Tornar
Prologue
Tornar: Spanish meaning "to turn"
Arthur watched the meteorologist on the television curiously. He knew of tornadoes, of course, but he had never experienced one, or knew anyone who experienced one, or ever heard of anyone experiencing one. Such weather phenomena were rare back home in the U.K. But the comparison of a so-called EF5 tornado, whatever that meant, having the same destructive power as the atomic bomb was ridiculous and utterly unbelievable.
Personally, he thought it was all just much ado about nothing. Tornadoes were nasty storms to be sure and should be respected and studied, by all means; but the extent the Americans take it was a bit absurd. But then again, he was no expert and this was a newly opened nation. Honestly, he was surprised the United States had lifted the strict ban on immigration and opened its borders. It had been over three hundred years since there had been any serious contact with it.
Well, make that two hundred odd years if the year and a half long sideshow event during the war against Napoleon which he did not. Or the occasional United States participation in the annual Great Exhibition started by Queen Victoria or the Olympics, which he could consider but did not. Or their late involvement in World War II which is what prompted the intense urging from other nations such as the United Kingdom to force America's borders open just like they did to Japan over half a century ago. But where Japan surrendered due to lack of technology to fight back, America remained stubborn and dug in their heels, refusing to open up.
And then the huge hurricane, dubbed Hurricane Katrina, struck the nation of the United States of America from the Gulf of Mexico, forcing the nation to open its borders to accept help from other countries. The area of New Orleans was declared a disaster area and even Arthur had been a little surprised by the scale of the destruction. Francis had been almost devastated at the site. But both of them could not help but shake their heads in grudging admiration when the people of New Orleans refused to leave. They simply stayed, rebuilt, and were beginning to thrive once more.
Then the next extreme weather system to strike the United States was Hurricane Sandy, or as the Americans call it Superstorm Sandy. Yet another bit of an exaggeration if you asked him. A little bit of snow was not much to complain about, he would know. And do not get him started on the fiasco of the two 'Snowpocalyspes'in the southern United States. Bunch of fools running around panicking over a pathetic inch or so of snowcover. He still caught himself laughing at that every now and then.
Arthur considered the television again. It had changed to the local news again so he turned it off with a huff. He was never a fan of American television. He would never admit his obsession with Game of Thrones, he had Doctor Who and now Sherlock to call his favorites.
He glanced out the window of his hotel onto New York City and sighed. Just another couple months, then he could leave. While America was unique and a fascinating study as his future book would hopefully illustrate, but it was not home. He had already been in the United States for three months working on his book. He had stayed close to the east coast both for the quiet longing for home as well as the curiosity that is the east.
When the young country closed its borders after the American Revolution, it began looking inward for sustainability. What they found and eventually settled on before moving on to other more modern advancements such as their solar streets, which Canada had already adopted as well and his own country, among others, were beginning to look into. And the glasses that could access the Internet, the Internet's existence in and of itself, it all began with nation's peculiar obsession with steam powered engines.
A/N: Well, I should totally not be doing this. Not so late in the game with numerous other fics unfinished or on hiatus...or both. But in my defense, I've been working on a steampunk based fanfic for a long time and only just decided I like this version. I'm working on one that'll take place much earlier in this universe as well but, you never know. Also, this is a human AU. Several other things that should be aware of are:
1) America remained closed off from the world much like Japan did until the infamous Black Ships forced them open. The young nation wished to be left to its own devices, figure out where it stood in the grand scheme of things, and learn/explore more about itself. The new Americans were curious by nature and instead of bringing genocide wherever they went, they encouraged trade and understanding with the Native Americans. The nation did grow both politically and geographically however, but they held to their treaties with the Natives firmly. Now, almost all Native American tribes live on land of their choice and act as micronations within the country of America. They are independent and have their own government but if anyone messes with them, the offender answers to the U.S. government as well as the Native American one.
2) Between the Revolution until the late 18th century, steam was this USA's basis for technology. It still has a firm foothold in society but is slowly giving way to more modern innovations such as the aforementioned solar roads (which are legit btw, check them out), Google Glass, computers,smartphones (yes the Microsoft vs Apple still exists), but it's ever so slightly different.
3) In this AU, WW1 ended in a standoff, America remained neutral. WW2 was caused by a different catalyst and enemy, but ended the similarly. America remained neutral, while covertly aiding the Allies via smuggled supplies, a few "Canadian" pilots (which is historically accurate), among other things. The enemy, Japan, found out and bombed Pearl Harbor as a warning. Naturally, everything progressed the same as they did in this reality after that including the atomic bomb droppings. Naturally the atomic bombs attracted the immediate attention of the rest of the world who were suddenly struck by an uneasy thought, "How could a nobody nation develop technologically to that point without anyone noticing?" Needless to say, they noticed now. However, immediately after the war, the USA closed its borders once more until a combination of international pressure forced them open and open trade began in earnest. By then, America had already progressed technologically in an incredibly different way than the majority of the Western world. America is not 'better' than other countries, just unique. Airplanes were still invented by the Wright brothers, Tesla still got into the country as did other immigrants (there was immigration, just very tightly controlled), Edison was still a dick who perfected the light bulb, Morse still invented Morse code, etc. Just the basis of most technology was steam.
4) While America remained closed off from the world, they were not completely ignorant. They did attend the first and several subsequent Great Exhibitions (because they continued annually in tandem with the World Conference in this AU) as well as participate in the Olympics later on. They just kept to themselves mostly. They were loud, enthusiastic, curious, and interested just very protective of their home. The general thought of Americans currently in this AU is an uneasy trust and acceptance of the outside world. They don't really know what to do with the spotlight they suddenly been thrust into.
5) I spent several years studying meteorology before changing my major to geography with an emphasis in GIS and remote sensing. I will fight tooth and nail to defend the south's stance on the Snowpocalypses. They were a travesty and a HELL of a lot more serious than most people (like Arthur) seem to think. Arthur's view will change. Also, yes I am aware tornadoes occur in the UK as well as almost every single continent, except Antarctica. But they are nowhere near as serious or as frequent as in the US. Scientific fact. This will be a science-centric fic as I am a science major but hopefully not to the point of ridiculousness.