Of Myths and Machinery - 2005

2005

North America

Canada

It would be noted by future historians that the Seelie Court had been acting behind the scenes to encourage the Canadian government to extricate itself from InterCon control (given that most Canadians had benefited from InterCon’s actions).

Ottawa, 7^th February 2005

Prime Minister Stephen Harper waited in his office for his next appointment. He was nervous, meeting with representatives of the Seelie Court was always ‘touch and go’. And then there was the fact that they felt, creepy. Suddenly, the Seelie Court Representative appeared. “Welcome,” he said.

“Good Morning, Prime Minister,” the Representative said.

“You have the information on the officials?”

“Yes. The information is being handed over to the Intelligence Service as we speak.”

“Very good.” It would give him leverage over the Directors as the Government negotiated the terms of Canada’s independence over the next several years.

In Vinland-Labador, less than ten Vinlandic Trolls survive.

(And in several universities elsewhere in Canada, there are discussions about the inevitable loss of the species.)

United States

Hollywood continues to recover from the disruption caused by the Flare. Star Wars Episode II is re-released in February, given that its distribution was co-incidental with the Flare. Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is released in early May. It soon breaks Box Office records. (And it’s more obvious that Lucas has based the Jedi on the Qone Gesedai of medieval Asia.)

Oregon gains statehood, with vampire covens largely pacified, or driven north into Washington.

31 October 2005

Ivy Sophia looked at the small city ahead of her. Goldendale was the first settlement of size she had come across since fleeing into the Washington Territory. She wanted to find a place where a Vampire who was willing to change her ways would be accepted. ‘But maybe I’ll have to go all the way to Canada,’ she considered. ‘But at least Halloween is less hectic than it was before the Flare.’

The war against the Lemonsaurs continues.

Hurricane Katrina proves too much for the failing weather control systems in Louisiana.

In Cheyenne Mountain, it is found that the Portal Gate no longer works, with connection to the gate in Chichen Itza no longer possible. It seems that the ancient Portal Gate Network is as much a victim of the Solar Flare as all the advanced Cyber technology.

President Bush looked over the reports.

The jungles in the Darien region continue to emerge with a vengeance. Overland transport between the two American continents would soon become nearly impossible.

South America

The Brazilian and Mexican forces continue to close in on the Colombian heartland.

Africa

In Capetown, InterCon continues to rejuvenate the city. Rebuilding damaged buildings, and fighting the Prawns and Spiders… The same occurs in other South African cities. Durban, Pretoria, etc…

The CRBREZ AI continues to lose…

Europe

The last pureblood Hobbit dies of old age in Oxford.

The BBC is re-established via the nationalisation of some of the Old Conglomerate broadcasting assets by Westminster. One of the shows that re-starts broadcasting is Doctor Who. (With David Tennant as the Doctor.)

Evacuations from Doggerland continue. The population drops below 400,000.

The Second Undead Uprising continues.

Asia

The Bactria Corporation/Afghanistan gains independence from InterCon. The disbandment of the Steppe REZ two years earlier had caused economic collapse. The economy is still in a shambles despite what the Corporation had tried to do to encourage economic activity.

China continues to ‘rewild’ various river systems.

An attack on the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant during a tsunami causes a meltdown. Conspiracy theories of the Tsunami being ‘unnatural’ would later circulate.

Oceania

Australia-Pacifica

Independence from InterCon is achieved in early February, with the Commonwealth Government, led by Prime Minister Peter Costello, agreeing to a gradual devolution over a few years.

(As with Canada, there was some Seelie Court action here too. However, Costello had ousted the collaborationist John Hewson with a Leadership Challenge on his own initiative late the previous year.)

Of course, re-integrating the Outback, now that it was no longer a REZ was going to take time.

26 May 2005
Mary White College, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales
7:30 PM in the Jo Wilmington Room
Mary White College held a fortnightly discussion series. The discussion for this night was Australia-Pacifica’s recent independence from InterCon, and struggles Canberra was facing due to that independence. Chris arrived early, as he usually did. There was no one else as of yet. 'Oops, he thought.'

"Chris?" he turned. Someone else had arrived just after him.

"Bec!"

"You usually come to the discussion series?" Bec asked.

“Every time,” Chris said, nervously. He and Bec had just started ‘going out’ recently (including to Star Wars the week before). He wasn't sure he was ready for the awkwardness of both of them being in the discussion series.

"Oh," Bec said. She gave a serious expression. “You think that the Federal Government would be able to help repair the Great Barrier Reef?”

That had been in the news earlier in the day, with Prime Minister Costello announcing that the Commonwealth Government was helping the recovery efforts in that area. Of course, the world had a long way to go. “Every little bit helps,” he answered.

“True,” Bec said as a few more people arrived.

Renowned Scientist and Explorer Daniela Wellington visits the University of New England in late October, and gives a speech at a Mary White College formal dinner. Secretly, she gives a copy of her and her predecessors’ notes to one of the students, before leaving. (Said student would only give the information passing peeks through the succeeding years. Thus a treasure trove of information on history would sit forgotten beneath a dilapidated farm house in the Central West of NSW.)

Later in the year, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu, Micronesia gain independence from Australia-Pacifica.

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As a result of that, the nation changes its name to drop the ‘Pacifica’.