Dark Earth Timeline Discussion

[Paul Nuttall]

France’s planned atomic and fusion powered revolution

Atomic and Fusion?????

Is the Atomic legacy?

[Simon Darkshade]

Yes, that is the exact meaning of that part. France has operated atomic power plants since the late 1950s and built them up to 1971.

[Simon Darkshade]

March 1976 Notes

- The Chinese H-8 is rather different from either version from @, being a bigger beast. The analysts who say that this is a deliberate flashing to send some sort of message do have some substance to their view
- The update of US bomber development does show that there has been less of a decline in numbers, albeit from a higher initial base, as well as a broad basis of several types of bomber (penetrator, missile carrier, pathfinder/strategic recce and a fair few mediums for secondary and tertiary theatres)
- Generally speaking, the Democratic nomination is RFK's to lose
- The French wine riots are historical, albeit with those ones motivated by Italian and Spanish wine imports; the inclusion of English wine is an indicator of different climes and cultural developments. The nuclear programme will reduce energy costs markedly, in time, with France going for fusion power in a big way
- We see a few new members on the Politburo, with Korolev the rocket scientist being recognisable, along with Gerasimov (KGB Chair in The Cardinal of the Kremlin), Kissoff (Soviet premier in Dr. Strangelove), Mikhail Sergetov (Minister of Energy and Petroleum in RSR) and a little mystery chap named Ilyanov. The return of the (Very) Old Bolsheviks is a sign of Sergeyev adopting an 'interesting' approach
- Australia is having a very good and stable 1970s, and Bob Hawke coming to power during the height of the Cold War makes for some interestingly different defence policies, on top of a different economy driving differing welfare policies
- Anton Innauer's jump is historical, albeit a bit longer, but that referenced by the slightly sozzled judge is a little Easter Egg about James Bond's ski jump (replete with Union Jack parachute) from The Spy Who Loved Me
- Beirut is getting saturated in troops, which, in the absence of distinct external players from the east and the lack of a full blown civil war, yet, is having more of a 1958 impact vs 1983
- The Chinese meteor shower takes a historical event, rinses it through a bit of The Andromeda Strain as a distractor, and suggests something a bit more benign
- The British budget, far from calling for £3000 million in cuts, is primed to stuff the electorate's mouth, pockets and shoes with gold ahead of a very tight General Election, along with seeding the defence and space budgets with more money. Heck, even the idea of increasing particular budget areas is a very strong difference. As the Imperial Sovereign Fund continues to grow, Pensions will be effectively funded 'off Budget', and Welfare is both directed in different areas and benefits from dramatically lower unemployment
- Many in the Philippines hope that the discovery of oil will both improve their fortunes and get others to pay attention to them
- The reconfigured Maunsell Forts are a very small tactical indicator of conventional defences being *improved* compared to steadily run down. Sticking a Floating Fortress in the middle of the North Sea would have some consequences beyond defence concerns
- The US cricket side wins in a thriller over New Zealand, but their real challenge will come in the northern summer, right in the midst of the big celebrations. Their major players are all fictional, with Jonny Sawyer being a descendant of Tom, and Jack Ryan being, well, familiar...
- Soviet ships mooping through the Indian Ocean is being used as an excuse to push CVV by its supporters, which turns out to be very well timed. The British are also interested in a similar medium carrier, if you can really call an 87,000t supercarrier 'medium'
- Whoever is sending the letters to the newspapers has the formula for Coke and the 12 secret herbs and spices and what they intend will play out
- Italy is heading in a different direction without any internal strife and the abrupt end to the 1960s good times. The offhand mention of Libyan oil as well as Southern Italian fields does hint at a bigger Italian role in their former colony in the absence of a particular coup
- The USAF attack bomber update is full of detail, with the little bits of humour from the RAF and RCAF liaison officers acting to split it up; 'Must Replace Canberra Again' is followed by some tantalising glimpses of what will become the Gripen and Rafale, an air superiority/fighter interceptor version of the Tornado and something that became the EFA in our time
- Kentucky's ratification of the 13th was historical, but their governor is the son of Colonel Sanders, who died as a young boy historically; Frankfort being written Frankford reflects its original name
- The Easter Egg mention of David Cloister in Fiji acts to distract the reader from the real bit of news, whereby there is a bit more British migration to Fiji and other parts of the South Pacific
- Tensions continue to mount steadily in the Congo
- March 21st is packed. Charlie's Angels include Officer Clara Pilsky from Hill Street Blues, with Charlie's 'idea' coming from John Steed of The Avengers and Colonel Chestbridge of Danger 5, Kung Fury coming from the film of the same name and the actual cops from Dragnet. Having tomahawk steaks turn out to be an evil scam is a bit of my own criticism of that modern culinary trend
- There has been a spike in the birth rate, and if this continues, at cost, then it will start to have a downstream effect. It is juxtaposed with the steady but small scale success of the voluntary repatriation programme, which at this point works out to an annualised rate of ~ 6000
- The final flight of the yakuza porn star kamikaze pilot ends slightly differently
- Replacement of the Leopard (which is rather different from the lightly armoured MBT of @) is starting a bit later, but the Leopard itself is a late 1960s tank here to boot. The postulated production level of 200/month vs 32-35/month for the Leopard 1 in the 1960s reflects the sheer scale of Western tank production, modelled on roughly twice the peak US level of 1957 of 900 M48s; the limits of American tank manufacturing capacity in the 'High Cold War' in particular, and to some extent German, were more financial than absolutely physical in some respects
- Indian naval plans are expansive and will lead to some interesting developments
- Bethesda Station is a reference to Fallout 3, with Mr. T. Howard being fairly much a giveaway
- Nadia Comaneci foreshadows her performance at the Olympics, whilst some sort of sword fight or suicide goes on in the parking basement; there can only be one real explanation
- The intrepid Polish solo yachtswoman gets passed by a rather large (by our standards) RN fleet of 2 carriers, 2 battleships, 5 cruisers and 26 destroyers heading to the Falklands for a wee little exercise; by DE RN standards, it is a squadron
- A completely different Oscars, with Shaw being a good winner for Best Supporting Actor, whilst Schwarzenegger is particularly exuberant when receiving Best Actor
- The West End Gang has a criminal past, but no criminal future
- A new WW2 television series debuts, based on Churchill's books. It does cover a lot of the ground that The World At War did, but so did many other subsequent WW2 documentaries. Note that Monty appears as a little mini Easter Egg to him not passing away earlier in the month

[Simon Darkshade]

Coming in April:

- Patrick Moore alerts the world to the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect
- Something very odd begins in Paraguay
- Defections, arrests and spy games
- Rival vegetable crazes lead to corny arguments about giving peas a chance
- Selection of a new chief executioner in Britain
- Debut of a nature documentary presented by David Attenborough on The World Around Us, with the first episode showing the dodos of Mauritius, the mega penguins of Antarctica, the Mexican staring frog, the owlbear, the Australian land shark and the elusive San Franciscan white rabbit
- A mass escape of apes in Ohio has a twist
- Italy tests its first land based long range ballistic missile
- The Australian Cricket Board signs a new broadcast agreement with a wealthy Australian media owner
- Discovery of the Casco de Leiro in Spain and the Gilling Sword in England
- A breakthrough in strategic arms talks, whilst the War Office lays out options for growth of the British Army
- A hockey fight establishes a further precedent
- Opening of Windows on the World
- India attempts to implement family planning restrictions
- First sighting of the Cornish Owlman
- An armed robbery in Melbourne goes awry due to the intervention of two holidaying Flying Squad detectives
- Gore-Tex is patented
- The British general election is called

[Simon Darkshade]

Back in December 2024 (in another lifetime, it seems…), I wrote a mini article on the Royal Family which can be found here:

https://tboverse.com/viewtopic.php?p=43679#p43679

1.) Recent events do merit some sort of reflection, particularly with regard to the Queen’s second son. First and foremost, there is the question posed in Planescape: Torment - “What can change the nature of a man?”

- In part, time and the times. Through living through different events, and in a different society, a boy will grow into a different sort of man. This isn’t a ‘catch all’, though, or a cop out, but just a beginning. Plenty of young boys have been right little terrors, but subsequently grow up into very good men; the right punch in the nose at the right time and place, or a chastening experience a la Ace Rimmer are typical fictional devices
- Influence can come from friends and mentors during childhood and youth, but that influence doesn’t fundamentally change someone, at least not quickly. This is one of what I’d put down as a contributing or shaping factor. Here, there will be a circle of a few rough friends, along with a smarter one, nicknamed ‘Brains’ in the fashion of Boy’s Own/The Eagle stories of the 50s, 60s and 70s, as well as an irascible mentor type playing the roles that Mountbatten and Van Der Post did for Charles
- A contemporary who is close, but different in a complementary way. Here, that would be his cousin Prince Carl Gustav of Sweden, the eldest son of Margaret. Having an effective equal, and even a slight superior in some respects, can change a boy during the pivotal period referred to in the Jesuit quote
- Purpose. Giving a young man purpose, direction or a role can curb some of his lesser instincts and promote the more noble ones. In this case, it would likely come in staying in the RN rather longer than 41, firstly in an active commission and then in the Admiralty
- A suitable mate. Finding a spouse who complements the better parts of an individual’s character, instincts and behaviour and curbs the bad is the ideal, but difficult to achieve. Certainly a different match than Sarah would be better, despite their compatibility on some levels. I was initially toying with the idea of Diana Spencer, but there was enough material there for an entire conference, to quote Fawlty Towers. Where I’m leaning at the moment is a strong woman similar in some respects to Anne, who in turn took after some of the positive aspects of her father’s character
- Experience, and particularly stressful experiences. Having a life changing event, such as going to war or sustaining a life threatening injury or having a very narrow escape from the same can quite literally change a man, sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse
- Adversity. Suffering does breed wisdom, at least in many cases, so that having something go awry early can mean that there is scope for recovery whilst there is still time

With some of these already in hand, there is a subtly different 17 year old youth about to finish school. Plans to join the RN immediately after will be interrupted by a significant injury in some form of crash caused by youthful idiocy and some character traits. Recovering from that takes 8-9 months, during which time a little change starts to occur in the form of reading and being read to. More things will happen from there.

Will there be a war to further change the man? It is possible that some sort of war occurs, but it won’t be the Falklands. It is more likely that he will get into fixed wing aviation as a fighter or attack pilot, which might not give as much time for extracurricular activities.

At the end of the day, all of these factors, and time, will result in some change.

2.) Having four additional Royal children, including twins, will change some family dynamics, with the closest historical circumstance being the kids of Victoria and Albert. With the other children of George V and their own broods - the Sussexes, the Gloucesters, the Kents and the Harewoods - The Firm will be quite a bit larger

3.) The idea of Charles being GG of Australia is one that is both being explored and criticised on different levels, as he has competing military and governmental/constitutional roles, but it isn’t an utterly impossible circle to square

4.) Edward is a little older, being a 1961 drop vs a 1964 one, and that changes some family dynamics again, and also opens up an earlier marriage, perhaps even with a certain someone

[Simon Darkshade]

Our little sneaky sneak preview:

April 5: The Manchester Guardian profiles the ongoing ‘Corn Craze’, or the marked rise in popularity and sales of sweet corn in Britain over the last decade, driven in part by increased Canadian and South African production and in part by the development of hardy strains grown in Lyonesse and the West Country. The article goes on to quote the official spokesman of the British Pea Growers Association, Dr. Winston O’Boogie, as imploring consumers to ‘give peas a chance’, whilst qualifying the statement with data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food, which shows that the most common vegetable members of the iconic British combination of ‘meat, potatoes and three veg’ are carrots, cauliflower and peas, with corn breathing down the neck and head of cabbage and having overleaped both pumpkin and beans. A note from the editor advises readers that a further vegetable related pun regarding 'has beans' and an unmentionable atrocity against language about lettuce had been excised from the final edition of the article, and the journalist responsible reassigned to become the Guardian’s correspondent on Trinity Island inside the Arctic Circle.

April 8: Establishment of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in Britain, with Peter Shore being appointed as the first Secretary of State for Veteran’s Affairs and responsibility for veteran’s pensions, healthcare, housing assistance, provision for widows and children, assorted care and assistance and oversight of the Imperial War Graves Commission and the Imperial War Museum. Coordination of war pensions of the 3.7 million Great War veterans, the 18.5 million Second World War veterans, the 2.3 million Korean War veterans and the 1.1 million men who served in the Malayan and Kenyan campaigns of the 1950s is an increasingly complex task, covering over £5629 million in pensions, disablement support and war widow’s allowances, but is seen as one of great importance for the future, as veterans of World War Two age and enter the maximal support period. Even as the median age of the British population remains relatively young, the political advantage of engaging with the votes of older Britons is seen as an area of interest of both parties.

April 14: The entire troop of 50 baboons escapes from their section of the Lion Country Safari attraction at the King's Island Amusement Park in Mason, Ohio. It is initially thought that the apes remained within the overall bounds of the park, but investigating expedition by armed warders discovers that someone or something had facilitated their escape through the three layer electrified outer fence. Footage from the closed circuit television security cameras show what looks to be a group of elusive figures deliberately keeping to the shadows, and, most bizarrely of all, a close up image of some sort of large chimpanzee climbing up to disable the cameras. Upon viewing the footage, Ohio State Police immediately hand over the case to the FBI's Y-Files office.

April 23: Screening of the first episode of The World Around Us, a high quality nature documentary presented by David Attenborough and produced for the BBC. The debut shows a number of the strange rarities of the animal kingdom, ranging from the dodos of Mauritius, the mega penguins of Antarctica and the Mexican staring frog, to the Swiss owlbear, the Australian land shark and the elusive San Franciscan white rabbit, and balancing informative science and descriptive graphics with the highly popular vision of the beasts in their natural habitats. Attenborough concludes with a sobering reminder that many of these rare and wonderful creatures face an uncertain future if mankind does not take care to curb his impact upon the environment; it is followed by the heartening vision of a new family of white rabbits peaking up out of their warrens to the springtime world, so as not to entirely end on a disquieting note.

April 26: The Admiralty's Trade Division and the Ministry of Shipping complete their annual review of the Merchant Navy's disposition of vessels suitable for military service in the event of mobilisation as Ships Taken Up From Trade. Of the Merchant Navy's total of 9625 vessels with a gross tonnage of 102,678,143 tons, a total of 25 liners, 69 container ships, 54 refrigerated freighters, 78 tankers, 97 cargo ships, 264 ferries and 226 trawlers, along with all 24 merchant submarines and 10 atomic powered merchant ships, have been earmarked as suitable for naval use and ranked according to their level of utility, size, provision for armament and conversion capacity. Current contingency plans call for the use of the North Sea ferry fleet for the transport of British reinforcements to the Continent in the event of a crisis, whilst the more modern trawlers which have been constructed to naval standards would be employed primarily for coastal minesweeping and support duties by the Royal Naval Patrol Service and 24 container ships, again built to a dual purpose design, would be rapidly converted to merchant aircraft carriers. Light, medium and anti-aircraft guns and missile systems continue to be stockpiled for use in the event of war, but there are recommendations for some level of rationalisation of these armaments.

April 30: First performance of English turbofolk musical band Iron Maiden at St. Nicks Hall in Poplar. It is received with a mixture of polite if slightly baffled enthusiasm, with some members of the audience calling out between songs to turn some of the electric guitars and lutes down a tad so that they did not drown out the power-flute, harpsi-keytar and hurdy-gurdy quite so much. A vacationing American, Mr. James Hendrix, a erstwhile bard and member of the Reverend Elvis Presley’s loyal posse, attends the show as a guest of some of the nurse midwives of nearby Nonnatus House, comments favourably on the band, saying they could one day be the equals of topline musical stars such as The Shadows, Gene Pitney, Bobby Darin, or Val Doonican if they keep practicing.