The Fall of London: Difference between revisions
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The Year of the Fall - collating readily available evidence Tag: visualeditor |
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'''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' | '''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' | ||
Three decades ago, more or less<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#Places|What's so bad about Fallen London?|Fallen London|}}</ref>, the Masters bought or stole (opinions vary) the city of London from [[the Empress]]. A portion of the price was the life of her consort Prince Albert; according to others who dealt with the Bazaar in the past, there is always a price which is known and a price which is not; the Consort would be the known price. The unknown price remains unknown to the players as of yet.<!-- September 2022, aka Second Autumn 1899 --> | |||
=== The Year of the Fall === | |||
The calendar year corresponding to the year of the Fall is approximately 1860, but the specifics are not clear. Many things are dated relative to the Fall, or said to have occurred in the year of the Fall. Prince-Consort Albert died in 1861, and fell ill in 1859<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert,_Prince_Consort#Illness_and_death</ref>; however, the sale of London could happen some time after his death, in theory. | |||
For the earliest date, the best information derives from the children of the Empress. [[The Captivating Princess]] is the youngest child of the Empress, and was born in the year of the Fall; her youngest sibling is ''The Playful Prodigy'', whose historical birthdate is in April 1857, and the age gap is significant enough that in a group photograph of the children she was old enough to sit holding the Captivating Princess in her arms<ref>excerpt is included in [[The Shuttered Palace]], unmarked; sourced from an Exceptional Story<!-- I, the editor, don't remember the name. --></ref>. 1857 is therefore a hard limit for earliest date, and 1859 a softer one; children below three are rarely trusted to hold infants, especially for a long-exposure photograph. | |||
For the latest date, the hard limits are several years later than the plausible date of a post-death revival of the Prince-Consort. [[The Campaign of '68]] must necessarily have occurred after the Fall, and ''The Brooding Captain'' (second son of the Empress) brought his ship to the Unterzee in 1867<ref>[https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Adam%27s_Way Adam's Way] - ''Deliver the snuffer to the Avuncular Broker'' - "Inside is a chart, its folds stiff with zee-salt. The corner is stamped with the seal of the Empress herself. It is labelled 'First voyage of the ''Galatea'', 1867' and shows a tenuous, roving course across the Unterzee."</ref>; these set a latest possible date. The Cumaean Canal is strongly suspected to have been created during or shortly prior to the Descent of London.<ref>It is stated in Sunless Sea that it was created by the Stone Pigs, stated elsewhere that they lie dormant due to the effects of lacre, and yet elsewhere that a heavy lacre-rain precedes a Fall.</ref> So these set hard latest dates of 1868. However, a seven year gap between Albert's death and the deal with the Masters stretches credulity, so it is likely that the Fall was much earlier, prior to the soft limit of roughly 1862. | |||
==== Relative Dates ==== | |||
The first time when the year was definitely stated was the first Mayoral Election, in 1894; the "three decades ago"<ref name=":0" /> number was already in circulation at that time and had been for several years of out-of-game time, and remains in circulation in the current year, which has (since 1894) advanced at one year per year, and which by imperial decree is not 1900, but the second year of 1899<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Calendrical_Confusion_of_1899|The Calendrical Confusion of 1899|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>As of autumn 2022</ref>. (How many years of 1899 are to be anticipated is also unclear, but it seems likely to be more than two.) Taking the three decades to be literal would imply a Fall before 1864, but neither a literal interpretation nor an assumption that time can be extrapolated backward smoothly is reliable. Any year from 1859-1868 would be an entirely reasonable interpretation of the "three decades", looking from 1894, and only from 1899 does even the earliest date look inconsistent. | |||
[[Category:Unfinished]] | [[Category:Unfinished]] | ||
Revision as of 02:34, 7 September 2022
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Three decades ago, more or less[1], the Masters bought or stole (opinions vary) the city of London from the Empress. A portion of the price was the life of her consort Prince Albert; according to others who dealt with the Bazaar in the past, there is always a price which is known and a price which is not; the Consort would be the known price. The unknown price remains unknown to the players as of yet.
The Year of the Fall
The calendar year corresponding to the year of the Fall is approximately 1860, but the specifics are not clear. Many things are dated relative to the Fall, or said to have occurred in the year of the Fall. Prince-Consort Albert died in 1861, and fell ill in 1859[2]; however, the sale of London could happen some time after his death, in theory.
For the earliest date, the best information derives from the children of the Empress. The Captivating Princess is the youngest child of the Empress, and was born in the year of the Fall; her youngest sibling is The Playful Prodigy, whose historical birthdate is in April 1857, and the age gap is significant enough that in a group photograph of the children she was old enough to sit holding the Captivating Princess in her arms[3]. 1857 is therefore a hard limit for earliest date, and 1859 a softer one; children below three are rarely trusted to hold infants, especially for a long-exposure photograph.
For the latest date, the hard limits are several years later than the plausible date of a post-death revival of the Prince-Consort. The Campaign of '68 must necessarily have occurred after the Fall, and The Brooding Captain (second son of the Empress) brought his ship to the Unterzee in 1867[4]; these set a latest possible date. The Cumaean Canal is strongly suspected to have been created during or shortly prior to the Descent of London.[5] So these set hard latest dates of 1868. However, a seven year gap between Albert's death and the deal with the Masters stretches credulity, so it is likely that the Fall was much earlier, prior to the soft limit of roughly 1862.
Relative Dates
The first time when the year was definitely stated was the first Mayoral Election, in 1894; the "three decades ago"[1] number was already in circulation at that time and had been for several years of out-of-game time, and remains in circulation in the current year, which has (since 1894) advanced at one year per year, and which by imperial decree is not 1900, but the second year of 1899[6][7]. (How many years of 1899 are to be anticipated is also unclear, but it seems likely to be more than two.) Taking the three decades to be literal would imply a Fall before 1864, but neither a literal interpretation nor an assumption that time can be extrapolated backward smoothly is reliable. Any year from 1859-1868 would be an entirely reasonable interpretation of the "three decades", looking from 1894, and only from 1899 does even the earliest date look inconsistent.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 What's so bad about Fallen London?, Fallen London
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert,_Prince_Consort#Illness_and_death
- ↑ excerpt is included in The Shuttered Palace, unmarked; sourced from an Exceptional Story
- ↑ Adam's Way - Deliver the snuffer to the Avuncular Broker - "Inside is a chart, its folds stiff with zee-salt. The corner is stamped with the seal of the Empress herself. It is labelled 'First voyage of the Galatea, 1867' and shows a tenuous, roving course across the Unterzee."
- ↑ It is stated in Sunless Sea that it was created by the Stone Pigs, stated elsewhere that they lie dormant due to the effects of lacre, and yet elsewhere that a heavy lacre-rain precedes a Fall.
- ↑ The Calendrical Confusion of 1899, Fallen London
- ↑ As of autumn 2022
