Independence Day: Offically Alternate History

[Xgentis]

I saw an interview somewhere where Sela Ward says the death toll was three billion, which seems... impossibly excessive.

I've always felt comfortable with "hundreds of millions" as mentioned at the end of the novelization. That seems to square well with how the first 36 targets probably suffered huge casualty rates, and any cities still standing at that point were probably deserted shortly thereafter.

To be honest I always assumed that they hunted down survivors with their fighters. Afterall their goal was to extermiate humanity, we did not see smaller scale attack on screen but that don't mean they did not happen. And add that with starvation lack of sanitization and epidemy and the dead toll would increase a lot, and let's not forget countries who were dependent on foreign aid to feed themselve. Imagine the mess of milions or even billions of refugees in unsanitized camps always on the look out for an incoming attack. Evacuating cities does not mean you are safe afterall until the counter-attack the aliens had complete air supremacy over the Earth.

If the death toll is 3 billions it basically cut the 1996 earth poppulation by half.

 

[Blue Moon]

To be honest I always assumed that they hunted down survivors with their fighters. Afterall their goal was to extermiate humanity, we did not see smaller scale attack on screen but that don't mean they did not happen.

This is very likely. Where is it written that these smaller craft only attacked military facilities and equipment ? That was their focus to be sure but they also could have targeted commercial aircraft, ships on the water, columns and concentrations of ground vehicles etc etc.

And add that with starvation lack of sanitization and epidemy and the dead toll would increase a lot, and let's not forget countries who were dependent on foreign aid to feed themselve. Imagine the mess of milions or even billions of refugees in unsanitized camps always on the look out for an incoming attack. Evacuating cities does not mean you are safe afterall until the counter-attack the aliens had complete air supremacy over the Earth..

The mass evacuation of the cities is only cited as something that kept down the overall death toll. It likely did but its not like it didn't cause lots of deaths itself.

If the death toll is 3 billions it basically cut the 1996 earth poppulation by half.

I think this might be too far-especially if humanity has largely bounced back in just 20 years

 

[redlightning]

After reading the tie in novel to the first film, Silent Zone. I can reveal all of this spoiler information.

1. None of the spaceships used by the aliens are not metallic, but made from some sort of organic shell left over from a large dead animal of some kind from another world. There are even pores and hair follicles on them as well.

2. The alien fighter housed at Area 51 since 1947, was one of two which was knocked out of the sky during a nuclear test over the Solomon Islands. Dr. Okun as a young man finds the second ship crashed in a cave in Mexico in the novel. Alien ships can send distress signals through space using electromagnetic waves and do.

3. When the ship crashed during the Roswell Incident in 1947, one of them survived and was able to telepathically communicate with an army officer. It revealed how the aliens inhabit new worlds and their motivation for doing so. They travel from planet to planet in order to eat the living plant vegetation and all come down to the surface to settle the planet. They dig in as far as the molten core with tunnel systems and populate the planet. They intended to do this to Earth too.

4. These aliens have been visiting humans for decades on scientific missions to prepare for the invasion. The CIA under Nimzicki was well aware of this situation. They've been abducting humans as well for study. When the city destroyer near Area 51 is downed, there surviving aliens found inside taken to military bases for interrogation. Remains of human belongings from some of the abductees are found in the ship as well. The aliens also use tractor beams like in IDR too.

5. The alien biomechanical suit is actually another animal altogether, possibly taken from a conquered world and used for survival. The other creature is the alien itself.

6. While the aliens are a hive society, there is a hierarchy of intelligences. Taller aliens oversee other ones and are considered the leadership of the species.

I forgot to mention that the aliens seen in the film and their biomechical suits
are two different animal species that are conquered from another world and that they wear for protection. The other aliens are actually the smaller being inside of it which are the conquerors.

 

[BlackWave]

I have a feeling that these questions and more will be answered. Besides the movie itself there are 2 books coming soon-a prequel novel in May and a movie novelization in June.

I doubt they'll bother to really go into how the Earth bounced back in such an extremely short span of time, since it's probably just for Roland Emmerich to have intact and fresh cities to smash all over again.

 

[redlightning]

I always assumed that the planet was rebuilt using all of the wreckage from the fallen city destroyers. After they had been cleansed of surviving aliens, they were scrapped and new dwellings and settlements could've been made out of them for human refugees. It would look like some sort of ancient city where the world would start over in a new order.

 

[Blue Moon]

I always assumed that the planet was rebuilt using all of the wreckage from the fallen city destroyers. After they had been cleansed of surviving aliens, they were scrapped and new dwellings and settlements could've been made out of them for human refugees. It would look like some sort of ancient city where the world would start over in a new order.

I think something like this also argues against 3 billion dead. It would take a lot of warm bodies to accomplish. Would 3 billion be enough ?

 

[rvbomally]

I suspect a majority of those three billion were from indirect effects of the invasion, such as the breakdown of global trade, famine, disease and war.

 

[GrayJ12]

Does anyone know what poltical parties the presidents belong to?

 

[Blue Moon]

Does anyone know what poltical parties the presidents belong to?

Only Whitmore-so far. As per the original ID4 novelization he is a Democrat.

 

[GrayJ12]

Only Whitmore-so far. As per the original ID4 novelization he is a Democrat.

What about VP?

 

[Blue Moon]

What about VP?

You mean Whitmore's ? The one elected with him in 1992 was killed along with most of the Cabinet and Joint Chiefs at NORAD. We don't have info yet on who replaced him in 1996.

 

[Blue Moon]

We don't have info yet on who replaced him in 1996.

Given who was president next it could have been Grey?

 

[redlightning]

I think something like this also argues against 3 billion dead. It would take a lot of warm bodies to accomplish. Would 3 billion be enough ?

Didn't the novelization say a billion with 150 cities destroyed? Perhaps it means the death toll in the years after the War of 1996 caused after the human victory there.

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

1. None of the spaceships used by the aliens are not metallic, but made from some sort of organic shell left over from a large dead animal of some kind from another world. There are even pores and hair follicles on them as well.

Hopefully its more than one animal, because damn, if not that is one HUGEASS animal.

 

[Blue Moon]

I doubt they'll bother to really go into how the Earth bounced back in such an extremely short span of time, since it's probably just for Roland Emmerich to have intact and fresh cities to smash all over again.

I'm hoping that the books will at least allude to what happened between invasions 1 and 2. hat will be disappointing if they don't throw us a few bones in that regard.

 

[Blue Moon]

Didn't the novelization say a billion with 150 cities destroyed?.

No. The book says over 100 cities but the city list at Warof1996.com( which is an official site) gives the figure of 108 cities destroyed and 36 damaged by the falling city destroyers-so that equals 144 cities impacted which is close to 150. Neither gives a death toll but that information may be listed in the forthcoming books.

Perhaps it means the death toll in the years after the War of 1996 caused after the human victory there.

I think this is likely that the toll was equal to or surpassed those killed by direct action of the aliens. 3 billion just seems too high. I would go with 2 billion at the very most.

 

[redlightning]

A new TV spot for the film has the alien prison shown at Area 51. What kinds of things could it be revealing?

One alien makes a reference to "She has arrived." This probably is referring to other parts of their alien fleet.

Dr. Okun is also back.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4...ack-tv-commercial-20th-century-fox_shortfilms

 

[Blue Moon]

A new TV spot for the film has the alien prison shown at Area 51. What kinds of things could it be revealing?

One alien makes a reference to "She has arrived." This probably is referring to other parts of their alien fleet.

Dr. Okun is also back.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4...ack-tv-commercial-20th-century-fox_shortfilms

The captive aliens are celebrating-very ominous.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-aliens-a...utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

 

[redlightning]

According to the director, the new mothership is the size of the Atlantic Ocean. Much larger than the first one.

 

[Blue Moon]

http://www.amazon.com/Independence-...d=1460147648&sr=1-1&keywords=independence+day

Independence Day: Crucible (The Official Prequel) Mass Market Paperback – May 24, 2016
by Greg Keyes (Author)

Cities were crushed by the falling spacecraft—but one ship didn’t crash. It remained intact, and disgorged hordes of alien soldiers determined to fight to the death.

The abandoned vessels also contained a wealth of advanced technology. Led by David Levinson, the greatest minds of our world developed deadly new hybrid weapons. Bases were built on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

A new generation of defenders had to be trained, for the invaders would return. In the headlong rush to prepare, however, not everyone would survive…