Re: Metafiction: Dialogues on the Lore of Xlite
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 6:37 am
I don't think I've ever seen such an Elite-only history of humanity. ...But it might be possible to reconstruct such a history based upon the "INSERVICE DATEs" of the various vessels catalogued on pp. 53 - 61 of the original, 1984 (SBG38/B1) "Space Trader's Flight Training Manual", in chapter 6, "OBSERVER'S GUIDE TO SHIPS IN SERVICE".Cholmondely wrote: ↑Tue Dec 22, 2020 1:48 pmIs there a history of humanity up to Commander Jameson of Classic Elite fame anywhere? I know of Selezen's Timeline (for Frontier) and Oolite Timeline for Oolite. I'm after something older from the pre-Frontier days when the need to synthesise Elite & Frontier was not yet born.
Also, considering a comparison of which equipment have been installed on which vessels, and assuming some staged, technological advances in the development of said equipment, as well as which companies were responsible for the associated R&D, might flesh out the picture a little bit more.
Then, there are also other dates mentioned throughout the manual that might be incorporated into the history, e.g. p. 33, Missile specification: "Prototype first used in 2987, during Ineran Wars."
Considering the respective dates, it might then be possible to determine which ships were available for service, and which technology existed during the Ineran Wars, for instance.
Then... Where do those pesky and infamous generation ships fit in? ("Where indeed?" ) How far away is Earth from GalCop Chart 1? How long did it take them to get here? When did they arrive? WHERE did they arrive first? How fast did they travel? How long before they would reach their farthest destinations in GalCop Chart 1 (and elsewhere)? How do these time intervals and periods compare with ship development? When was hyperspace tech first developed? ... Hang on... Why did they leave in the first place?! ... more than 70,000 of them!!
Furthermore... considering hyperspace time dilation, due to the Hyperspace Square-Distance Time Law, how long is the average pilot's life-span really? ... So that we can get a guesstimate of when Jason Ryder, Alex's dad, was born. ...and Ben Ryder, Alex's grandfather? "Elite: The Dark Wheel", p. 47, Chapter Eight: Coda, "Alex was not yet twenty years of age, [...]." When could he possibly have been born so that Holdstock could have had sufficient time to gather research throughout Chart 1, and write his story in time for publication along with the "Space Trader's Flight Training Manual" that was released together with the Cobra Mk III (Inservice date: 3100), keeping in mind that Alex saw some Mambas (inservice date: 3110) on pp. 10, 25 and 40 - 42. Did "Elite: The Dark Wheel" necessarily HAVE to have been released together with the first Cobra Mk IIIs, though?... ? If not, why not?
...And what about that crusty old Rafe Zetter?... Where does he fit into the story, considering that he and Jason used to be partners - a long time ago? ...and that brings us to Elyssia Fields... and Henry Bell... How did Rafe en Henry know each other? ("The Virtuous Misfortune" gives us a glimpse into the answer to that one...) How, when, where did Henry die? Why is his tomb in the Tionisla Graveyard so relatively diminutive? ...and Starpilot Fleischer... - Who's he? (See p. 18) ...not to forget good ol' Patrick McGreavy... ...and that Cobra assassin from Cirag...??? "Where was Cirag, Alex wondered [on page 38]." ...and who is Craig, from "Identify, identify. This is Craig Orbit Space." (p. 42)...? ...and on, and on, and on...
...But I think the "inservice" (sic) dates is probably the best place to start.