Current Shareware 1994 January

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:Mystic_Earth The setting for Mystic Earth is a parallel Earth from our own where certain factors that exist in our own do not exist, allowing MAGIC to actually function regularly and more effectively than on our own. This difference has lead to some major changes of history along the way, which the Time file is meant to deal with, as well as some changes in its resulting current time line (10 years ahead of ours) and the people living in it. Resemblences between people and events on Mystic Earth and our own are mearly for game purposes and should NOT be assumed to be the reality of our own Earth. No offense is intended to personalities, living or dead, that are outlined here, nor to organizations here or on other alternative earths. :Timeline_Differences The history of Mystic Earth is primarily identical to that of this earth for much of its existance, with the following exceptions: 1. Camelot, Atlantis, Prestor John's Nation, etc the various 'mythical' places and events that we consider such, were ACTUAL places and the various wizards, witches, magicians and other miracle workers mentioned in myth, legend etc did exist in their appropriate periods. Nonhuman races exist hidden amoung humanity, some being the result of odd branches of Darwinian advancement, others being from other worlds or even dimensions. They are few in number, but there is a higher chance of a PC being such then there is in actual percentage of population (They make up about 1% of the humanoid population). 2. American History changes and is modified because of the existance of the strong tribal magics of the native people. The Indian tribes, during the American Indian Wars, drag the wars on for a long time, eventually getting a more sympathetic president to negotiate a settlement. This is the MAJOR shift difference in history that affects things as such: All the other major events of history until those in the 1990's remained primarily the same, though the reasons behind them may be more complex then the mundane world believs. :Dakota_Nation The area in our N & S Dakota are a single tribal land known as the Dakota Nation (consists of several different tribes, including the indigeous and some displaced persons from other tribal zone. :Okeechobee Florida is also a seperate country state, but under the protection of the United States per treaty, known as Okeechobee. Northern Florida (North of the Suwanne) is part of Georgia, while the rest is Okeechobee. :Puerto_Rico Puerto Rico became the 45th State in 1997. :Quebec Quebec succeeded from Canada in 1991 and is now a seperate French speaking state of its own. :Shoshone The States of Montanna & Idaho are the tribal nation of Shoshone. (Again consisting of indigeous tribes and some transferred from other areas of the United states as part of the agreements.) They also extend more into Canada than in our Earth. :Texas Texas, after winning its independence, voted NOT to become a state but instead became a sovereign state. Texas is currently headed by its President, Mr. Perot, who also is the primary land holder in the state. :Politics Bill Clinton was forced to leave school in disgrace after a drug incident, and entered show buisness instead of politics, becoming an Elvis Impersonator. Hillary Rodham remained single and went into politics herself and served as governor of Arkansas for two terms. (She had moved to Arkansas by choice as she felt it was one of several states in need of major reform and developement when she left Wellesley College and after achieving her Law Degree). She never married. She ran against the sitting President George Herbert Walker Bush in 1992 and lost by a small margin, partially caused by Jerry Brown leaving the Democratic party and running as an independent candidate. She ran again in 1996 after the eight disasterous years of the Bush administration, and easily defeated Dan Quayle. Her first term was spent rebuilding the crushed economy with little in the way of major foreign affairs being involved, and her VP Al Gore having helped push some wanted bills thru the senate when hitting tie votes (making him popular and unpopular at the same time, depending who you talk to). Hillary is in the middle of her second term as the campaign begins (Early 2002). The United Nations is on the Verge of being disbanded as the United States insists it cannot afford the larger than normal share of the funding it provides for its existance. :Laws Sexual Status is no longer a deciding factor for involvement in the military (Gays, Lesbian and Bisexual personnel are now legal and no longer forced to leave the military, though bigotry still exists from homophobia). The Rowe decision holds, with Penn and LA having state laws in opposition to the prevoius Supreme Court Decision. Pro-Choice forces are trying to overturn the LA and Penn laws thru the Supreme Court at present in the timeline. The Mexican/Texas/Canadaian/Quebec/Dakota/ShoShone Free Trade Agreement was passed during the Republican adminstrations and is in compliance and agreement until 2093. Religious freedom for the American Indian tribes within the US borders has NOT been breached by the Supreme Court as per this world, since a higher sensativity to Indian beliefs and rights exists. A Limited National Health Care System Exists, installed by Hillary. :Current_Events The following Current Events are in regards to the United States: Major discussions occuring as the first National Gay Rights bill will be coming up for a vote during this session of the Congress with its first REAL potential of getting sufficient support votes to pass. Just passed into law was a means test for Social Security, and one of the major lobbyists against the law was Mr. Reagan who now doesn't collect Social Security (since he already gets a pension from the Federal Goverment, the State of CA, The Screen Actors Guild, The Radio Performers Guild, and several other sources). The law is controversial and may be tested for its Constitutionality in the next 2 years. Libya is in upheaval since the death of its leader. The President is being urged to send US forces in with a UN observer team to restore order, but Hillary so far has remain non-commital. A National Sales Tax was passed last year, at 5%,to fund a new National Health Care system with the lofty goal of offering at least basic services to ALL Americans. The economy is busy recovering from severe depression under Bush and still wrestling with a burdonsome National Debt (which Hillary's policies have only managed to prevent from getting worse but not dealing with the back balance as yet despite campaign promises). True Unemployment is down to 10% (the goverment figures as always are only half that) and may reduce further if all goes well. :Albania Has had a revolution and joined the collection of previous cold war countries that are now forming new goverments on a semi-democratic scale. :Antarctica Has gone from being the exotic vacation spot for the 1990's to actually being partially settled by the new treaty arrangements of 2000. A Scientific community base has been constructed on Palmer Station (near South America) as a geodome construct replacing most of the smaller scientific study bases. A Second base is under construction at Little America's original site. The first is under UN control and jurisdiction, the second will be when completed but is presently under the duel control of the US and New Zealand until completed. Unica City (the first dome) has a poulation of about 5,000 people with a maximum capacity of 7500. :Australia Aboriginea people were not suppressed as they were in our world, but settled in treaty with the europeans and control much of the outback territories. Japanese never managed to land on Australia thanks to their magic during WWII. :Baltic States & Russia Reconstructing still, slowly becoming a force in the economic world. :Brazil Rainforest depletion not occuring due to the magical efforts of the natives, thus exploitation of such has been reduced. This raises the prices of hamburgers at McDonald's. The Brazilian goverment is frustrated and the laughing stock of the world as they can't explain why they can't strip the rainforests down..... :China Underground magic groups associated with the democracy movement are now involved in magical 'terrorist' activity against the leaders etc. Several key officials have developed dibilitating diseases etc over the time period. :Cuba Castro dies of natural causes. The generals have a nasty civil war in 1995 and Bush sweeps in without UN Sanctions to end the civil war. The US sets up a puppet coalition goverment which is now in control under the disguise of democracy. Cuba is a protectorate of the US, much as Panama was previously. :Ecuador Same (Arms market for the Southern Hemisphere) :Egypt Islamic Fundimentalists damaged the Great Pyramid of Cheops in 1995 with a bomb. They have since gained to 1/3 control of the government. :England Charles has taken the throne without a queen (rumors abound as to who she will be). :France Socialists have regained power in 2001. :Germany Status stays same as the Facist Right has been unable to find a leader to advance their cause and overcome the current goverment (Fascist party members etc number about 30% of the population). :Greece same (Arms market for the Northern Hemisphere) :Hati Alvaro, Servant of the Loa has wrested control from the goverment thru his magics and now rules. He has been in power since early 1998. He appears to be benificeint as a dictator to the US government, but may actually be otherwise. He has taken many grants and loans from the US to rebuild Hati's infrastructure, some of which are being used in questionable ways. :Hong_Kong Now China's Gateway to The West, Hong Kong is a hotbed of political controversy and criminal activity. :India Ground war occured between India and Pakistan in 2002, but was stopped from becoming escolated into a nuclear confrontation by UN intervention. UN peacekeeping forces are sitting on the border between the two at present while negotiations are going on. Occasional skirmishes and artillary exchanges still occur on a regular basis. :Ireland same, at war itself :Isreal Oasis in the desert of Islam, Their conservative goverment has been countering the destructive magic of the Arab world with Nature magics to restore life to it (secretly). They are all breathing easier though after the recent signing of a treaty with Saudi Arabia much like the one they have with Egypt. :Italy same status :Kenya The fertile crescent drought is now threatening the Grasslands of Northern Kenya as it had previously in Ethiopia and Somalia. The drought is a continuation of the depletion of the life essance of the land being caused by the destructive magics of the moslem states (including Iran etc). :Lebanon On the rise under a unified Shi'ite controled goverment, it still poses a threat to area stability. :Libya See Current_Events* ! :Macedonia Has been occupied by UN forces since early 1993 to prevent another major Baltic War by the various countries that lay claim to its boundries. :Saudi_Arabia Presently in a recession since the decrease in oil prices with the introduction of electric vehicles in the USA and Canada. :Scandinavia same status :Somalia The UN forces, primarily US and French, are still occupying the country to provide food and water relief to the starving population. :South_Africa The white supremist goverment fell in the 1990's and was replaced by a goverment formed by Mandella's political organization. Many whites died in the changeover, those in the goverment primarily fled to Argentina, while common folk moved in droves to Germany. Whites friendly to the new government remain with the country but have reduced status. The Zulu tribes are fighting a guerilla war with the goverment in hope of wresting power. Sale of exports to UN Nations has resumed (Diamonds, Gold, valuable metals). :Switzerland same (monetary important, military unimportant) :The_Gulf_War The Gulf War continued to be a thorn in Bush's side for his entire term in office, never quite getting victory against Iraq. Saddam Husein continued to hold power until two years ago, when he died of natural causes, leaving Iraq in a state of anarchy, whereupon it was invaded and taken over by Iran. :The_U.N. Texas, Quebec, and Dakota all hold Seats. Shoshone has applied for membership and will be considered for such this year (2003). :Yugoslavia Has been broken into several small countries, but none stable enough as yet to gain UN seats. :Personalities A number of current and previous personalities are involved in MAGIC and related beliefs, or are at least thought to be by those with Magical History. :Allen, Ethan Was a Nature mage, which is how he kept his troops in the Revolution so well hidden in the Green Mts. :Andre_The_Giant is just that, a Giant (1/2 breed). :Anthony, Piers is an Astralist Mage who can travel between worlds and observe persons and events (which is why he is so prolific and why he never writes second drafts). He is NOT public about this, except to a few fellow Astralists. :Franklin, Benjamin Was a member of the Hellfire Club and mage extrodinaire had two magic realms, one being that of entertainer and the other charismatic, which made him capable of convincing France to lend the colonies money they didn't have to support the revolt. :Bonewitz, Isaac Who earned the first degree in Magic from Berkley College (CA) in the 1960's became the first professor on such in a school in the USA. (He did not found ADF but remained in academia instead). His courses are controversial, but many of his students have become quite competant mages of repute amoung the mostly underground occult societies in general. Degrees are officially in Hermetics. :Bulger, Billy Is secretly a mage and posses a mass charm spell which he casted at election time to maintain his office of Senate President in Massachusetts. Now Retired. :Cabot, Lori Is still a witch in Salem, and served one term as mayor of Salem MA, and swayed the Tricentennial events to include the local witch community in the planning etc. (Served 1991-1992). Her daughter's store acts as a contact point for Area mages. :Chastity Cher's daughter, is a practicing wiccan and is public about such and a bit more of a celebrity than in this world She has been heavily involved in CA politics in regards to the Green Movement. :Clark, Dick is secretly a mage, whose magic primarily is centered around cosmetics and longevity spells. He may be an alchmist. :Copperfield, David is also a real magician, Entertainer type. He is not public about it and does not associate with the magickal community at large. :Cranston, Lamont aka The Shadow, a fictional character created by Orson Wells for radio in the late 1930's, was portrayed as a Mentalist with the power to 'cloud men's minds'. Wells based the character on a friend of his, a well-known Hollywood director who in his spare time used his magical skills as a Mentalist (learned in Tibet) to act as a vigilante crime fighter thru the 30's and 40's, including to route out sabatours during the war. Wells, a fairly competant Entertainer mage kept his name and secret to the grave, so it is unknown if the Shadow may yet still lurke on the fringes in annominity. :Crowley, A. Infamous Mage, aka The Beast, aka the Wickedess Man in the World, aka Uncle Al, aka The Magnus. Crowley was the founder of the O.T.O., a magical organization in the 1920s among his many other feats and actions. Notorious in reputation, it is believed he was a Mystery Master, a Draconian and an Entertainer (some say he was simply a showy medium). His writings shocked a world still too deeply victorian, and his lusts and peversions make many believe him a student of Tantrology as well. Dead and gone, but not forgotten. His magical legacy's live on in his organizations and their offshoots. :Devinci, Leonardo Was a mage, his helicopter DID work with a magic power supply but the secret was lost with his death. :Dracule, Vlad aka The Impaler, The Dragon, Count Dracula. The most famous of the blood mages of history, and the most infamous. Dracula's rein of terror in the baltic states was long and nasty as he worked under the official sanction of the Catholic church for much of it. He is believed to be the major influence on the Blood Mage Tradition's survival and spread over the years. Some still rumor he lives and has fled Europe for the 'New World', but this appears to be but rumor at this time. :Dukakis, Michael Was a true weather mage who caused the Blizzard of '78 in order to help his governorship, but in the process cast beyond his actual capacity severely and burnt out his aptitude (now aptitude 1). He was unable thus to use it for his try as a presidential candidate etc. :Edison, Thomas Alva Despite his reputation as the Wizard of Menlo Park, was a mundane man with extreme creativity and experimentally gained skills in electronics. :Garcia, Jerry (of the Grateful Dead) is a secret mage whose magic is based in music (Bard type). :Henning, Doug is a real magician (entertainer type) but is not public about it. He does associate with some members of the magickal community. :Hitler, Adolph was a Charismatic mage, who met defeat because of the efforts of the witch covens of Europe in WWII. :Houdin, Jean Paul Possibly the first great Entertainer Mage of the modern era of that tradition, he was the inspiration for Eric Weiss, better known as Houdini, to enter the realm of magic and entertainment combined. Long deceased, Houdin is the forgotten first that the public forgot in place of Houdini. :Jones, Carla President Hillary Rodham's Secretary of State, is an information mage secretly and advises Hillary of any attempts by Mages to influence or distort her plans and actions to prevent them from being turned into something Hillary doesn't want (Primarily they are watching for a Republican mage problem). :Jones, John Paul One of the greatest heroes of American History, Jones was recently discovered to have been a practitioner of Atlantian magics, practices to manipulate the seas and that upon them, according to a biography now making the rounds in occult shops. :Kennedy_Family is actually suffering from a curse spell cast on Old Joe Kennedy during the days of Prohibition that extends thru the 7th generation, which brings misfortune to all its members. Ted is the only one who realizes this but cannot do anything about it so he spends large amounts of time being 'the playboy' because he knows he's fated to die tragically etc. :Kiss This Rock group's members were all werecats, who performed in their half-stage of were being (they were semi-secret, much to the surprise of many female groupies who weren't expecting dates with a housecat later) :McCafferty, John is a Techno-Mage who designs anti-virius spells for computers that he links to programs to hide them (which is why they are not easily dissasembled or duplicated by non-TechnoMage Programmers). :Merlin First a man and later a title, Merlin was the first royal mage to the king of England during the rule of Arthur Pendragon. His origins are unknown, but popular belief is that he was the son of the Devil, Lucifer, himself. From what mage historians have figured from the few writings true to the time and artifacts from the period, Merlin was an Enchanter and possibly the founder of the Mentalist and Astralist Traditions, as well as a shaman of some type (perhaps of the now lost True Druids). Three later Merlins can be found in the history of the Isles, all having lost their birthnames before claim of the title. One died in the final Druid defense against the Christian invasion of the man who would be Saint Patrick in Ireland. One is recorded as having visited the Court of Gheghis Khan and acted as his mage for three years then left without another trace in history and a third is recorded as having been present at the signing of the Magna Carta, as advisor to then then King John of England. No one is known to currently hold the title or lay claim to it. :Mussolini was a Time-manipulating mage (why else were the trains always running on time?) :Newton, Sir_Isaac Was a mage, primarily an alchemist. :Nostradamous wasn't a mage, but a lot of mundanes mistakenly believe he was - he was just a GREAT con-artist! :Patton, General George was INDEED a reincarnated Roman Legionaire who was traveling thru the previous Roman Empire in his European actions in WWII. :Prentice, Angela An early Student of Isaac_Bonewitz* , heads the new Magical Studies Department at Brandeis University (originally part of the Anthropology Department and still having some cross-lecturing with such), in Waltham Mass. :Presly, Elvis was a mage, secretly, working with a strange combination of Astral magic and drug magic. He still wanders around as an astral ghost, his body dead and disconnected, and likes to make appearances in places for the fun of it. He can't die and he can't return to his body. He can occasionally posses bodies for short periods of time (1 hour max) but ONLY of Elvis Impersonators. :Randi, The_Amazing is actually a real mage, but refuses to admit it. He has a single effect, a Nul-magic field, which prevents anyone from ever collecting the $10,000 prize for proving magic is real. :Reagan, Nancy (ex first lady) was secretly an astrologist mage, but publically claimed to be following the advice of another astrologist to prevent the political affects on her husband's office.... :Revere, Paul Was a mage, specialized in magical metalcraft enchantments. :Sainte Germaine, De Comte de The world's first known blood mage and founder of the house of the Eclipse, he was also a profound alchemist and was believed ageless. Records show him an advisor to the royal court of France for over 40 years before the revolution and there are notations of his prescence in various locales over a period of 120 years. It is unknown if he still lives. It is believed that he was the teacher of Dracul the Impaler (Count Dracula) in the Blood arts. :StarHawk The Femminist leader, author, witch and Nuclear Power protestor has moved into the limelite as the first Neopagan Congresswoman from California and is pressing bills to improve religious rights and freedoms of the community while maintaining a strong environmentalist flair to her documents. :Taylor, Elizabeth is a secret Werewolf, and tends to go into 'seclusion' whenever she goes into wolf form and gets stuck beyond the moon because of bad timing. :Tesla, Nichola Was also a mage and his Tesla Coils actually DID manipulate the weather under his spells, but now are simply showy lightning generators in museums. :Therou, Henry David was also a Nature Mage, primarily with plant oriented spells. :Thomas, Clarence Supreme Court Judge, died of a heart attack during the first year of Hillary's first term and was replaced by a moderate Black Woman from New York State changing the court to a more balanced mindset. Rumor has it he was killed by a MEDUSA* Agent :Wong, Michael A Chineese National who was part of the Democratic Reforms actions and who was in the USA when Tianomon Square occured. He is a Mage and recent graduate of MIT who has been assisting the Chineese Underground in getting dissidents out of the country (The magickal community at large believes he is a teleporter) and has been accused of acts of sabotage against the Chineese Goverment, despite the fact he has never left the USA according to all official records, and who has filed for and received political asylum as the goverment under Bush believed their claims impossible as he was seen before congressional hearings moments after when he was supposedly committing the acts. :Technology_Changes Electric cars are now the main vehicles available from the major manufacturers (GM, Chrysler, etc) but the market is threatened by Japanese imports that have a reputation for better milage and less maintenance. Natural Gas trucks now predominate the market for such, since environmental legislation made it very difficult to meet the air quality standards without such. Diesel trucks pay a special tax based on their milage that increases their operating cost by $1 per gallon of fuel. (Al Gore helped inspire this legislation). Artificial Hearts are now available regularly and are reliable. Prolonged treatment for AIDS and HIV symptom patients now exist less expensively than before, allowing for more people to live longer without hospitalization. A cure is rumored to be in sight within the next decade. Short-term prevention syrum is available for health care providers to prevent infection early on in the event of accidental infection. Magic has also failed to affect the virius in long time affecties in way of a cure, but can prolong survival etc. Palmtop computers are now available for the personal market. The 586 chip is now common amoung home and office usage and is believed the maximum speed that can be packaged in such a system due to cooling problems. The first manned flight to Mars was accomplished during Hillary's first term. The USA now has a functional space station in orbit, shuttle flights occur now bi-weekly to it. Easy communications worldwide thru a new satellite set up. The first solar power satelites have been put into place by the goverment for experimental purposes, providing energy into Parts of Southern California and Nevada, but are as yet not providing the majority of their power grid needs. :The_Medusa_Project A special operation under the new NASA budget for communications research, Medusa is actually the front name for the goverments research and efforts to deal with magically inclined persons (Magic Education Defense Unit Seeking Agressions). Their main offices are located in Fairport Va., with branches in Boston and Los Angeles. Medusa was exposed and is known to exist to members of the magickal community at large thru the efforts of two diligent technomages, and is thought to be harsh and oftentimes acting unconstitutionally when performing their duties.