FreeRIDErs (Setting Timeline)
| Year A.D. | Before/After Landing [1] | Zharus | Terra/Other | Technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -999997650 | -1000000000 | Gondwana Forms | ||
| 2048 | -302 | Post-Oil "Dark Age" begins [2] | ||
| 2152 | -198 | Post-Oil "Dark Age" ends | First Wave of survey probes .3 c | |
| 2200 | -150 | Third Wave of survey probes. .5c | ||
| 2225 | -125 | First slower-than-light generation ships dispatched to nearby stars (Proxima, Centauri, etc.) First year of the Diaspora calendar some Colonies use. | Quantum computers reach maturity. | |
| 2270 | -80 | Technology improvements make cold sleep feasible. STL speeds increase sharply. | ||
| 2278 | -72 | Zharus discovered. | Total Body Simulation replaces using live rats for experiments. | |
| 2294 | -56 | Probe transmission reaches Proxima. Followup probes sent at .8c. | ||
| 2298 | -52 | Survey probe transmission reaches Earth. | ||
| 2305 | -45 | Zharus Diaspora and Steader Colonization purchase rights. Colonization Fleet construction begins. | ||
| 2315 | -35 | STL Fleet leaves Sol System with a full ten million colonists in coldsleep—the largest such fleet at that time. Several more even larger fleets follow at 5-year intervals based on more complete information from followup probe. | ||
| 2350 | 0 | Landing | ||
| 2365 | 15 | Last group of original Colonists finally awakened. But there are more arriving every five years as Earth is desperate to get the population to sustainable levels. | Antigravity lifter technology mature enough for commercial use perfected on Centauri. Lifters use a native mineral quickly called "cavorite". However, unlike its qubitite counterpart on Zharus, this mineral is easily created artificially on a commercial scale. | |
| 2392 | 42 | First space elevator becomes operational on Zharus about 50 years ahead of schedule. | ||
| 2400 | 50 | Antigravity lifter technology mature enough for commercial use reaches Zharus. This makes the Space Elevator only useful for shipping bulk materials like space-mined ores. | First FTL demonstration flights. | |
| 2420 | 70 | Last formal "Wave" of colonists to Zharus. Planet population is just over one billion. Dr. Roberto Martinez begins study of the Dry Ocean--from a distance. | First practical barely-FTL colony ships launched. Speeds at 1.2c. | |
| 2422 | 72 | First expansion out of Laurasia of independent city-states on Gondwana's Coastal Ring. Nextus founded. | ||
| 2430 | 80 | Several exploratory expeditions into the Dry Ocean fail, sometimes tragically, due to equipment failure caused by qubitite contamination. Most polities declare Dry Ocean exploration off limits. | FTL speeds jump to 5.3c | |
| 2430 | 80 | Wednesday Landing Tragedy sparks invention of hardlight. Since Zharus is closest, they send a distress torpedo at an amazing 14c. | ||
| 2431 | 81 | Zharus sends assistance to Wednesday in wake of Wednesday Landing Tragedy. | Technology exchange between Wednesday and Zharus. FTL ekes to 5.7c. | |
| 2435 | 85 | Zharusian IDE factories retool for other products and external IDE importation ceases. | Terrans continue using IDEs in brushfire wars on Earth and nearer colonies. | |
| 2437 | 87 | Dr. Roberto Martinez establishes research outpost that forms the kernel of Uplift. | ||
| 2450 | 100 | Nanites are able to live outside of isolation tanks. Uplift adds its second dome emitter in what will be Bifrost Park. | Earth has first true "cyborgs". | FTL at 10.5 c. Message probes dispatched to ships in flight showing how to upgrade their engines. |
| 2458 | 108 | Aloha | ||
| 2459 | 109 | Aloha founded on Gondwana. (Officially named in 110) | ||
| 2460 | 110 | |||
| 2462 | 112 | Sarium batteries appear on market. | ||
| 2462 | 112 | Qubitite Rush begins | ||
| 2462 | 112 | Clint Brubeck stakes claim to huge qubitite deposit, founds Brubeck Mining. | ||
| 2465 | 115 | Downgraded surplus military drop shuttles sold as first "Suborbital" vehicles. | Cybernetics (a la Ghost in the Shell: SAC) become common on Earth. | |
| 2465 | 115 | Sturmhaven labs field-test first AIDE units. Nextus labs create smaller IDEs using sarium battery technology. | ||
| 2468 | 118 | Nextus-Sturmhaven War begins | Rufus born in Deseret. | |
| 2469 | 119 | Ryan Stonegate born in New Boston, Earth. | ||
| 2470 | 120 | Conditions on Earth vary from "Glass Half Full" to "Crapsack" to "Crapsaccharine". | ||
| 2471 | 121 | Nextus, Sturmhaven, and Nuevo San Antonio military RIDE programs commence | First RI created in Nextus lab | |
| 2471 | 121 | Part 13: Kaylee & Anny | First known Integration takes place. | |
| 2472 | 122 | Combination of sarium batteries and technological refinements make hardlight fully practical for use in portable vehicles such as RIDEs. | Final World War (Unification War) | FTL at 19c |
| 2473 | 123 | Nextus-Sturmhaven War ends | ||
| 2474 | 124 | RIDEs for civilian applications enter mass production. | ||
| 2479 | 129 | Splashdown | ||
| 2480 | 130 | Integration first becomes public knowledge | ||
| 2480 | 130 | First Integrated enclave founded | ||
| 2481 | 131 | Astra-naught | ||
| 2481 | 131 | Alohan Space Elevator touches down. (Opens for use in 132) | ||
| 2482 | 132 | Prospector tourism starts, first in Uplift and then in other Polities. Prospectors with useless claims rent RIDEs to tourists to give them a feel of prospecting in the Dry Ocean. More expensive services offer guides and ships to do "real" prospecting. | ||
| 2482 | 132 | AlphaWolf escapes (or is released by) Nextus military, begins organizing home for emancipated RIDEs out in the desert. | ||
| 2483 | 133 | Gondwanan Federated Marshal Service founded | ||
| 2484 | 134 | The Lady of the Tiger | ||
| 2484 | 134 | Cave of Wonders | ||
| 2490 | 140 | Brubeck Mining builds first permanent qubitite mining platform to make extensive use of hardlight shielding to protect against qubitite contamination, effectively changing the entire system of qubitite mining in the Dry Ocean. [3] | ||
| 2490 | 140 | Sum of Their Parts | ||
| 2495 | 145 | Earth develops compact tokamak technology to enable reduced-size IDE units. | ||
| 2498 | 148 | UE Senate debates applying terraforming to Earth itself. Vast cities lay empty, but are being recycled to fill the needs of the still-shrinking population. | ||
| 2499 | 149 | Ryan and Rufus arrive aboard the starliner Spruce Goose | FTL at 25c | |
| 2500 | 150 | Study paper on crossriding presented at Terran psychology conference. | ||
| 2501 | 151 | Rufus purchases Yvonne and enthuasticially becomes Rufia. Ryan purchases, fixes Kaylee. | ||
| 2506 | 156 | Deserted | ||
| 2506 | 156 | Merging Traffic Rochelle & Rufia: R&R |
||
| 2506 | 156 | FreeRIDErs | ||
| 2506 | 156 | Barely Fused, Slightly Foxed Longer Fused, More Foxed |
Antimatter-based energy production perfected on Earth but restricted to military applications. The reactors are huge and only usable on very large ships or planetside. Power is beamed to ships/mecha that need it. | |
| 2506 | 156 | Turnover | ||
| 2506 | 156 | Inspecteur Hollins and The Cat's Paw Inspecteur Hollins and The Viral Thief |
||
| 2510 | 160 | Earth population has dropped to 4 billion. End of the Diaspora as the planet clamps down, realizing their pop is now too low. Planet is on the way to becoming like East Germany, trying to keep people in. Total population of the Colonies is now greater than the origin world's. [4] | ||
| 2525 | 175 | In the year 2525, if man is still alive If woman can survive, they may find [5] |
[1] In actuality, the Zharusian year is 249 hours longer than the Terran year, meaning that the correspondence should slip by one year about every thirty or so. We're assuming magic orbit fairies to keep the timelines matching at this point.
[2] Just like our own "dark ages" it wasn't, really.
[3] Prior to this, most mining done by RIDEs using disposable equipment for larger-scale work.
[4] If Zharus had 2 billion on Laurasia alone (implying probably 3-4 billion system wide given its reliance on space industry), the other colonies combined would have long surpassed 4 billion.
[5] I couldn't resist. :)