Di Filippo, Paul. "The Mysterious Iowans"
Divergence: 1870 CE
What if: Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island was true, and its characters later returned to Lincoln Island to raise the Nautilus and gain its advanced technology.
Summary: Thirty years later, a reporter visits the technical marvels of Lincolnopolis, Iowa, and learns the secret behind their origin.
Published: In The Mammoth Book of New Jules Verne Adventures (eds. Mike Ashley and Eric Brown), Carroll & Graf 2005 (0786714956BUY).