histories collected by Alex Butzbach

The story of what was at the time the 41st state is a little known one. It is as steeped in controversy as it is in shame for Americans, and therefore ill-oft retold in classrooms and lecture halls. Nonetheless, it represents an important point of divergence from one alternate universe to another. Were it not for the xenophobia and intolerance of some of the leaders of this country in the period following the Civil War, society as we know it today would be far different.

The leaders of the United States had been aware of the existence of Water Land (then called the Aquiferous Zone) since the Revolutionary War. Captain Helson Bruze led an ill-fated expedition of four ships (the Henceforth, the Waverly, the Austere Expression, and the Red October) whose mission it was to capture a British troop transport as it made the crossing from England to Massachusetts. Such a long-range strike was considered foolhardy (to say the least) in its day, but Admiral Gonster Slift was determined to cut off the troops who were slaughtering Americans at the Battle of Gustav’s Intolerance.

The four clippers were deployed from a secret naval base in Vermont, leaving shore in the darkness of night. Their overland journey was difficult (to say the least), and it was three months before they managed to reach the Atlantic. They then set off for coordinates whose exact location is lost to the tumult of history. What is known is that halfway there, the sailors were caught in what is estimated to have been the most severe Nor’easter to ever approach mainland North America. The Red October was destroyed immediately, all hands being lost. The Waverly and the Austere Expression lashed themselves together and eventually drifted out of the storm and back towards Maine. The flagship of this small armada, the Henceforth was sucked through a whirlpool to the bottom of the sea. Captain Bruze and his men were transported to Water Land (nee Aquiferous Zone).

The Americans were greeted warmly if somewhat cautiously by the Mer-Men and Mer-Maids who ruled their hydrocracy in relative comfort. Captain Bruze recognized the tridents of war which shot electric bolts from his childhood fantasy stories and wished to recruit the Mer-People in the cause of American Revolution. King Hammerhead declined, but granted a diplomatic relationship between the two nations for future trade and communication.

Captain Bruze and his men were immediately executed upon returning to Clippard’s Landing in Delaware for fear that information of Water Land would spread to the hated English. All those responsible for the execution of the men and captain were then silently assassinated by a three-man death squad of Revolutionary Ninjas. The Ninja’s were in turn shot by the single hand of the man who had orchestrated the entire bloodbath: Deputy Secretary of State Gargull McIntosh. His intention was to be the sole owner of the knowledge of the existence of Water Land. And he succeeded for seventy years.

On his deathbed in 1853, McIntosh drafted a letter which contained the exact location of Water Land. He addressed it to Vice President Rex Dorthum, who in turn gave it to President Dillard Spillane. As Gargull McIntosh, veteran of the Mexican-American War and the Revolution Against the Swedish Empire lay dying, another fleet of four ships was being deployed to re-open negotiations with the Mer-People. The craft which sailed from Provincetown, Massachusetts was comprised of the Dromedary, the Hiroshima, the Scintilla, and ironically, the Henceforth Jr. Upon arriving at the correct location directly above the capital of Water Land, one hundred Mer-Emissaries rose up and greeted the Americans. Captain Olmstead Antonia offered the gift with which he had been entrusted: annexation with the United States. The Mer-Diplomats enthusiastically accepted.

It is believed that they chose annexation so quickly because they were mistaken as to identity of America. They had confused the United States with the United Faith of Delphinia, which was the religious organization founded by a group of bottle-nosed dolphins. In any event, Water Land became an unincorporated territory of the United States. Nearly every settler that moved there (most came from Northern New England, with a distinct minority from Kentucky) drowned, with the exception of Alzerius Mohammed. Mohammed was an Anglo-Muslim who was something of an inventor. He created a helmet which allowed for human breathing underwater and integration into Mer-Society. He quickly rose in the ranks of Mer-Government and was soon elected Mer-Governor-Mer-General. This was a logical choice for the Mer-People, since the United States only allowed whites to be public administrators. Most Mer-People are a shade of blue, with a few being green and yellow.

In 1870, Mer-Governor-Mer-General Alzerius Mohammed requested a popular referendum for Water Land to become the 41st state. President Malsharr El-Hostoneo acquiesced, and the measure passed in Water Land with 100% of the vote. There are two reasons that this vote was unanimous. First, only whites were allowed to vote in American elections, and the only white permanent citizens of Water Land were the family of Alzerius Mohammed. Second, the Mer-Governor-Mer-General agreed to change the name of Water Land to “The Fillmore East,” honoring former president and national hero Millard Fillmore.

In 1871, the American Empire swelled to 41 official states, and the Fillmore East continued to exist under the icy waters of the Atlantic. Little communication existed between the jewel of President El-Hostoneo’s geographic crown and the capitol in Washington D.C., but English, French and Spanish transport ships were scared to death of crossing the Atlantic unguarded. Literally. Like, King Napoleon XIVVIII had a heart attack from it. Then, in 1879, all communication with the Fillmore East (nee the Aquiferous Zone [formerly Water Land]) were lost. The last underground telegram received from that area was from Alzerius Mohammed. It read:

Good people of America! I am the Mer-Governer-Mer-General of the Fillmore East (also known as Water Land),and I have a problem! I have just been entrusted with the municipal treasury of the Fillmore East, but I cannot withdrawal any money. I need your help. If you will send me your bank account number, I can transfer the funds to your account, and you can send it back to me! You will be reimbursed for your actions with a hefty sum! Please reply to this message if you are interested in helping me! May Mer-God splash you with Mer-Blessings!

No expeditions have ever attempted to recover this lost American territory.