THE TIME WARS
A p r i l 1 . 2 4 2 5 :
D r . W o l f g a n g M e n s i n g e r i n v e n t s t h e chronoplate at
the age of 115, discovering time travel. Later he would
construct a small-scale working prototype for use in
laboratory experiments specially designed to avoid any
possible creation of a temporal paradox. He is hailed
as the "Father of Temporal Physics."
J u l y 1 4 . 2 4 3 0 :
M e n s i n g e r p u b l i s h e s " T h e r e i s N o F u ture," in which
he redefines relativity, proving that there is no such
thing as the future. but an infinite number of potential
future scenarios which are absolute relative only to
their present. He also announces the discovery of "non
specific time" or temporal limbo, later known as
"the dead zone "
O c t o b e r 2 1 . 2 4 4 0 :
W o l f g a n g M e n s i n g e r d i e s . H i s s o n , Albrecht, perfects
the chronoplate and carries on the work, but loses
control of the discovery to political interests.
J u n e 1 5. 24 6 0 :
F o r ma t io n o f th e in t e rn a ti o na l Co m mit tee fo r
Tempo ral Inte llig e nce, with Albrecht Mensinger as
director. Specially trained and conditioned "agents"
of the committee begin to travel back through time in
order to conduct research and field test the
chronoplate apparatus. Many become lost in transition,
trapped in the limbo of nonspecific time known as "the
dead zone." Those who return from successful temporal
voyages often bring back startling information
necessitating the revision of historical records.
March 22. 2461:
The Consorti Affair—Cardinal Lodovico Consorti is
excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church
for proposing that agents travel back through time to
obtain empirical evidence that Christ arose following
His crucifixion. The Consorti Affair sparks extensive
international negotiations amidst a volatile climate of
public opinion concerning the proper uses for the new
technology. Temporal excursions are severely curtailed.
Concurrently, espionage operatives of several nations
infiltrate the Committee for Temporal Intelligence.
May 1, 2461:
Dr. Albrecht Mensinger appears before a special
international conference in Geneva, composed of
political leaders and members of the scientific
community. He attempts to alleviate fears about the
possible misuses of time travel. He further refuses to
cooperate with any attempts at militarizing his father's
discovery.
February 3, 2485:
The research facilities of the Committee for
Temporal Intelligence are seized by troops of the
TransAtlantic Treaty Organization.
January 25, 2492:
The Council of Nations meets in Buenos Aires,
capital of the United Socialist States of South
America, to discuss increasing international
tensions and economic instability. A proposal for
"an end to war in our time" is put forth by the
chairman of the Nippon Cong l o m e r a t e E m p i r e . D r .
A l b r e c h t Mensinger, appearing before the body as
nominal director of the Committee for Temporal
Intelligence, argues passionately against using
temporal technology to resolve international
conflicts, but cannot present proof that the past can be
affected by temporal voyagers. Prevailing scientific
testimony reinforces the conventional wisdom that the
past is an immutable absolute.
December 24, 2492 :
Formation of the Referee Corps. brought into being by
the Council of Nations as an extranational arbitrating
hotly with sole control over temporal technology and
authority to stage temporal conflicts as "limited
warfare" to resolve international disputes.
April 21, 2493:
On the recommendation of the Referee Corps, a
subordinate body named the Observer Corps is formed,
taking over most of the functions of the Committee for
Temporal Intelligence, which is redesignated as the
Temporal Intelligence Agency. Under the aegis of the
Council of Nations and the Referee Corps, the TIA
absorbs the intelligence agencies of the world's
governments and is made solely answerable to the
Referee Corps. Dr. Mensinger resigns his post to found
the Temporal Preservation League, a group dedicated to
the abolition of temporal conflict.
June, 2497 –
Referee Corps presides over initial temporal March,
March, 2502:
confrontation campaigns. accepting "grievances" from
disputing nations, selecting historical conflicts of
the past as "staging grounds" and supervising the
infiltration of modern troops into the so-called
"cannon fodder" ranks of ancient warring armies.
Initial numbers of temporal combatants are kept small,
with infiltration facilitated by cosmetic surgery and
implant conditioning of soldiers. The results are
calculated based upon successful return rate and a
complicated "point spread." Soldiers are monitored via
cerebral imp l a n t s , e n a b l i n g S e a r c h & R e t r i e v e teams
to follow their movements and monitor mortality rate.
The media dubs temporal conflicts the "Time Wars."
2 5 0 0 - 2 5 1 0 :
E x t r e m e l y r a p i d g r o w t h o f m a s s i v e s u p port industry
catering to the exacting art and science of temporal
conflict. Rapid improvements in international economi c
c l i m a t e f o l l o w s , w i t h s i g n i f i c a n t growth in
productivity and rapid decline in unemployment and
inflation rate. Th ere is a gradual escalation of the
Time Wars wit h th e majo rity of the world's armed
services converting to temporal duty status.
Growth of the Temporal Preservation League as a peace
movement with an intensive lobby effort and mass
demons t r a t i o n s a g a i n s t t h e T i m e W a r s . Mensinger
cautions against an imbalance in temporal continuity
due to the increasing activity of the Time Wars.
September 2. 2514:
Mensinger publishes his "Theories of Temporal
Relativity," incorporating his solution to the
Grandfather Paradox and calling once again for a cease
fire in the Time Wars. The result is an upheaval in the
scientific community and a hastily reconvened Council
of Nations to discuss his findings, leading to the
Temporal Strategic Arms Limitations Talks of 2515.
March 15. 2515:
T-SALT held in New York City Mensinger appears
June 1, 2515:
before t h e r e p r e s e n tatives at the sessions and
petitions for an end to the Time Wars. A cease-fire
resolution is framed, but tabled due to lack of
agreement among the members of the Council of
Nations. Mensinger leaves the T-SALT a broken man.
November 18, 2516:
Dr. Albrecht Mensinger experiences total nervous
collapse shortly after being awarded the Benford Prize.
December 25, 2516:
Dr. Albrecht Mensinger commits suicide. Violent
demonstrations by memb e r s of th e Te m po r a l
P r e se r va t io n League.
Janua ry 1 . 25 17:
Milit ant memb ers o f the Tem pora l Pr e servation
League hand together to form the Timekeepers, a
terrorist offshoot of the League, dedicated to the
complete destruction of the war machine. They
announce their presence to the world by assassinating
three members of the Referee Corps and bombing the
Council of Nations meeting in Buenos Aires,
killing several heads of state and injuring many
others.
September 17, 2613:
Formation of the First Division of the U.S. Army
Temporal Corps as a crack commando unit following the
successf u l c o m p l e t i o n o f a " t e m p o r a l a d justment"
involving the first serious threat of a timestream
split. The First Division, assigned exclusively to
deal with threats to temporal continuity, is
d e s i g n a t e d a s " t h e T i m e C o m m a n d o s . ”
October 10. 2615:
T e m p o r a l p h y s i c i s t D r . R o b e r t D a r k n e s s disappears
without a trace shortly after turning over to the army
his new invention. the "war p gr enad e ," a comb ination
time machine and nuclear device. E s t a b l i s h i n g a
s e c r e t r e s e a r c h i n stallation somewhere off Earth,
Darkness experiments with temporal translocation based
on the transmutation principle. He experiments upon
himself a n d s u c c e e d s i n t r a n s l a t i n g h i s o w n body
into tachyons. but an error in his c a l c u l a t i o n s
c a u s e s a n i r r e v e r s i b l e change in his sub-atomic
structure, rendering it unstable. Darkness becomes
"the man who is faster than light."
November 3, 2620:
The chronoplate is superseded by the t e m p o r a l
t r a n s p o n d e r . D u b b e d t h e "warp disc." the
temporal transponder was developed from work
begun by Dr. Darkness and it drew on power
tapped by Einstein-Rosen Generators (develo p e d
b y B e l l L a b o r a t o r i e s i n 2 5 4 5 ) bridging to
neutron stars.
March 15, 2625:
The Temporal Crisis: The discovery of an alternate
universe following an uns ucce ssfu l i nvasi on b y
troop s of the S p e c i a l O p e r a t i o n s G r o u p .
c o u n t e r parts of the Time Commanders. Whether as
a result of chronophysical instability c a u s e d b y
c l o c k i n g t r e m e n d o u s amounts of energy through
Einstein-Rosen Bridges or the cumulative effect
of temporal disruptions, an alternate un iver se
comes int o co ngru e nce w ith our own, causing an
instability in the timeflow of both universes
and resulting in a "confluence effect," wherein
the ti mest ream s of both uni vers es r i pple a n d
o c c a s i o n a l l y i n t e r s e c t , c r e a t i n g "confluence
points" where a crossover from one universe to
another becomes possible. M a s s i v e a m o u n t s o f e n e r g y
c l o c k e d through
Einstein-Rosen Bridges has resulted
in unintentional "warp bombardment" of the alternate
universe, causing untold destruction. The Time Wars
escalate into a temporal war between two universes.
May 13, 2626
Gen. Moses Forrester, director of the Temporal
Intelligence agency (which has absorbed the First
Division), becomes aware of a super secret
organization within the T. I. A. known as “The
Network.” Comprised of corrupt T.I.A. section
chiefs and renegade deep cover agents, the
Network has formed a vast trans-temporal economic
empire, entailing extensive involvement in both
legitimate businesses and organized crime.
Forrester vows to break the network and becomes a
marked man.