher and investor. But as the installments set in the mid-60s reveal, she eventually overgoes severe SanitySlippage and becomes a NotSoHarmlessVillain.

* CoolPlane : Rand secretly purchases all of the [[spoiler:legendary Argentine FMA Pulqui II fighters, designed by famous German engineer Kurt Tank]] and has them smuggled to Katanga via freighter and then river barge. Soon after that, the planes become the core of the [[spoiler:secret Objectivist Air Force of Katanga]]. Also, the SAAB Tunnans and other 1950s and 1960s planes flown by UN peacekeepers in the Kongo.
* {{Crossover}} : None so far, but several AH.com members who read the series suggested doing one with ''MadMen''.
* {{Egopolis}} : Rand's aptly named "Galtville" (after John Galt from ''Literature/AtlasShrugged''), [[IstanbulNotConstantinople formerly known as the Katangan town of Kolwezi]]. In a slight subversion, it's less about celebrating her and more about celebrating the ideology of Objectivism she created. An in-universe ShoutOut to the aforementioned novel is the statue of Atlas on the main square.
* TheEvilsOfFreeWill : An unusual variation - kind of an ''inversion'', really - since Rand's new utopian community in Katanga objects to communal activities done in groups, even ''common group sports like football/soccer'' ! There is also little to no welfare and a POV character African worker notes that everything in shops is overpriced and sold along ruthlessly capitalist lines. Galtville and its surroundings take the whole "run according to Objectivist principles" thing very seriously.
* FantasticDrug: Crystal Lites, which are amphetamine-laced cigarettes. And under the Objectivist regime, they're completely legal. Recollect that this was the era of EverybodySmokes.
* ForWantOfANail : The start of the whole mess is a controversial sci-fi writer and a very cunning con artist recognising Rand in a bar and giving her some tips on strategy, inadvertently giving her the idea to 'start her own' (country). His name ? ''[[Creator/LRonHubbard L. Ron freaking Hubbard]]!''

* HerrDoktor : [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Tank Kurt Tank]], though he is a tame and realistic example of this, being a highly skilled RealLife [[GadgeteerGenius aviation engineer]]. He is eccentric and a bit full of himself, but is far from a MadScientist.
* HiredGuns : The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Denard famous mercenary]] [[BadassNormal Bob Denard]] and his crew, who become the backbone of Rand's security forces.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter : Most of the cast are historical personalities from that era. Rand, Kurt Tank, L. Ron Hubbard, Dag Hammarskjold, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Bob Denard, Alan Greenspan, etc. There are surprisingly few fictional characters when compared to other AH.com timelines and stories.

* TheLeader : Rand is literally referred to by this title in the mid-60s episodes.
* PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny : Rand's supposedly utopian mini-country has [[SinisterSurveillance some of these traits from the get go]], but it seems to have gone pretty much full blown in the installments set chronologically later - of which we've only seen a few glimpses so far. Still, the very first episode blatantly shows that by 1966, Rand's utopia has morphed into an [[spoiler:white supremacist totalitarian regime that uses modern slavery on the locals]].
* PsychoForHire : Bob Denard arguably counts.

* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: From kooky (if personally abusive to anyone who disgrees with her) writer to insane slave-owning dictator.
* SpaceBrasilia / {{Zeerust}} : Galtville's architecture in a nutshell. Linkwerk even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the name of the first trope by noting that some buildings in Galtville were designed by the same architect that worked on Brazil's new capital city.
* StartMyOwn : Essentially, Rand wants to start her own utopian city project in a resource rich African backwater and then [[spoiler:[[ASimplePlan move on to creating a whole utopian Objectivist country]], which she can rule as her own personal dictatorship]].
* StrawCharacter: Where to begin... isn't one of the central tenets of UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} "[[Literature/AtlasShrugged I will never live for another man's sake, nor ask another man to live for mine]]"? Doesn't ''Literature/TheFountainhead'' call "the man who goes after power" the ''worst'' type of human being? How does one go from ''that'' to a dictatorship?
* XMeetsY : ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'', but without the science fantasy elements and '''[-[[RecycledInSpace IN COLD WAR ERA AFRICA]]-]!'''

* StrawCharacter: Where to begin... isn't one of the central tenets of UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} "[[Literature/AtlasShrugged I will never live for another man's sake, nor ask another man to live for mine]]"? How does one go from that to a dictatorship?

* StrawCharacter: Where to begin... isn't one of the central tenets of UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} "I will never live for another man's sake, nor ask another man to live for mine"? How does one go from that to a dictatorship?

* StrawCharacter: Where to begin... isn't one of the central tenets of UsefulNotes/Objectivism "I will never live for another man's sake, nor ask another man to live for mine"? How does one go from that to a dictatorship?

* {{Egopolis}} : Rand's aptly named "Galtville" (after John Galt from ''AtlasShrugged''), [[IstanbulNotConstantinople formerly known as the Katangan town of Kolwezi]]. In a slight subversion, it's less about celebrating her and more about celebrating the ideology of Objectivism she created. An in-universe ShoutOut to the aforementioned novel is the statue of Atlas on the main square.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The aforementioned Che Guevara comes off as a much nicer guy than he's generally regarded as by historians, [[ALighterShadeOfGrey though even the real Che would look good by comparison considering what he's up against]]) and he's still shown to be rather nasty and violent compared to the more level-headed Patrice Lumumba. One thing that particularly stands out is how well he and the aforementioned Congolese political figure get along despite Che's well documented antipathy toward blacks, though spending time with the African resistance fighters may have caused him to have a change of heart.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The aforementioned Che Guevara comes off as a much nicer guy than he's generally regarded as by historians ([[ALighterShadeOfGrey though even the real Che would look good by comparison considering what he's up against]]) and he's still shown to be rather nasty and violent compared to the more level-headed Patrice Lumumba. One thing that particularly stands out is how well he and the aforementioned Congolese political figure get along despite Che's well documented antipathy toward blacks, though spending time with the African resistance fighters may have caused him to have a change of heart.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: While the story is generally pretty accurate, one thing that stands out is how Rand, said to be a lifelong teetotaler, is frequently seen drinking. According to the author he wasn't aware of this at the time and was trying to emulate the aforementioned ''MadMen'' and other period pieces set in that era where people are constantly drinking martinis.

* Creator/AynRand : Well, ''duh''. Pretty much the VillainProtagonist of the series. She starts out as a relatively reasonable (if kooky) writer, philosopher and investor. But as the installments set in the mid-60s reveal, she eventually overgoes severe SanitySlippage and becomes NotSoHarmless.

* XMeetsY : ''BioShock'', but without the science fantasy elements and '''[-[[RecycledInSpace IN COLD WAR ERA AFRICA]]-]!'''

* AnachronicOrder : All of the episodes so far have been of this variety. Hell, the ''first'' episode of the series is set in [[{{Foreshadowing}} what looks like the beggining of the end of Rand's regime-building experiment]].

* ForWantOfANail : The start of the whole mess is a controversial sci-fi writer and a very cunning con artist recognising Rand in a bar and giving her some tips on strategy, inadvertently giving her the idea to 'start her own' (country). His name ? ''L. Ron freaking Hubbard !''