Dark Earth Timeline Discussion

[Simon Darkshade]

June 1974
June 1: An accidental explosion at a chemical fertiliser plant in Flixborough, North Lincolnshire, kills 24 workers and injures over 60, as chemical engineers attempted to bypass reactor safety operational procedures rather than initiate an emergency shutdown. Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate and the Ministry of Trade, Labour and Industry begin an investigation into the disaster and possible ramifications for safety procedures across broader industry.
June 2: Thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich publishes an article on the use of abdominal thrusts in cases of choking in Emergency Medicine. Advocates of back slaps call into question the efficacy of ‘the Heimlich Surprise’ in a number of heated articles written in response.
June 3: Debut of Come and See, a new CBC young people and family-oriented science and natural history programme presented by Dr. David Suzuki, with the first episode based in Alaska, and including extensive aerial photography thanks to the cooperation of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Come and See will become well known for its catchy theme tune, sung by the De Grassi Street Choir.
June 4: The first theme park operated by the Walt Disney Company outside of the United States, Disneyland England, begins construction near Harlow in Essex, having gone through an exacting planning and approvals process, which involved agreement on usage of advanced masking and visual adaption sorcery. The plans, prepared with the personal oversight of Mr. Disney, includes a special sections modelled on the myths, legends and history of Britain and Europe, broadly speaking, ranging from The Knights of the Round Table in Camelot and The Adventures of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest to the Jungle Book and Dan Dare and the Spiders from Mars.
June 5: An attempted coup d'etat by rebellious units of the Royal Bolivian Army is quashed as tank-lead columns driving on La Paz are dispersed with incendiary rockets. As loyal units round up those officers involved who were unable to flee the country, there are disquieting rumblings of a potential second attempt in the offing, with the prospect of a full blown civil war leading on Bolivian general to meet with the US defence attache to discussion possible external intervention against 'the dangers of communist subversion'.
June 6: Commissioning of the Royal Navy’s newest atomic super battleship, HMS Monarch at Vickers shipyards in Barrow, by her sponsor, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Defence remains under construction at Swan Hunter, Wallsend, along with the newest quartet of Vanguard at John Brown, Lion at Scott Lithgow at Greenock, Warspite at Palmers, Jarrow and Dreadnought at Thames Ironworks, Tilbury.
June 7: New Zealand government statistics indicate that the Māori population is expected to equal the pre-settlement level, estimated to be 100,000, by 1980, which would make up 1.3% of the projected population.
June 8: Western intelligence reports and satellite data indicates that a series of tornados unexpectedly striking along the confluence of the Volga and Ob Rivers, with terse TASS reports later confirming the rare weather event. Deeper and more reliable sources indicate that the cause may not have been entirely natural.
June 9: Retired heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey coolly knocks out two foolish would-be muggers who brazenly attempt to accost his taxi-cab in New York City, leaving them sprawled unconscious across the iconic green taxi nursing broken jaws; a picture of the incident snapped by a passing photographer goes on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography.
June 10: President Reagan arrives in Hamburg on the first leg of his widely publicised tour of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ruritania, being greeted by German Chancellor Graf Siegfried Von Hartmann, clad as is his want in his ceremonial armour and coat of arms, at the airport.
June 11: Merger talks between the Church Missionary Society, London Missionary Society and Colonial Missionary Society conclude successfully in London, with a proposal for the merging of the three societies, representing Anglican, Methodist and Puritan denominations, to be taken to the Church of England Synod for approval.
June 12: A party of four amateur yachtsmen are discovered on Middleton Island by an RAN Short Sydney flying boat, having been shipwrecked on the reef and struggling to shore on the curiously growing tropical island.
June 13: LAPD vice detectives warn of an apparent new dangerous cult-like threat emerging from Little Tokyo. Not much is known of karaoke, and whether it is a narcotic or some kind of inscrutable Oriental mysticism, but a special undercover team and a mild mannered janitor seconded from San Francisco are put on the case.
June 14: Opening of 1974 Soccer World Cup in Germany, with Austria-Hungary playing Brazil in Frankfurt in front of a crowd of 120,000, with the Austro-Hungarians pulling off a tremendous upset, defeating the reigning world champions 1-0 with a goal in the 89th minute to star Bohemian midfielder Antonin Panenka.
June 15: Over 250 million Soviet citizens cast their votes in the Supreme Soviet elections, with the Communist Party candidates being returned in all 1269 seats of the Soviet of the Union and all 874 seats in the Soviet of Nationalities, with some polling stations apparently recording turnouts of over 106%.
June 16: Steve McQueen wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans in spectacular fashion, overtaking the previous leading Matra team in his frenetic final two laps of the course, clocking speeds of over 250mph in his Porsche 917.
June 17: Fortune Magazine releases its list of the Richest People in the World for 1974. Queen Elizabeth II tops the list, followed by the Nizam of Hyderabad, J. Paul Getty, Sir Charles Ratcliffe, C. Montgomery Burns, Sir James Cecil Rhodes, J.P. Morgan III, H. L. Hunt, Howard Hughes, Viscount Wooster and the elusive S. McDuck.
June 18: Formation of the Oficina Nacional de Aplicación de la Seguridad, a new top secret Chilean intelligence and security agency largely driven by the growing perceived strategic threat presented by Argentina and Bolivia; the new Chilean government is giving serious thought to an expansive rearmament programme, but is treading delicately towards such an end, as there is a desire to not directly escalate current tensions.
June 19: Release of The Prince and the Pauper, directed by Kenneth Russell and starring Keith Michell as King Henry VIII, Brian Blessed as the Duke of Suffolk, Oliver Reed as Sir Miles Hendon, Frank Forsyth as John Dee and young British actor Mark Lester in the twin roles of Tom Canty and Edward VI. Despite some explicit scenes (which are accepted because of their historical context), it is regarded as a splendid adaption of Twain's work, with the characteristically excellent costuming of similar British period productions and the performance of young Lester winning considerable plaudits.
June 20: Diplomats begin meeting in Geneva at the Palace of the League of Nations to discuss preliminary issues and certain disputed positions as part of negotiations aimed at securing a binding international treaty on the modern law of the sea, with the increasing pace of the 'Undersea Race' between the superpowers, and the special case of the ruins of Atlantis being among the many issues that will require deft handling if a treaty is to be agreed upon.
June 21: A carefully vetted researcher is allowed limited access to some of the Ultima Secreta of the Vatican archives, under Templar supervision and the direct oversight of four chosen clerics, and discovers tantalising hints of the voyages of St. Brendan on a parchment hidden within an ancient tome, before it is whisked away for 'proper and orderly filing'.
June 22: RAF Fighter Command initiates a study on its strength requirements into the 1980s. It is thought that the increasing multirole capabilities, range and armament of the new generation of Supermarine Spitfires, Hawker-Siddeley Hurricanes, English Electric Super Lightnings and the planned Very Long Range Fighter Interceptor, in concert with enhanced ground and air based missile defences, will allow for a moderate reduction in the statutory minimum strength of Fighter Command. This change of view is further motivated by the considerable air defence capability of RAF Strike Command’s fighter force of Phantoms, Tornadoes, the planned Harrier II and the BAC light strike fighter-interceptor being developed in concert with Saab and Dassault.
June 23: Sweden defeat England in the World Cup soccer match at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium 4-2, with Swedish goalkeeper Svenne Långstrump stopping no less than 12 English shots on goal, leading journalists to dub him ‘the new Berlin Wall’ in jocular reference to the extensive defences of the capital.
June 24: The Royal Israeli Navy receives the first of four DLGs from Canadian construction under the British Empire Naval Plan, with the RIsN variants being more heavily equipped with light guns and missiles due to the particular exigencies of Levantine littoral operations, whilst still being equipped with medium range missiles for joint operations with other Commonwealth and RN components of the Mediterranean Fleet. The majority of the RIsN remains lighter destroyers, frigates and corvettes in line with their needs and operational environment.
June 25: A scientific conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia endorses a paper on new understandings of brain maturity patterns and the implications of the legal age of adulthood. The tentative question of raising the age of legal adulthood from 21 to 25 has previously been mooted in France, Britain and the USA, but remains a niche issue at this time.
June 26: Soldiers of the Queen, the British Army's weekly documentary programme carried on all three networks, leads with a special feature on the 'British Infantryman of the Year 2000', forecasting that the 21st century Tommy could be equipped with an advanced long range automatic rifle, light portable missiles capable of disabling a tank, powered body armour, rocket packs, a special helmet with completely integrated infravision and a handheld computing device linking him in with his commanders and the other soldiers of his company.
June 27: President Reagan lands at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow on a state visit to the USSR, and is met by General Secretary Sergeyev, Premier Kosygin, Marshal Zhukov and, in something of a shock for Western journalists, a figure appearing to be Vasily Stalin, who had not been seen in public since his fall from power in 1966.
June 28: Scientists begin to investigate reports of blue skinned babies being born at over a dozen different locations across the United States; previously, such incidences were confined to those suffering from rare blood disorders, such as the Blue Fugates of Kentucky.
June 29: Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects to Canada whilst on tour in Toronto with the Bolshoi Ballet, slipping away from a banquet and handing himself over to Canadian officials.
June 30: The INS begins a new initiative designed to locate and deport illegal workers in the south western states utilising new scanning and detection spells, with the ending of the long time Bracero Program during last year's recession driving an increase in the new policy direction.

[jemhouston]

Simple question for those chemical engineers, why in God's name didn't you follow procedure? Were you trying to kill people?

I know I should know this, but who is the mild-mannered janitor seconded from San Francisco

[Simon Darkshade]

On the first matter of Flixborough, it was a case of rather catastrophic human error, of not having mechanical engineering know-how, of a much greater demand for polymers, and of a failure of systems. Much was learned from the disaster.

On the second, the janitor is Penrod ‘Penry’ Pooch, better known to the world as his secret identity, Hong Kong Phooey!

[jemhouston]

On the first matter of Flixborough, it was a case of rather catastrophic human error, of not having mechanical engineering know-how, of a much greater demand for polymers, and of a failure of systems. Much was learned from the disaster.

On the second, the janitor is Penrod ‘Penry’ Pooch, better known to the world as his secret identity, Hong Kong Phooey!

I heard of Hong Kong Phooey, but can't remember anything about it.

[Simon Darkshade]

A 1974 Hanna-Barbera show, with the anthropomorphic dog main character providing the cheesy kung fu action.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Phooey

[jemhouston]

Thanks

[Belushi TD]

I'm caught up!!!! WHOOO HOOOOO!!!!

I particularly liked the Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner reference. Nicely played. Hong Kong Phooey is another nice one.

June 1 - Is that a sort of a sideswipe at Chernobyl? I'm uncertain as to if a chemical fertilizer plant would have a nuclear reactor, rather than a chemical one. I seem to recall several incidents over the years where people charged their reactors improperly, causing 4 inch thick steel spheres to detonate.

Love the list of the world's richest people.

Don't understand why they'd let a carefully vetted researcher into the vatican library and then take away what he found.

Is the geography of Israel such that they need Destroyer Leaders? It seems.... almost too much ship for the area they are in, even accounting for DE being larger than our Earth. Or is the whole point of them for the RN and the Empire have another squadron in the Mediterranean sea to call upon in times of need?

Are the blue skinned babies the DE equivalent of the Thalidomide babies?

Thanks for the work! LOVE IT!!!

Belushi TD

[Simon Darkshade]

Thank you for the detailed comments.

Roland was always going to make an appearance, having been set up in a past story, whilst Hong Kong Phooey is just a number one super guy.

June 1st is a historical event in Britain that lead to a lot of modern 'health and safety' measures in an industrial context, and not a nuclear incident at all. Here, its impact will be confined to the direct industrial lessons, rather than being the harbinger of a broader Health and Safety Executive and more.

The richest people in the world include some historical hits, and some different figures, such as Cecil Rhodes' grandson, the PM of South Africa.

What are the chances of the exact book the researcher has been given access to having an ancient map accidentally hidden inside of it?

The Israeli DLGs are designed for operating with the Mediterranean Fleet, rather than being a purely local and littoral entity, showing one of the consequences of a different Israel within the broader Commonwealth.

The blue skinned babies are based more on the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Fugates and the Smurfs than anything to do with Thalidomide.

Thanks,

Simon

[jemhouston]

What are the chances of the exact book the researcher has been given access to having an ancient map accidentally hidden inside of it?


Simon

Anything as old as the Vatican has secrets nobody knows about because the last person who knew died without telling anyone. The best place to hide something would be dusty folder unrelated to it in top secret archive. Either that, put it in bronze statue on display at the entrance.

[Simon Darkshade]

What do you do when you want attention to be paid to something other than what you really wish to conceal?

You ensure that something else is found that can take attention and focus in a different direction.

[Bernard Woolley]

June 1 - Is that a sort of a sideswipe at Chernobyl? I'm uncertain as to if a chemical fertilizer plant would have a nuclear reactor, rather than a chemical one. I seem to recall several incidents over the years where people charged their reactors improperly, causing 4 inch thick steel spheres to detonate.

As Simor says, there was a very real disaster at Flixborough on that date. In @ the death toll was 28.

June 9: Retired heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey coolly knocks out two foolish would-be muggers who brazenly attempt to accost his taxi-cab in New York City, <snip>

Reminds me of the @ example of someone threatening Paddy Ashdown with a knife back in the '90s. Turns out threatening an ex member of the SBS is not the best idea.

June 25: <snip> The tentative question of raising the age of legal adulthood from 21 to 25 has previously been mooted in France, Britain and the USA, but remains a niche issue at this time.

If that were to be adoped, I'd suggest that nobody under 25 be allowed to join any armed forces.

[Simon Darkshade]

On adulthood:

National service/conscription was for 18-51 in WW1, 18-41 in WW2 and 17-21 in the post WW2 era, all of which fell in the period where 21 was the age of legal adulthood. At the current age of 18, 16 and 17 year olds are allowed to enlist.

[Bernard Woolley]

I’m aware, Simon.
I just have the opinion that it’s morally wrong to have someone risk their lives, but not have full political rights. Nobody who can’t vote, and therefore have a say in choosing the government, should be made to fight. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that those under 18 can’t be deployed.

[Simon Darkshade]

That is certainly the case in 2025. 17 year olds deployed and died in the Falklands.

It is an opinion and an understandable one, but in a different world, there is different context.

As of 1974 DE, the marriage age is 14, with parental permission, drinking and tobacco are legal from 16, voting and legal contracts are 21, and there is a host of different aspects of criminal law at play. It really is all over the place, and that friction creates interesting scope for drama and in universe debate.

[Simon Darkshade]

June Notes
- Flixborough is largely along historical lines, with the consequences flowing 'downstream' in different industries across Britain and the Empire (something of an Easter Egg in that hint/wording). I toyed with having it the subject of costumed superhero intervention, as has happened with a few rail and airline disasters, but there was both less scope for predictability in order to act and less agency for the everyday people whose investigations will prevent mess ups like this happening in the future
- The Heimlich Maneuver/Surprise gets a bit of disagreement from the start; having had to employ the backslapping technique in the past to save a kid from choking, I have a little bit of time for it
- After the joyful children's programmes The War Game and Threads, we now get Come and See, with the affable Suzuki and the rapscallions from De Grassi Street exploring the wonders of nature. As well as the joke, think of it as the parallel universe effect at play, where, on the other side of the figurative mirror, names of the darkest horrors wrought by man are applied to family friendly entertainment
- Rather than Tokyo and then Paris, London becomes the site of the first Disney park outside of the United States, providing a little bit of an indicator as to the different general economic circumstances and trajectory of Britain in the 1970s
- Failed coup d'etats in Bolivia are historical, but what looks like happening next is not; the added problematic ingredient is the ongoing communist insurgency
- British battleship construction, like that of aircraft carriers in 1973, serves to highlight the range of full sized yards in operation, and to illustrate the level of difference of shipbuilding programmes. What will stick out to many is the mention of Thames Ironworks at Tilbury, demonstrating that large ship construction hasn't quite left the Thames
- The Maori population of New Zealand is rather smaller, with the postulated 1980 figure coming in at ~1.5% vs 9% in @, which comes down to two causes: a greater dip in the 19th century before bottoming out, and more considerable White New Zealander population growth + immigration 'diluting' the relative Maori share of the numbers
- Something strange is going on behind the Iron Wall in the Soviet Union. As usual
- Jack Dempsey knocking out muggers is anecdotally a historical event. Note the colour of New York's taxi cabs
- The German chancellor, being an actual paladin, wears armour to the airport, providing the American news coverage with a rather unique image with which to lead their evening bulletins
- Missionary societies may slip by the attention of most readers, but do note the different denominations of English Christianity discussed: Anglican, Methodist and Puritan. The last still refers to what in @ would be termed Congregationalist
- Yachtsmen were wrecked historically on Middleton Reef; here, it seems to be an unnaturally growing island...
- Can Hong Kong Phooey, Joe Friday and friends save America and Christian civilisation from the dastardly threat of 'karaoke'? Tune in next week to find out, kids!
- The Soviet elections were completely fair and above board. As usual
- Steve McQueen gets to race at Le Mans
- The richest in the world includes more than just a litany of Americans, but is still dominated by them. Royalty continues to have quite the weight at the top of the list, whilst it is interesting that the Conservative Shadow Cabinet includes #4 and #10 of the world's richest. Sir James Cecil Rhodes is the grandson of Cecil Rhodes and PM of South Africa
- Chile's new intelligence agency is focused externally here
- The Prince and the Pauper is a different picture to the one released in @ 1977 under the title 'Crossed Swords', with the younger Lester still in his pre-adolescent pomp as an actor. There is a fair bit of detail hidden between the lines of the description
- Discussions on a Law of the Sea Convention/UNCLOS kick off
- Something is afoot at the Vatican, with the discovery seemingly intended to throw off the scent of something else
- Fighter Command, with a new generation of planes, grudgingly begins to accept that it does not quite need the same numbers as set in the 1950s (2400 vs the 1600 bandied about in Dropshot and other @ sources and developments), due to the sheer capability of what they have. That RAF Strike Command (the equivalent to the USAF's TAC in that it supports and reinforces forward deployed air forces) now has fighters and fighter-bombers of such performance that they serve as a very capable adjunct to the dedicated fighter force. The BAC light strike fighter is going to be something of a child of a Mirage 2000, a Saab Gripen and a single engined BAe P.110
- Sweden's victory in the Soccer World Cup game against England not only involves a different Berlin Wall, but a curious surname for the goalkeeper
- The RIsN is better armed and competent
- Soldiers of the Queen is the British equivalent to The Big Picture, and their projection on the soldier of 2000 is 'interesting'
- Stalin Jr appearing out of the blue was quite the shock
- Blue skinned babies are something different and new...
- The Bracero Program lasted for almost an extra decade here

[Simon Darkshade]

Amongst other events coming up in July, there will be this dreadful emergence:

Castle Duckula, Home for many centuries to a dreadful dynasty of vicious vampire ducks...the Counts of Duckula!
Legend has it that these foul beings can be destroyed
by a stake through the heart, or exposure to sunlight.
This does not suffice, however, for they may be brought back to life by means of a sacred rite that can be performed once a century, when the moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius...


The latest reincarnation did not run according to plan...

[Bernard Woolley]

Have to share this!

[Simon Darkshade]

A little sneak preview, as advertised:

*July 22: Vampire hunters affiliated with SOE, operating clandestinely behind the Iron Wall in Communist Romania, report that investigations of the infamous Castle Duckula, home for many centuries to a dreadful dynasty of vicious vampire ducks, have uncovered that an undead scion of the Duckulas has apparently been restored to existence. The team, headed by noted hero Captain Fantastic and including an undercover surrealistic music hall band, reports that this latest reincarnation has not run according to plan, and that tentative contacts have been made with the vegetarian Count Duckula; a preliminary offer of a recurring role on a British variety television show, such as The Two Ronnies, in return for cooperation in operations against both the Soviets and other nosferatu (such as his more humanoid namesake), has apparently been received with no small amount of positive interest.

[Jotun]

After reading the name Roland, I thought of The Gunslinger, Roland Deschain of Gilead, his sixguns made of a sword implied to have been Excalibur or at least Excalibur-like and his ka-tet of true companions.

Maybe you could throw in an offhand reference to a strange posse consisting of a leathery old cowboy, a wisecracking young man, a legless African-American woman in a wheelchair, a pubescent boy and a strange dog breaking up a gunfight/crime etc. by waltzing in from literally nowhere, kill a large number of badly disguised non-human baddies (nineteen…) with almost supernatural accuracy, and then vanishing through a door that stands alone on a field of grass…

[Simon Darkshade]

I’ve never read The Dark Tower, so that type of cameo isn’t really on the cards; there are additional issues with the reality and magic system of King’s various universes not being compatible with those of Dark Earth.

Warren Zevon’s characters are a tad less difficult to conjure.