Shadowrun timeline
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This is a fictional timeline of the Shadowrun role-playing game. The timeline has been expanded as new material is released by the various producers of Shadowrun. The 2007 Shadowrun video game takes place in its own continuity. [1] Several key events of the history of Shadowrun were unveiled over the course of several novels, as well as adventure modules and source books, such as the election of the dragon Dunkelzahn to the presidency of the United Canadian and American States and his subsequent assassination.
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[edit] Pre 2000
- A 3-month truckers' strike causes food riots in New York.
- A Seretech truck hauling infectious medical wastes on Staten Island, is attacked by a mob in the mistaken belief that it carries food. Seretech security forces use lethal force to protect it. 20 Seretech employees and 200 rioters are killed.
- The Supreme Court upholds Seretech's actions as responsible for saving thousands of lives, rather than costing hundreds.
[edit] 2000 - 2009
- Scientist are surprised to discover a distinct new species of ferret in North America. Dubbed the Century Ferret due to the time of discovery, it is later concluded to be a "Spike Baby", a premature awakening.
2001: The Shiawase Decision
- The Shiawase court decision establishes extraterritoriality for megacorps when a radical eco-group called TerraFirst! attacked a Shiawase nuclear power plant. Though the attack was repelled, the corporation used the incident to convince the Supreme Court that major multinational corporations need the ability to protect themselves. To this end, the Supreme Court granted major companies extraterritoriality. (TerraFirst! manages later to acquire evidence that the attack was in fact a setup with the intent to force the courts into granting sovereignty. However, before the group can act on said information, their headquarters is destroyed and key members killed in what is considered to be one of the first shadowruns.)
- Aug-Oct: NASA Mars probes photographs pyramids and a skeleton on the surface of Mars. The information is given the highest classification (Top Secret: Veil).
- Libya attacks Israel with chemical weapons.
- Nuclear meltdown at Dungeness in Kent (England) creates a localized irradiated zone.
2005: New York quake
- Israel retaliates against Libya with nuclear weapons.
- A major earthquake hits New York City on 12 August, killing 200,000 and causing 200 billion in damage. It will take 40 years to rebuild.
- United Nations moves to Geneva.
- East Coast Stock Exchange moves to Boston.
- Conservative government in the United Kingdom establishes regional parliaments in Scotland and Wales.
2005-6: Korean War
- Japanese megacorps push the Republic of Korea into a war with the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea
- Early 2006: DPRK launches a nuclear attack at Japan, but the missiles do not reach their targets.
- Late 2006: DPRK is overrun. Japan proclaims Japanese Imperial State.
2009: Lone Eagle incident
- The resource rush
- May 5: United Oil receives rights to 25% of national parklands and 10% of Indian lands.
- Sovereign American Indian Movement (SAIM) seizes the Shiloh launch facility in Montana. Delta Team retakes the site, but not before the terrorists launch a Lone Eagle ICBM at Russia. The missile never arrives at its destination. The reasons for this are unknown by the public.
- Re-Education and Relocation Act (Nepean Act in Canada) round up Native Americans into "reeducation centers".
- Native Americans are spared the worst of VITAS because of this internment, ironically.
- King Charles III is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
[edit] 2010 - 2019
2010: VITAS 1
- Virally Induced Toxic Allergy Syndrome (VITAS) kills off a quarter of the world's population.
- The Yakuza of Seattle is given official recognition as the Dungeness Crabs of the 87th Prefecture by the oyabun of the Watada-rengo in Chiba, Japan. This approval of and support for their activities allows the Seattle Yakuza to grow rapidly and expand its operations.
2011: the Year of Chaos
- Unexplained Genetic Expression (UGE) -- Babies bearing a close resemblance to Elves and Dwarves are born across the world. Widely believed to be a foreshadowing of the The Awakening ahead.
- Pope John Paul IV denounces metahumans as abominations in the eyes of God.
- England's Sizewell B nuclear power station suffers critical meltdown, resulting in a total death count of 17,000.
- A nuclear power plant in Dounreay, Scotland suffers a meltdown, creating the Scottish Irradiated Zone.
- July: Operation Discovery, an 8-man Mars Mission, makes planetfall and begins its survey.
- Dec 24: The Awakening
- The great eastern dragon, Ryumyo, is sighted flying over Mt. Fuji, the first dragon seen by mankind in thousands of years.
- Under the cover of a fierce storm, Daniel Howling Coyote leads a walk-out of the Abilene detainment camp. Although guards fire upon him, none of the shots fired hit Daniel, and he leads his people into the storm, leaving no trace.
- The operations module of Operation Discovery crashes on Mars, killing 5 of the 8 astronauts.
- Dec 26: Ley lines and standing stones re-emerge all over Britain. First sighting of the great Welsh dragon, Celedyr, in Caerleon.
2012: the Big D
- Jan 27: The great western dragon Dunkelzahn's first appearance at Cherry Creek Lake in Denver.
- Grants exclusive 12-hour interview with Holly Brighton during which he explains the Awakening.
- The great western dragon, Lofwyr, appears in Germany and becomes a corporate player.
- England's King Charles III abdicates in favor of his only surviving son, George.
- Formation of Hildebrandt-Kleinfort-Bernal (HKB) megacorporation in England, an increasingly major power in world financial affairs.
- First televised Combat Biker match (Baton Rouge, LA).
- Daniel Howling Coyote announces formation of the NAN.
- Following magically enhanced terrorist activity, the governments of the UK and Éire sign the Treaty of Galway establishing the United Free Republic of Ireland.
2015: Aztlan
- May 5: Francisco Pavón of the Azatlán party becomes first directly elected president of Mexico.
- Mexico becomes Aztlan, backed by ORO corporation (Aztechnology).
- Hong Kong breaks free from mainland China and proclaims independence. The British government uses its influence to protect Hong Kong, but is duped by megacorporations and loses face over the incident.
- Schism splits the Irish Republican Army (IRA) into two factions: the Provisional IRA (led by Liam O'Connor, a "spike baby" elf) and the Official IRA.
- The Provisional IRA is incorporated into the state security apparatus, where it counters Protestant paramilitaries. It would grow into the core of the Tir Republican Corps (TRC).
2016: the Indian War
- Daniel Howling Coyote declares war on the United States in order to reclaim Native American land for the formation of the Native American Nations.
- Redondo peak erupts and buries Los Alamos, New Mexico.
- President Garrety assassinated by William Springer (never captured).
- The following world leaders are also assassinated: Russian President Nikolai Chelenko, Prime Minister Lena Rodale of the United Kingdom and Minister Chaim Schon of Israel.
- Vice President William Jarman passes Executive Order 17-321, the extermination of the Native American tribes.
- The defence and aerospace megacorp Ares buys NASA.
- A major oil spill in the North Sea creates the Scottish Fringe Toxic Zone.
2017: The Great Ghost Dance
- Aug 17, 10:32 a.m.: Mts. Hood, Ranier, St. Helens, and Adams erupt.
2018: Treaty of Denver
- Aztlan invited to join the new Sovereign Tribal Council (STC) of the Native American Nations (NAN). As a member nation, it participates in the Treaty of Denver.
- The Treaty Of Denver resolves the dispute between the United States and the Native American Nations.
- 1st-generation ASIST developed by Dr Hosato Hikita, ESP systems, Chicago.
- Civil war in China results in yet another fractured nation: Manchuria, Xinjiang, Guangxi, the Canton Confederation.
- The spaceplane America disintegrates in orbit, crashing in Longreach, Australia and killing 200.
- The violinist Leonora Bartoli becomes the first to have a cyberlimb successfully implanted.
[edit] 2020 - 2029
- Aden destroys Tehran in response to the Ayatollah's declaration of jihad against the metahuman races.
- Ares launches Apollo space program.
- Shiela Blatavska establishes the Atlantean Foundation.
- Apr 30: Goblinization strikes 10% of the world population.
- Martial law and concentration camps in the US.
- Yomi Island (Philippines) in the Japanese Empire.
- England's King George VII is declared dead, rumors persist that he was killed when he began changing into a troll.
2022: VITAS 2
- Race riots occur around the world.
- Electronic news mag Data coins the term "Awakened".
- VITAS 2 claims another 10% of world population.
- Cuba, Jamaica, Grenada, Bermuda and the Virgin Islands join together to form the Caribbean League.
- Los Angeles is rocked by gang warfare, eventually suppressed by National Guardsmen. The city's worst slums are walled off, soon renamed "El Infierno" by local residents.
- Humanis policlub founded.
- US Supreme Court grants equal rights to metahumans.
- Riots over hoarded VITAS 2 serum level the LA neighborhood of Watts.
- First commercial simsense.
- After a prolonged succession dispute, George Edward Richard Windsor-Hanover becomes King George VIII in England.
2025: Lone Star Seattle
- UCLA establishes first undergraduate program in occult studies.
- Cyberware enters professional sports (NFL).
- Lone Star takes over law enforcement in Seattle.
- Pope John XXV issues In Imago Dei encyclical:
- Metahumans have souls and are capable of salvation.
- Magical abilities are not inherently evil.
- Spirits are manifestations of nature (gray area).
- The United Kingdom Constitution Act is passed in the United Kingdom, creating the office of Lord Protector.
2026: NERPS!
- The Mafia Commissione appoints Brian O'Malley from Milwaukee as the head of the Finnigan family and Don of Seattle, and assigns him to deal with the problem of the Yakuza in the metroplex.
- Oxford and Edinburgh Universities establish Bachelor of Science degrees in occult studies.
- World Combat Cyclists League (WCCL) founded. Combat Biker becomes a major sport.
- Desperate to alleviate water shortages, the Los Angeles Power and Water Company pioneers the first use of cold fusion technology, which produces fresh water from salt water as a by-product.
- The Lord Protector's office (England) drafts the Magical Practitioners Registration Bill, which Parliament passes into law.
- A major earthquake hits L.A., destroying LAX.
- Cambridge institutes a magical studies program.
- Britain withdraws from the European Economic Community (EEC).
2029: [The big Computer Crash]]
- Sony Cybersystems, Fuchi Industrial Electronics, and RCA-Unisys develop prototype cyberterminals.
- CIA, FBI, and NSA begin Echo Mirage project.
- The Salish-Sidhe Council (SSC) opens its borders to all metahumans (not just Native Americans). The Sinsearach elf tribe is founded in the southern region.
- Feb 8: The Crash of '29
- Aug: Presidential emergency order drafts hotshot corp and university hackers into Echo Mirage. 32 graduate training. First-generation cyberterminals are room-sized and require a sensory deprivation tank.
- Eighteen minutes after engaging the virus, four members of Echo Mirage were dead. When the data logs were analyzed, two things became apparent: First, the virus program could induce lethal biofeedback in humans accessing the Matrix. Second, no existing computer security could even slow down someone using a cyberterminal.
[edit] 2030 - 2039
2030: UCAS
- Ghoul nation of Asamando founded in Africa.
- Oct 15: Act of Union signed in Washington D.C., Canada and the US merge into the UCAS.
- Awakened forces in Russia seize Siberia.
- Brian O'Malley is shot and killed in his home by Yakuza assassins. A retaliatory hit the next day kills the Yakuza oyabun responsible, along with his lieutenants. Losses on both sides of the Mafia/Yakuza conflict result in a truce. Patrick Finnigan becomes capo of his family and the Don of Seattle.
2031: Euro-War
- Beginning of the Euro-Wars.
- Late: Echo Mirage finishes off the virus (7 survivors).
- Second-generation cyberterminals are desk-sized.
- James O'Malley, capo of Milwaukee and Brian's older brother, becomes obsessed with revenge against the Yakuza. He neglects his city's operations so dramatically that the Commissione strips him of his position and forces him to retire.
2033: Nightwraith strikes, Nanosecond Buyout
- Jan 23: Nightwraith airstrike. Fighter-bombers attack key C&C centers on all sides of the Euro-Wars, bringing the fighting to a screeching halt. Whodunit? Swedish air surveillance implies that the aircraft were of UK origin, but this is denied by the government.
- Nanosecond Buyout: Damien Knight takes control of Ares.
- To rebuild gumis nearly crippled in the conflicts with the Mafia, the Japanese Yakuza send a new upper echelon of Koreans to Seattle. These Korean leaders begin aggressively reclaiming lost territory.
2034: Amazonia, CAS, Tir Na nOg, Fuchi rising
- Amazonia founded.
- CAS secede from the UCAS.
- Aztlan withdraws from the STC and the NAN.
- South Florida joins the Caribbean League.
- Richard Villiers becomes one-third of Fuchi Industrial Elec.
- May: Matrix Systems, Boston, releases first gray-market cyberterminal.
- Jun: Matrix Systems suffers a computer crash and its two primary shareholders die in "unrelated accidents".
- Jul: Richard Villiers, the remaining majority shareholder, buys into Fuchi with the Matrix Systems technology.
- Dec 25: Formation of Tir Na nOg announced.
- Mar: Liam O'Connor becomes State President of Tir Na nOg.
- The Ceneste branch of the Sinsearach elves establish the elven nation of Tir Tairngire (TT).
- TT secedes from the NAN.
- Lugh Surehand appointed High Prince of TT.
- Tsimshian secedes from the NAN.
- Aztlan invades Texas, capturing the cities of Austin and San Antonio. The CAS refuses to support Texan resistance, causing Texas to secede (briefly, they were re-admitted 4 months later).
2036: California Free State
- UCAS Pres. McAlister withdraws all federal support from CA after they threaten secession.
- Tir Tairngire invades south to Redding.
- Aztlan invades north to San Diego.
- Japan takes control of San Francisco.
- Alamos 20K claims responsibility for the firebombing of a town in rural Ohio, their first public atrocity. 20 people (mostly metahuman) die.
- 14th Amendment to the UCAS Constitution: SINs.
- Fuchi markets 3rd-generation cyberdeck, desktop CDT-1000.
- Akiko Kano and Arthur White-Eagle earn the Nobel Prize for the "Kano-White Eagle Theory of Metaphysical Phenomena".
- Regeneration and transformation of regional forests begins in Scotland.
2037: Denver Data Haven
- Emotive simsense.
- Denver Data Haven shows up in the shadows. (Physical location: the old USAF Academy in Colorado Springs).
- DocWagon founded.
- Lofwyr announces 63% ownership of Saeder-Krupp, votes himself chairman of the board, president, and CEO.
- Guerilla warfare in northern California pushes Tir Tairngire back north as far as Yreka. The territory between Redding and Yreka becomes neutral ground, claimed by both sides.
- Wolves and bears are restored to the Scottish Wild Lands.
- First North American Urban Brawl championship, "Super Brawl".
2039: Night of Rage
- Feb 7: Thousands of metahumans, as well as their friends and family, die in global riots.
- Feb 10: Alamos 20K destroys the Sears Tower in Chicago.
- St. Patricks Day: Boston, Knights of the Red Branch bomb an elven restaurant on the parade route, killing 24 and inciting a race riot that claimed hundreds more.
- Nadja Daviar becomes the Dunkelzahn's third interpreter.
- Charleston, South Carolina: Serial killer caught and convicted on evidence obtained from a ghost.
- Fuchi sponsors the Universal Matrix Specifications (UMS) conference, Tokyo.
- A massive chemical spill kills 70,000 people in Teeside, England.
[edit] 2040 - 2049
- Southern Africa unites into Azanian Alliance, composed of the Cape Republic, Oranje-Vrystaat, Trans-Swazi Federation, and Zulu Nation.
- Renraku Arcology in Seattle begins construction.
- The Universal Brotherhood opens shop (CFS in '42, Seattle in '45).
- EuroAir Flight 329 from London to Atlanta destroyed by Sirrurg.
- Yamatetsu elbows its way into the Big Seven, becoming the Eighth major megacorp.
- Policlubs appear in Europe.
- Dunkelzahn begins semi-annual "Wyrm Talk".
- Akira Watada, oyabun of the Watada-rengo, issues an ultimatum to the Korean oyabuns of Seattle. They must pledge their loyalty to the Watada rengo or suffer the consequences.
- Ares project: Cydonia discovers Operation Discovery crash, Veil agents engineer a hoax to cover it. The cheesy UFO photo made public 15 years later by Dunkelzahn's Will.
- Liam O'Connor (President of Tir Na nOg) disappears from public life.
- First biannual international Urban Brawl World Cup.
2043: Seoulpa Rings
- Jan: Watada-rengo assassins invade Seattle and kill the vast majority of the Seattle Yakuza's Korean leadership. The survivors are forced to pledge loyalty to the Japanese rengo or be executed. New Japanese managers are put in place, and within a few weeks the Japanese once again control the Seattle Yakuza.
- Former Korean Yakuza oyabun Park Jai Kyu begins organizing the Seoulpa Rings in Seattle with the help of his remaining contacts and followers. The concept catches fire and begins to spread through the metroplex and the rest of North America.
- Rhiannon Glendower becomes Countess of Snowdon.
- Gwynedd elves make major advances in Welsh regional parliament.
2044: The Oyabun
- Hanzo Shotozumi is appointed the oyabun of the 87th Prefecture in Seattle. He re-institutes and enforces traditional Yakuza ways and values, and begins an aggressive campaign to expand Yakuza operations in the Pacific Northwest.
2045: German Alliance founded
- Don Patrick Finnigan is failing to hold the line against Yakuza encroachment in the Seattle metroplex, and so the Commissione calls Don James O'Malley out of enforced retirement to resume control of Seattle operations. O'Malley is appointed Don of Seattle specifically to slow Yakuza growth in the metroplex. He, his wife, and his 15-year-old daughter Rowena move to Seattle.
- The Seoulpa Rings start making a name for themselves in the Seattle underworld as their operations expand; they begin to encroach on the markets of the other syndicates.
2045-2047
- Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua are accepted into the Aztlaner republic.
2046: The Lost Election
- A team of rogue deckers erases the results of California's gubernatorial election, allegedly aided by a Los Angeles street gang. The so-called Lost Election prompts the government to declare war on the "criminal element" in Los Angeles, sending army and corporate mercenary troops to raze El Infierno. After fighting a losing battle, California's central government declares Los Angeles a Free City.
- Para-VITAS outbreak in Tynesprawl (England) kills 120,000. Believed to be the work of unidentified eco-terrorists.
2048: Operation Reciprocity
- Panama admitted into Aztlan.
- Aztlan (Aztechnology) nationalizes all foreign businesses. Corp Court authorizes a joint corporate military strike, "Operation Reciprocity", against Aztechnology - the first known Omega Order. The end result is a classic "half a baby" decision - Aztlan allows foreign companies to maintain subsidiaries, but requires that the nominal holders must be Aztlan citizens.
- Veracruz Settlement: Aztechnology pays reparations.
- Panama canal becomes a Pan-Corporate Zone under the Corp Court.
- Colbert Group CEO Alan Adams is elected president of the UCAS.
- Renraku develops first Semi-Autonomous Knowbot (SK).
- Aztlan and Amazonia squabble over Colombia and Venezuela.
[edit] 2050 - 2059
- Seventh generation cyberdeck is keyboard size.
2052: Technology curve
- 2XS, BTL with a kick.
- Bioware hits the public market.
- Seattle-Tir Tairngire trade agreement, by which Seattle becomes the Tir's major port.
- UCAS Pres Adams died after re-election, VP Thomas Steele takes the Big Chair.
2053: A new Great Dragon
- Hestaby takes possession of Shasta Dam and surrounding territory in Northern California, repelling a Tir attack.
- Publication of Anchoring theorems.
- Proteus corp completes two arkoblocks (offshore Arcologies) in Japan.
2054: Atlantis
- Tentative discovery of Atlantis (Thera) 150 miles off Crete.
- Tir Tairngire locks down Crater Lake.
2055: The Universal Brotherhood (UB)
- The UCAS FBI discovers that insect spirits control the UB and shut it down, but without making the reasons public. Cover story of financial corruption.
- Other nations take similar steps, and the UB is completely shut down by '56.
- Widespread incidents of "unmotivated terrorist violence" against UB.
- Aug 22: A Knight Errant Firewatch team detonates a subtactical nuclear warhead in what may have been the largest insect hive in North America in Chicago. It does not have the anticipated effect. A swarm of bug spirits spills out of the hive to infest the city.
- Aug 23: The UCAS government sets up the Chicago Containment Zone, isolating most of the population of Chicago behind UCAS Army barricades. Those trapped include the Chicago mafia, as well as the Chicago branches of the other major syndicates. The Mafia loses contact with the don of Chicago and the Commissione believes him dead. It transfers control of Chicago operations to Don Leo McCaskill of Milwaukee, a former lieutenant of James O'Malley.
2056: Year of the Bug (Bug City)
- The UCAS Congress formally recognizes the great dragon Dunkelzahn as a legal citizen of the UCAS. Famous "handshake" between Dunkelzahn and President Thomas Steele sends the Technocrat ticket to the top of the polls.
- Nov: President Thomas Steele and Vice Pres James Booth overwhelmingly re-elected to office in "the dullest election of the 21st century".
- Dec-Jan: Election results of 2056 found to be rigged; House Speaker Betty Jo Pritchard declares the election null and void and announces new elections. Congress approves short campaign season of under eight months, with Election Day re-scheduled to Tuesday, 7 Aug 2057.
2057: Year of the Dragon (Super Tuesday, Dunkelzahn's Secrets)
- Jan-Feb: Assorted people declare themselves as candidates for president. Five of them are widely regarded as viable contenders:
- Arthur Vogel, a dwarf eco-lawyer
- Dr Rozilyn Hernandez, a noted academic and mage
- James Booth, former VP fighting for a political comeback
- Gen. Franklin Yeats, a retired soldier with staunch pro-military views
- Kenneth Brackhaven, Seattle businessman with ties to human-supremacist groups.
- Feb 1: Keneth Brackhaven formally announces his candidacy at a rally in Seattle.
- Feb 28: Booth and Yeats face off in a "town-meeting" debate in New Hampshire. Booth loses.
- Mar 15: Dunkelzahn announces his intention to run for President on a historic broadcast of "Wyrm Talk!"
- Mar-Jul: Campaign season rocks the UCAS. Five top contenders jockey back and forth for the winning position, with Booth running a consistent dead-last (well behind Undecided).
- Election campaigns:
- Arthur Vogel & Gary Gray, Democratic Party, "Save the Earth"
- Dr Rozilyn Hernandez & Ramsay McMulkin, New Century Party, "Our Magical Future"
- James Booth & Brandon Ekimatsu, Technocratic Party, "The Status Quo"
- Gen. Franklin Yeats & Anne Penchyk, Republican, "Rebuild America"
- Kenneth Brackhaven & William Ager, Archconservative Party, "A Holy War for the Soul of the Nation"
- Dunkelzahn & Kyle Haeffner, Independent, "A New Golden Age"
- Jul 10: Gen. Franklin Yeats assassinated in a Seattle hotel room by an FBI agent possessed by a wasp spirit.
- Jul 18: Yeats' running mate, Anne Penchyk, declares that she will honor Yeats' memory by fighting on as a presidential candidate.
- Aug 1: Deadline for receipt of absentee ballots. Any absentee ballots received by the UCAS Election Board after this date are considered invalid.
- Aug 7: Election Day. Dunkelzahn is declared the winner by a narrow margin at 11:23:34 p.m. EST.
- Aug 8: Metahumans and other pro-Awakened citizens celebrate Dunkelzahn's victory in cities across the UCAS.
- Aug 9: President Dunkelzahn and Vice-President Kyle Haeffner are formally sworn into office in Washington, FDC. Inauguration parties galore are held throughout the Washington, FDC sprawl.
- 10:23:08 p.m. EST: Dunkelzahn is assassinated in the Presidential limo as he leaves the Watergate Hotel.
- 10:24:57 p.m. EST: An astral rift appears above the site of Dunkelzahn's death.
- 10:28:01 p.m. EST: FBI headquarters receives the first of more than 500 claims of responsibility for the killing of Dunkelzahn, from the terrorist group Red Dawn. FBI authorities label their claim a hoax because the caller refers to having "fired the fatal bullet". This claim sets the pattern; most subsequent claims are equally obvious falsehoods.
- 11:14:46 p.m. EST: Tanya Reilly, a UCAS military mage, becomes the first casualty of the strange magical phenomenon over the death site when her astral body is sucked into it during her investigation of the area from astral space.
- 11:31:20 p.m. EST: A section of "public" astral space near the site is blocked off as a hazard to anything in the astral plane. Government mages post astral "warning signs".
- Aug 10: The morning after
- 02:32:37 a.m. EST: Kyle Haeffner is sworn in as President of the United Canadian and American States.
- 07:35:12 a.m. EST: President Kyle Haeffner meets with Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Richard Scott to form the Scott Commission on the Assassination of President Dunkelzahn.
- Aug 10-11: Riots begin and gather momentum in most major UCAS cities. Rumors of a second Night of Rage are quickly squelched as the UCAS military, local police and rumored support from Ares Macrotechnology Security Forces quell the heavy violence. The riots show no signs of ending.
- Aug 12: President Haeffner goes before Congress to nominate Nadja Daviar to the Vice-Presidential position. This announcement comes as a shock to the Congress and to most UCAS citizens, but the announcement does begin to slow the violence in the streets. The President declares, "Daviar was the voice of Dunkelzahn, and now must serve to speak to us of his heart and soul." A vote to confirm this appointment is delayed until the Scott Commission can begin its hearings.
- Aug 15: Portfolio of a Dragon
- 09:31:00 a.m. EST: Nadja Daviar reads Dunkelzahn's will at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, FDC. Certain items are distributed immediately to those in attendance, but the bulk of the bequests will be disbursed beginning in September.
- 09:31:07 a.m. EST: The will appears in various on-line user groups, including the Neo-Anarchist's Shadowland node. No indication exists to even hint at where this text version came from or who sent it.
- 04:53:34 p.m. EST: Nadja Daviar releases her first press release as Chairman of the Board of the Draco Foundation.
- Aug 15: Miles Lanier (Fuchi chief of security) leaves Fuchi to join the board of directors of Renraku Computer Systems.
- Aug 18: President Haeffner, in another surprising move, proposes a complete list of names to fill his Cabinet positions, a radical departure from the traditional system of proposing one candidate at a time. Again, Congress chooses to wait until the Scott Commission can interview Haeffner and Daviar.
- Aug 20: Art Vogel becomes president of Sierra, Inc.
- Aug 22: The first "shadow information" on the will is uploaded onto the Shadowland BBS by system operator Captain Chaos.
- Aug 22: Nadja Daviar grants Damien Knight voting control over Gavilan Ventures (Ares stock portfolio) for 2 years.
- Aug 25: The names of the Scott Commission are released. They will start hearings beginning with President Haeffner on Sep 5.
- Aug 31, 02:55:23 EST: The Players (of the Awakened World) is uploaded to the Shadowland BBS by system administrator Captain Chaos.
- Sep 1: Chairman Daviar releases the names of the Board of Directors for the Draco Foundation. Most are individuals who previously held no public position.
- Sep 3-Nov 10: The Draco Foundation begins operations at its newly christened headquarters. The movers and shakers of the world converge on Washington, FDC to receive their inheritances.
- Sep 5: The Scott Commission begins its hearings with President Haeffner. Chief Justice Scott announces that the Commission will release transcripts of the hearings after each witness is interviewed and the Commission reaches a majority decision.
- Sep 12: Wu Lung-Wai announces dramatic expansion plans for Wuxing, Inc.
- Oct 2: Captain Chaos begins to upload a series of investigations into the items bequeathed by Dunkelzahn's will.
- Oct: The dons of the Bigio and Ciarniello families in Seattle begin meeting covertly with Sergei Malenkin, a representative of a group of super-killers known as Chimera.
- Nov 8: The Scott Commission publishes its first official statement, labeled Alpha Interview #1, which clears President Haeffner of any involvement in the assassination of President Dunkelzahn.
- Nov 11: The Draco Foundation closes its doors until Dec 3rd. On the 3rd of each month, the Foundation will open for exactly 7 days to deal with inheritance claims and other public business.
- Nov 12: The Scott Commission begins questioning Nadja Daviar.
- Nov 14: Congress begins its approval process on President Haeffner's Cabinet appointees.
2058: Year of the Mob (Mob War)
- Jan 1: Don James O'Malley is shot and killed by a Chimera assassin at his home in Seattle.
- Jan 4: O'Malley's funeral is held in Seattle, with all the major Mafia figures of the metroplex in attendance. Hanzo Shotozumi appears with a Yakuza honor guard to pay his respects to his fallen rival and inform the remaining Mafia bosses of Seattle that the Yakuza is not responsible for O'Malley's death. He also delivers a veiled threat implying that the Yakuza plans to retake all the territory it has lost to the Mafia to date.
- Jan 4: Following her father's funeral, Rowena O'Malley informs the Finnigan family's leaders and advisors that she intends to claim leadership of the Family and of the Seattle Mafia as her father's sole heir. The announcement creates a considerable stir among the Mafiosi gathered at the meeting, but Rowena quickly gains the support of the Finnigan family with the help of her father's consiglieri, Al Cavalieri.
- Jan 5: Inspired by Don O'Malley's death and the brewing potential for Mob War in Seattle, the first of the Underworld collection of files is posted on Shadowland. Shadowrunners begin to take notice of the Seattle syndicates.
- Jan 5: Rowena O'Malley delivers word of her intentions to become capa of Seattle to the heads of the other Seattle Families as well as to Don McCaskill and the Commissione. The Inner Circle of the Commissione places responsibility for the Seattle situation in McCaskill's hands.
- Jan 5: Word goes out among Seattle's gangs that the Yakuza is recruiting gangers as soldiers in its aggressive expansion plan. Some gangs join up; others are wary of the offer.
- Jan 7: Yakuza soldiers start muscling in on Mafia-run gambling operations and businesses in the metroplex. Sporadic fights break out between the Yaks and Mafia enforcers.
- Jan 8: An assassination attempt against Rowena O'Malley is narrowly averted. The attempt only strengthens her determination to gain control over the Seattle Mafia and put an end to the conflict.
- Feb 22: Ares implements "Operation Extermination," a large-scale physical and magical assault on the insect spirits infesting the Chicago Containment Zone. The Chicago quarantine is officially lifted in President Haeffner's State of the Union address.
- Ares uses FAB Strain III, an astrally active bacteria, to target Bug Spirits in the Zone. Unfortunately, strain III does not restrict its depradation to insect spirits -- it affects any astral object or being. Chicago's ghoul community is devastated.
2059: Year of the Corp (Blood in the Boardroom)
- ??: The Commissione selects Maurice "the Butcher" Bigio as the new Don of Seattle, over Rowena O'Malley. The Commissione were forced to step in and make the choice before the newly united Yakuza clans ate up what holdings the mafioso had left.
- ??: The Yakuza claim Independence from Japan.
- Jan 7: Tadamako Shibanokuji, chairmain of Yamatetsu's board of directors, suffers a debilitating stroke. Control of his stock shares goes to Yamatetsu CEO Saru Iwano.
- Feb 22: Tadamako Shibanokuji dies in a Yamatetsu hospital in Kyoto. Control of his stock reverts to his son, Yuri Shibanokuji (an ork).
- May 5: Yamatetsu announces relocation of its corporate headquarters to Vladivostok, Russia.
- May 16: Dosan Aburakoji, one of Mitsuhama's Corporate Court representatives, commits suicide in his Kyoto home.
- Jun 6: Fuchi brings suit against Renraku in the Corporate Court, accusing them of using Miles Lanier's inside knowledge to steal Fuchi trade secrets. Within 24 hours, the charges are dropped. Lanier leaves Renraku, selling his four million shares of Renraku stock to the Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank.
- Jun 16: Navroz Chandaria of Renraku is named to the Corporate Court seat left vacant by Aburakoji's death.
- Jul 8: Pacific Prosperity Group officially forms.
- Jul 11: Flight 1118 from Tokyo crashes into Seattle's Redmond Barrens, on the Salish-Shidhe border. Nearly 200 people are killed in the plane and on the ground, hundreds more are injured and fires rage out of control throughout the district for more than 24 hours.
- Jul 19: David Hague, one of Fuchi's Corporate Court representatives, is found dead in Redmond, Seattle.
- Aug 15: Li Feng of Wuxing, Inc. is named to the CC seat left vacant by Hague's death.
- Aug 22: Nadja Daviar regains control of the Ares stock owned by Gavilan Ventures.
- Sep 29: "White Monday" The Tokyo Stock Exchange suffers its largest single-day drop in 70 years.
- Oct 6: Richard Villiers of Fuchi announces the formation of Novatech, Inc., which continues Villiers' strategy of acquiring large portions of Fuchi. Miles Lanier is appointed Novatech's director of security.
- Oct 20: Leonard Aurelius sells all of his Ares stock to Arthur Vogel. Vogel steps down as president of Sierra, Inc., and is replaced by Gary Grey.
- Oct 27: Leonard Aurelius joins the board of directors of Cross Applied Technologies.
- Dec 15: Anna Villalobos replaces Domingo Chavez as Aztechnology's representative on the corporate court.
- Dec 19: The Renraku arcology is closed to visitors for an indefinite period due to problems with its computer systems.
[edit] 2060 - 2069
2060: Year of the AI (Renraku Arcology Shutdown)
- Feb 3: Renraku CEO Inazo Aneki begins an indefinite leave of absence. Haruhiko Nakada takes over as Interim CEO.
- Mar 19: A virus of unknown origin attacks Seattle's Matrix RTG. People accessing the RTG suffer memory loss, psychotic episodes or brain death. The attack lasts for nearly ten minutes, then ends with no explanation or aftereffects.
- Mar 26: Navroz Chandaria, one of Renraku's Corp Court reps, dies in a terrorist bombing in New Delhi.
- Apr 5: Shikei Nakatomi of Fuchi purchases four million shares of stock in Renraku from the Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank. Renraku begins acquiring large portions of Fuchi.
- Apr 15: Yves Aquillon of Cross Applied Technologies gains the Corp Court seat left vacant by Chandaria's death.
- Jun 7: Korin Yamana of Fuchi announces his marriage to Mitsuko Shiawase of Shiawase Envirotech.
- Jun 14: Shiawase Corporation purchases all remaining assets of Fuchi Industrial Electronics. Korin Yamana accepts a position on Shiawase's board of directors.
- Jun 15: Neil Benson replaces Francesco Napoli as Renraku's rep on the Corp Court.
- Jul 28: Fuchi Industrial Electronics is officially dissolved.
2061: Year of the Comet
- January-February: Amid great hype, a series of probes, manned and unmanned, are sent by various corporate and government entities to the approaching Haley's Comet in the 'Great Probe Race.' Nearly all end in disaster.
- May 7: Inazo Aneki returns from his convalescence in Tibet.
- May: Cooperating with an otaku alliance called Overwatch, Aneki enters the Renraku Arcology and uses hard-wired "kill codes" to disable the rogue artificial intelligence that has kept the arcology locked down for the past sixteen months. Deus is apparently destroyed. Aneki commits suicide. Public credit for ending the shutdown goes to Sherman Huang, despite the crucial role played by anonymous shadowrunners.
- Late May: Inazo Aneki's death is announced publicly. Details are vague. Hot contenders for the now-vacant position of Renraku CEO are Sherman Huang and current acting CEO Haruhiko Nakada.
- August: Typhoons batter the Philippines.
- September: Halley's Comet becomes visible to the naked eye.
- September: Mana storms and other magical disturbances occur across the globe.
- September: Wuxing discovers and secretly begins mining natural orichalcum deposits.
- September 4: The first cases of Sudden Recessive Genetic Expression (SURGE) are reported.
- September 4-9: Ibn Eisa, leader of the Islamic Unity Movement is assassinated, but returns to life. It would be years before it is revealed that a hostile spirit has reanimated his body.
- September 10-October: Surge sweeps the globe, igniting riots and other reactions reminiscent of the first months of Goblinization.
- October 27: Major earthquakes and volcanic activity shake the entire 'Ring of Fire' on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Among the casualties is nearly the entire Japanese Imperial family.
- October 29: Japanese troops are recalled to the home islands to help in the cleanup and rebuilding.
- November: Halley's Comet temporarily disappears from view.
- November: Colonel Keiji Saito in San Francisco refuses the order to return to Japan and declares himself Protector-General of California, quickly seizing control of much of the central areas of the nation.
- November 1: Ancestor spirits warn of the "return of the dead."
- November 27: News of natural orichalcum deposits sparks an orichalcum rush.
- December 2: A major earthquake strikes the free city of Los Angeles. Riots ensue.
- December 8: Pueblo Corporate Council forces deploy and push across southern California Free State to seize Los Angeles. The PCC makes all Los Angeles residents probationary citizens.
- December: First appearance of Drakes.
- December 24: The spirit form of the Great Dragon Ghostwalker enters the world through the Dunkelzahn Rift. Shortly, after gaining a physical body, he assaults Denver Front Range Free Zone, paying particular attention to the Aztlan zone.
- December 24: The first reported Shedim attack occurs.
- December 25: Ghostwalker secretly meets with Draco Foundation and others.
2062 After the Comet
- January: CAS offers bounties on magicians who reanimate corpses.
- January 3: The sole survivor of the Japanese imperial family, the child Yasuhito, is revealed to the world and is made Emperor two days later.
- January 27: The Council of Denver votes to acknowledge Ghostwalker as sovereign over Denver, with Aztlan being forcibly removed from the Council and city. CAS forces take control of the old Aztlan zone.
- February: The Emperor of Japan rescinds the Yomi Island decree, ending the forced deportation of metahumans to that island. The Philippines enter open revolution against occupying Japanese forces.
- February 5: Aztlan stars slash and burn of Yucatan.
- March: Halley's Comet becomes visible again.
- March 15: Earthquake and Tsunami devastate the Yucatan Peninsula, where an Aztlan had been fighting independence forces with escalating bloodshed (and blood magic). In the aftermath, spirits, natural and toxic, engage in open warfare against all sides.
- April: Haley's Comet fades from view, with it ending much of the unusual magic chaos.
- May 2-5: Armed combat erupts on the Salish-Shidhe/Tsimshian border resulting in thousands dead from an apparent biological weapon. Ceasefire agreed to on the 5th, but would be broken by SSC militias in July.
- July: The Republic of Quebec begins a trial period allowing English to be used in business transactions.
- June: Lofwyr and Aithne Oakforest retire from the Tir Tairngire Council of Princes.
- July: Great Dragon Hestaby, who had guarded northern California Free State from Tir Tairngire, joins the Tir High Council of Princes, replacing departing Lofwyr.
2064 Matrix Crash 2.0
- Fall: The hostile AI Deus, who had escaped his destruction in the Renraku Arcology, attempts to use Novatech's Initial Public Offering (which had potential to be the biggest Matrix event on record) to upgrade itself to Matrix godhood. Efforts by an opposing AI (Megaera, who was to an extent Deus' mother/prototype) and Pax, an insane former otaku acolyte who had allied with the radical terrorist organization Winternight (who sought to bring Ragnarok), disrupt this. The release of Winternight's selfmade computer-worm Jörmungandr and several EMP strikes to major Matrix nodes effectively crash nearly the entire Matrix, with major hardware damage. In addition to the damage to the Matrix, a large number of people are trapped within the Matrix for some time. A number of those who survived, as well as those who were otaku prior to the Crash begin to note that they now have a deeper connection to the Matrix that no longer fades with age - the first technomancers are born.
- Fall: Transys Neuronet and Erika, who had been designing and hoping to implement a new wireless Matrix interface, step forward and become the leading elements in the rebuilding of the Matrix.
- Fall: Lucian Cross, CEO of Cross Applied Technologies, dies in a plane crash. Damian Knight, and thus Ares, quickly moves to seize as much of his greatest rival as possible.
- November: A group calling itself the New Revolution launches a coup in the UCAS seeking to reestablish the United States to its former glory. While it failed, it did succeed in killing a large number of national leaders, including President Kyle Haeffner. Martial law.
- Mitsuhama Computer Corporation pulls out of the plundered NAN of Tsimshian. The Salish-Shidhe Council quickly moved in and declared the nation a protectorate. This has led to some unease within the Native American Nations as a whole.
- Ute Nation begins final collapse, ending in the acceptance of a union with the strong Pueblo Corporate Council.
- November: General Angela Colloton elected President of the United Canadian and American States.
- At some point prior, General Saito is removed from California.
- A pair of major earthquakes opens parts of the San Andreas fault-line and the San Pedro Shelf to below sea-level, dropping large portions of southern California Free State into the Pacific Ocean.
[edit] 2070
- Present Day
[edit] Impact
The history of Shadowrun has helped Shadowrun to cultivate a dedicated fan base. Because of the this, the 2007 Shadowrun video game received criticism that the game did not fit into the established history and instead exists in its own continuity.[2][3] The development team had decided to divert from Shadowrun canon because they felt that satisfying all of the source material was too difficult as there was 15 years of sourcebooks, novels and video games to follow.[4]
[edit] Development
The Shadowrun timeline has been updated periodically over the course of the development of the game. The first edition of Shadowrun, published in 1989, was set in 2050. Sourcebooks published afterwards continued updating the fictional history, advancing the "current" year in Shadowrun, at the same time as the real world's time passed. While the game was being published by FASA the "current" year in Shadowrun was held constant at 61 years from the present day. Once the game's ownership passed to WizKids, the time difference was increased to 65 years and intended to stay steady at that difference, however publishing delays and the Shadowrun license changings hands from WizKids to FanPro and then to Catalyst Game Labs have caused fluctuations in the timing. As of 2007, the date in the Shadowrun universe is 2070.
Most of the timeline's history is filled in by the core sourcebooks, but other entries are due to adventures that players can take place in. For example, the unusual entry in December 2059 about the Renraku Arcology closing to visitors is due to the events of the adventure module Renraku Arcology: Shutdown.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ http://kotaku.com/gaming/e3/shadowrun-confirmed-disappoints-fans-172741.php Kotaku "Shadowrun Confirmed, Disappoints Fans". 10 May 2006.
- ^ Slashdot Shadowrun Game to Rewrite the SR Universe
- ^ G4TV G4 - Reviews - Shadowrun
- ^ Mitch Gitelman, FASA 5/9/2006—“What did you do to my game world, dude?”
- ^ SF Site Review Renraku Arcology: Shutdown
- Dowd, Tom et al, (1992) Shadowrun Second edition. Chicago: FASA Corporation. ISBN 1-55560-180-4 pp. 20-29
- Boyle, Rob et al, (2006) Shadowrun Fourth edition. Chicago: FanPro LLC. ISBN 1-932564-66-7 pp. 22-34
- Boyle, Rob et al, (2002) Year of the Comet. Chicago: FanPro LLC. ISBN 3-89064-650-6
- Dumpshock's wikipage of the Shadowrun timeline
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