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Worked example

Alternate History Generator — Three Mile Island breach

@sadhvikairUpdated

Filled with

Divergence
At Three Mile Island Unit 2 the stuck-open PORV and confused instrumentation last longer. The hydrogen burn damages containment enough that a measurable release reaches the public, instead of being almost entirely held.
When
28 March–early April 1979
Where
Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States
Style
documentary alternate history, precise, no sensational radiation myths
End Date
today
Focus
evacuation of the Susquehanna valley, NRC and Carter-era politics, US reactor orders already dying after 1973–79, and later industry structure
Constraints
PWR with a containment building, not an RBMK. Release is serious but local-to-regional, not a continent-killer. Do not claim hundreds of thousands of radiation deaths.

The finished prompt

alternate-history-generator.three-mile-island-breach.prompt
Write a grounded alternate history. ### The change Point of divergence: At Three Mile Island Unit 2 the stuck-open PORV and confused instrumentation last longer. The hydrogen burn damages containment enough that a measurable release reaches the public, instead of being almost entirely held. When it happens: 28 March–early April 1979 Where / who it hits first: Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States ### How to write it - Style: documentary alternate history, precise, no sensational radiation myths - End the timeline in: today - Zoom in on: evacuation of the Susquehanna valley, NRC and Carter-era politics, US reactor orders already dying after 1973–79, and later industry structure - Hard rules: PWR with a containment building, not an RBMK. Release is serious but local-to-regional, not a continent-killer. Do not claim hundreds of thousands of radiation deaths. ### Method 1. State the real baseline in 2–4 sentences so the fork is clear. 2. Make the divergence small and mechanical — one failed action, one different decision, one piece of luck that goes the other way. Do not stack extra miracles. 3. Follow first-order effects (hours/days), then second-order (months/years), then the world as of today. 4. Keep physics, logistics, institutions, and incentives intact unless the divergence itself breaks them. No cartoon apocalypse unless the change actually implies one. 5. Mark speculation vs established fact. If numbers are uncertain, give a range and say why. 6. Say what does **not** change. Most of ordinary life continues. ### Structure 1. The day of the fork 2. The following weeks 3. Year 1 4. The next decade 5. Long tail to today 6. What still looks like our world 7. One-paragraph verdict: how this timeline differs, and how it does not Be specific about dates, quantities, and institutions. Do not turn the story into a single-theme sermon.

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