Unauthorized but based on "The Stone Dogs" CONTAINS SPOILERS
Last Updated: 2005-10-13
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A Chronology of the Domination of the Draka after the Eurasian War
The chronology below is my best guess at melding what's in "Marching Through Georgia," "Under The Yoke" and "The Stone Dogs," since they differ sometimes. Where they do, I made a choice, but there are so many conflicts in "The Stone Dogs" that I didn't record them all. It really starts at the end of the Eurasian War, where my "Eurasian War Strategies" document ends, but there are events from earlier that I found in the last two books which weren't mentioned in the "Timeline of the Domination" at the back of the first book. I did this mostly to collect information useful for a fanfic set just before the Final War. The very end includes tidbits from "Drakon" and one of Anne-Marie Talbott's fanfics.
If you haven't yet read "The Stone Dogs," much of this will contain SPOILERS! You've been warned.
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1788: Oakenwald Plantation established by the von Shrakenbergs.
1791: Hilltop fort that becomes Castle Tarleton built.
1833: British abolish slavery throughout the Empire, including the Crown Colony of Draka.
1848: Areas south of Rio Grande annexed, producing Hispanic backwaters that later become states "free" only in name.
1860s: Douglas is President during the Civil War.
1870s: Reconstruction in the defeated South, but the cause of the Negro is essentially abandoned. This (with the Hispanics) submerges almost a third of the American population until the 1920s. Anthony Trollope visits Archona while researching his book Prussia in the Antipodes.
1916: Female Draka Citizens allowed into battle only as ambulance drivers and the like.
1917: Draka enter Anatolia after breaking the Ankara line. Karl von Shrakenberg is a centurion during the war, wounded in the leg by an Austrian antiairship burst.
1919: Archon Gunnarson brings law into conformity with fact, and proclaims the Domination a sovereign state.
1920: World population 2.5 billion. Domination territory includes Thrace and Bulgaria (city of Sofia).
1926: Northern Afghanistan conquered by Draka, named Province of Bactria. City of Masahd is in Province of Hyrcania.
1930s: With the Hoover administration over and America in the throes of the Depression, changing attitudes finally acknowledge the racial problems in the USA.
1937: Syria, part of the New Territories, transferred to the Police Zone — the civil government of the Domination. Tanya von Shrakenberg was raised at Evendim plantation in Bekaa Valley, Syria Province.
1941: Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan; massive damage on Battleship Row and the carrier Enterprise sunk in the harbor mouth. Eric von Shrakenberg with the 1st Airborne Chiliarchy, given field-promotion to Centurion for his service during the airdrop on Sicily which is confirmed after the fall of Milan. Over 500 million serfs in the Domination; 91 percent of the population.
1942: First computer is all transistors and "size of a house." Average tactical aircraft speed is 400 mph. Crimea taken by amphibious assault in fall.
1943: Fred Kustaa a Marine in Alliance forces engaged with Japanese on Sumatra, used a Springfield-7 which didn't have a detachable box clip.
During Eurasian War: American support of Russia lost when both Hitler and the Domination release evidence of Stalin's death camps. About 30 million Russians died from starvation because the Domination couldn't spare resources from the front with Germany to feed them. Prop-engine fighters reach a maximum of 480 mph, and swept-wing turbojets enter service. Experimental German air-launched rocket planes reach nearly Mach 2. Fred Kustaa is an Allied liaison with Domination against Hitler, observes Belgian farmers being forced to drive their tractors across a German mine field. Nuclear strikes on Japan included Osaka. The man-portable anti-tank weapon has the nickname "Pazooka".
1945: Tanya von Shrakenberg a Cohortach in the Archonal Guard Legion, which passes through Lyon towards the end of the European portion of the Eurasian War. Chateau Retour — 3,000 hectares — established in what becomes Touraine Province.
July 1945: Japanese surrender unconditionally to Alliance when faced with the prospect of more Alliance and Draka attacks, and further nuclear bombardment. ["Marching Through Georgia" timeline appendix says this is 1946, but skips 1945 entirely, so I'll take that as a typo.]
1945+: Second Treaty of Rio continues Alliance For Democracy on a permanent basis. Grand Council of U.S., U.K., Brazil to set policy. Assembly of member states includes all of South America (Republic of Grand Columbia, Empire of Brazil, Chile, Argentina), Southeast Asian Federation (Indo-Chinese Republic, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesian Federation), India (includes our Pakistan and Burma), Australasian Federation (Australia and New Zealand). Free trade, joint military forces, joint currency, local autonomy.
Strategos Eric von Shrakenberg marries Sofie Nixon. Dominarch (head of armed forces?) is John Teesdale. Domination continues phasing out construction of steam locomotives in favor of turbocompound-electrics. Crimea is military reservation, not part of Province of Sarmatia.
1946: Italy declared open for settlement. Terrorists/partisans active in Carpathian Province. Johanna von Shrakenberg marries Centurion Thomas Ingolffson at Claestum Plantation, District of Tuscany (includes city of Florence), Province of Italy. Province includes District of Campania near Naples. About 1/10th of world population died 1939–1946, total now about 2.5 billion, same as 1920. Citizen population about 40 million. Mexico City population about 1 million, Los Angeles is 350 thousand.
Turbojet fighters reach speeds of 620 mph.
~November 1946: Roman Catholic Pope deported to Alliance.
1946–1950s: Guerilla and terrorist warfare in newly occupied portions of the Domination. Deportations, executions, etc. All schools in Europe closed, printed material confiscated. Death penalty for unauthorized education, possession of radio receiver. Partial demobilization of Draka armed forces; conversion to airmobile light infantry units widespread, Janissaries kept at strength and new units recruited from Europe and Asia. Plantations set up in more secure zones of new territories, compound-factory system extended. Massive economic reconstruction, "megaprojects": damming of Mediterranean Sea at Gibraltar (modeled on existing Dardanelles (aka Bosporus) Project) authorized August 1947, redirection of Arctic rivers to Central Asia (Ob–Yenisey in West Siberia Province to Aral Sea), etc.
Alliance occupation and reconstruction in Japan under Halleck and Army of Occupation; self-government and Alliance membership by 1952.
Broadcast television, first widespread use of computers in process industry, large-scale data management. Rapid economic growth throughout Alliance; "consumer society," Keynsian economics. Naval and air forces emphasized. Anti-Draka sentiment increases steadily.
Area around Lyon declared Province of Burgundia (between 1945 and April 1947). Tiltrotor VTOL transports introduced in 1950s for Citizen Force "air-shock" Legions.
In newly conquered regions, population continues to decrease due to continuing partisan and resistance activity, and sheer despair.
Rare-earth superconductors requiring liquid nitrogen discovered in 1950s.
The Domination and Alliance begin a tension-filled Protracted Struggle, initially with almost open warfare between the O.S.S. and Draka in Europe, later scaled back to less grandiose operations as Draka prove they are willing to make gross reprisals. The races in weapons technology spills over into computers, materials development, and leads to a "crash project" mentality governed by what metal-bashing rule-of-thumb engineers believe is possible, not what theory allows. For example, if attacking the problem of polio, this mentality would have led to a magnificent iron lung rather than a vaccine. The "roads not taken" will eventually constrain both sides into a Final War with "secret weapons" lifted from the margins of warfare, as espionage and continual clashes have kept their main warfighting capabilities rather evenly matched.
1947: O.S.S. begins clandestine operations in support of European Resistance movements. First fusion bomb exploded in February at Bikini atoll by Alliance project headed by Oppenheimer. Refugee German scientists working under Dr. Clarke begin development of ramjet (later scramjet) sub-orbital missile to deliver "sun-bomb." First Draka supersonic jet flight ~March. Anti-immigrant riots in Mexico City and Mexican states in April over European influx. S.L.A Marshall elected U.S. President (either a mistake or term starts before April)(note that President has a line veto, sits in First Office of Washington House). Edwina Palme is Archon at the time. Switzerland surrenders to Domination after mass famine. Finland crushed, but becomes "hardship posting" due to extensive resistance. Mass deportation of Finns to East Asia. France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ukraine declared open for Draka settlement. Riga is in Aestii Province, site of East Baltic HQ. Le Havre is in Normandy Province. Marseilles is site of Europe Command. Post-war "Baby Boom" in America fails to materialize as Hispanic and Asian birth rates continue declining; "Wanda the Welder" continues working, and women continue in non-combat positions in the American portion of the Alliance military. "Smokey the Badger" is mascot for forest fire prevention. Alliance declares 200-mile Peace Zones around coasts; Draka had 125-kilometer Exclusion Zones already. Mention of Information Directorate. Citizens required/encouraged to have 4 children; Draka law and custom demand a single heir for an estate, usually the eldest. While 3/4 of the Citizens are urban, the plantation still symbolizes the Domination, and Landholders are still the aristocrats. Russian population being supplanted by German serfs, as several years of starvation has left them poor workers.
Dirigibles with interior electrodetectors on trans-polar and interior area patrols, fuel-cell submarines under icecap and on long-duration submerged patrols in Atlantic, land-based fuel-cell systems in remote locations off power grid. Northern Norway still War Zone even after Lapps deported, has sites for Domination's "Northern Lights Chain" of microwave electrodetectors — includes automatic and manned stations linked by teleprinters. Experimental Alliance B-30 ramjet bomber deployed for O.S.S. infiltration in June, Mach 2.2 at 36,000 meters, titanium-alloy skin, possibly liquid-hydrogen fueled, built by Pacific Aircraft. Draka supersonic surface-to-air missiles with beam-rider guidance. Chaff for microwave electrodetector deception (at Mach 2.2!?). Infiltration capsule built with non-reflective outside coating, ground proximity sensor for parachute deployment. Alliance has built man-portable infrared missiles; several systems including the launch tripod weigh less than a ton — the missiles are 12 inches thick, transistors and vacuum tubes in the electronics. Draka Shark-class delta-wing twin-engine jet fighters. Twin-Zebra light transports; high wing with two engines, two booms back to tail. Draka supersonic two-stage surface-to-air missiles with beam-rider guidance. 60,000 Domination troops and less than 500,000 total in Finland; 3 Legions of Janissaries and a brigade of Citizens, most of the population is imported Swedes, Danes and Germans in plantations on the south coast. Janissary training takes 6 to 8 months, volunteers are now mostly Europeans: Germans, Danes, Croats, Czechs and even Swiss. Dragon flakpanzer carrying two six-barrelled 25 mm Gatlings, each 6,000 rpm. Self-propelled 100mm automortars (which may have rocket assist), mounted on armored personnel carrier chassis. Transport helicopters with side door machine guns and ten troops aboard, two-man ground-attack helicopters with chin-mount multi-barrel gatling cannon and "wing"-mounted rocket pods. Domination is ahead in helicopters, captured most of the German research too. Fission power reactors (Alliance), breeder reactor under construction. Microfiche, "copier", "dictorec" (has headphones, for dictation to a serf auxiliary operating a typewriter) available. "Under The Yoke" events.
1948: Nuclear submarine (Alliance?). Northern France declared Loire Province, Touraine Province is area near Tours. Citizen Force strength down to about 1,150,000, normal peacetime level for a free population of 40 million; Janissaries kept at war strength of 6.5 million indefinitely. Frederick and Marya Lefarge born in New York. [I'd think the U.S. went metric now or soon after, but I have no evidence.]
1949: First integrated circuits, State of Ontario. Draka fusion bomb, missile projects follow. Domination's first nuclear energy plant begins operations northeast of Capetown.
1950: Strategos Eric von Shrakenberg retires from active service, appointed Senator and junior member of Long-Range Strategic Planning project. Sweden, North China, Korea declared open for Draka settlement. Price of unskilled serf drops to 53 aurics (pre-war price was 200).
1951: DNA identified, Tashkent Institute. Extensive Draka research into mind-altering chemicals, molecular biology, etc. Harmost (Draka Governor) Felice Vashon of Loire Province (northern France) and most of her staff killed by mass poisoning at banquet. O.S.S. infiltrators blamed, Draka and Alliance aircraft clash over English Channel, 10,000 Parisians impaled along Champs Elysees in reprisal.
1952: Uprising in Barcelona overruns Security Directorate HQ. Draka personnel evacuated by helicopter, city destroyed by 1 megatonne sun bomb. Films and survivors shown across occupied Europe.
Elvira Naldorssen, author of Meditations and the Will-to-Power philosophy, dies.
1953: Laser invented, U. of Buenos Aires.
1954: Yolande Ingolfsson and Myfwany Venders born.
1955: Ramjet suborbital missile exceeds Mach 8 (outside best performance bounds of Mach 2 to 7 for the ramjet principle).
1956: First transplant of fertilized human ova, Alexandria Institute.
Late 1950s: Recombinant DNA techniques developed.
1958: Earth-to-orbit turbojet-scramjet-rocket (unmanned), Alliance Aerospace Force. Alliance approach is to attempt to model airflow, but current computers are inadequate. Draka approach is to build a gigawatt of nuclear power stations, use the Dniester River for cooling, and construct a quarter-scale Mach 18 wind tunnel. Alliance has lead in precision-formed refractory alloys. Draka "leapfrog" with fiber-matrix composites and high-strength ceramics.
1959: First manned scramjet flight to orbit (Alliance)
1960: First Draka flight to orbit (unmanned). Early scramjets can carry 6 tonnes to orbit.
1960s: Last pure steam locomotives removed from service in Domination in favor of turbocompound-electrics.
1961: First Draka manned flight to orbit. First "perscomp" marketed in Alliance, by Pacific Cybersystems. Alliance permanent space station.
1962: Draka permanent space station. Manned moon landings (Alliance first by a few months); first permanent Lunar settlements. "Skinsuits" made of flexible plastic with backpack life support and helmets. Fetal transplant process cleared for Citizen use by Eugenics Directorate, expected to double existing Citizen birthrate of 24 per thousand. Domination spending about 10% of GNP on space for at least next two decades.
Long-Range Strategic Planning Board begins searching for a "secret weapon" that doesn't play to the Alliance's strengths. Louise Gayner is Representative from North Angola.
1963: Alliance tests nuclear-pulse deep-space propulsion system; first-generation drive uses modified tactical weapon and graphite-sheathed steel thrust plates. Successful activated transfer of mammalian genes, Virunga Biocontrol Institute. Domination copies and tests pulsedrive.
1964: Alliance and Draka expeditions to Asteroid Belt and Mars. High-boost probes to Venus, Mercury, and outer planets launched from Earth orbit. Lung transplant operations performed on Citizens but risky. Smoking known to cause cancer. Far under 100 million Citizens and about 1.5 billion serfs in Domination. Magnetic catapult under construction at Mount Kenia. Domination and Alliance each have two orbital platforms, and Lunar stations.
Eric von Shrakenberg a Senator, on Science and Technology section of Strategic Planning Board. Sofie von Shrakenberg dies.
1965: Magnetic catapult launchers on Luna, to supply minerals to orbital zero-G fabricators. Off-Earth population reaches several hundred.
1966: XV Fleet base near Capetown adds facilities for servicing orbital-capable scramjets. First free-electron laser boost to orbit from Earth. Alliance Space Force HQ is in Monterrey, U.S.
Manufacture of room-temperature (up to 330 degrees C) superconductors on Alliance's Freedom One space platform, Domination is close behind (probably with help from espionage).
1967: Promising virus isolated at Virunga Biocontrol Institute for Stone Dogs project. "Digital sound systems" sold to Citizens.
1968: Citizen use of tiltrotor aircraft common. Hydrofoil ferries in Mediterranean. Crystal-sandwich display screens (presumably OTL LCDs) suitable for wall and school desk mounting. Almost 59 million Citizens, 1.5 billion serfs, about 1 billion population in Alliance. Over two dozen orbital platforms up since 1964. Draka power satellites in design phase. New York City power supplied by nuclear reactors, coal power plants shut down. Several thousand Draka have been to orbit so far, rather more Americans.
1968–9: First expedition to Jupiter is two-ship Draka Van Riebeck group, one lost. First Apollo-group (Earth-crossing) asteroid captured and brought into Earth orbit.
1969: Chimpanzee version of Stone Dogs core demonstrated at Virunga Biocontrol Institute, project approved for further development and extension to humans. Civilian aircars first available. Citizen computer terminals and plantation armories have touch screens with palm-recognition capability. Nightsight goggles. Scramjet shuttle service within Domination (Nepal to Vienna). Hovercraft gunboats for coastal patrol. Emancipator is first Alliance ship with second-generation pulsedrive (under construction?). Alliance Space Force is all-male branch of the Service when in space. Alliance Space Force Academy is in Santa Fe, NM, 10% of students are female. Mexico City is 4th-largest city in U.S. OSS able to make a "long-range snooper" detector smaller than a briefcase. Los Alamos NM is site of laser launcher. London is (still) British capital and considered international center for espionage and fashion. Compulsory National Service for both sexes before age 30, includes "non-combat" positions such as hospital assistant nurse. Alliance military officers are "dual-hatted," e.g. Lt. A. McLean, RN, Alliance Space Force. OSS officers can be "triple-hatted." OSS can order killing of traitors, upon Executive Order giving personal approval of Alliance Chairman, and a quorum of the High Court (secret trial). OSS issues custom silenced pistols firing caseless cartridges; able to supply cartridges that appear normal but don't fire.
1970: Second-generation pulsedrives using subcritical plutonium pellets compressed by collision from railguns, liquid reaction mass used to cover carbon-carbon/steel thrustplates. Permanent Draka settlement on Mars, orbital stations, and mining operations on Martian moons. Asteroid landings. Citizen population about 60 million. Humans resident in space about 10 thousand. Chateau Retour has free population of 8–12, and 976 serfs.
1970s: U.S. population begins to level off, but shifts from rural to urban areas, and from eastern and north-central to the southern and western states. Increasing feeling that the Pacific Basin and space are the new frontiers, Atlantic feels too closed in. Price of live-in help rises above budget of Alliance upper-middle class families, prodding improvements in household appliances.
1971: Domination replaces Holbars T-6 Assault Rifle (Model 1936) with T-7 (Model 1971) firing caseless cartridges, as standard issue to forces. Race Purity Laws repealed, due to contraceptives and use of brood mothers by Citizens.
1972: Space-generated solar power beamed to Earth via microwaves (Alliance).
Alliance Grand Council and Assembly of the Alliance now control interest rates and other macroeconomic levers as well as set military policy. Alliance in general favors low taxes and minimal regulation, causing phenomenal economic growth in smaller members, eroding relative dominance of U.S. India remains mired in religious bickering and Fabian socialism inherited from the British, the largest enclave of subsistence peasants remaining outside the Domination. Growth of neo-Gandhian pacifism, which claims nuclear balance of terror is absolutely immoral, worries the Alliance and has attracted Draka covert attention. Gandhi was apparently rather obviously assassinated. Some Muslims want to secede from Alliance so they can declare jihad against Domination.
Hamburger Scandal in mid-November involving Rashidi of Hindi Raj (nationalist) party smuggling beef, Indra Samla party opposes them. Scandal is really an OSS frame-up to discredit Hindi Raj party, which was expected to win Indian elections and then have India leave the Alliance to become neutral.
U.S. capital is New York City, in Federal District that occupies most of Manhattan. U.S. Presidential Inauguration is November 20th. OSS HQ named "Donovan House." Flight from Calcutta India to NYC takes 2 hours. ABS is a major news network. Alliance military uniforms are "wolf-gray" with high green collars and American eagles on cuffs (if U.S. officer); insignia are bars for captain and lieutenant, oak-leaf cluster for general. U.S. has 62 states. Pope and College of Cardinals, Chief Rabbi, half the Alliance Grand Council, the Combined Chiefs, His Majesty George V, the Prime Minister, and "Her Honor the Mayor" attend inauguration. 20% of U.S. is Spanish-speaking, but NYC population shows evidence of waves of immigration in 1890s, 1920s, after EW (European refugees) and recently from U.K.
David Ekstein, a gifted micro-electronics designer but physically repulsive nerd, defects to Domination while in England for a conference. State-of-the art is gallium arsenide and sapphire-silicon grown in orbital labs. Knowing both compinstruction and microwafer design is not common in one person.
Domination is leader in tanks, small arms, mining, ferrous metals, some machining, basic transport equipment. Way ahead in biotechnology. About equal in aeronautic power systems. Alliance leads in agricultural machinery, synthetics, electronics (particularly circuit wafers), household appliances.
Continuous minor clashes and border incursions. Alliance P-91 fighter. Draka has air-to-air seeker missiles that can defeat the P-91's ECM.
Archona has 12 million population, 2 million of which are Citizens, Earth's largest city. VTOL aircars can travel between Archona and Capetown in less than one hour. Gibraltar dam project successful, but Ob–Yenisey project has problems. Serfs outnumber Citizens by 40:1, or are over 93% of population (depending on source of information). EvS still a Senator, Louise Gayner a committee-head of the House of Assembly and Representative from Boma-North.
Ceres Base built by Alliance, including tunneling 500 kilometers to core of asteroid.
First complex of bunkers built at Nova Virconium, Mars.
1973: Falcon IV turboram fighter, Mach 4, virtual control panel and crystal-sandwich displays, computer intercession on maneuvers with pilot override, integral medicomp with pilot monitoring and medication injection, two 30mm gatlings (not primary weapons system), simulated weapons employment and AI override of pilot for training "kills," hydrogen compound (hydride) fuel. Trainer cost 1.75 million aurics.
Voice recognition on office computer terminals. Janissaries equipped with segmented impact armor and visored sensor helmets. Air Corps pilot trainees wear medical monitors at all times.
Crystal-sandwich technology used to make new civilian aircar top opaque, reflective or transparent; vectored-thrust VTOL, twin ceramic axial flow turbines, variable-geometry wings can fold completely into fuselage, top speed slightly above Mach 1, ability to accept ground-based computer control, virtual controls on touch-sensitive panels, kerosene fuel, theoretically road and surface-water capable.
Frederick and Marya Lefarge complete training to pass as Citizens, assassinate David Ekstein and kill several Citizens and a prototype ghouloon (transgene animal with baboon, leopard, gorilla, jag hond, and even human genes), escape Domination successfully. Preferred OSS infiltration technique is now for agents to pose as Citizens. Citizen population over 70 million. There are still "bushman" Russians and Finns, some partisans, with sporadic OSS contact via submarine. Citizens can book bushman hunting trips to the Archangel Reserve.
Customized Improved Model Holbars T-7 assault rifle: mostly space-made, 200 round cassette, 3.5 mm hypervelocity pre-fragmented tungsten slug, barrel is refractory superalloy with lining of single-crystal diamond (small-scale use with intended large-scale application to spaceship thrustplates), cyclic rate up to 2000 rpm, 25 mm group at 800 m range, maximum effective range ~1000 m, electro-optical sight with filtered laser rangefinder (visible in sight, not visible to target), price 6,000 aurics. Price is slightly higher than the standard Citizen stipend. Low-skilled serf price is 175 aurics. Alliance standard assault rifle is a Springfield-12.
Late-model Tolgren pistol: 5 mm prefragmented bullet, caseless, 30-round horizontal cassette magazine above barrel, selective fire single/3-round/full-automatic, muzzle brake.
Sole passenger link between Alliance and European Domination is dirigible service between London and Nantes. Typical Alliance ramjet or scramjet service travels at Mach 12.
Submarine construction yards in Nantes being adapted to construct second-generation pulsedrive spaceships, total payloads well over 5,000 tonnes.
Woodland security system using laser beams and selective detectors that won't trip on rain or fog. OSS has portable equipment to bypass.
OSS first hears of Stone Dogs, gets no further data.
31 December 1975: Indian population peaks at 300 million. President of the Indian Republic, Gupta Rao of Progressive Party, commits suicide and leaves note confessing that OSS agents planted Hamburger Scandal evidence. While the revelation is correct, what isn't generally known is that Draka headhunters killed Rao and planted the note. Indian nationalists believe India could remain neutral and deter the Domination with unacknowledged Alliance backing, letting it industrialize behind tariff barriers without having to accept the American culture of individualist rationalism that is pervading the rest of the Alliance.
1976: Secession of Indian Republic from Alliance for Democracy. Burma counter-secedes back to Alliance. The Domination recognizes the new Indian government, then attacks during the muddled transition of military assets and responsibilities between India and the Alliance. Draka invasion and conquest of India. Both sides later refer to this as the "Indian Incident." Rules of engagement allow Alliance and Draka LEO battlestations to fire optical-frequency lasers at aircraft with intent to blind or increase heat, but only fire for destructive effect (free-electron lasers) against aircraft that attempt to use the borders to escape combat. Use of .5 kiloton anti-personnel nuclear bombs, fatal contact nerve agents (broad-spectrum antidote tablets issued), sub-orbital missiles with precision-guided conventional munitions for long-range airfield attack in multiple waves: "dibblers" for runways, earth-piercers for hardened sites, then anti-personnel submunitions. Clashes occur in asteroid belt as Alliance settlers and prospectors express popular anger over loss of India, but settlement is negotiated with no strategic result.
Falcon VI-a turboram fighter: canopy opaques automatically to shield against space-based optical-frequency lasers, Skorpion AAMs and 30mm cannons, electrodetector not capable when entering lower altitudes (ionization), radiation detector, 7 g capability, Mach 1.7 to 3, for high to medium altitude. Ground kit includes night-sight helmet with jamming detector, anti-dazzle. Flight suit includes radiation detector. Indian P-70 fighter. Low-altitude turbojet fighters. Turboram aircraft can cross India in 30 seconds or less.
Draka infantry helmets are visored, ridged fore and aft with two short antennae at the rear, have IV (IR?) and millimetric wave sensors for sensing movement and human-type temperature sources. Body armor is articulated cermet, a ceramic–fiber–metal–synthetic sandwich.
Alliance base-personnel coverall is grey, with national markings.
35mm bomblet launcher, hand-held, shaped-charge warhead with plasma jet able to defeat cermet (front only , not front and back). Springfield-15 assault rifle. Rocket automortars with self-forging warheads able to defeat light tank upper deck cermet armor. S17 rifle with under-barrel grenade launcher.
Maximum-security military computer systems, e.g. Alliance air base Phoebos type, are typically booby-trapped, with specific protocols for physically accessing the core to prevent slagging or explosions. Core must be accessed for embedded instruction sets and hard memory retrieval, even on civilian models.
Estimated price for basic female Indian serf is 60 aurics. Large-scale use of "dociline" to control newly-captured Indians and other prisoners; prevents control of bodily functions in high (above 3 cc) doses. Domination's transport and serf in-processing systems are strained by the unexpected influx of millions, old facilities that were within the Domination in 1942 and old purpose-built railcars from just after the Eurasian War are pressed into use. Captives are stripped of all clothing and equipment, issued coveralls tagged with bar-coded labels, then transported by truck and rail to central processing facilities for tattooing (includes retina scan, blood sample, hand and finger prints), and initial indoctrination. Facilities use observation cameras, remotely controlled guns and gas dispensers. Guards have shockrods and machine pistols. Center able to process approximately 300 serfs per hour per sub-group. New serf control device: remote-control pain inducer and medical monitor and location tracker, a dull-colored large metal bracelet worn on arm, with either manual or installation computer control; manual control resembles a book-sized computer. Excessive use of pain inducer can cause insanity or death. Cheetah light hovertanks with cermet armor. Buffel tilt-rotor assault transport, 25 mm gatling in chin turret. Draka can override IFF to fire at own aircraft, but it takes time.
Hand-held spray injector that can be set for various drugs, including tranquilizer and mixtures of relaxant, muscle weakener, and "aphrodizine."
Gene-engineered tobacco that has virtually no carcinogens or lung contaminants. Human genome completely catalogued.
Eugenics Directorate encourages Citizen children to have improvements. These include eliminating allergies, menstrual pain, back trouble, etc., increasing intelligence, tweaking libido and aggressive/passive balance, and adding complete memory control, idiot savant mathematical abilities, hemoglobin and muscular improvements, voluntary control of some autonomic functions, and many other minor modifications — most are keyed to activate at puberty. This is the initial "New Race."
Serf modifications include a chromosome change so they aren't interfertile with Citizens (or "normals"?).
Myfwany Venders dies during Indian Incident. Marya Lefarge captured and enserfed by Yolande Ingolfsson. Gwendolyn Ingolfsson conceived, a New Race clone of Myfwany Venders.
Reference to "alienist," the Domination's version of psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
Laser launch facility at Herakulopolis, the "bridge" city at Gibraltar. Conqueror is a Draka deep-space probe ship that successfully returned from the fourth Jovian expedition.
January 1977: India irretrievably lost to Domination. Asteroid belt is divided along zones of current occupation, giving Alliance control of about 75% of the material, with an even higher percentage of the larger objects, including Ceres (the largest). Draka control Saturnian and Jovian moons, Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Top 15,000 members of Indian government are shot in batches on the steps of the Archonal Palace, broadcast worldwide.
Alliance members agree to full merger of sovereignty. San Francisco chosen as Alliance capital sometime after 1972. Alliance permanent staff, below political level, becomes convinced Final War is unavoidable, limits of Draka ability to adapt to technical progress are on the horizon, so increase support for the multi-layered New America project. From the outside, these layers are: fusion power network for asteroid belt, antimatter production facility, fleet of antimatter-powered warships, antimatter-powered starship New America, embedded computer virus triggered by wartime conditions. This last one is the Alliance's "secret weapon," but all the layers are real projects.
Break-even reached on plasma confinement for fusion reactor, but workable reactor expected around 2000. Fusion implosion systems in use by Draka to mine ice from Sinope and Himalia off Jupiter. Linear accelerator buried in New Mexico producing antimatter. Projected use of antimatter in a spaceship drive is over 10 years away. Hero-class deep-space cruiser is 7,000 tonne payload. "Big Eye" is 50 kilometer reflector telescope at L-5 (beyond Lunar farside), able to detect continents on planet in Alpha Centauri system, as well as moons, but not asteroids.
Draka have a reduced metabolism system (~1% of normal) that Alliance will use in New America starship to transport 100 thousand for 40 years to Alpha Centauri.
Alliance "peacetime" military over 20 million. War Emergency Regulation powers give an officer authority for summary execution. Some OSS appropriations are in a "Black Fund."
Reference to Protracted Struggle.
1977: Alliance's "New Homestead Act" subsidizes asteroid belt exploitation, provides access to centrifugal-spin habitats on larger asteroids for exercise and child-bearing, guaranteed markets with Alliance projects and in Earth orbit.
"Lead" bullets go out of use, replaced by prefragmented synthetic crystal.
1979: Experimental 60 megawatt deep-ocean convection plant on-line near Capetown.
1980: XV Fleet base near Capetown adds laser-launch facility. Third-generation pulsedrives using plutonium (fission) pellets compressed by lasers. Hundreds of thousands of humans resident in space.
1980s: Gruesome war losses in Japan never completely replaced, population stable at about 70 million. Britain's population declines with emigration to U.S., particularly New York City, and Australian Federation. After steep decreases in birth rates following Eurasian War, Asian members of Alliance reach steady state in population.
1982: Domination population off-earth about 100 thousand. Cometary bodies and two Apollo asteroids have been brought into Earth orbit. Draka believe gathering resources outside Earth's gravity well, and exporting people, is the key to expansion. Unfortunately, the space race between Alliance and Domination is pushing things too fast, forcing learning by disaster when new equipment is thrust untested into hostile environments. Draka capture a "dark" 2-kilometer cometary body. Implied space detection capability similar to Alliance's Big Eye. Abundance of .5 megatonne fusion bombs usable for altering asteroid trajectories.
Tolgren 5mm pistol considered a "conservative" weapon.
Newest ground car type is a superconductor-electric with maglev capacity; a small fraction of roads near Archona are laid with superconductor grids to provide that capability, the first were the main processional streets.
"Steakberries" are the latest biocontrol product, a high-protein meat-mimicking fruit that is very attractive to vermin and pests.
Serfs outnumber Citizens by about 80:1.
Current scramjets can carry 50 tonnes to orbit.
First Beanstalk project funded for Titan (moon of Saturn), construction expected to take almost 10 years.
Draka have puzzled out New America to the "antimatter production" level. Terrestrial antimatter production by the Domination marred by an accident at a facility in the Urals, equivalent to a 1 megatonne sunbomb. Suspicion that there is more to New America than that.
Pilot project to exponentially produce solar power platforms based at Draka Mercury-Shield Platform in Mercury's shadow, adaptable to antimatter production early in next century.
Alliance population in the asteroid belt is still only a few thousand, and only a few hundred working on New America. Frontier Five station in LEO has population of over 1,000. Ethan Allen a new Alliance pulsedrive heavy cruiser of the Hero class, able to overhaul the commercial plasma drive ship Pathfinder launched several weeks earlier on the way out to Ceres from Earth, or even a Draka Great Khan cruiser. Alliance prefers keeping pulsedrive ships out of Earth orbit, nearest they get is L-5 battlestations unless in for major overhauls (replacing thrustplates).
"Facegill" available, apparently to swim underwater without needing compressed gas supply.
Multiple Alliance settlements on the Moon: Freetown, Britannia, New Edo. Daily shuttles to each one from Frontier Five platform.
Outsystem boost from LEO stations involves strap-on boosters that are fired upon by station lasers. Subotai and Batu are third-generation pulsedrive ships of the Great Khan class, 250 meters long, 14,000 tonnes with full tanks (6 tonnes of plutonium, half million 10 gram plutonium–beryllium–plastic fuel pellets, internal feed railguns fire at 10 Hz for .98 g at 57% flow capacity). Maximum booster thrust 1.78 g. Armament is neutral-particle lasers (?), railguns firing 50 gram slugs at 90 kps, X-ray laser bombs dropped into drive, and rapid-fire gatlings for point defense. One 80 tonne auxiliary aboard, one spare hanger. Alliance's Hero class is faster, less mass, but has less firepower — has nuclear homing missiles.
Earth had been mass-producing breeder reactors for 20 years to supply the plutonium needed for the growing pulsedrive fleets.
Draka fast heavy-lift transports and pusher tugs Marius, Sappho, Crassus, Alcibiades.
Laserlift stations in the Tien Shan, Central Asia.
Draka refueling station on Phobos.
Long-range feasibility study for terraforming Mars is nearly completed; involves orbital solar mirrors and dropping Callisto (icy moon of Jupiter) in small chunks onto the planet.
Alliance civilian skinsuits are little changed from 1960s models of first astronauts. Draka military suits are armored with a segmented sandwich of ablative anti-radar, optically perfect fleximirror, sapphire thread, woven superconductor for radiation shielding, and synthetics, integral medical monitor with voluntary blood surveillance. Backpacks include video pickups that can be slaved to others' helmets. "Reaction gun" with integral helmet sighting and target tracking for movement and combat; fires heated compressed gas backwards, or tungsten monofilament bullets in a glass sabot forward balanced by plastic confetti backwards. Helmet has controls for seeing others' video, external speakers for use in atmosphere. "Gauntlet gun" able to cut through a closed hatch, sever limbs. "Cutter bar" is used by both sides, a thin film of vacuum-deposited diamond between two layers of crystal iron-chrome; Draka ones are used in hand-to-hand zero-G combat and have nastier-looking saw teeth.
Fiber-optic periscopes. "Toothpaste" explosive usable in space. "Sprayseal" to stop bleeding. Important civilians issued suicide device/pill (unspecified). Pathfinder intercepted and boarded by Subotai, all remaining adults captured. Pathfinder rescued by Ethan Allen 29 days later. Captives traded back to Alliance for serfs on robot shuttle to Mars that went off-course.
Alliance is unaware the Domination has high-impulse orbital boost lasers in the Jupiter area, able to quickly deploy cruisers from Himalia station to Mars.
Other Draka ships are Babur, Timur, Mongke.
1983: Yolande Ingolfsson convicted in absentia by Alliance Global Court for Pathfinder incident, awarded Southern Cross by Archon Melinda Shaversham for her actions including destroying Washington and damaging Bolivar while returning asteroid to Earth orbit.
Alliance has built at least 7 "spin habitats". The latest is associated with the Project, 2 kilometers long and 500 meters across, spinning so interior skin gravity is 0.5 g.
Orbital scramjet port in Alexandria closest to Tuscany, Italy.
Archona to Naples now a 2 hour trip.
Ghouloons now common enough to be used as plantation guards.
1988 (?): Fourth-generation pulsedrive using deuterium–tritium fusion pellets imploded by laser/electron beam system. [Date not specified, so I split the difference between the third and fifth generations.]
1989: First planet-based fusion reactor, Nova Virconium, Mars (Draka). Solar mirror over northern pole of Mars.
1990: Domination's first microwave receptors for space-generated solar power under construction near Capetown. Construction and electrification of Domination railroad network tops 1 million miles. Eric von Shrakenberg elected Archon; term is 7 years with no limit on re-election.
Mexico City population 4.5 million, severe problems of housing and water supply. Los Angeles population reaches 2 million. Britain and Australian Federation about equal in population at 40 million. About one million humans resident in space.
Solar mirror over southern pole of Mars.
1991: Holographic two-way screens, 3 by 3 meters installed in both Archon's and President's offices. Carmen Hiero is first female and second Hispanic President. Allsworthy is Alliance Chairman, has strong personal phobia against Draka.
Alliance tows gold-rich asteroids into Earth orbit, forcing Domination into basing value of auric on a "market basket" of commodities rather than being strictly valued on gold.
Domination has maintained a policy of "no peace beyond Luna," and a general tension with the Alliance, to keep the Alliance's growth from rendering the Draka ineffective. But growth of off-Earth economy and population, as well as dependence on resources, have given Ceres the same kind of importance as Burma or England to the Alliance. In general, the stalemate is becoming less stable, even with high-level talks between the Archon and President. In the first one, they mention New America and Stone Dogs to each other, but the Alliance knows little more than the code word, and the Draka haven't penetrated all the way to the computer virus. Imperator is the fourth-generation pulsedrive cruiser-carrier flagship of the Draka 2nd Trans-Lunar Flotilla. The flotilla has a dozen cruisers and several "stingfighter" auxiliaries. Batu destroyed in reconnaissance-in-force on New America. Diocletian probably same class as Imperator. New America mounts large dual-purpose linear accelerators (internal power production and exterior weapon) and neutral particle beams, with dozens of small armed auxiliaries that can use station lasers for emergency boost.
Yolande Ingolfsson is Commandant-Governor of Mars, term 5 years. Fusion pulsedrive passenger service on Fast Treader to Mars, laser boost station on Mars, purpose-built orbital shuttles. Martian Rangers have Citizen officers, rest are ghouloons. Mars has powersats too, besides fusion generator. Initial loads begin coming in from Titan as trial run for terraforming. Mass driver built up Olympus Mons to send minerals into orbit that aren't available on Deimos, Phobos, or several captured asteroids.
Catholic priests are allowed to preach to serfs, after careful selection and training by the Domination.
1994: OSS is single police-intelligence-counterintelligence agency with unaccountable budget of over 5 percent of Alliance GNP.
1995: U.S. population reaches 220 million. South America total is 230 million, half in Empire of Brazil, larger than U.S. for first time. Population of India continues to fall below 200 million due to casualties of Incident, mass sterilizations and deportations. Global population about 2.8 billion.
Four planets with oxygen-rich atmospheres and liquid water have been detected within 50 light years of Earth. Bigetti's Paradox: "if life is common, where are the intelligent aliens?"
Practical applications have been outstripping the theoretical groundwork for decades, e.g. room-temperature superconductors accidentally discovered, but their quantum mechanics not investigated until years later. Scientists long for a tranquil period to play "catch up" with the engineers, e.g. investigate quantum teleportation and similar phenomena.
Yolande Ingolfsson appointed Arch-Strategos, Commandant of Aresopolis, Luna. Gwendolyn Ingolfsson on a cruiser orbiting Titan.
1996: Fifth-generation pulsedrive using deuterium–boron 11 fusion pellets. Citizen population approaches 110 million, much of the increase in territories taken in the Eurasian War.
Off-earth population is 3.5 to 4 million, mostly in Earth orbit and Luna, followed closely by asteroid belt, and finally Mars; others are outposts of limited size. Settlements off Earth are about 60% Domination, rest Alliance.
1998: Draka have Wasp-class 2-person stingfighter: holographic log to optical storage, computer able to give elemental analysis of target, roughly pyramid shaped coated in synthetic that mimics background spectra. Four each to an Iron Limper-class corvette with crew of 12.
Alliance sends 100,000 tonne loads from asteroid belt to Earth orbit using robotic (AI communications) strap-on drive packages. Jefferson-class 10-man patrol craft with up to 10 single-man gunboats each.
Draka have first incident of catastrophic computer (and spaceship) failure due to virus, and detect Stone Dogs virus in Alliance captives. The detection would not have been possible in 1996. The Alliance's capabilities in nanosabotage approach the expertise of Draka gene engineering.
Holographic display screens use several hundred thousand thermovalves per square centimeter, up to 5 by 10 meters.
Most Citizens send fertilized ova to a Clinic and pick up the child 9 months later, instead of using serf brood mothers. Ova merging technique perfected, so child of two females possible. Citizen-level medical care includes viral DNA repair, cellular waste removal, synthhormone implants, calcium boost, etc. Headset for inducing sleep without hangover.
Launch lasers and magnetic catapults at Gibraltar, Kilimanjaro, and in the Tien Shan.
About 1 million of the 2 million Domination population off Earth are in Aresopolis; 1/3rd is Citizens, the highest proportion of any Domination city.
OSS estimates 2 years to critical mass of virus, but it had to be self-modifying so mutations have led to an early incident of responding to specific emergencies rather than a general war condition. Although political appointees believe continued accommodation can be reached with the Domination, the military expects the Militants to win the next Archonal election, with Final War soon after. Fred Lefarge is Brigadier General in Aerospace Force, still attached to OSS as commander of New America projects. Infighting between OSS and Alliance Central Intelligence (ACI). Stone Dogs tied in with Virunga Biocontrol Institute, but infrequent mentions since 1973 (also '75, '78, '82, ~'89, now) haven't provided more information, other than that it's the most closely-held secret in the Domination. OSS speculates it is the equivalent of New America (the Project), but ACI is unconcerned. ACI and Alliance want to make a "demonstration" use of the virus, rather than a pre-emptive strike. ACI considers "Fenris," a Domination doomsday bomb that hasn't been proven to be active, a bluff, but the OSS believes it exists.
Domination has at least a three-year retention period for backup copies of ship computer cores. Domination has a public execution broadcast channel.
Reader goggles, with voice recognition?
Stone Dogs expected to reach acceptable saturation in targeted groups (command and control echelons, Space Force, etc.) this year. Trigger is coded microwave signal that resonates within and eventually activates virus, but stress accelerates the process. Only heavy tranquilizers can prevent effects from occurring during 4–5 days until virus burnout.
Every 5 years or so since the EW, another group of scientists drops out of sight to work on another Alliance secret project, e.g. the Los Alamos Project, some believe this to be a mistake born of thinking in terms of wartime crash projects rather than open interchange. Lionheart would take two months Earth–Pluto, deuterium–boron drive exhaust is all charged particles, 50 thousand tonnes payload, one-G spin deck. Expect to take one year setting up a Draka base on Pluto. Two test units from fifth-generation pulsedrive development fitted into the first true surface-to-space ships, Mamba is assigned to Aresopolis Commandant, and the other is for Archon. Luna to Ceres in 10 days at full boost, 1.3 g.
Typical mid-level serf computer has 1 million transistor logic deck, 200 thousand bits of core storage, a plaque-receptor, and embedded accounting, typescribing, datalink and display functions. All storage is onto rewritable plaques; programs beyond embedded functions are on read-only plaques.
Alliance Rangers have chameleon suits over armor. Pheremone-neutralizer sprays.
Last generation of Alliance submarines has a magnetic drive, nuclear powered, 30 hypervelocity sea-skimmer torpedo-missiles with multiple warheads, top speed over 50 knots, maximum depth sufficient to reach bottom of Angolan Abyssal Plain, crew of 26. New America antimatter drive auxiliary (shuttlecraft) corvette-size Sacajewa, atmosphere capable, several thousand tonnes payload. Can cross solar system both ways in 40 days, without refueling. Large crew for its size, and weapons load sufficient to tackle an Imperator-class cruiser. 2 g sustained acceleration possible. One of 12 to be carried by New America.
Terran Dispersal dating begins, e.g. 2107 AD is 109 Dispersal.
1 November 1998: Yolande Ingolfsson discovers Marya Lefarge's spying and dataplague infiltration, lets her escape to the Belt on the Mamba. Archon authorizes Force Condition 7, one step short of a shooting war. [The book refers to this day twice as 01/07/98, but I'll take them as typos.]
2 November 1998: Domination evacuates plantations and cities, begins computer testing to discover extent of virus contamination. Alliance is at Defcon 4.
3 November 1998: Alliance detects Mamba but can only intercept short of Ceres by using an antimatter-powered auxiliary from New America. Alliance has detected Domination's computer activity, and decoded messages withdrawing infected types of compcores from service. Alliance goes to Defcon 5, sends an ultimatum notifying Domination that attack is scheduled for the next day if Domination doesn't stand down. Alliance military begins deploying small holdout groups to secret shelters.
4 November 1998: Domination activates Stone Dogs and goes to Force Condition 8, even as 20% of space-based computer capacity is off-line and more is expected to fail in wartime. Sacajewa intercepts Mamba, Alliance is notified of Stone Dogs by Lefarge. Final War begins. Full nuclear exchanges by remaining units, some Domination units self-destruct or lose defenses due to virus, many Alliance units are relatively defenseless under full computer control when personnel incapacitated by Stone Dogs. About half the Draka space platforms are lost to the virus or combat, but the Alliance suffers over 90% losses in the same category. London destroyed by self-inflicted nuclear detonations. Japan covered by multiple detonations, fallout expected to blanket Korean peninsula. Hawaii hit, losing 25% of Earth's launch capacity. New York City and Capetown destroyed, Archona luckily survives. Aresopolis loses dome to missiles from New Edo, but ground attack through tunnels routs defenders and captures there and Brittania; Yolande Ingolfsson becomes "Hero of the Tunnels."
5 November 1998: Diocletian with Gudrun von Shrakenberg self-destructs when boarding by Alliance civilians is imminent, rest of squadron escapes to Mars with blown compcores.
14 November 1998: Nuclear winter weather effects obvious worldwide. Domination lost 15% of Citizens, 22% of serfs, total about 300 million. Half of Earth-based manufacturing capacity is still functioning, but repairs require supplies from orbital facilities. Comp-plague still not completely eradicated. 80% of orbital fabricators and launch capacity lost. Alliance submarines still active, but all other known active military installations have been destroyed, by kinetic bombardment after the first several hours of the war. Ecological damage to Earth severe but not irretrievable, up to a century before conditions are completely back to normal. Draka landings in Alliance territory are making slow progress against a fanatic but uncoordinated defense, strong fallback force in North America. Domination holds Luna, retains Mars with most of the fleet in orbit without central computer control, but was routed from Belt even though Ceres badly damaged. New America is the big unknown.
Archon Eric von Shrakenberg proposes offering Metic Citizenship to Alliance personnel on Luna and beyond who surrender, and allowing New America to leave in return for full data on the virus.
14 January 1999: Archon's proposal accepted by General Lefarge. Total deaths over 700 million, about 1/3rd of the human species. Louise Gayner, leader of the Militants, will be posted to pacify Australia.
2000: Massive losses to planted vegetation even with anti-cold bacteria. New America departs solar system (passes orbit of Pluto on October 1st) for Alpha Centauri with 100 thousand colonists, expect to arrive in 40 years.
2001: Final Society dating starts, e.g. 2442 AD is 442 FS.
Mop-Up Phase of Final War: Pacification of all Alliance territories expected to take 20 to 40 years after Final War. Draka deploy biobombs to kill Alliance adults. Plasma guns available during the last human-hunts in North America. Layer knife came "slightly" earlier. ["Biobombs" are from "Drakon" and one of Anne-Marie Talbott's fanfics.]
2107 (109 Dispersal): Alpha Centauri system population less than 250 thousand. The Final War is called the Fall, departure from the Sol system the Exodus, and arrival at Samothrace the Settlement. One of Lefarge's daughters, Iris, has married Nate Stoddard's son.
2442 (442nd Year of the Final Society): Earth's population approximately 500 million, about 1/2 of Sol System total. "Final War" now called the Last War. Samothracians still hope to destroy the Draka when The Day comes. Draka and Samothrace both have colonies in other star systems, but no practical interstellar governments. Events of "Drakon" on Earth/1.
Earth/2 noticeably diverges from Earth/1 in 1776 when Ferguson is badly (vs. slightly) wounded at Battle of Long Island; Dutch stay neutral until 1781 (vs. 1779), no Drakia.
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