Alternate Realities:
December 7th

copyright © 2026 by Robert l. Blau

BZZT News reports that the Royal Japanese Navy has launched a surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. The attack began on the morning December 7th at 7:48, and presumably marked an end to months-long negotiations.

A US Navy spokesman called the assault "a brilliantly executed operation by the Japanese military and a humiliating defeat for the United States. You gotta give those guys credit!"
Asked if it weren't a cowardly violation of international law and norms, the spokesman replied, "Well, I suppose you could call it that, but the execution was awesome! Talk about your precise planning and pin-point targeting!"

President Franklin D. Roosevelt is on his way to Tokyo in Japanese custody to face the full wrath of the Japanese Ministry of Wrath for lese majeste and Mucking Around in Someone Else's Sphere of Influence. Because everyone knows that the Pacific Ocean belongs to Japan.

FDR called December 7th a "date that will live in fame" and cited it as "a shining example of best practices for waging war."

The Japanese High Command announced that it would be running the United States pending a transition to full annexation. In the interim, Vice President Harry S. "WTF?" Truman will serve as Acting President.* The Acting President promised to collaborate with the mew Japanese overlords, saying, "The buck passes way above my pay grade."

* Yeah, yeah. But who remembers Henry Wallace?