22 Quotes About Alternate History

Alternate history is an intriguing concept. If history had gone another way, how different would the world be? What if the course of WWII had been altered? What if JFK had lived? Or what if the Battle of Hastings had taken a different turn? Alternate history is often described as “what if” stories about historical events or figures. These are fantasy tales that are enjoyable to read and fun to imagine, but they are not considered fact. The following alternate-history quotes will help you understand the concept better.

1
Sometimes it's possible, just barely possible, to imagine a version of this world different from the existing one, a world in which there is true justice, heroic honesty, a clear perception possessed by each individual about how to treat all the others. Sometimes I swear I could see it, glittering in the pavement, glowing between the words in a stranger's sentence, a green, impossible vision--the world as it was meant to be, like a mist around the world as it is. Ben H. Winters
2
Racism is a virus which can only be spread by us! Simon Rumney
3
The Healing spells on his chest were certainly earning their keep tonight. Sullivan got to his feet. The lack of noise from the courtyard indicated that his team had gotten all the mechanical men. “Thanks.”Toru just grunted a noncommittal response as he lifted the feed tray to check the condition of his borrowed machine gun. They didn’t see the final robot inside until it turned on its eye and illuminated the Iron Guard in blue light. Sullivan’s Spike reversed gravity, and the gigantic machine fell upward to hit the steel beams in the ceiling. Sullivan cut his Power and the robot dropped. It crashed hard into the floor where it lay twitching and kicking. The two of them riddled the mechanical man with bullets until the light died and it lay still in a spreading puddle of oil.“ Normally, this would be the part where you thank me for returning the favor and saving your life.”“ Yes. Normally… If we were court ladies instead of warriors, ” Toru answered. “Shall we continue onward or do you wish to stop and discuss your feelings over tea?” Sullivan looked forward to the day that the two of them would be able to finish their fight. “Let’s go. Larry Correia
4
Wicked eyes are not a good prospect for seminary boys. They want a gentle, soft sort of wife, not a wife who looks as though she may sprout wings and carry off the young children of the village. ~Maria "Smythe Gwenn Wright
5
A wise man does not always admit to everything he knows. And sometimes an overly-credulous friend can be a source of mild amusement.”~ Sherlock Holmes Stephanie Osborn
6
Watson fully comprehended the fact that occasionally it is useful for one’s adversaries to underestimate one’s abilities.”~ Sherlock Holmes Stephanie Osborn
7
I am looking forward to fully understanding what is occurring. Other than the fact that we are well over a century in my future–if it is MY future; in America, in an underground government facility of some sort near the Colorado Rocky Mountains, specifically Pikes Peak, so I assume the nearest city of any import to be Colorado Springs…I am afraid I have little grasp of your project.”~ Sherlock Holmes . Stephanie Osborn
8
Suddenly the images in the center of the room became more than images. They solidified. Stephanie Osborn
9
That’s our cue, ” Dr. Chadwick noted, managing to approximate a cheerful smile, addressing the room at large. “Everyone please stand behind the yellow line until the doors open. No food, drink, flash photography, or video cameras are permitted. Once aboard the ride, please keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times until we come to a full and complete stop. Otherwise, they’re apt to end up in another universe somewhere without ya, and wouldn’t that fry your noggin? . Stephanie Osborn
10
That's one of our speculations, by the way. That the prior version of history that this one overwrote was horrible. Complete geopolitical mayhem; half of New York City is underwater. The United States is headed toward civil war, or ruled by an artificial-intelligence construct, or some such other thing. Real end-of-days stuff. That the instances of ourselves who existed in that history figured out what we have: that the invention of the causality violation device was the cause. That in that prior version of history, Rebecca did not die in a car accident. That she went back to the past on a mission, as a volunteer, well aware of her sacrifice. Dexter Palmer
11
The burned corpses of the doppelgängers of Hitler and Braun, numerous false leads, meticulously orchestrated evidence, misdirection, and other diversions now being set in place will confuse the Americans and Russians, Zeller knew, and, in the end, put them at each other’s throats. Paul Majkut
12
Shitting fucking bastard! Fuck off you massive cockwank! ’ - Misty Meanor, during a particularly stressful encounter. Matthew Sylvester
13
If there’s a zeppelin, it’s alternate history. If there’s a rocketship, it’s science fiction. If there are swords and/or horses, it’s fantasy. A book with swords and horses in it can be turned into science fiction by adding a rocketship to the mix. If a book has a rocketship in it, the only thing that can turn it back into fantasy is the Holy Grail. Debra Doyle
14
They don’t teach kidnapping at Eton, dad Gwenn Wright
15
Tom .. . is Christ among us?' 'Yes.' Where? Why do I not see him? Why does he not come to me?' 'Because you did not love, ' Neville said, hating the fact that he had to say it. Sara Douglass
16
Jason smiled. The sound of wings was louder now, the fluttering of angels come to carry him home. Robert Ferrigno
17
The taxi stand was only an open shelter, so I was freezing as I looked toward midtown. I could see the RCA building with its bright red logo at Rockefeller Center, and farther south, the Empire State Building with its illuminated set-backs. At the tip of Manhattan, the twin towers of the World Trade Center -- which were over 1, 100 feet tall themselves -- flanked the mile-high Space Trylon. It was clear as well as cold, and as I looked toward Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, it seemed to be poijnting to the stars. This, of course, was the idea, since it embodied the joint American-Soviet space exploration program that settled the Moon in 1955, and, twenty years later, Mars. Lou Antonelli
18
I had thought that my being would collapse when I gifted my soul', said Neville. 'Why is it then that I still breathe, and feel, and move?' 'Because, ' said Mary, 'when you gift something wholly and completely and unhesitatingly it returns to you doublefold. Sara Douglass
19
He pulled out his wallet and extracted a twenty-dollar bill, fastidiously folding it in half so that the crease cut across the face of Theodore Roosevelt, with its shining spectacles and its Chesire Cat grin. Dexter Palmer
20
Sound bytes. Catch phrases. Sales pitches. Words. All lexical legitimizing. ‘A rose by any other name…’ he said. In the end it’s all propaganda. J.A. Willoughby
21
To every rule there are diverse sub rules which all apply to the same rule. Auliq Ice