Somewhere in China c. 900 CE
The old alchemist carefully worked on grinding the mixture of charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter. He knew that the elixir he sought to make was flammable and he did not wish to risk it. He needed to complete the elixir of immortality before mortality overtook him. Unfortunately, despite his precautions, he managed to cause a spark which set the powder in the flask he was collecting it alight.
In history as we know it ...
The accumulated powder exploded, knocking the alchemist hard against the opposite wall, snapping his neck. Like many Daoist alchemists, he had achieved the lesser immortality, but unlike most, his notes were sufficiently clear that his apprentices were able to understand them. They were also young enough to not yet be ready to seek the lesser immortality their master had achieved, but they were bright enough to realize that their master's elixir could be put to other uses. | In this alternate timeline ...
The accumulated powder burned brightly, the fumes pouring from the narrow mouth of the flask causing him to cough hard enough that he was unable to curse as several months work was ruined. Perhaps a little less saltpeter next time he thought to himself, or at the very least, work on smaller quantities so as to not lose everything at once. He had his apprentices redouble their efforts so that he might prepare the necessary ingredients to try again before he died without achieving immortality. |
I'm going to try my hand at an alternate history in which the primary difference is that explosives don't explode. Other than that basic premise, I don't have anything planned as of yet, tho I do have a few ideas.
