10 - Anglo-American Alliance A Comic Love Story of the Future by Gregory Casparian

Praised by io9 as the first lesbian science fiction novel, *An Anglo-American Alliance* is a whimsical exploration of love, transformation, and geopolitics set in the imaginative year of 1960. In this world, the Anglo-American Alliance reigns as a global government, heralding a new era of technological and social progress. Yet, even in this seemingly utopian time, the love that dare not speak its name remains taboo. The narrative centers on the secret romance blossoming between two women, Margaret MacDonald and Aurora Cunningham, at a ladies seminary in Cornwall. As they navigate their hidden desires, they also learn to harness the powers of science and technology to turn their dreams into reality. Please note While the novel offers progressive insights on sexuality and gender identity, it also reflects the prejudices of its era, containing instances of ethnocentrism, antisemitism, and casual racism that may be uncomfortable for some listeners. - Summary by ChuckW

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter nine of An Anglo American Alliance. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recording by Chuck Williamson. An Anglo American Alliance by Gregory Kasparian,

(00:26):
Chapter nine, A Ray of Hope. It was the day
of departure of Aurora Cunningham for London, England. Margaret had
accompanied her in an automobile to the city of b
to see her off. Their parting had an unusual sadness.

(00:46):
As they stood on the deck of the dynamo ship Columbia,
a four day ocean greyhound. They seemed to be paralyzed
at the barrenness of the future, looking into each other's
eyes as if trying to challenge sincerity to their oath
of allegiance. It was extremely touching, indeed, when they were

(01:10):
compelled by the officers of the ship to take their
final leave, and as the Columbia began to recede gradually
from its moorings, her prow compass to the British Isles,
Aurora's lithe figure could be seen at the stern of
the boat throwing kisses and waving her handkerchief toward Margaret,

(01:34):
until the distance grew wider and farther, and the figure fainter,
and at last was lost to view. Left alone on
the shore, Margaret did her utmost to control her emotions
of parting from her beloved friend. With suppressed feelings, she

(01:56):
mounted her automobile reluctantly and bed The chauffeur proceed to
New York City, from whence, after a short repose, she
intended to take the train for her home in Wyoming.
She had hardly gone a mile or two out of
the city of b when her emotions had swelled beyond

(02:19):
her capacity of control, and she became delirious in her
seat in the auto. Some pedestrians by the way, noticing
that something unusual had happened to the fair occupant, called
the attention of the chauffeur to his charge. He brought

(02:39):
the machine to a standstill, and the necessity of enlisting
the services of a doctor was at once apparent. One
of the bystanders suggested that the nearest available doctor was
the Hindoo surgeon, doctor hyder beIN Rabbah, a furlong farther

(03:01):
down the road, and thither the patient was wheeled with
all possible haste, and within a few minutes she was
in the doctor's reception room after a cursory examination. Ben
Rabba appeared somewhat puzzled. She is in a state of coma,

(03:24):
he said, rubbing his forehead with his bony fingers. But
I do not see any physical cause to induce that condition,
it seems to me, he added, that every function of
the organs are in a perfectly normal state. His face

(03:45):
brightened at once, however, with a smile of victory. A
happy thought had come to his fertile mind. He had
thought of the singular methods practiced by the diagnosticition a
a scene of balk the father of a cult diagnosis,
and the words of the Cashmian poet came to his memory,

(04:07):
who nearly ten centuries previously, had said, the pulse of
the loving beats higher. Agitated only at the name of
the beloved. Taking thereupon her pulse into his hand, he
began to question the chauffeur where she had gone, with whom,
what was the other lady's name, et cetera. He knew

(04:31):
that although she was in a state of coma, her
senses of hearing and of understanding were performing their regular functions.
At the mention of the name Aurora Cunningham, there was
a remarkable change in Margaret. Her pulse began to beat

(04:52):
double quick After repeating the experiment and satisfying himself that
the cause was a man her pertaining the heart, in fact,
the girl's infatuation for her departed friend, and that there
was nothing in the materia medica as an antidote, that
the only restorative remedy that could be found was in

(05:16):
hypnotic occultism, he leaned over the prostrate figure before him
and whispered some words into her ear. The correctness of
his diagnosis became plainly evident. The patient, with perfect tranquility,
opened her eyes and with a complacent smile, looked into

(05:40):
the face of her restorer. After a few more magnetic
passes and words of encouragement from the wizard, she had
completely recovered herself, to the amazement of the anxious group
of persons who had gathered there curious to know the
fate of the fair occupant of the automobile. Within half

(06:03):
an hour, she again entered her auto and proceeded on
her way to the city. The new and remarkable personality
of Hyder bin Raba, however, left an ineradicable impression upon
her mind, so much as at times to divert her
thoughts from dwelling upon Aurora and concentrate upon the strange

(06:27):
visage of Hyder bin Raba. After a repose of a
few days in New York, having made all the preparations
for the intended journey, she left the metropolis and arrived
in due time at her paternal home in Wyoming. Hardly

(06:48):
a month had elapsed after her return when there was
another crisis in her life. Her father was taken suddenly
ill and died, and she was left in an heiress
to a large fortune consisting principally of lands, mines and cattle.
Being without any relatives to guide her, Margaret was compelled

(07:11):
to settle matters for herself, and daily she was confronted
by hundreds of annoying details. These consisted of many entangling
affairs of her lamented father, who had left her sole
legatee prospective aspirants who sought her hand in marriage, her

(07:32):
solemn and binding oath to Aurora, and strange as it
may seem, the grotesquely hideous face of bin Raba began
to flit before her mind's eye, perplexing and haunting her incessantly.
One evening, when she was thus absorbed in deep meditation,

(07:56):
the postman brought her a letter. It was mailed from. Excitedly,
she tore open the envelope and from it fell the
professional card of doctor hyderbin Rabba. The same weird and
ominous words were printed under his name, the vivisectionist and Reincarnator.

(08:21):
On the other side were scribbled a few lines making
inquiry about the state of her health. The card Ah.
The strange and significant words vivisectionist and reincarnation began to
assume a deep meaning. She placed the card tremblingly upon

(08:43):
the table and fell into a profound study. Her quivering frame,
the rise and fall of her heaving breast, and the
change of color of her face alternatively from pallor to
feverish flush, indicated that there was a revolution going on

(09:04):
within her immaculate bosom. At last, she seemed to come
to some determination. Tremblingly, she grasped a pen and wrote
a letter to Bin Rabah, the contents of whicher never
became known to any but herself. In the Hindoo doctor.

(09:25):
Within a fortnight she received an answer which seemed to
satisfy her. Within two months she had managed to hastily
dispose of all her personal property and real estate without
any reserve, and then she disappeared from her western home

(09:46):
and surroundings and was lost forever to her former friends.
End of chapter nine