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Merlin 4 is a Quantum 3 world with a present date of 2014.
The point of departure is in 1975 when Soldier of Fortune magazine ran a full page ad titled, "Be A Man Among Men" with the text, "The Rhodesian Army offers you an interesting and varied career with new allowances for fighting troops and experienced mages."
With combat in Vietnam winding down (see GURPS: Funny New Guys) and racial tensions still running high, this ad was answered by many returning chimera veterans; many of whom had never felt they'd belonged at home anyway; especially spider and snake people.
Because Rhodesia was well outside the mana fall, it had very few native mages and almost no chimeraism. The influx of experienced combat mages answering the ad changes the history of Rhodesia from both Merlin 1 and Homeline.
See Secrets and Sense Foes turn out to be devastating to guerilla warfare making ambushes, mines and weapons caches easy to find. Widespread healing magic eliminate many casualties and are extremely positive propaganda for the Rhodesian government both at home and abroad.
The real turning point occurs on September 19, 1976 when the Rhodesian Parliament passes The Oath Acts. These acts require all government officials to submit to an Oath spell when taking their oaths of office and Analyze Magic to confirm that the casting of Oath was successful. While seemingly small, this had huge repercussions with regards to international recognition.
The oft stated position of the Smith government that the majority black population was simply not educated enough to handle the responsibility and consequences of the vote was shown to be sincere when coupled with Truthsayer castings. With a magical compulsion to obey their oaths, laws were passed to begin the education of the black population in how a Parliamentary Democracy worked and what their responsibilities as citizens were.
The United States, over the objections of The United Kingdom recognized Rhodesia on April 19 of 1978. This ultimately leads to the defeat and annexation of Mozambique once their
By mid-1988 "majority rule" had been established with most citizens being eligible to vote regardless of color. While the United States is critical of the requirement of citizens to pass an extensive civics examination to obtain the license to vote, it has to be admitted that it's the same examination for everyone and anyone can take the required classes free of charge (it is in fact mandatory for primary schools to teach).
Much mourned by many anthropologists and sociologists who specialized in Africa is the elimination of the extended system of familial obligation that had served to limit the ability of many blacks to succeed when compared to whites for many years. While it is often blamed on the effects of "westernization" it seems to have actually been a victim of the increased opportunities available to nearly everyone.
The pattern established by Rhodesia in bringing racial equality to a previously segregated government put a great deal of pressure upon South Africa to end Aparthied which ended four years earlier in Merlin 4 than Homeline. Many Aparthied policies had been unofficially abandoned years earlier but a significant Afrikaans voting block feared the Anglicization of South Africa by adopting Rhodesia's methods.
Angola turns out much the same in Merlin 4 as Homeline with Cuban troops being familiar with the same magic that was overwhelming to ZANLA and ZIPRA.
The success of The Oath Acts reach out to other Western democracies searching for ways to eliminate political corruption. Florida being the first to introduce such requirements via ballot measure in 1988. Several other US states adopted similar measures with it being adopted nationally as the 28th amendment in 2002 as bitterness over the Lewinsky scandal and passage of the USA PATRIOT act created a popular demand with many congressmen voting for it in hopes of placating the voters enough to keep their seats in the 2002 elections.
This applies to anyone who takes an oath of office or service, including bureaucrats and the military. Many elected and appointed officials refuse to submit the the spell and resign; hardly any in the military refuse (sometimes to their embarrassment). The effect on the War on Terror compared to homeline is staggering as honest (and magically compelled) politicians prosecute the war for the benefit of the nation without regard to their personal or party ambitions. The same spells which proved valuable in The Bush War and techniques developed in Vietnam virtually eliminate Islamic terrorism by 2004.
The trickle down effect of the 28th has been a dramatic downsizing of American government with the near elimination of the Departments of Energy and Education and Environmental Protection Agency. While the US has become fully deregulated, much of what we know as regulation has been replaced by law because the political goals are often the same, it's just Oath won't let Congress abdicate their legislative power to executive branch officials (who are also bound to refuse such powers).
With even politicians submitting to Oath, it becomes common practice to use it during the execution of contracts, greatly simplifying business and leading to a second magic induced economic boon. To do business in America means submitting to spells verifying the intent and honesty of all parties, despite the apparent loss of freedom, this has actually led more businesses to do business in the USA because it eliminates so many variables and concerns.
Of great concern to Infinity Unlimited is the 2012 discovery that natural nuclear reactors in Gabon have created gateways to another world. Merlin 4 is studying this intently and is close to learning The Secret in their own.
