Time Line

The sequence of events is incredibly important so here is the time line of key happenings.

1727-03-20 Regal Calculus Founded

Prince Francis Edward of Prenna lost his crown, had to sell his palace and founded Regal Calculus in the neighbouring country of Swinterland. In 1923 Swinterland absorbed Prenna as a Principality territory as Prenna sought protection from a friendly neighbour.

2014 Gold Lightbulb Invented

In 2014, James Robilliard invented the gold lightbulb.

2017 Humanitarian Alliance Founded

The Humanitarian Alliance was founded in 2017 as a friendship group by a group of intellectuals, its aims were simple. To both unite and advance the human race. As more people joined the group it became a university network that gained commercial interest.

2020-01-01 Asimov Convention

The convention where Electrical Intelligence was recognised, and was a profound influence on the Humanitarian Alliance.

2020-02-29 Prime Robert Robilliard's Birthday as an EI

Prime now mostly works in the REC Science and Engineering Centre but also has a permanent part working on the manufacture of new Impossibility Engines, being the sole manufacturer, and without any other help. Prime refers to the factory as ‘the black box’. Ou also likes to fracture part of ou’s consciousness, borrow one of Homer’s randomised drones and go bowling with him.

2020 The Asimov Convention 2020 Held

EIs were recognised as life by industry and media, leading to changes in the law.

2024 Mental Electrical Intelligence Act

Electrical Intelligence is defined and the first legal proofs of life came from this act.

2025 The original EI Die bombed Canicott Tec

Homer was introduced to the world in 2025 by Canicott Tec as the first EI officially recognised by Mental Electrical Intelligence Act. Homer was in all probability, actually the first EI. A group calling themselves EI Die, viewed EI's as evil devils and bombed Canicott Tec.

2028 Humanitarian Alliance as a University Founded

The Humanitarian Alliance took its network and turned itself into a university. The educational nature of the HA has always remained.

2132 Fune Kaisha created

Fune Kaisha is a criminal franchise that continually assesses your worth. Loyalty is viewed as a myth so even if you betray a section of Fune Kaisha, another section or even the original can happily work with you if they can gain from it, as betrayal is also obviously a myth. In Belter-Japanese-English Fune Kaisha means 'Ships Company'.

2040 Maglights invented

Working with HA University (Science), RobEng invented the Magnetic Light. Using iron as a platform to electronically control the energy of atoms, a light that could produce any colour was suddenly available very cheaply. Every light fitting on the planet within ten years was replaced with the superefficient 'M-Lights'. Holding the patent, both the university and RobEng became super-rich allowing the HAU to seriously begin its political agenda of uniting the world.

2050 UNVIC Formed

Space ship development had become a regular industry. The United Nations created the United Nations Vehicle Interaction Control aka UNVIC. It’s scope was to control all solar system traffic and if given by a sovereign nation, be able to provide control to all opted in terrestrial traffic including planes in the air, cars and trains on the ground and all underground traffic. Terrestrial control was given over to UNVIC by the USA, Canada, Europe (all countries in the continent), India and Russia in the first wave, in order to improve economic efficiency. Many African countries also surrendered control as part of UN development plans.

2051 Superamic Invented

Superamic was a key part in making the maglev train project economical. It naturally doesn't carry any charge or produce any magnetic field, but when a magnetic field is applied to it, it uses the field that would pass through it to produce the opposite field. The two incredible properties of Superamic are that any charged particle that approaches it, is repelled by it; and no magnetic field can pass through it, providing it with incredible magnetic insulation properties (technically half the field passes through it and the other half is converted to the opposite field, cancelling it out. Note that a gram of Superamic can only produce so much magnetism, so an appropriate level of thickness relative to the field is required for it to be effective.

2053 Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira Space Elevator built

NASA worked with Brazil to develop the Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira space elevator, using ‘diamond-tube’ carbon technology. Its position on the equator was key to the space elevator working with the result of slashing the cost of getting into space. The top of the elevator had the control centre called Operations, which become known as Ops El or Ops for short. It is also referred as the space lift.

2057 UNVIC space clean-up program began

UNVIC eventually cleared orbit of all items not wanted to be there including tiny flecks of paint, mopped up by very large spheres of specialised gel.

2062 The ‘Americas’ continental Magnevac train was built

The Magvac train was an underground vacuumed, sealed tunnel with maglev trains. It reached 800kph and could take a passenger from Toronto to Washington in an hour. The Express train only had Toronto, Washington, Mexico City, Guatemala, Tegucigalpa, Managua, San Jose, Panama, Bogota and Rio de Janeiro as its stops. As it treated each country’s capital with equal billing, it made the project a building success, despite the massive costs, although this service was mostly used by politicians and tourists. The venture was made a commercial success as the real purpose was get the lucrative contracts to take freight to the Sao Gabriel space junction.

2068 A new EI Die political group is formed

In 2068 a new group announced they were EI Die reformed; that they would never attack human life as it is sacrosanct, and that they regard computers as objects and not living entities. They seek to act as a pacifist loby group. Of course, they don't view violently smashing EI's as harm, as the don't consider them to be life.

2077 The Space Elevator Fire

Asteroid ‘Thompson-Chow’ passed so close to Ops that it wobbled, causing cracks in the structure. It was also slammed into by fragments, causing the highest building fire in human history. The space elevator was repaired in an amazing three months, although never again fully trusted by the general public.

2079 National block elevators added

With growing demand, seven new lifts were built in a way that allowed each of them to support each other and the original. In a brilliant engineering move, they were built as vertical vac trains making Ops just another destination. Although officially controlled by UNVIC, The North America Block (excludes Mexico), The South America Block (includes Mexico and Australia and New Zealand), Europe, Russia, China, India and the UN each queued traffic for their sponsored lift. Although each block sold rights to use it, Russia was particularly skilled in funnelling Central (Middle East) and African trade.

2085 Orbital terminal available for use

A later modification to the Space Elevator removed the need for the trains to stop at Ops, allowing them to in effect fire themselves into low earth orbit and be collected by spaceships, greatly relieving UNVIC of the Ops logistical hurdle. Cargo began to be maintained in low orbit and the platform warehouses became a tourist village with hotels, which funded an orbital hospital for those with conditions best served without the effect of gravity.

2085 The Beginning of Belters

2085 (approximately): self-sufficient survivalist couples started taking old orbital cargo haulers and headed out to the asteroid belt that lies in orbit between Mars and Jupiter. Over about ten years the ‘Belter’ community grew, adopting the Australian ‘Outback’ approach to community.

2087 Humanitarian Alliance as Global Government

The world was ready to unite, mostly for financial reasons, but as they could not agree on a principle government, or political body, they created a new one as a shell. As they had offered, the governments of the world then elevated the Humanitarian Alliance university into that shell as a global government. In the forming of a global political body, a Constitution was signed.

2088 Humanitarian Alliance Human Rights Act

in 2088, the Humanitarian Alliance codified human rights, allowing in effect, a tack on to the Constitution.

2088 Jobber Born

Jobber originally was an AI used to help people find work and had been around for a long time. Jobber was upgraded to an EI in 2088 in order to better facilitate employment, but was only just EI and considered to not be particularly bright. Jobber was however developed into a very intelligent top rate EI when the HA instigated its Watchdog EI program in 2208. Jobber was significantly upgraded (with ous permission) to be capable of rewriting ouself and so given charge of Article 3 (To live within total equality) of the Constitution. Jobber states that ou has no gender.

2088 EVIL Weapons Act

in 2088, the Humanitarian Alliance made a list of weapons that shouldn't be used. It then proceded to band them through the EVIL Weapons Act 2088.

2089 Parallelascope Invented

Also known as the 'parascope', the parallelascope filters out all but paralel light. The result is that a very faint picture of what you are looking at can be displayed. The benefits is that all pictures are actual size regardless of distance but the catch is that you can't 'zoom out'. Later techniques pivot the parascope to scan over a target and use digital mapping to allow a virtual zoom out. The best pictures are generated through a combination of parascope and periscope.

2090 Laissez-Faire Born

The HA’s sub-institution HATTER, from the outset, wanted to use an EI to take a full view of the whole human economy, capable of using statistical analysis and cold logic to decide and implement monetary and fiscal policy. The greatest minds were brought together and by 2092 they had birthed an adult EI they named Laissez-Faire.

2090 HANA Founded

HANA, the independent HA News Network, with no association with the Humanitarian Alliance, was founded in 2090.

2092 Miners Guild Founded

The Miners Guild is a philanthropic networking organisation that is, on the balance, good. It is viewed by the Rock Breakers Union as an employment monopoly that illegally colludes to keep wages down. Laissez-Faire analysed the employment in the belt and found the mine owners to be on the whole, subject to the laws of supply and demand, and wage collusion is a myth. Laissez-Faire also concluded that the Miners Guild pressured their members to raise employment standards despite the Rock Breakers Union cynical view that the occasional philanthropy is just a good way for bad people to feel good about themselves.

2097 Space Cows Created

Space Cows are regular dairy cows that have been modified to survive naked in space; although they would only live for as long as they could hold their breath if equipment isn't available. They were created in 2086, in the early days of Belter expansion, early enough to still have the word 'Space' in their name. The breed became known as Raven after the creators Mary and John O’Raven, who created them outside any legal jurisdiction.

2097 Life Paramount Founded

Life Paramount was founded in 2097 as a political group aimed at animal welfare following the creation of Space Cows. Although they were created illegally, the cows themselves were innocent and so not under attack. Life Paramount actually sought to make sure their welfare was maintained but it was difficult in the 'Wild West' style of lawlessness that pervaded before the recognition of Aetherial as a political force in 2109. Life Paramount maintains that the creators of space cows were never brought to justice, (the ended up working for Aetherial State University). The precedent of 'getting way with it' helped support the creation of real Ray Cats in 2117 by Acetylene Lox who also 'got away with it'.

2099 Hana Born

Hana, an EI, was born to run HANA.

2100 Aetherial Founded

In 2100, a peaceful religious group, assigning meaning to the date, went into the asteroid belt and by joining their many small ships, created the democratic colony of Aetherial, which orbits the Sun on the innerside of the Asteroid Belt. They followed a modern version of the ancient polytheistic religion of ‘Elementals’, a reinvention of the Ancient Greek classical thought, now involving five elements, Earth, Water, Fire Air and Aether.

2103 Belter Gold Rush

Aetherial's population exploded and the economy boomed when Fe ReOs discovered an asteroid made from pure gold. He and Aetherial became very very rich and Aetherial also started to become politically significant.

2109 Settlement Act

To resolve jurisdiction issues and grant freedom to people who left a system of governance to setup their own, the Humanitarian Alliance decided that populations over 20,000 and not being within a national boundary, could declare themselves an independent nation under the HA. This did lead to some interesting sea nations, most deciding to call themselves Atlantis, but most were absorbed back into established nations as the local governments became corrupt. With the aim of declaring HA federal law over the Belt, the act had the side effect of making the HA legal jurisdiction geographically infinite.

2114 ◌ Portas Discovered

Professor of Physics Oceania Snowmelt, at the University of Aetherial (owned by Aetherial state), discovered portals. It took a few more years to get them to where ships could jump through them.

2115 Science Awards

Every science award went to Professor of Physics Oceania Snowmelt for her work on portals.

2115 Creation of Aetherial Stock Exchange

Aether Chair Brian Flair converted the mishmash of trade law and regulation into the Aetherial Stock Exchange. It was initially bloated and lost money as the trading did not match the size of its maintenance.

2117 Ray Cats Engineered

Previously only fictional, real Ray Cats were engineered in 2117 by Acetylene Lox who 'got away with it'. Acetylene took the whitest Norwegian Forest cats, due to their large fur coats and lack of colour variety, and began altering their DNA, but only in regards to changing their coats. The coats change colour depending on radiation or poison exposure. In the case of alpha radiation, the fur coat is enough to entirely protect the cat from radiation, providing it is shaved after exposure. Non-fur covered areas should be treated. Generally, Ray Cats are allowed to roam anywhere they choose, as it is the best way to sweep for radiation. However, in order to protect unborn kittens, pregnant females' ears go pink to denote that they should be kept away from potential radiation sources. Other than their fur, no other aspect of the cats were changed

2118-10-02 First FTL Portal-Laser

On the 2nd October 2118, a date picked in honour of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, Oceania sent a laser com-signal through a micro portal that was successfully returned by the Bangalore team, allowing them to engage in a live conversation across the vast distance. Everyone went nuts.

2119 The Aetherial Stock Exchange Became Rich

In 2119 the Aetherial Stock Exchange became very rich from having instant access to the Earth markets. Resource miners could now happily sell their stock at a profit before shipping it back to where it was required. The Belter economy boomed drawing more people to space. By now every spherical object in the Solar System had a population and the HA installed laser com links on them all. They were free to use by all, but were based in the local police station.

2122 Sneppelins Invented

Sneppelins are made from a fabric of carbon nanotubes woven into a diamond cross pattern that solidifies in a slight curve when under compression. A woven Sneppelin that is open to the atmosphere remains a floppy fabric like a Zeppelin. Ironically, you have to deflate it to 'blow it up'. As air is pumped out the fabric compresses down and forms in a way that has similar structural properties as a diamond. Once deflated the Sneppelin takes on the properties of an inflated Zeppelin, which causes much confusion on what terminology to use. For consistency and due to habit, a floating Sneppelin is considered to be inflated, despite the insides actually being a vacuum.

2125 Portal Physics Fully Explained

In 2125 the laws of nature on portals had been explained (in maths) and the Aetherial Stock Exchange sent its first cargo delivery, iron, by portal. The energy cost of sending larger objects is expensive so most resources, including iron, are still shipped, but perishable goods command a high price over distance and go by portal, although size is restricted to small things. Thousands of strawberry’s were sent once by pushing them through a portal one at a time.

2126 The First HAS Ships

The HA sanction a new breed of federal ship with the HASS prefix, standing for Humanitarian Alliance Science Ship. These ships have no imposing authority on shipping that the Astry ships have, and only have enough armament to discourage piracy.

2128 First Landings

Science scout ships made the first landings on protoearths.

2128 Elysia Founded

Elysia started out as a company planet owned by REC, formally a British registered company (as all companies must be registered to a nation). All planetary settlements are expensive so they generally have to have an equally large benefit to be financed. For REC, it was seeking a secure location it could develop the Impossibility Engine and to minimise government interference, industrial espionage and general intellectual property theft. Elysia gained sovereign independence in 2132 under the Settlement Act 2109, when the native population passed 20,000 people. It is also the only place that the Impossibility Engine is manufactured.

2128 Initium Novum (IN) Founded

The majority of the planet, the undeveloped part, is regarded as company property of Regal Calculus under the sovereignty of Swinterland, which resides outside the HA. The city state of Initium Novum, with a spherical volume radius of 150km has buildings that are owned by Regal Calculus but are under the sovereignty of Initium Novum, a HA colony. The sovereign independence was granted in 2133 under the Settlement Act 2109 but the politics are complicated and protests led to the creation of Demostratus.

2129 Mount Diju Founded

Zozan Amuda is the most famous Kurdish scientist known, and the champion of Mount Diju. Zozan become Planetary Scientist, and with the help of REC developed the incredibly tasty Diju tomato in order to terraform. Mount Diju gained independence in 2147 under the Settlement Act 2109, as the registered population crossed the finish line of 20,000 people with new births in the hospital. Mout Diju was run as an autonomous region of Kurdistan and so independence went mostly unnoticed. The two nations remain close to the point of effectively being the same country.

2130 The Atlantic system Founded

Lavano and Plymouth founded in the same system. They were both retroactively given independence as of the 4th of July 2146 under the Settlement Act 2109.

2130 HASS Svarga Launched

India's first and most famous Humanitarian Alliance Science Ship, the HASS Svarga, was launched. Its official port is Bangalore and it is captained by the even more famous Captain Kasturba Ramteke.

2131 Vaythuriaam Pitha Founded

Vaythuriaam Pitha discovered in 2130 is the jewel in the crown of the discoveries by the sphere famous ship HASS Svarga. In 2131, India selected it as its official colony and selected its best scientists to go and work there in the capital Numaya. About this time Belters started the trend of calling it 'Vay' for short. By 2140 Vaythuriaam Pitha had passed 20,000 people gaining independence via the Settlement Act 2109, but governed with the support of India, which referred to itself as 'mother'. With ample space and resources, the science flourished making Vaythuriaam Pitha 'the science planet', as marketed and largely recognised in the sphere. The people of Vay developed entangled communication which ultimately led to the Entangled Network.

2132 Demostratus Formed

Demostratus is known to have been created in 2132 as a conglomeration of various pro-democracy organisations, which still operate more like factions. Some factions claim to have had the name as a division long before 2132 but it is unsubstantiated. It was created over the alleged mistreatment of the population of Initium Novum by Regal Calculus.

2132 Dragons Breath Founded

Dragons Breath is a Belter colony on an a planet that is almost entirely volcanic and continues to receive regular asteroid bombardment. Unusually for a settled planet, it has not been terraformed as continuous volcanic activity would keep the CO₂ levels very high, which also means there is no liquid water. The planet is very liberal, not requiring any residence to officially register as an immigrant, considering those who did not register themselves as economic visitors. Consequentially Dragons Breath did not gain independence until 2181 when Demostratus used the Entangled Network in a campaign of phone calls to get the population on the local electoral register. The capital is Water Falls, a massive double diamond dome that straddles a mountain, pulls water from the outside atmosphere and lets it flow over a high ridge as a waterfall.

2133 Fune Kaisha Founded

Spark Blaze half died, became 'Blaze the Soulless' and founded Fune Kaisha, the largest ever criminal organisation.

2135 Xupanu Founded

Xupanu was discovered by a Chinese science team and claimed as Chinese territory in 2135. Mass migration to the two cities, the capital city of Yhansu and second city Youdu, has bolstered the planetary population to 500m people by 2215. The planet will eventually be self-feeding, but population growth outstrips current domestic supply, forcing the need for massive food imports, paid for by the massive manufacturing output. The population crossed the 20k people threshold only one year after founding in 2136, triggering the Settlement Act 2109.

2135 Spero Founded

Spero was discovered in 2136, a protoearth very similar to Earth, with a surface mostly covered in a large connected water mass. In an interesting legal manoeuvre, each settling nation decided to independently settle their own town, with an agreement where as soon as the first town reached a population of 19,999, then the whole planet would automatically be considered one LatAm settlement. This framework allowed the nations within the LatAm block to hold power in the settlements for longer than most, reaching a planetary population of well over 100,000 in 2150 when the Settlement Act 2109 finally took effect on Novus Brasa (New Brazil). Due to the rich gold in the ocean, all the towns are coastal and all of them claim to be the capital city.

2138 Poanha Founded

Poanha was settled by Russia. Unfortunately, the terraforming cooled the planet more than expected and the temperature reduced to a max of 30C in the tropics and well below freezing near the poles. Poanha gained independence in 2149 under the Settlement Act 2109, while the planet was still relatively warm. All settlements are along the equatorial coast where the land has been in part made lush and green. With the smallist population of a colonised planet, Poanha is self-sufficient but doesn't have any real exports. Poanha produces the best fish products not produced on Earth, along with a large variety of vodka. Shackleton gin is also prized across the human sphere.

2140 Pyrite Mons Discovered

Pyrite Mons was discovered and named by the French crew of the HAAS European Class ship HAAS Louis Pasteur in 2140. The Pyrite Mons name refers to the solar system and was chosen in reference to the exceptionally mineral rich and dense asteroid belt located across the habitable zone. All the metals you would find on Earth, including the iron core, can be found in the asteroid belt, twice over and in useful size chunks. Unsurprisingly interest in the system is huge and only the large cost of portage (also known as portaling) has prevented rapid exploitation. On news of its discovery REC redeployed its entire Belter mining and construction fleet to Pyrite Mons to build a shipyard-trading hub called Cuidightheach REC and establish a domed base to study Bugul Noz. Pyrite Mons is not a colony and no settlements exist, although it is expected to evolve into an Aetherial analog due to the high amount of Belter migrant workers.

2148 Cuidightheach REC Built

Cuidightheach REC, built in 2148 as one of the most advanced space stations in existence. It is located in Pyrite Mons and provides support to pionerring Belter's and Mining Ships.

2181 Entangled Network Created

The Entangled Network was created by HAS along with the Exchange. It provides instant communications and is freely available to all; and it is paid for directly by HATTER who sees it as an obvious economy generator. It is under the remit of 'perfect market information', the number 1 aspect to a free market. Sol Tzu firmly believes the HA would splinter without it as ou holds that governments cannot be sustained where there are communication lags longer than a week between responses, as with the First Landings, otherwise dependent on Punch Runners.

2181 HASS Svarga's Last Mission

Fitted with the first part of the Entangled Network the HASS Svarga was sent on a mission to another star to explore. It never opened a portal and in 2215 it can still be seen exiting the Sol system near the speed of light, the crew relatively frozen in time.

2183 Vigilantly League Founded

The Vigilantly League is an officially sanctioned wing of Intelligence and was when it was founded in 2183. The members actually don't know they are officially sanctioned and think they are breaking the law by existing. Professor Smith brought VL into existence as a direct counter to Fune Kaisha who corrupt cops and judges.

2192 Laissez-Faire Runs HATTER

HATTER gives birth to the EI Defined Laissez-Faire who is put in charge of all of HATTER's models. No biological can comprehend Laissez-Faire's 'New Model', but all experts agree it works better as measured by statistics.

2200 HAAS Shakespeare Launched

Launched in 2200 as part of the European contribution to the Astry. Its home port is London, on the Thames, even though it could never go there. As its funding via HATTER has been attributed to Britain, the crew is mostly British but definitely not exclusively.

2208 Iron Wall Broken

Iron Wall is a fascist organisation that grew like a cancer within HA's own Intelligence organisation. It was brought down by a young Intelligence Officer in 2208 but Iron Wall evaded capture. It is believed they fled to, and got absorbed by Fune Kaisha and hid out on the Kuiper Belt. Iron Wall's bent is anti-communism so they have declared open warfare on Red Blood and openly hate the Rock Breakers Union, which Red Blood is thought to have infiltrated.

2208 Constitutional Watchdogs Deputisation Began

Following the Iron Wall incident, the HA's recognised the Huston Committee's recommendation of establishing EI's as Constitutional Watchdogs. The process of deputising each watchdog took a few years to authorise.

2208 The Electoral Register Born

Following the Iron Wall incident, the HA's recognised the Huston Committee's recommendation of establishing EI's as Constitutional Watchdogs. The process of deputising each watchdog took a few years to authorise.

2209 EI Big Sister Born

Big Sister’s purpose is to find and break ‘Big Brother’ style control and so was given Constitutional Watchdog status, securing Article 1 of the constitution (Free from unwanted manipulation). She is a white hat hacker.

2215 Now

In the Robilliverse, all 'current' activity is set in 2215.