ftp.ee.pdx.edu/2014.02.ftp.ee.pdx.edu.tar/ftp.ee.pdx.edu/pub/frp/futures/worldbk.txt

Text File | 1993-09-07 | 333KB | 6,473 lines

F o r g o t t e n   F u t u r e s
---------------------------------
The A.B.C. Files

A Role Playing Sourcebook For Kipling's Scientific Romances

By Marcus L Rowland

Copyright <c> 1993

Full copyright terms and conditions of distribution are explained in
the file README.TOO


CONTENTS
========
0.0      Introduction
0.1        Scientific Romances
0.2        Language And Units
0.3        Role Playing Games
0.4        Writing Between the Lines
0.5        Weird Science
0.6        Acknowledgements
0.7        Omissions
0.8        Technical notes

1.0      Glossary

2.0      A Brief History Of Flight
2.0.1        The World War
2.0.2        The First Plague
2.0.3        The Period Of Recovery
2.0.4        The "Little Wars"
2.0.5        Life After Life
2.0.6        Establishment of the A.B.C.
2.0.7        A Matter Of Faith
2.0.8        The Malthusian Crisis
2.0.9        The Modern Era
2.1        Timeline
2.2        The World In 2000 AD - With The Night Mail
2.2.1        Everyday life in 2000 AD
2.3        The World In 2065 AD - As Easy As A.B.C.
2.3.1        Everyday life in 2065 AD
2.4        The Future

3.0      The A.B.C.
3.1        The Board
3.2        Committees
3.3        Officers & Men
3.4        Alternate A.B.C.s

4.0      Some Other Organisations
4.1        National Governments
4.2        Utilities
4.3        Business

5.0      Aviation
5.1        Fleury's Gas & Ray
5.2        Controls and Operation
5.3        'Dig Design and Costs
5.3.1        'Dig record form
5.4        Typical 'digs
5.5        'Dig Combat
5.5.1        'Dig Combat - Game Rules
5.5.2        Ramming
5.5.3        Pithing
5.5.4        Guns and Small Arms
5.5.5        Bombs & Aerial Torpedoes
5.5.6        Gas
5.5.7        Rays
5.5.8        A.B.C. Weapons
5.6        'Planes
5.6.1        Catapults
5.6.2        Sample planes
5.7        Bat Boats
5.8        Flickers
5.9        Lights
5.9.1        Local and Guiding Lights
5.9.2        Cloud Breakers
5.9.3        Glares
5.9.4        Audible Signals
5.9.5        Locations
5.9.6        Gaming: Lights

6.0      Science and Technology
6.1        Electronics
6.2        Electrical Engineering
6.3        Civil Engineering
6.4        Transport
6.4.1        Ground Vehicles
6.4.2        Submersibles
6.4.3        Sample Submersibles
6.5        Meteorology
6.6        Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
6.7        Life Sciences
6.8        Weapon Technology

7.0      Death And Beyond
7.1        The Ethereal Vortex And Reincarnation
7.2        Ghosts
7.3        Social Effects

8.0      Prices

9.0      Characters

APPENDIX A - Rudyard Kipling
APPENDIX B - Recommended Reading



0.0      INTRODUCTION
=====================
This is the first of a series of science fiction source packs, aimed
mainly at users of table-top role playing games, but also of interest
to SF fans and scholars. It is not a computer game; I am simply using
computer distribution as an alternative to printed publication. If you
have obtained it on the understanding that it is software, you are
STRONGLY advised to ask for your money back.

Before looking at the rest of this document, I recommend reading the
two Kipling stories, With The Night Mail (NIGHT.TXT) and As Easy As
A.B.C. (ABC.TXT).


0.1      Scientific Romances
----------------------------
Scientific romances were the ancestors of science fiction. Many of
these works are now difficult to find, but they contain a wealth of
invention.

These stories were usually set in the future, as it was then
visualised, and often had a strong Utopian flavour. The Victorians and
Edwardians generally saw technological progress as a blessing that
could only bring good. Pollution and over-population were only just
becoming a problem, easily ignored by most writers, and the future
seemed sunny. Kipling is an exception in this respect; while the world
of the A.B.C. stories is prosperous and peaceful, it's apparent that
this has only been achieved at enormous cost.

The world portrayed in most futuristic scientific romances was full of
wonderful inventions. Some have been achieved, some look bizarre or
quaint today. For example, the A.B.C. stories feature some very
dubious aerodynamics, but they also mention air traffic control and
parachutes, radio, radio-controlled vehicles, and other inventions
which were either imaginary or in their infancy when the stories were
written.

Alert readers will notice an interesting example of misguided
prediction in several scientific romances, including the A.B.C.
stories: airships, battleships, and even spaceships that are equipped
to fight by ramming their opponents. This "prediction" can be found in
Well's The War Of The Worlds [1897] (the torpedo ram Thunder Child
defends a refugee convoy), Griffith's Honeymoon In Space [1899] (the
spaceship Astronef rams several Martian airships), and With The Night
Mail [1905] (historical airship battles were fought by ramming and
pithing). The explanation highlights the perils of assuming that
things will remain unchanged.

During and after the American Civil War naval armour was better than
naval artillery. Smaller ships of that era were built to ram and fire
torpedoes at close range, because that seemed the best way to damage
larger enemies. One battle (Lissa 1866: Austria v Italy) was won by
ramming. The Thunder Child was based on a real torpedo ram, the only
one of its class ever built; Kipling and Griffith simply extrapolated
these tactics into the air and space. The era of naval rams ended with
the development of armour-piercing explosive shells, but news of the
change seems to have been slow to reach many authors: you'll still
find spaceships using ramming tactics in science fiction stories
written in the nineteen-thirties!

Leaving technology aside, another common feature was social
prediction. Sometimes the story promoted a particular moral or
political system, and the background would be slanted to show this
belief in the best possible light. At other times the author wanted to
deliver a warning; these futures were much darker, and sometimes
(unintentionally) extremely amusing to readers of a later era. Some of
the more extreme attacks on female emancipation fall into this
category.

The First World War saw such scientific horrors as trench warfare,
tanks, and poison gas, exploded the idea of technology as a sure
recipe for an Utopian future, and made it clear that change wasn't
necessarily going to improve things. By the end of the war the Utopian
novel and scientific romances in general were in decline.

The final blow came when science fiction was established as a separate
(and disreputable) literary ghetto. Many excellent authors suddenly
discovered that most of their markets were refusing to publish
speculative stories, or decided that their reputations would suffer if
they continued in this field. Early science fiction plundered the
ideas from scientific romances, usually without acknowledgement, and
reduced complex ideas to simple action plots which were often inferior
to their predecessors. For many years SF historians ignored all work
done before Gernsback's invention of "scientifiction" in 1926, and
many excellent works were ignored or forgotten.

Today the distinction between SF and the scientific romance is
becoming blurred, especially when viewed by observers outside both
fields. All speculative writing tends to be tarred with the SF brush,
and consigned to a ghetto whose sole occupants (to outsiders) are
Tolkien and Star Trek. Within the SF community the "steampunk" SF
movement is starting to re-visit some of the better-known Victorian
themes, but a good deal of excellent or influential work remains
virtually unknown.

One of the aims of the Forgotten Futures project is to make the
complete text of selected works available to a wider audience.
Kipling's stories may not have been the best starting-point from this
point of view, because they have recently been re-printed; John
Brunner's excellent collections "Kipling's Fantasy" and "Kipling's
Science Fiction" were published while this worldbook was in
preparation. In extenuation it should be explained that the stories
are personal favourites, that some of the early work for this
collection was done more than five years ago, and that I have been
able to include some material omitted by Brunner.


0.2      Language And Units
---------------------------
The author of Forgotten Futures is British, as was Rudyard Kipling.
American readers will occasionally notice that there are differences
in spelling and use of language between our 'common' tongues. If that
worries you, you are welcome to run documents through a spell checker.
Please DON'T distribute modified versions.

Kipling used Imperial measurements of length and power in the A.B.C.
stories; feet and inches, miles and horsepower. To retain the flavour
of the stories these units have been used wherever possible. Some
types of calculation, most notably sums relating to volume, weight,
and the lift of airships, are particularly awkward in Imperial units,
but extremely easy using metric units. For this reason some sections,
most notably the parts of section 5 which deal with dirigible
technology, use an uneasy mix of metric and Imperial measurements.

Readers who are unfamiliar with the British (and American) system of
weights, or with pre-metric British currency, will find the awful
details in Appendix A of the rules, RULES.TXT


0.3      Role Playing Games
---------------------------
This collection is a source for game referees, and most sections
contain notes for use in these games. A few sections (most notably,
most of the sections on aviation and other forms of technology) are
written mainly for the game. The Forgotten Futures rules can be found
in RULES.TXT, but you are welcome to use the game of your choice, and
add game statistics to fit its rules. No one will complain provided
you don't try to publish a modified version of these files!


0.4      Writing Between The Lines
----------------------------------
The A.B.C. stories contain many statements that, taken in isolation,
are difficult to interpret. Kipling wanted to show a future where
there were significant changes, while leaving most of the details to
the reader's imagination. He was also a very self-critical author,
inclined to cut his prose if it did not advance the plot. This is
especially obvious in the case of "As Easy As A.B.C.", where it seems
likely that significant background detail was cut.

The "historical" background poses some problems, especially
contradictions in dates between the two stories. With The Night Mail,
set in 2000 AD, implies a world of peace and plenty, while As Easy As
A.B.C. (2065 AD) mentions famines that apparently occurred in the late
twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. I've tried to reconcile
these statements as best I can, but still found it necessary to set
some events a little later than I would prefer.

For the purposes of this pack events started to diverge from real
history shortly before the First World War, which was longer and even
nastier than the real thing. Some details carry over from our version
of history, most notably the influenza epidemic of 1918-19, which in
the A.B.C universe was made much worse by the events of the war. Later
events are invented to 'firm up' the background, or extrapolated from
the information in the stories, slotted in around the few dates
Kipling mentions. I've tried to show how a few key discoveries and
events might have changed history to the extent described by Kipling,
but it should be remembered that Kipling may have had completely
different ideas. The history below, told from a viewpoint in 2066 AD,
doesn't distinguish between the different grades of data.

This file includes many other extrapolations. For example, With The
Night Mail contains paragraphs which seem to indicate that its
principal characters have a firm belief in reincarnation. This might
be a religious belief, an indication that Buddhism has come to
influence Western thought, but it's expressed so strongly that I have
chosen to interpret it as a certainty, something that is generally
known and has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt. Some of the
reasons for this certainty, and consequences, are described below.

Critical analyses of the A.B.C. stories have suggested that the world
Kipling invented is everything from an anarchistic paradise to a
fascist dictatorship; I have assumed that it is somewhere between a
Libertarian society and a Meritocracy, a reasonably benign capitalist
system driven by the needs of trade and industry, but section 3.4
discusses some alternatives.


0.5      Weird Science
----------------------
Kipling wrote in a period when science was going through rapid
changes. X-Rays, radioactivity, and several new elements had recently
been discovered, electrical engineering was advancing, and the Wright
Brothers had just shown that heavier-than-air flight was possible. It
seemed certain that more discoveries were waiting in the wings.
Fleury's Ray (With The Night Mail) was probably inspired by X-Rays, or
possibly by the French 'N-Ray' debacle of 1903. Remote controlled
vehicles and other electrical phenomena (As Easy As A.B.C.) may have
been based on the work of Tesla. The prominence of radium in these
stories also owes much to the attitudes of the era; at this time
radiation was generally considered to be a good thing, and rival
health spas advertised the radioactivity of their waters!

The behaviour of some technology (most notably Fleury's Ray and Gas)
will be strange to modern readers, who have the benefit of eighty
years more scientific development. I have chosen to try to explain
these devices in ways which cause the minimum conflict with known
scientific laws, but in several instances have been forced to cheat
outrageously to make things work. Kipling was occasionally a little
too specific about the design of his 'digs, and matching the
technology of the stories to the real world of densities, volumes, and
horsepower involves some major headaches. The 'dig design rules, in
particular, do not relate very well to the world as we know it.

Materials technology also caused a few problems. If you check the
advertisements in With The Night Mail you'll notice a curious blend of
old fashioned and modern materials. I've assumed that some old names
are used for new substances - for example, that papier-mache propeller
blades are actually made from a cellulose-based synthetic.

Extrapolation from these stories, and the accompanying articles and
advertisements, has suggested a range of possibilities, from weather
control to death rays. It should be emphasised that in most cases
these ideas are inferred, or based on a few words, and may not have
been in Kipling's mind when he wrote the stories.


0.6      Acknowledgements
-------------------------
I have previously published two short articles about the A.B.C. and
its world, which appeared in Games Review Monthly in February and
March 1990. They contained assumptions which I now feel were
incorrect, as well as numerous errors and omissions which have now
hopefully been corrected.

The Kipling Society provided some information on the A.B.C. stories.
In particular one article, "The Dominion of the Unstable Air" by
Donald S. Lopez, which appeared in The Kipling Journal (March 1982),
proved very helpful.

The "historical" sections of this file owe a lot of their style to two
sources; Olaf Stapledon's "Last And First Men", and Stableford and
Langford's "The Third Millennium". My thanks to all concerned.

John Brunner's excellent collection "Kipling's Science Fiction"
includes extremely useful notes on the historical background of the
A.B.C. stories, Kipling's beliefs and politics, etc., and some of this
information has found its way into this document.

The Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction contains an article on Kipling
which suggested large chunks of section 3.4, "Alternate A.B.C.s"

Finally, and most importantly, Terry Pratchett helped me immensely
with preliminary scanning and OCR of the Kipling stories; the
subsequent 'pruf redding' is entirely my fault!


0.7      Omissions
------------------
I have been unable to include some important items. I would be pleased
to hear from anyone who can help me to add them to future releases, if
they are not covered by copyright:

With The Night Mail was originally published in McClure's Magazine in
1905, then as an illustrated chap-book by Scribners in 1909. I have
also seen references to a Doubleday printing of 1909, which may
include the same pictures. I've only seen a small copy of one picture,
which wasn't clear enough to scan; anything better would be greatly
appreciated.

I believe that MacDonough's Song has been set to music, but I have
been unable to track down the composer or any other details, except
for a vague idea that it has been heard at 'filk'-singing sessions at
SF conventions (see note below). If anyone can locate the music and
send it to me, either on paper or as a PC-compatible graphics file, I
would be extremely grateful.

Note: For the uninitiated, 'filk' is folk music written and sung by
science fiction fans, often parodies of well-known songs.


0.8      Technical Notes
------------------------
Documents were typed using Borland's Sprint word processor, then
exported to ASCII format.

Graphics were mostly modelled using Zing, a 3D presentation program,
then exported to Micrografx Photomagic for final editing and effects.
Art from Walnut Creek's "GIFs Galore" CD-Rom was used for backgrounds
in a couple of pictures; unfortunately the original photographers
weren't credited - thanks, whoever you are.

If anyone out there has [a] bug-fixes for Zing (the version that runs
under Windows 3.1) or [b] TWAIN drivers for a Wang SC300 scanner (a
rebadged Ricoh model), I would be delighted to hear from you. Both
would help to improve the artwork in future collections.



1.0      Glossary
=================
This list defines these terms as they are used in the A.B.C. stories,
or in the material that follows.

A.B.C.:            Aerial Board Of Control.
AEolus             Greek God of the winds.
Accident Ward      Hospital 'dig specialising in surgical cases.
Barbette           Circular or semi-circular control gallery on some
                    older 'digs (Barbette: Crown-like).
Bat boat, 'bat     Winged hydroplane, capable of short flights using
                    ground effect (sometimes called the 'wing in
                    ground' effect) to generate lift. In 2000 AD new
                    racing rules require the keel to stay in the water
                    at all times.
'Bell'             See 'The Limit'.
Bilge Tanks        Tanks for liquefied Fleury's Gas.
'Blow-out'         Slang: a complete failure.
Bomb               Explosive signal accompanying some Lights, usually
                    in isolated areas.
Board, The Board   The A.B.C. and/or its Directors.
Boort              German synthetic mineral product; applied as a
                    layer on other materials, inferior to C.M.C. solid
                    gem bearings.
Clip               Automatic latching system used to moor a dig when
                    it enters a dock.
Cloud Breaker      The most powerful type of Light (see below),
                    usually only found as a District or Main Light.
C.M.C.             Commercial Minerals Company, the foremost
                    manufacturer of industrial synthetic gems.
Coach              Detachable container holding mail and sorting
                    clerks. Originally railway terminology.
Colloid            A form of tough transparent plastic.
Colloids           Portholes made of colloid (see above).
Compos             Composite ceramic, used for inferior bearings.
Conference rules   A.B.C. traffic control rules.
Conning tower      External control platform used for improved
                    visibility on some types of 'dig.
Controller         Remote-control console/transmitter.
Cultivator         Remote-controlled agricultural machine.
C.P.               Control Platform; the driver's position in a 'dig.
Corposant          Form of St. Elmo's Fire.
'Dig               Dirigible or air-ship.
'Dig driver        Pilot; in the A.B.C. world the word "pilot" is
                    still exclusively nautical.
Dip Dial           Instrument which measures altitude and attitude and
                    records them on a continuous chart. Often useful
                    in crash investigations.
Direct Control     Emergency control system in 'dig which allows all
                    functions including engines, buoyancy, steering,
                    etc. to be run by the driver. This method of
                    control is too exhausting for normal use. See also
                    'Frame'.
District Light     The pivotal Light of a district, usually the most
                    powerful Light for thirty or fifty miles. Only
                    Main Lights are brighter.
Driver             See 'dig driver.
Fleury's Gas       Lifting and power gas in 'digs. See later sections.
Fleury's Ray       Ray capable of initiating change of state in
                    Fleury's Gas. See later sections.
Flickers           Inflatable rubber suit, used to absorb impact and
                    cushion falls. Civilian flickers are thinner than
                    G.P.O. issue, and usually disguised as normal
                    clothing.
Flying loop        Remote controlled ring of electrical energy. A
                    tight-focussed and manually operated variant of
                    the Ground Circuit, below.
Fog Flash          Type of Glare (see below) which gives a quick flash
                    rather than a steady light.
Frame              Centralised position for Direct Control. The driver
                    is strapped into a special position equipped with
                    heel and toe switches for engines, levers and
                    switches for gas and Ray controls, a steering
                    wheel, etc.
Gas tank, tank     Buoyancy compartment in 'dig or bat boat.
G.C.               General Communicator; radio transmitter receiver.
                    Code is used for long distance signals in 2000 AD,
                    with voice transmission limited to short range. By
                    2065 voice is available at all ranges. [See note 1
                    below.]
Glare              A Light (see below) giving an all-round glow rather
                    than a beam.
G.P.O.             General Post Office; formerly a government
                    monopoly, it is now privately owned and has long
                    outlived the last British government.
Ground-Circuit     Electrical force field used to restrain cattle,
                    unwanted visitors, etc.
Guide              'Planes (see below) are usually launched from guide
                    rails with the assistance of a powerful catapult.
Guiding Light      Small Light, usually powered by a radium battery or
                    local electricity supply rather than a Fleury
                    turbine system, analogous to a traffic sign.
                    Usually slanted to point towards one of the
                    standard traffic lanes.
H.M.A.             His (Her) Majesty's Airship; Early British military
                    'digs. EG H.M.A. Pinafore.
Hostlers           Service crew at 'dig dock; an interesting survival
                    from the era of horse-drawn transport, a hostler
                    (or ostler) was a stable hand at an inn.
Inflater           See 'Flickers'.
International      International Code; improved Morse. [See note 1]
Lane               Route. Postal packets are supposed to have
                    exclusive use of the 5000-foot level in each lane.
Lateral            Side wind.
Level              Altitude band. The 5000-foot level covers 5000 to
                    10000 feet.
Light              Powerful beacon analogous to a light-house; often
                    colour coded, pulsed, etc.
Lift-Shunt         Form of Fleury Ray; see later sections.
The Limit          Maximum RPM speed for a 'digs airscrews. Above this
                    speed they 'bell', forming a vacuum which damages
                    the airscrew.
Local Light        Smallest class of Light, only visible for a mile or
                    two, usually slanted to point to the nearest tower
                    or dock, or simply illuminating it.
'Lit like a sparked gas-tank'
                   Slang: burst into flames, explode. An archaic
                    reference to primitive hydrogen 'digs.
Lunger             Hospital 'dig specialising in tuberculosis and
                    other respiratory diseases.
'Lung up'          Take on fresh air (especially submersibles).
Main Light         The pivotal Lights of the A.B.C. system, used to
                    mark precise navigational coordinates. Almost
                    always cloud breakers, they must be visible for
                    several hundred miles. Britain's only Main Light
                    is at Coventry; America has one in every state.
Mark Boat          A.B.C. traffic control 'dig.
Mate               Paraguayan herbal tea.
N.U.C. Lights      'Not Under Control' signal lights.
Pithing iron       Grapnel designed for ripping 'dig gas tanks.
'Plane             Heavier-than-air flying machine, virtually obsolete
                    except for sport.
Resurgam           Type of 'flicker'.
S.A.T.A.           Societe Anonyme des Transports Aeriens. Approximate
                    translation: "Company for Aerial Transport".
S.C.               Service Communicator: modified General Communicator
                    for the A.B.C. military net, adding extra control
                    features. Scrambled. See section 5 for details.
'Servile'          Illinois nickname for followers of outmoded
                    "democratic" tradition.
'Show a fat spark' Slang: Perform well.
Slant              Diagonally rising or falling wind; usually used to
                    add speed to a 'dig's flight, but a nuisance in a
                    storm.
Smooth             Patch of quiet air in a storm.
'The State'        Obsolete phrase, now considered an obscenity.
Starter            Launch catapult for 'planes.
Submersible        Formerly a surface vessel with limited underwater
                    capabilities, now used generically for all
                    submersibles and submarines.
Suicide            Used as verb, to commit suicide. [see note 2]
Surfacer           See 'Surfacing Machine'
Surfacing Machine  Road-making machine, uses intense heat to melt rock
                    and soil into glass.
Syntonised         Adjusted to the same tone (frequency).
T.A.D.             Trans-Asiatic Direct 'dig line.
Tad-Boat           T.A.D. 'dig.
Tensions           Electrical imbalances which cause bad weather.
'The People'       Obsolete phrase, now considered an obscenity.
'Volt-Flurry'      Slang: electrical storm.
'Wireless'         Radio.
Wulli-Wa           Whirlwind.
Zeppelin, 'Zep     German 'dig of 1914 World War.

Notes
[1] Brunner's introduction to With The Night Mail suggests that the
G.C. uses voice signals, and that International is a synthetic
language (like Esperanto). This worldbook assumes that it is a form of
International Morse Code. Voice radio is also used, but is much less
reliable at longer ranges. Referees should feel free to make their own
decision on this matter.
[2] This usage of the word "suicide" as a verb may be original with
Kipling, but has since appeared elsewhere, often in the work of
authors known to have been influenced by Kipling.



2.0      A Brief History of Flight
==================================
[Extracted, with permission, from "Transportation And Civilisation" by
Rowena Dell, Oxford University Press 2066]

In the early twentieth century the development of airships and
aeroplanes (heavier-than-air flying machines, now obsolete) promised
to usher in an era of change; no-one foresaw that these changes would
eventually sweep away most institutions and governments. As we now
know, "Transportation Is Civilisation"; change its speed and range and
you change every aspect of civilisation.

Seen from our vantage point in the late twenty-first century, the
events of the past century and a half seem to be an inevitable
progression. We wonder why men made such idiotic mistakes, and
telescope ideas and events which were actually decades apart. Sloppy
scholarship and badly-researched fiction don't help. A recent
cinematograph film, "The Madness Of Crowds", is a particularly
flagrant case in point; supposedly set in the early years of the Great
War, it showed cargo-carrying submersibles which did not exist in that
era, and featured a daring chase in a bat-boat of a type first built
in the late nineteen-sixties!

To fully appreciate the recent past, it's necessary to set these
events in context. Perhaps it's advisable to look first at the early
history of a tragic era, and trace the steps which led to the current
state of affairs.


2.0.1    The World War
----------------------
"...He was long on Kings. And Continental crises. I do not pretend to
follow British domestic politics, but in the aeroplane business a man
has to know something of international possibilities. At present, you
British are settin' in kimonos on dynamite kegs..."
                Rudyard Kipling: The Edge Of The Evening (1913)

The origins and events of the World War are so remote from modern
civilisation that a larger work is needed to cover their complexities.
In brief, the governments of Europe had made complex alliances, an
interlocking web of associations and obligations that were supposed to
ensure peace but were in fact guaranteed to precipitate warfare if any
two states came into opposition. Inevitably this occurred.

Shortly before the war an event of crucial significance to aviation
occurred; it was to have a profound effect on the conflict. In 1913
Germany tested anti-submarine mines in the shallow waters of the
Heligoland Bight, a sheltered area of the North Sea. After one
explosion alert sailors noticed that the sea was covered in burning
bubbles. The gas flow continued for several hours, and a brave seaman
(whose name has unfortunately not survived to be recorded in this
account) rowed to the edge of the disturbance, then swam underwater to
collect the unburned gas. Chemists analysed the samples, finding
methane (98%) and a mixture of other gases. Roughly a quarter of this
remainder was helium, which had previously been found only in tiny
quantities associated with uranium deposits, and as a smaller fraction
of the gas associated with American oil wells. It should be remembered
that at this time natural gas was considered a nuisance by the oil
industry, and released or burned.

The Germans thought that there might be oil below the gas, and made
plans to mine it. Coastal gun batteries were built to protect the
area, and a crude underwater drilling rig (actually a form of pile
driver) was deployed in the early months of the war. By this time it
was clear that helium could be important to the new military science
of aeronautics and the growing German air fleet, so the Germans
started to ship the gas ashore while continuing to look for oil.
Meanwhile German organic chemists, at this time the best in the world,
were developing self-sealing synthetic rubber membranes which could
contain the evasive helium molecules. Liquefied methane was a
necessary by-product of helium production, and was used as fuel;
hydrogen 'digs were also converted to methane fuel.

Helium 'digs were immune to the effects of incendiary ammunition,
unless a lucky shot penetrated their well-armoured fuel tanks, and
their crews need not worry about sparks and flames. They could spend
time at comparatively low altitudes over their targets. The 'dig
Kaiser Wilhelm had survived nearly three hundred bullet and shrapnel
punctures before it was finally destroyed, others endured even more
damage.

The Kaiser Wilhelm first flew in June 1915, and attacked the British
fleet in July and August. Only one ship was seriously damaged by its
relatively small bombs, but the Germans apparently believed that they
had destroyed at least three dreadnoughts; this miscalculation was
encouraged by British agents, and may have affected German tactics in
the Battle of Jutland.

Strong German aerial support, including the use of chlorine and other
toxic gasses sprayed from the air, ended the stalemate of trench
warfare, and the Germans made rapid advances into France. After taking
horrific casualties the remnants of the British forces fell back to
coastal positions, with volunteers staying behind to harass and delay
the Germans while their comrades were evacuated. Eventually Germany
was left in control of most of continental Europe, and a long war of
blockade and attrition began. This defeat, and the work of German
agents provocateurs, sparked disorder in many areas; most notably
rebellions in Ireland, India, and Russia.

The Irish rebellion was the shortest and least successful; with
hindsight it is hard to imagine how anyone could have expected it to
succeed under any circumstances. The rebels were no real match for
Ireland's police force, let alone the regiments of combat-hardened
troops that had returned from Europe and were available to suppress
them. Approximately ninety rebels died in two weeks of fighting.
Ironically, most of the troops who suppressed the rebellion came from
loyal Irish regiments.

In India the depleted garrison forces were greatly outnumbered. A
dozen different mutinies, launched for as many reasons, smouldered
through the war and on into the nineteen-twenties, causing devastation
followed by famine, and leaving the way open for plague. Britain
simply waited until the native forces were too weak to put up any
effective resistance, then regained power by default. Afterwards there
were claims that the British government had encouraged the spread of
Spanish Influenza (see below) to India, but this seems unlikely;
British troops probably carried the disease to India, but were the
first to succumb to it.

The Russian army was unable to put up any effective resistance to the
Germans, and suffered horrendous casualties. In 1917 a "soviet"
(political organisation) led by the pacifist Kerensky seized power and
immediately sued for peace. The move was popular in Russia, and
delighted the Germans, who gladly accepted a complete Russian
withdrawal to new borders which conceded nearly a hundred thousand
square miles of territory.

Russia spent the rest of the war as a neutral, wholly concerned with
internal affairs. Historical theorists believe that a majority of
Russian conscripts would have joined the so-called "communist"
uprising later that year if Russia had still been at war; as it was,
most remained loyal and it was easily repressed. A series of reforms
restored political stability until the mid-twenties, when a schismatic
faction of the Russian Orthodox Church seized power. The reign of
terror which followed has been extensively documented, and is beyond
the scope of this article; suffice it to say that it kept Russia off
the global political and military stage until the late
nineteen-forties.

At the end of 1916 the land war in Europe was effectively over,
although combat did continue in the Balkans, Middle East, and Africa.
The war at sea had culminated in the battle of Jutland, a British
victory which left Germany with a greatly reduced surface fleet. The
German U-boat fleet was still active, and achieving some success, but
Admiral Churchill and his staff developed new tactics (most notably
the use of hydrogen 'digs to spot and bomb U-boats, combined with
wireless links to surface vessels) which greatly limited their
effectiveness. One German survivor (picked up from the U-boat which
was rammed by the liner Lusitania) claimed his craft had been bombed
four times in a week. Meanwhile German Zeppelin 'digs were making
near-nightly attacks on Britain, and Britain had no 'digs capable of
surviving prolonged hostile fire. Britain did have a growing fleet of
heavier-than-air 'planes, which were used for defence and to make
pinprick attacks on Germany, but their capacity and range were much
too limited for serious offensive use.

Naturally British scientists and spies discovered many of the secrets
of the German "terror weapons"; eventually Britain had its own helium
'digs. The first was HMA Nimrod, built in part from materials salvaged
from the wrecked Kaiser Wilhelm, which flew in January 1917. Its
maiden operation was a successful raid on the German drilling rigs,
which hampered German 'dig operations for several months. At first
Britain purchased helium from America, where there were numerous
natural gas wells; later Germany denounced this as a breach of
neutrality, and the USA was forced to end the trade, but by then
Britain had its own supplies. Naturally America continued to extract
the gas and use it for its own air fleets and civilian 'digs; Britain
gave America full details of helium 'dig construction as part-payment
for the gas. Several times in 1917 it seemed possible that America
would be forced to enter the war, usually on the British side but once
(after the accidental bombing of the American Embassy in Berlin) on
the German, but each time this danger was averted.

By 1918 both sides were locked into what promised to be a long war of
attrition, with air raids and battles between the opposing 'dig fleets
the main form of combat. Allied fire raids had devastated large areas
of the German countryside, and German reprisals had shattered many
British cities. The British blockade was slowly strangling the German
economy; there were no major sea battles, but the German dirigibles
(now equipped with better armour-piercing bombs) kept the British
fleet on the move and prevented its use to cover an invasion. Britain
had its own helium sources, gas wells at several well-camouflaged
sites on the South Coast, and both sides were developing chemical
weapons and bombs of devastating lethality. Perhaps it is fortunate
that the first Plague ended the war. As should be obvious, this was a
mixed blessing.

GAMING - The World War
* Historical adventures might revolve around the espionage war of the
  period; British agents trying to find out the secrets of the helium
  Zeppelins, assassinate the Kaiser, or investigate German activities
  in India or Ireland.

* In the 21st century this era is regarded as ancient history, the
  subject of occasional films and novels. One possibility is a quest
  for some long-lost historical information, such as the secret of a
  stunningly successful surprise attack, or the location of a lost
  cache of gold. See "Other Paths To Glory", by Anthony Price, for
  excellent use of this concept. Another possibility is stunt work on
  a film, such as "The Madness Of Crowds", with all the risks of
  simulated aerial combat and stunt flying. See section 5 below.

* War gamers may like to try a variant WW1 campaign with the military
  innovations described above. An attack on the German gas rigs might
  be an interesting naval variant.


2.0.2    The First Plague
-------------------------
The first modern Plague, known then as Spanish Influenza or 'flu,
spread across Europe and the Balkans, then into the Middle East,
Russia, and Asia, in the winter of 1918-19. At this time a high
percentage of the soldiers and civilians on both sides were
undernourished, injured, or suffering the effects of exposure to
chemical weapons. In every corner of Europe hundreds of thousands of
homeless refugees lived under conditions of appalling harshness. Years
of blockades and short rations and a bitterly cold winter left little
natural resistance, and this combination of disease and weakness
proved lethal.

At first Britain seemed to be immune from the 'flu, spared by its
isolation, but soon troops on leave carried the disease home from the
Balkans, and others took it to India, Asia, and Africa.

The war effectively ended in March 1919, when the complex German
supply organisation collapsed. Five years of war and military
occupation had stretched it beyond all reasonable limits; as a result
of the bombing and plague there weren't enough bureaucrats left to
keep things running. For several weeks the German armies in the field
and in occupation went unpaid and unfed. Many thousands deserted. Vast
numbers of Allied prisoners of war simply walked home, easily escaping
from guards who were too weak and disorganised to stop them; naturally
there were appalling casualties, but eventually France, Belgium,
Holland, and the other occupied countries were back in the hands of
their own governments, and British soldiers were coming home in their
thousands. The British government hoped to turn them into an effective
fighting force and launch an invasion of Germany, but the Zeppelin
fleet still posed enough of a threat to veto this idea. [For reasons
then unknown the flyers of both sides came through the plague with few
fatalities. We now know that prolonged exposure to high altitudes
improves the body's ability to resist disease.] In any case Britain's
own resources were stretched to breaking point, and an invasion could
not have been sustained.

Eventually the Swiss government, backed by America, arranged the
details of the peace. The terms were simple; all the combatants were
to withdraw to pre-war boundaries, and there would be no reparations
or reprisals. Colonies and other possessions that had changed hands
were to be returned to their "rightful" rulers, the original
colonising power; this phrasing naturally annoyed many Americans who
resented European colonialism and found it convenient to ignore the
continued use of former American Native lands, and the fact that
America had its own colonies in the Pacific.

Meanwhile the plague was still raging across Russia and the Middle and
Far East, and the first cases were occurring in India, Africa, and
America. The epidemic continued until 1926, with sporadic outbreaks in
1927-9, then subsided. It is estimated that more than a hundred
million died in this one epidemic, which eventually spread to every
nation on Earth.


2.0.3    The Period Of Recovery
-------------------------------
Once the firing stopped, both sides set to work repairing the ravages
of war and (unfortunately) preparing for future conflicts.

The post-war period was notable mainly for the rapid growth of
merchant aviation. By the late 'twenties more than two thousand civil
and private 'digs were registered in Europe and America, a thousand
more worldwide. The hydrogen 'dig was already obsolete; the last
example of the type was an ex-French 'dig sold to the Turkish Army,
which burned at its moorings in 1927. The first peacetime use of 'digs
was the supply of food and medical aid to areas where the normal
network of roads and railways had broken down. At first this was seen
as a short-term measure; later it became apparent that 'digs were
often a cheaper and faster alternative to surface vehicles. By the end
of the 'twenties 5% of cargo was travelling by air; mostly perishable
goods and other items which needed speedy transportation. This figure
effectively doubled every decade, eventually stabilising at
approximately 74% in the late sixties.

This era also saw a craze for 'plane construction, often with
disastrous results. 'Digs had to be built by large teams of skilled
craftsmen, using tools and materials that were already well-tried; by
comparison, any fool could assemble a simple 'plane in his garage, and
thousands did so. Unscrupulous entrepreneurs sold kits of parts to
totally unqualified amateurs, who had little or no understanding of
the laws of aerodynamics and made fatal mistakes in the assembly of
their "kites". The tragic results could and should have been foreseen.
Eventually the sale of these kits was banned in most countries, and
stringent licensing laws stopped the most unscrupulous manufacturers,
but the image of the 'plane was already fatally tarnished. Despite
frequent attempts to revive the concept, and the fact that 'planes
were then a good deal faster than 'digs, their safety record, short
range, and limited cargo capacity doomed them to a minor role in
sports and other leisure activities, and to eventual extinction as
their performance was exceeded by 'digs.

One final trend in 1920s transport was the first use of submersible
cargo vessels. Several governments had suffered the political effects
of prolonged naval blockades, and were determined to be seen to be
taking steps to prevent a recurrence. The first submersibles were
little more than water-tight surface ships with the ability to
submerge for short periods. In practice they could rarely avoid
surface attackers, let alone 'digs, but they were erroneously
perceived as being a good deal safer than surface craft. New types of
battery and engine later extended their speed and range, while
streamlining and other techniques (mostly copied from the 'dig
industry) allowed improvements in size and performance, most notably
in the 'thirties and 'forties. Needless to say, these developments
were paralleled by improvement of military submersibles, which at
their peak in the late forties mounted firepower as devastating as any
destroyer of the World War.

No discussion of this period should fail to mention the work of Barnes
Wallis and Nevil Shute Norway, two great 'dig designers whose work,
from the 'twenties to the early 'sixties, was a major influence on the
whole world of aviation. Wallis developed geodesic hull construction
to a fine art, and made great strides in reducing hull weight without
losing strength, while Norway's work on aerodynamics literally halved
the power needed for a given speed, and paved the way for Magniac's
later designs.

Military development of the 'dig was also proceeding, behind veils of
the strictest secrecy. Merchant 'dig manufacturers were providing a
steady stream of innovations, mostly leading to extensions of range,
speed, and cargo capacity. Government scientists used these devices,
but the main emphasis was on improved firepower, and "secret weapons"
of varying degrees of efficiency.

GAMING - The Recovery Period
* Espionage again offers good opportunities for a historical campaign.
  Here the focus will be on new weapons and 'dig technologies, and on
  plans for their use.

* Another possibility is some form of race or rally, based on the new
  forms of transport coming into service; see "The Great Race" and
  "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" for ideas.


2.0.4    The "Little Wars"
--------------------------
Historical records make it clear that the major European governments
created the series of crises which began in the 'thirties, largely as
a cynical means of manipulating their citizens. Insofar as it is
possible to understand the mob rule called "democracy" which then
controlled much of the world, it appears that the populations of
Britain and Germany generally felt that they had been cheated of
rightful victory, while the French felt that they had been "betrayed"
by Britain, and that Germany hadn't been punished sufficiently. There
was also strong resentment of America and Switzerland in all three
nations. At the same time there was a sentiment against war, on the
grounds that another major conflict would cause as much or more
damage. Most "citizens" had somehow been induced to hold all of these
views simultaneously.

Always sensitive to the manufactured moods of their "subjects", and
desperate to retain power, the governments of Europe began to prepare
for war while loudly decrying their enemies' warlike tendencies. For
example, French Cabinet papers of the period discuss a series of
measures which might provoke a war between Britain and Germany, which
was expected to result in the emergence of France as the strongest
power in Europe. Germany hoped to foment unrest in the British and
French colonies. The British government seems to have pinned its hopes
on a strong Anglo-American alliance, with the apparent intention of
embroiling America in any future European war; while these intentions
never bore fruit, the contacts forged in the twenties were later
crucial in the establishment of the A.B.C.

All of these nations, and many others, prepared for war by increasing
the regimentation of their populations. Everyone was registered,
filed, recorded, and indexed. Fingerprints, photographs, and other
personal details were kept by the authorities, and it was impossible
to travel or buy any of a vast range of strategically important
materials (such as petrol) without showing identification. Naturally
there was a black market in forged papers and rationed goods.

The thirties and early forties were notable for a series of small wars
which achieved little and would be tedious to list. Typically one of
the major nations would interfere with the affairs of a small country,
then another major nation would intervene to "protect the interests"
of the threatened state. Usually this led to a series of aerial
battles, damage to two or three cities in the beleaguered state, and
withdrawal when both sides realised that neither had a deciding
advantage. The Balkans and smaller Eastern European nations suffered
particularly badly in these incidents.

By 1945 it is estimated that twenty million had died, without any
decisive result. There were still apparently profits to be made from
war, in loot and in its stimulation of industry, but any impartial
observer could tell that they were becoming increasingly futile. There
was increasing reluctance to risk more losses, regardless of "national
pride" or "patriotism", and pacifist movements gained many new
members. Naturally these organisations were heavily infiltrated by
secret police, spies, and foreign agents, and it is remarkable that
they achieved the little that they did.

As if to emphasise the futility of human conflicts, another influenza
epidemic swept across Europe in the early 'forties. This time losses
were initially light, because the privations of the Great War were
absent in many areas, but the epidemic lasted much longer than the
1919 outbreak and eventually caused nearly twelve million deaths,
mostly amongst children and the elderly.

GAMING - The Little Wars
* The first wartime use of civilian submersibles suggests some
  interesting possibilities. "Das Boot" without torpedoes? See Frank
  Herbert's "The Dragon Under The Sea" for an SF treatment of this
  idea.


2.0.5    Life After Life
------------------------
The Fates that are so careful to shut the doors of each successive
life behind us had, in this case, been neglectful...
    Rudyard Kipling - The Finest Story Ever Told (1891)

While most of Europe was concentrating on the carnage of the "Little
Wars", a crucial spiritual development went largely unnoticed. At the
end of the nineteenth century evidence was already suggesting the
possibility of some form of afterlife. After the World War there was
intense interest in this subject, mainly amongst the millions who had
lost relatives, friends, and lovers to the war or the plague.

In 1934 sceptical scientists at Cambridge conducted the first
comprehensive study of mediums under controlled laboratory conditions.
The researchers prepared a hundred sealed and numbered packs, each
containing objects belonging to the dead, all carefully screened to
ensure that minimal personal details could be learned by normal means.
For example, pack 45 contained a man's handkerchief without initials
or other markings, a silver pocket watch without inscriptions, and a
pair of reading glasses. All had belonged to an airman killed in 1916.
None of the scientists who were present knew who had owned the
contents of each packet, and the numbering was randomly changed twice
(by different hands) between preparation and use. Over twelve days a
team of four mediums successfully named the owners of forty-three of
the packs, gave accurate descriptions of another twenty-four, and
correctly stated that six were still alive. Five of these last six
were "controls", prepared from the possessions of students and friends
of the researchers, the exception was a sailor who had erroneously
been recorded as dead but was subsequently found to have emigrated to
New Zealand.

Unfortunately this experiment coincided with the abortive Spanish
invasion of Gibraltar, and the subsequent short-lived occupation of
Spain by Britain, which diverted public attention from its results.
Allegations of fraud which clouded the issue are now known to have
been engineered by the university authorities, who were (correctly)
alarmed by the religious implications of the experiment. Psychic
studies languished in obscurity until the late 'fifties, when the
Cambridge work was taken up by American scholars, and finally received
the attention it deserved. Experimental proof of reincarnation
followed in 1965, leading to our present knowledge of these matters,
and drastic changes in most religions. This is discussed in more
detail below.

GAMING - The Psychic Revolution
* See the film "Flatliners" for some ideas on experiments in
  this field.


2.0.6    Establishment of the A.B.C.
------------------------------------
The disruptions to merchant aviation caused by the "Little Wars"
gradually became a problem affecting all nations. Britain, in
particular, was already heavily overpopulated and depended on trade
for survival and raw materials. Most of the other global powers were
similarly dependent on a steady stream of goods. By the late
nineteen-thirties most of Europe and America, and parts of Africa and
India, were covered by the first Lights; at this stage they were
little more than an extension of the existing lighthouse network, and
no more powerful, but it was already clear that any disruption could
be disastrous. For example, four 'digs from as many nations were lost
after an avalanche destroyed two of the Alpine Lights. Two were lost
when the Gibraltar beacon was smashed by the Spanish invaders.

At this stage Lights were administered by national governments, but in
many cases this was obviously nonsensical; some of the European
beacons could be seen and used from four or five countries, and the
range of visibility was gradually increasing as Lights became more
powerful. Leaving them under local control, when so many governments
were unstable or threatened by war, meant a continual risk of chaos.

In 1949 Britain and America, and their colonies and subject states,
set up the Aerial Board of Control. It was initially supposed to be an
administrative convenience, but gradually evolved into the global
authority we know today. The A.B.C. initially had the following
functions:

1: Maintenance of Lights.
2: Organisation of traffic lanes.
3: Publication of maps and other navigational aids.
4: Standardisation of G.C. codes and procedures.
5: Inspection and certification of 'digs and 'planes.

It soon became apparent that the A.B.C. could only function if it had
the power to enforce the regulations it published. In 1952 the initial
treaty was extended to allow the A.B.C. to operate its own vessels,
which would be used to "enforce traffic rules" within "the areas
controlled by all member nations". This extension adds the now-famous
words "..free movement of traffic and all that it implies.", which are
now generally seen as the keystone of A.B.C. policy.

The first of these vessels was H.M.A. Intrepid, a British gunboat,
soon joined by 'digs from America and Canada. These first 'digs
belonged to the A.B.C. in name only; in practice they were still
operated by the states that owned them, and the A.B.C. presence on
board was often no more than one or two officers. This proved to be an
extremely uneasy compromise which led to several cases of favouritism,
officers ignoring the activities of their own nations while finding
reasons to impede vessels of other nations. There were also
allegations of corruption at higher levels. These incidents led to a
revision of the Board's constitution, and institution of the present
system of appointments. These changes were intended to limit the
Board's political power, but actually had the effect of concentrating
power into the hands of a meritocracy, men who had genuinely been
chosen for their intellectual capabilities rather than their political
allegiance.

The problem of ship ownership was ended in an unexpected manner;
scientists working for the A.B.C. invented the radium battery, and the
first year's profits from this one discovery paid for eight
purpose-built patrol ships, five Mark Boats, and personnel to man
them.

By 1955 the A.B.C. was a truly international organisation, its mandate
extending over most of Europe, North and South America, the British
Empire, and the empires of the other colonial powers. Russia was added
in 1960, when the chaos which followed the death of Rasputin III had
subsided, China in 1964, and Japan in 1967. This astonishing rate of
growth was mainly due to the real advantages of A.B.C. membership, and
the penalties (most notably tariffs and bureaucratic red tape)
suffered by non-members when trading with the A.B.C. nations.
Governments of the member nations viewed the growth with considerable
alarm, but were unable to find any reasonable alternative. Efficient
'dig travel was vital, and Lights and traffic control were essential;
there was simply no way around it.

In 1964 Fleury's Gas and Ray were patented by Pathe, the French
photographic giant, and the efficiency and speed of 'digs were
transformed. The French government somehow failed to realise the
importance of the patents and classify them as secret, and they were
published in all the A.B.C. nations. By 1967 most A.B.C. 'digs were
converted to the new system.

1967 is also notable as the year in which war was finally acknowledged
to be unprofitable. For decades increasingly desperate demagogues had
attempted to justify unspeakable horrors by appeals to national pride,
xenophobia, and sheer greed. It was usually argued that war was a
major force for economic expansion, and that the winning side reaped
many rewards, from loot to increased industrial productivity. In 1967
the brilliant economists Lennon and McCartney, of Liverpool
University, systematically proved that no war of the twentieth century
had truly been profitable; even the British conquest of Spain, which
at first sight seemed successful, had led to disrupted trade,
inflation, and a decline in the true standard of living.

While there was initially a popular notion that this "discovery" meant
an end to war, this was far from the case. War was an important tool
of the power-mongers and they had no intention of giving it up, even
if it proved ruinously expensive. The A.B.C.'s control of trade was
seen as a major obstacle to war, but paradoxically the A.B.C. had no
mandate to intervene in events which did not disrupt trade. As a
direct result, the late 'sixties saw the ludicrous "stopwatch" wars,
fought to strict timetables to prevent A.B.C. intervention.
Tragically, the A.B.C. was not then able to disarm national
governments, and many thousands died in these futile conflicts.

GAMING - The Early A.B.C.
* Early A.B.C. operations, and the use of vessels and crews from
  member nations, could lead to some interesting problems. Mutiny is
  an obvious example, but a long series of misunderstandings could be
  more amusing. Study the European Economic Community for examples of
  totally shambolic events. Imagine an A.B.C. 'dig whose crew comes
  from Germany, suddenly inflicted with Basil Fawlty as its commanding
  officer. Don't mention the war...

* The A.B.C. runs Lights all over the world. When the network was
  first built some of these areas were primitive and extremely
  dangerous. Encounters with hostile tribesmen and the elemental
  forces of nature should lead to some interesting adventures. Don't
  forget that the A.B.C. is primarily a civil service and police
  force, not a military organisation; officers have no authority or
  automatic right to commit any form of violence.

* Did the French government move too slowly, or did someone get in
  their way? Was there an A.B.C. mole in the Pathe factory? Most
  historians would love the answers, maybe the adventurers can find
  them...


2.0.7    A Matter Of Faith
--------------------------
Scientific studies of spiritualism languished in relative obscurity
for more than thirty years. Throughout this period a succession of
rogues and charlatans tried to capitalise on the implications of the
work, notably by founding cults which seem to have been aimed largely
at parting the rich from their money.

The new scientific frontier was reopened by a Professor Rhine in 1956.
Although his early experiments suffered from inadequate controls,
procedures were soon tightened to prevent any possibility of fraud.
The famous "Sensory Deprivation Seances" of 1962-64 triumphantly
proved that survival after death occurred, though details remained
unclear; there was obviously some form of afterlife, but there was
equally compelling evidence for reincarnation and the existence of
active spiritual entities, called ghosts in earlier eras. The
"ethereal vortex" model proposed by Rhine in the early 'seventies
accounts for most of these phenomena, and Hawking's experiments in the
eighties and nineties clarified the details to a point, but seventy
years later there are still hopes for a more comprehensive
explanation.

The world's religions had, of course, watched these experiments with
great alarm. Most faiths believed in some form of spiritual survival,
but were poorly prepared to deal with scientific proof of the matter.
The discoveries emerging from America conflicted, in one or another
respect, with most forms of dogma. Even Buddhism and Spiritualism
suffered in this spiritual crisis, and other religions fared far
worse. Catholicism emerged particularly badly; the Pope unwisely made
a series of premature pronouncements on these matters while the
research was continuing, and was widely derided as they were proved
wrong. The doctrine of Papal infallibility never recovered from this
blow, though of course many millions still remain faithful. The
Protestant church and Judaism did a little better, but every major
religion had its share of senior clergy who seemed to be unable to
avoid foolish statements through the period of uncertainty.

Today we appreciate that death is simply part of a natural order of
rebirth and regeneration. We die, spend an indeterminate period in the
Ethereal Vortex, then are reincarnated for our next cycle of
existence. Ghosts and other "psychic phenomena" are simply eddies in
the vortex, shaped by unusually powerful minds or emotions, and are
more often created by the living than by the dead. God's involvement
in this process is assumed, but not proven; we have seen a tiny
glimpse of the infinite, but dare not assume that we have all the
answers.

GAMING - The Afterlife
* See the note above, under "Life After Life", and the section "Death
  And Beyond" later in this file. In this era more is known about the
  true nature of psychic phenomena, and players armed with this
  knowledge may wish to put it to use. Ghostbusters-style adventures
  should NOT be encouraged; see Kipling's ghost stories, especially
  "The House Surgeon", "They", and "The Finest Story In The World",
  for ideas on his version of supernatural and paranormal events.


2.0.8    The Malthusian Crisis
------------------------------
Throughout the twentieth century the cyclic pattern of war, famine,
disease, and recovery went almost unnoticed.

As the threat of war diminished, the population of most major cities
increased enormously, and even more regimentation was enforced. An
average "citizen" of this era was probably recorded in dossiers held
by fifteen or twenty different departments. Every aspect of daily life
was on file; criminal record, taxes, medical details of the most
revolting intimacy, licences and permits, and so forth. If anyone
stepped out of line, the governments of the day were ready to find a
dozen excuses to restrict their illusory liberty. No one could be
quite sure what was kept in his files, but everyone knew that the
files existed. Essentially it was a system of state-sponsored
blackmail, made worse by the hypocritical claim that it was done for
the good of "the people" and "the state". The author apologises for
use of these words.

The population increase was swollen by the immense strides that had
been made in medicine, extending human life expectation above eighty.
Though diseases related to overcrowding were widespread, they were
rarely fatal, and patients (especially those in glacial sanitoriums
and other isolated areas) added another burden to the planet's
resources. The global population at the end of the 'fifties was
approximately 2500 million, and rising fast. In 1968 and 1969 harvests
were poor over most of Europe and America. By January 1970 food demand
was beginning to outstrip production, as predicted by the philosopher
Malthus in 1798.

By now the global distribution system was so efficient that a
shortfall in Europe might be answered by a shipment from New Zealand,
Africa, or Outer Mongolia. This efficiency was its undoing; it meant
that shortages were suddenly felt everywhere, not just in one or two
areas. Hoarders and speculators began to stockpile food. Although
no-one knew it, a critical turning point had been passed.

Almost overnight an abundance of food became a famine. While the
A.B.C. tried to organise fair rationing schemes, national governments
began to cut out of the system in a futile attempt to "protect their
citizens" (actually, of course, their own interests) at the expense of
neighbouring states. Several governments decided to grab their "fair
share" of food from countries that were in equally dire straits. The
first shots were fired in February 1970, by the end of March half the
world was at war.

In the following month more than 20% of the world's population died,
mostly as a result of the use of nerve gas, rays, and other weapons of
mass destruction. By the end of the year this figure had risen to 50%,
with plague and riot taking their savage toll. Some cities vanished
completely, burned by their inhabitants. Politicians were assassinated
or lynched. Record offices were burned to the ground. Finally "the
people" had noticed that their governments were responsible for most
of their ills, and were taking drastic action to ensure that it would
never happen again. MacDonough's Song, the well-known (but rarely
performed) rabble-rousing hymn to anarchy, dates from this era.

The full horrors of the 'seventies have been documented elsewhere, and
make painful reading even today. Suffice it to say that the A.B.C.
gradually restored food supplies and order; if national governments
had not interfered, it could have done so before anyone starved. The
crisis is generally reckoned to have ended in 1975. The population of
the world was then approximately eight hundred million (as near as
could be estimated in conditions that were still chaotic).

Outbreaks of disease, and localised famines, continued into the early
twenty-first century, but there were relatively few casualties.
Humanity had learned its lesson, and there was little chance of
another global disaster.

GAMING - The Crisis
* This is an era that might appeal to those who like survivalist
  games. The struggle to find food and (eventually) restore order
  should not be allowed to deteriorate into a "shoot everything that
  moves" campaign; elements of trading and negotiation might be
  appropriate.

* For a truly bleak adventure idea, imagine a civilian 'dig in flight
  as the first shots are fired, trying to find a safe haven in a world
  suddenly gone mad.


2.0.9    The Modern Era
-----------------------
By the end of the nineteen-seventies most national governments were
running again, though in a very restricted form. Usually the only
officials were civil servants, their powers greatly restricted, and a
few ceremonial figures (such as the Kings of England and Belgium) with
no real power. "Politicians" were virtually extinct; indeed, the
American humorist Ellison proposed setting up a "wild life sanctuary"
in Washington to ensure the survival of the species. Thousands of old
laws were abandoned; they had mostly been needed to regulate the
affairs of overcrowded cities, and were irrelevant to the new
circumstances of the human race.

The final results of this decade were a huge reduction in population
levels, and a strong (and entirely justified) dislike of politics and
crowds. Self sufficiency became the ideal; the population of most
cities plummeted, and those who still preferred urban life took good
care to ensure that they maintained an ample store of food and other
essentials.

Essentially the situation remains unchanged to this day. Our modern
civilisation is primarily rural, and even the largest towns are
sparsely populated; today London has fewer inhabitants than in the
seventeenth century, and they are spread over a much larger area!
Improved roads and cars, and the ubiquitous 'dig, are mainly
responsible for this diffusion. Modern horticultural methods make it
possible for a family to live on the produce from a few acres of land,
while automation, cheap electricity, and the use of remotely-played
cultivators allows anyone to farm with a minimum of effort. The last
London census showed that 87% of homes were self-sufficient in water,
and 55% were self-sufficient in food; it can be assumed that most of
the remainder maintained ample stores, or belonged to commuters who
made their primary residence elsewhere. Note that only 58% of known
residents returned the census forms!

Many of the madnesses of the past are virtually forgotten. Today it is
hard to believe that our ancestors were prepared to kill for political
or religious belief, or (just as absurdly) because of nationality or
skin colour. We should be thankful for our sanity, and pray that these
ridiculous aberrations will never re-appear.

One worrying trend has been a steady slow decline in population, which
may be related to the common prejudice against crowds. Although we are
all free to travel, surprisingly few choose to do so, and the
percentage drops a little every year. We avoid crowds, and travel
invariably involves some degree of crowding. This means that
populations may be becoming isolated and inbred. It is not yet clear
if this is a permanent trend, but it is known that the A.B.C. is
investigating the matter. Findings have yet to be announced.

From this account it should be clear that the development of our
global civilisation is mainly due to the evolution of the 'dig, and to
the social changes that followed. To quote the A.B.C. motto,
'Transportation is Civilisation'. We have near-perfect transport, and
it has led to a form of civilisation which is far superior to that of
our ancestors. It is hard to imagine what the world would be like if
the 'dig had never been invented, or had never succeeded; perhaps we
would all fly aeroplanes instead, and matters would otherwise be
unchanged, perhaps we would have seen an end to war half a century
earlier. Perhaps the human race would have lapsed into barbarism and
anarchy. Speculation about these events is futile.


2.1   Timeline
--------------
1913     German discovery of natural gas and helium deposits under the
          bed of the North Sea.
1914     First drilling rigs deployed. World War begins but soon bogs
          down as trench warfare.
1915     Self-sealing synthetic rubber capable of retaining helium
          molecules. Development of liquefied natural gas turbine aero
          engine. First flight of Kaiser Wilhelm. Stalemate of trench
          warfare ends. British troops evacuated. Lusitania
          accidentally sinks German U-boat.
1916     British troops suppress riots in Ireland, Indian revolt
          begins.
1917-18  Land war in Europe virtually ended. Blockades at sea and in
          the air restrict commerce. Unsuccessful rebellion in Russia.
1918-19  Influenza epidemic becomes first plague of 20th century,
          killing sixty million. World War ends with collapse of both
          sides. Switzerland & USA impose peace terms on Europe.
1920-22  Influenza epidemic continues.
1922     Standard 'Dig Construction Co. founded
1924     Christian Wright & Oldis established.
1927     Last hydrogen 'dig burns at its moorings.
1928     First submersible freighter.
1930     5% of cargo travels by air.
1931-44  The "little wars".
1934     Cambridge study of spiritualism. Spain invades Gibraltar.
          Britain invades Spain.
1940     11% of cargo travels by air.
1942-45  Second great influenza epidemic.
1949     A.B.C. constituted.
1950     21% of cargo travels by air
1952     A.B.C. powers extended to allow operation of vessels.
1953     Radium Battery invented.
1956     New psychic research in America.
1960     39% of cargo travels by air. Russia joins A.B.C.
1963     Fleury's Gas discovered.
1964     Fleury's Ray discovered. China joins A.B.C.  Fleury's Gas and
         Ray patented.
1965     Experimental proof of reincarnation.
1967     Lennon & McCartney prove that war is no longer profitable.
          A.B.C. Fleet mostly converted to Fleury System.
          China joins A.B.C.
1968-9   Poor harvests in most of Europe and America.
1969     74% of cargo travels by air.
1970     World population approximately 2,500,000,000. Food demand
          outstrips production. The Malthusian crisis.
1975     Crisis ends; global population roughly 800,000,000
1989     'Dig trials show that "Fleury's Gas can lift anything".
1990     Lavalle establishes principles of modern meteorology.
1997     Kyoto Exhibition of Aerial Appliances.
2000     Crete surrenders sovereignty to A.B.C. Bat-Boat racing rules
          amended to prevent free flight. Global population roughly
          650,000,000. With The Night Mail.
2038     Last Illinois newspaper closes
2043     Last Illinois murder
2065     Global population approximately 450,000,000 and falling.
          Northern Illinois cuts out of systems and demands A.B.C
          intervention. As Easy As A.B.C.


2.2      The World in 2000 AD - With The Night Mail
---------------------------------------------------
2000 AD sees the world of the A.B.C. at its best; a tragic century is
ending, and the network of global industry and commerce is at its
peak. War is almost forgotten.

Nations still exist, but they are "governed" (for want of a better
word) by civil servants with very limited powers, who maintain the few
organisations that can't be run as businesses or charities. Most of
the business of diplomacy and statesmanship is obsolete; almost all of
the tiny residue is handled by the A.B.C.

Currently all but a handful of nations belong to the A.B.C.; the main
exceptions follow:
CRETE has just requested A.B.C. administration, and will presumably be
shedding the last vestiges of government in due course. At the moment
it is still in a state of transition.
TURKEY is still a primitive monarchy. It has trading links with some
A.B.C. nations, hampered by restrictive local tariffs. Turkish
aviation is still underdeveloped; the largest freighters can lift less
than a hundred tons!
ZANZIBAR is like Turkey; a primitive monarchy with very limited
trading links. Zanzibar operates no 'digs.
SWITZERLAND is nominally self-governing, but aviation over Swiss
territory is managed by the A.B.C., and there are no trade barriers.
In practice Switzerland is part of the system, but sends an "observer"
to the board, not a member. The distinction probably makes sense to
the Swiss, no-one else really cares. MONACO, LIECHTENSTEIN, and THE
VATICAN have similar arrangements, differing in minor details.
TEXAS seceded from the U.S.A. during the 1970 crisis. It is not a
member state, and will not allow A.B.C. operation of its Lights, but
operates a fully compatible system and allows 'digs to overfly and
dock. Texas claims to be an anarchy; in practice various powerful
families seem to run the country as reasonably benevolent feudal
fiefdoms. Texas is not represented on the Board, and does not send an
observer.
[note: only the first of these exceptions is documented by Kipling]

The society typified by the A.B.C. represents the ultimate triumph of
the Victorian work ethic; industry and trade create wealth, and wealth
creates new industry and trade. Surplus profits are used to improve
everyone's lot. No-one seems to be poor, apart from the patients
aboard a charity-funded lunger and the owner of a tramp 'dig, who is
poor only in comparison to other 'dig owners. Commerce is the main
driving force in the world, far stronger than politics or religion.
The articles accompanying With The Night Mail show this very clearly.
It's notable that a 'dig that rips the roof off a house is dealt with
by the civil courts, other aviation offences are handled by the A.B.C.
in its role as regulator of transport, the nearest thing to a criminal
court in the story.

The implications for employees are less cheerful. With the exception
of charities, there are no equivalents of socialised medicine or
welfare. If you are ill, you lose pay until you recover (unless you
have insurance to cover your wages). If you lose your job, find
another or start queueing at a soup kitchen. These problems aren't as
bad as they might seem, since people are rarely ill and the world's
economy is booming; everyone needs more staff, and will train
applicants who lack relevant experience. Working hours are short, and
wherever possible shifts are flexibly timed to suit the individual.

The "official" currencies of the A.B.C. are UK pounds and US dollars,
both based firmly on gold and permanently locked at an exchange rate
of one pound to four dollars. The Canadian and Australian dollar and
Indian rupee are also locked to the pound sterling, and thus
indirectly to the dollar, other currencies are stable but subject to
slight fluctuations in value. Inflation is almost nil, and currency
speculation is seldom profitable. Prices are extremely stable, and
taxes very low; typically under 5%, with minimal efforts made to
collect them.

Credit cards are unknown. A store might give a particularly valued
customer a credit account, but there are no national or international
credit systems. This is mainly because the information needed to run
them could not be gathered without invading privacy; even if this were
not the case, computer technology is limited to punch-card machines,
calculating engines, and a few huge valve-based prototypes. A global
credit network would have to be run by telegraph and ledger, and would
be impossibly cumbersome.

The global transport system is running at peak efficiency, and the
skies are crowded; the catalogue of 'digs and submersibles encountered
in one flight includes four other postal packets, at least eight or
ten liners, a tramp, a "disabled Dane", a drogher, a Mark Boat,
several deep-sea freighters, a lunger, several furriers, fruiters,
beef boats, ore-flats, petrol-tankers, and grain carriers, with dozens
more seen but not named. The whole world is over-illuminated by the
A.B.C.'s Lights; in many areas it is hard to see the stars at night.

Journalism is declining. The prejudice against invasion of privacy is
very strong; investigative reporters are almost extinct, other
journalists limit themselves to simple reportage. For example, a 'bat
racing magazine might have an article about new racing rules, or an
authorised interview with the current champion. It won't carry a
muck-raking article about graft in the racing board, or a headline
story about the sex life of the current champion. Journalists have
been lynched for less.

The city is already outmoded, made near-obsolete by decreased
population and improvements in transportation. The few city centre
slums that survived the wars and the Malthusian crisis have been
demolished, their occupants moved to the suburbs. No-one wants to see
crowds or disease again, so housing is spacious, and each house stands
in its own grounds. The largest cities exist mainly as commercial,
industrial, and cultural centres; only hardened urbanites want to live
there! Smaller cities are either depopulated or still in use because
of some special feature, such as academic eminence. For example,
Chicago was a boom town in the twentieth century, but had nothing to
offer that couldn't be found elsewhere. In 2000 AD it's a city in
decline, by 2065 it will be a quiet country town. Over the same period
London's population density also declines, but mostly because it is
spreading out over progressively larger areas.

'Planes are still in use, and have an edge in cheapness and speed over
the 'dig, but they are generally regarded as uncomfortable and
dangerous, and running costs are high. Their image is like that of
high-powered motorbikes, speed boats, and sports cars in our own
society. 'Planes are marketed as passenger and sports machines, but
there are few commercial 'plane services. Even this limited popularity
won't last, as 'dig speeds improve; by 2065 the 'plane is extinct, a
victim of technological obsolescence. Bat-boats are seen in a kinder
light; no-one attempts to sell them as anything other than a toy for
the rich, and as such they succeed very well.

Technology routinely available in this era include radio,
pollution-free nuclear power (the gas/ray system used in 'digs is also
the basis for gas turbine power stations), a variety of plastics,
synthetic gemstones, high-capacity fuel cells and batteries, and all
the apparatus of flight. Nearly all vehicles are electric; 'digs and
submersibles use Fleury's Gas and Ray to generate electricity, smaller
vehicles use radium and helium "batteries" (the word is an archaic
survival; they are actually sophisticated fuel cells), which can store
vast amounts of power indefinitely. Oil is still used, sometimes as an
emergency fuel but more usually as a lubricant and as the basis for
industrial chemicals. Although not mentioned, the gadgets referred to
in As Easy As A.B.C. may already exist in this era. Some devices
common in our world haven't been invented, or are rarely encountered;
these include domestic television, electronic computers (big and only
found as experimental prototypes), radar (still experimental), and
radio-navigation (very limited and inaccurate). See sections 5 and 6
below for more details.

There may be female members of the A.B.C. Board (see section 3.0), but
women are still seen mainly as wives and mothers, and in supportive
roles like nursing. The story mentions several; "little Ada Warrleigh"
the racing professional, an anonymous woman aboard a tramp 'dig, a
"pretty girl" aboard a Planet liner (or possibly another reference to
the woman from the tramp), Captain Purnall's daughter, nurses
(presumably female) on a public lunger, and (in the book review) the
wives of Lavalle and the Mayor. Only the first is a notable public
figure, and it's significant that she is a sportswoman, not an
administrator or executive.

Psychic research has produced one of the biggest changes. People no
longer have a primitive fear of death; they don't fear Hell or
extinction of their souls because they know that they will be born
again. This doesn't mean that they are suicidally brave, since death
means an end to the current personality. Mediums, and the techniques
developed by science, make it possible to get a sketchy idea of a
subject's previous life, but that doesn't do the previous incarnation
much good. See section 7, Death And Beyond, for an overview of this
field.


2.2.1    Everyday Life In 2000 AD
---------------------------------
All homes are lit and heated electrically; power is cheap and
abundant, generated by pollution-free Fleury turbine stations. Global
warming isn't a problem, partly because weather forecasting is an
exact science, and partly because of low population and pollution.

Electricity generation is best handled by large companies, but no-one
wants to be totally dependent on them. Most homes have an emergency
supply, usually a few radium or helium batteries, ready to cut in if
the mains are interrupted; larger buildings and farms usually have
their own generators. Similarly, most homes have their own water
tanks, fed by wells or gutters and water filters, and a secure food
store. Cars are electric, and are usually capable of speeds in excess
of 100 MPH, with a range of several thousand miles between charges.
Electric motorcycles have been built with the same performance, but
they are unpopular in a world where most people expect to live more
than a hundred years; the only readily-available models resemble
electric bicycles, with top speeds around 35 MPH.

Families tend to be closely knit, and make much of their own
entertainment. Every house has its piano or harmonium, and a good
selection of family games. Domestic radios and phonographs (record
players) are common. Stereo sound has been invented, but the equipment
is expensive and unpopular. Most scientifically-minded boys build
their own G.C. receivers, and spend happy hours listening to 'digs and
other aerial traffic. Television is not found in the home; it was
popular in the last years of "The People", and was a major tool in the
manipulation of public opinion. Afterwards no-one wanted to revive it.

Most forms of public entertainment still exist, but auditoriums and
stadiums are built to minimise crowding. Instead of rows of seats,
most provide less rigid arrangements, with screens or strategically-
placed potted shrubs used as psychological buffer zones between small
groups of seats. Often these arrangements include tables and food
service. Of course there are always exceptions to such sweeping
statements; some theatres, especially music halls, try to maintain the
atmosphere of earlier eras, and still keep rows of seats.

The largest places of entertainment are the great halls at Earl's
Court (Kensington) and the Crystal Palace (South-East London). Both
are used for exhibitions and concerts. Earl's Court also hosts indoor
sporting events, while the Crystal Palace is famous for its firework
displays, generally considered the finest in Europe; Earl's Court is
surrounded by houses and can't compete for safety reasons. Generally
Earl's Court caters to popular tastes, the Crystal Palace to more
"highbrow" activities, but there is a good deal of overlap.

A typical citizen of this age (incidentally, the word "citizen" is
VERY bad taste, and never used in polite society) usually lives near
his workplace, but may commute hundreds of miles by 'dig (occasionally
by 'plane) or car on one of the uncrowded roads, roughly comparable to
the motorways and freeways of our own world. He doesn't commute by
train - passenger railways no longer exist, apart from a few tourist
lines. There's a good chance that his work will be related to
transportation or the 'dig industry, if only at third or fourth hand,
but it's a mistake to assume that everyone is passionately interested
in aviation - as a comparison, many people in our "information age"
are bored by computers.

For recreation he may be interested in sports, but he probably doesn't
follow football (whether American, Rugby, or Soccer) because these
games submerge the individual players within the team. Generally
people prefer sports that emphasise individual excellence or skill.
For this reason cricket is still as popular as ever in Britain, and is
now played everywhere in the English-speaking world (which includes
most of India, Africa, and Asia); there is a good chance that the
Hawaiian team will win the Ashes this year, and it has replaced
baseball as America's most popular sport. Baseball is still moderately
popular in America, but has never succeeded elsewhere. For those who
prefer mechanised sports, 'bat and 'plane racing are particularly
popular, with motor racing (now all-electric) still fighting a gallant
rearguard action in third place. Horse racing, polo, and other
equestrian sports are as popular as ever.

The wife of our "typical citizen" (do NOT use this phrase in her
presence unless you carry smelling salts) probably spends her day
tending to home and garden, visiting friends, or shopping at local
stores. Women don't need to spend much time on housework; technology
has led to many advances in the home, not least the development of
recyclable fabrics and automated tailoring machines which make most
forms of laundry work and mending unnecessary. These and other
domestic improvements are discussed in Section 6, on technology,
below.

On the subject of shopping, it should be mentioned that supermarkets
and other large-scale food suppliers have never become popular, since
everyone prefers diversification; if one market takes care of all your
needs, your freedom of choice may become restricted, and you will
experience major problems if something goes wrong with its supplies.
If ten shops supply your needs, the range of products stocked should
be greater, and it's unlikely that all of them will be affected by a
single breakdown. Large department stores do exist, but are not as
common as in our own world, and there is no equivalent of a shopping
mall. Mail order catalogue sales are very popular, especially in
isolated areas.

As an example of daily life, here's an extract from the diary of Brian
Snelgrove, a G.P.O. postal clerk resident in East Sussex and working
at the Highgate receiving tower in London:

 Thursday, December 14th, 2000
 Only managed to get eight hour's sleep - knew we shouldn't have had
 that bloater for supper. Weather good but will be rotten this
 evening. Blow should end before I leave work, I hope. Kippers for
 breakfast - lunch really, since I'm on late shift. Martha served mate
 instead of tea, said she thought I could do with a change. It's
 apparently all the rage with the smart set, but I wonder if they
 usually have it with kippers! Mowed lawn and did a few jobs around
 the house. Must remember to check water tank for leaks: we should
 have about 15000 gallons under the front lawn, the gauge says we're
 below 9000. Car booked for 50,000 mile service and new radium
 battery, will drop it in at garage on way to work.

 Later: 5.30 'dig was four minutes late, due to strong winds. Should
 have allowed for them when they posted the timetable! Will complain
 to 'Dig Co. when I pick up next season ticket. Sat next to George
 Perkins, a nice chap but he will keep chatting about 'plane racing
 and his last incarnation. Very boring, but now that Watson has
 retired there's no-one else I know that still likes football - not
 that there are any decent players these days. Got to the sorting
 office in a bad mood, then Jones called in and said he was ill; third
 cold in four years, poor chap, and of course he loses four or five
 day's pay every time he's ill! Robertson is still on his management
 course, so Geary wants me to go out on the coach for the Quebec
 packet. Telephoned Martha - she's not very pleased, it means I'll
 miss afternoon tea with the vicar tomorrow. Not all bad then....

 Friday, December 15th, 2000.
 2 AM: Really foul storm, serves me right for thinking ill of the
 vicar! Have spent most of night in flickers. Barlow wanted to play a
 few hands of rummy when we'd finished sorting, but the cards kept
 falling off the table. I keep telling him to get a magnetic pack,
 they only cost three bob. Broke vacuum bottle while I was pouring
 tea, nearly damaged a few bills. No great loss to the world if I had
 ruined them, but very unprofessional, especially when there's a
 reporter aboard! I think he may have seen the cards, hope he doesn't
 mention it in his article.

 7 AM: Storm over, got three hour's sleep in the end. Arrived Quebec
 early morning, will be flying back tonight. That reporter is stopping
 on here for a few days, so with a little luck we'll take it easier on
 the way back - I do hope so, I'm still feeling a little queasy from
 last night, and the lobster the night before! Forecast good for
 return journey, but must remember to buy some travel sickness
 tablets....

GAMING - 2000 AD
The years around 2000 AD are a good era for role playing, because the
dynamic of society favours expansion and new discoveries. Technology
is improving rapidly, and fortunes can be won or lost in new
industries. Some nations still don't belong to the A.B.C., so
exploration and exploitation still offer interesting possibilities.
Older people remember the "good old days" and horrors of the twentieth
century, and may have some surprising stories to tell. The first
Forgotten Futures adventure, ADVENT.TXT, is set in 2001. Here are more
ideas:

* The crew of an Ackroyd & Hunt fruiter report that there seem to be
  rather a lot of spiders aboard - big ones, that don't look at all
  friendly. One of the airmen was bitten and is feeling ill. Does
  there happen to be a doctor aboard any of the other 'digs in the
  vicinity?

* An Argentine beef boat crashes on one of the Canary Islands, and the
  adventurers are hired to salvage it. One tiny problem; it's very
  warm, and the refrigerators aren't working any more....

More game ideas for this era can be found in later sections. For the
sake of simplicity it's best to assume that in 2000 AD most people
feel mild unease if they are exposed to crowds, but do not immediately
suffer a phobic reaction; by 2065 the aversion to crowds is much
stronger. Some optional rules for this phobia can be found in section
2.3 below; if you wish to use them in 2000 AD, please feel free to do
so.


2.3      The World in 2065 AD - As Easy As A.B.C.
-------------------------------------------------
Take the world of 2000 AD, throw in a few more famines and epidemics,
and wait sixty-five years. More cities have been abandoned, and the
prejudice against crowds and invasion of privacy is MUCH stronger.
Game rules for this prejudice, treated as a phobia, can be found
below.

Nations are obsolete. The world is run, quietly and with minimal
intervention, by the A.B.C., and no-one else wants the job. Most
people are apathetic about anything outside their own family life, and
candidates with the temperament for public office are in very short
supply.

The global transport network is still operational, but the volume of
traffic has declined; the only 'digs mentioned are the "keels" of the
A.B.C. Fleet - this is understandable over Illinois, which has pulled
out of the system, but less explicable over the Atlantic or Britain.

Avoidance of crowds has paid off; most forms of violent crime are
virtually unknown. In Illinois, where this prejudice is particularly
strong, there hasn't been a newspaper since 2038 or a murder since
2043. This assumes that the authorities know everything that's going
on, which may not necessarily be the case. Neighbours who are
determined to mind their own business could be an ideal cover for a
serial killer, or for domestic violence.

'Planes are no longer manufactured, since 'digs now out-perform them
in every way. All the other technology mentioned in With The Night
Mail exists, or has been replaced by better alternatives. Gadgets
which are definitely in use by 2065 AD include ground circuits (force
fields), remote controlled vehicles, flying loops (tractor beams), and
surfacers, road making machines which can literally melt rock. Radio
has improved, with voice communication at all ranges and much clearer
reproduction of sound. Commercial television is still out of favour.
Radar is still experimental, and Lights are still the main element of
navigational systems. Accurate navigational computers and moving-map
devices are in common use, but are still essentially mechano-electric,
not electronic.

With the decline in the birth rate, the importance of motherhood and
the general status of women has greatly improved. We only see two
women in close-up in this story, but both are confident and proud; a
farmer's daughter who is willing to take on the flagship of the A.B.C.
fleet with a five-plough cultivator, and a "laughing woman" who is
prepared to suicide to defend her children from the ideas of
"Serviles".

Most people now expect to live at least a hundred years, and average
height is now 6ft 6in (2 metres); the "Serviles", averaging less than
6ft, show signs of ill-health and are "as grey-haired as the ravaged,
harassed heads of old pictures", their faces showing unmistakable
marks of stress and emotion. Improvements in diet, better medical
care, and avoidance of crowds, disease, and stress are the main
reasons for this change, but eleven hours sleep a night is part of the
price paid for good health. Although one or two late nights won't do
much harm, most public entertainment now ends by ten p.m. at the
latest.

It's hard to engage public attention and overcome the customary
dislike of crowds, and this is proving a real problem for the
entertainment industry. The horrors of the past are often good box
office, but soon pall; impresario Leopold Vincent mentions a
successful re-creation of a complete railway train, but a rival's
attempt to show "primitive" life with sewing-machines, maypole-dances,
and cooking on coal-gas stoves was an expensive failure. Domestic
entertainment hasn't changed much, but classic theatre is in decline
(too much emotion is displayed, and most of the events portrayed are
too remote from everyday life), while cinema is mostly limited to
documentaries and musical spectaculars. Most of the events that make
for good cinema no longer occur, and the excesses of history are too
violent to attract a large audience.


2.3.1    Everyday life in 2065 AD
---------------------------------
Kipling shows us a rural area, but there is an implication that the
scenes he describes simply emphasise conditions found in most areas.
All of the apparatus of trade and transportation still exists, but is
somehow remote from everyday life. People are apathetic about society,
and less inclined to travel or spend much time away from home.

As Easy As A.B.C. begins with a question; "Isn't it almost time that
our Planet took some interest in the proceedings of the Aerial Board
of Control?". If you asked a hundred people in 2065, fifty or so would
refuse to answer on the grounds that you had no business asking, most
of the rest would just say "no". To quote Kipling again, "Easy
communications nowadays, and lack of privacy in the past, have killed
all curiosity among mankind". Attention is devoted to family and home,
with very little left for national or international events. Think of
life in this era as 'The Waltons' with 'digs, remote-controlled
cultivators, and perfect weather forecasts, and you won't go far
wrong: "Well, John-Boy, looks like the South Forty will be hit by hail
on Thursday afternoon. Better start gathering the harvest today..."

A typical Illinois family lives on its own farm, using cultivators to
maintain the land. Farms were often looted during the famine eras, and
their occupants have learned to take precautions against any
repetition. Each farm is hedged in by a thick belt of artificially-
aged forest, which should prevent mob intrusions. Ground-circuits,
originally designed as cattle fences, are also used to deter
intruders, and as a last resort a five-plough cultivator can do a lot
of damage. Typical equipment for a farm includes a generator, usually
based on a small Fleury turbine system, water purifiers and tanks, and
well-protected food stores.

Children attend school in the nearest town, picked up and dropped off
by the school 'dig. Their parents own their own cars and trucks, more
prosperous farmers may own 'digs, but it's more usual to have produce
picked up by a commercial shipper. Each farm has a landing slip, of
course, usually a meadow fitted with guide Lights and some bollards
for anchor cables.

"In a big city there's bound to be a few men and women who can't live
without listening to themselves, and who prefer drinking out of pipes
they don't own both ends of. They inhabit flats and hotels all the
year round. They say it saves 'em trouble. Anyway, it gives 'em more
time to make trouble for their neighbours. We call 'em Serviles
locally. And they are apt to be tuberculous."
                                  As Easy As A.B.C.

While most people are content with their quiet lives, there will
always be a minority who can't accept the status quo. The problems
posed by "Serviles" are mainly a result of the freedoms of this era.
"Citizens" of earlier eras were used to propaganda, and had a limited
ability to withstand or ignore it; modern people lack this capacity,
and tend to take things literally. When they hear someone preaching
something that they know to be lies and dangerous nonsense, their
natural response is anger. For their part, the "Serviles" honestly
believe that they have been deprived of a say in government, and
refuse to admit that the whole structure of society has retreated from
anything resembling democracy. Police forces and mayors still exist
because people see a need for them, and a few people actually like
that sort of work; if they are seen to be abusing their positions an
average farmer simply returns home, refuses to contribute to local
funds, and waits for them to mend their ways.

The crisis depicted in As Easy As A.B.C. is extremely unusual, a
once-in-a-lifetime event that is unique even in the experience of most
members of the A.B.C.. This incident excepted, life in this era is
comfortable, predictable, and a little dull - not necessarily an
Utopia, but close enough to keep most people happy.

GAMING - 2065 AD
In this era dislike of crowds is very strong. If you wish to use this
within the game, a special characteristic roll may occasionally be
needed. Characters must use MIND against a difficulty number to stay
calm when crowded:

Situation                     Difficulty number
---------                     -----------------
50-100 people                  2
100-200                        3
200-500                        4
500-1000                       5
Modifiers:
Per 1000 additional people    +1
Confined area                 +2
Relaxed, happy atmosphere     -2
Tense atmosphere              +2
Violent atmosphere or events  +4

Reactions to a failed roll should include anxiety or panic attacks,
fainting, running away (possibly triggering a stampede by everyone
else who has failed to stay calm), or violence, at the discretion of
the referee.

Panic apart, this is a boring era for gaming. Society is stable, and
has lost a lot of the dynamic that made 2000 AD so interesting. There
are a few possibilities, but they aren't mentioned in As Easy As
A.B.C. or implicit in the nature of society. For example, there might
be a global Democratic conspiracy, but there is absolutely no evidence
to support this idea. Here are a few simple ideas; most of them can
easily be adapted and used in a campaign set in 2000 AD:

* The mayor of a quiet town wants to "liven things up", and hires the
  adventurers to stage a fake crime that will arouse public attention.
  Naturally things go horribly wrong...

* As previously mentioned, isolated homes and a taboo against prying
  eyes could be the perfect breeding ground for all sorts of sinister
  activity. A serial killer is an obvious example, more subtle
  possibilities include family violence and cult religions. Needless
  to say, investigators would have to deal with people who have a real
  dislike of talking to strangers. See the film "Witness" for
  characterisation.

* Leopold Vincent wants something "really wild" for his next show, and
  hires the adventurers to find a new attraction. They have a free
  hand, a big budget, and a month to produce some results. Meanwhile
  someone has reported a sighting of the Loch Ness monster...

* Victor Pirolo is developing his fertility ray (should it be called a
  sex-ray?), but wants to make quite sure that it is safe. The final
  experiments will take several weeks. Unfortunately word has got out,
  and there are already several hundred potential parents mired in the
  ground-circuits around his farm. The adventurers are A.B.C.
  personnel, sent to make sure that the situation is defused before
  anyone gets hurt.

* The largest type of road-surfacing machine is capable of laying down
  a six-lane highway, complete with road markings and drainage, at
  around fifty feet per minute. The machine is gigantic, a cross
  between a tank and an ocean liner, and completely unstoppable.
  Unfortunately something seems to have gone wrong, because it is now
  headed straight towards the centre of the city of your choice,
  demolishing buildings and melting everything in its path.
  Fortunately most of the buildings are empty, but there are homes and
  a power station in its path. Is there someone at the controls, or
  has something gone catastrophically wrong with them? Someone needs
  to get aboard and find out...  If this sounds like an episode of
  "Thunderbirds", remember that Kipling thought of the instant road
  machine first! A smaller road surfacer is illustrated in graphics
  file 18_SURF.GIF


2.4      The Future
-------------------
Given the information in the two A.B.C. stories, it's hard to predict
what will happen next. Obviously 'digs will continue to get faster and
better, and the technology of aviation will improve in all respects.
Unfortunately there are fundamental limits on the speed of all
propeller-driven aircraft, and a complete rethink may be needed to
approach or surpass the speed of sound.

Space travel ought to be possible, but appears not to have been
developed in the period covered by these stories. Any advances in this
field must wait on the development of powerful rocket engines or some
other form of propulsion, and is outside the scope of this worldbook.

The population decline predicted in As Easy As A.B.C. is probably the
biggest threat to stability. If it continues many of the remaining
cities will probably fall apart, their residents dispersing to the
countryside and smaller villages. Without urban centres some essential
services may be unavailable; efficient medical care is one obvious
possibility, but commercial organisations may also suffer. If there is
an underlying medical reason for the decline, Pirolo will probably
find a cure eventually. If it is a disease of the psyche, recovery may
be more difficult.

Could there be another bout of madness? Perhaps, but it seems
unlikely. The A.B.C. monitors the world very carefully, and will
intervene to stop anything that threatens stability. For example,
steps will probably be taken if global population levels ever approach
those of the nineteen-sixties again. Only one organisation seems
likely to trigger the public dislike of "authority" again, and that is
the A.B.C. itself. Fortunately all A.B.C. policies are firmly against
anything that might be construed as "leadership"; the A.B.C. is
generally perceived as a neutral arbiter, and while it remains
unbiased there is little risk of any real opposition.



3.0      The A.B.C.
===================
...that semi-elected, semi-nominated body of a few score persons of
both sexes, controls the Planet. Transportation is Civilisation, our
motto runs. Theoretically we do what we please, so long as we do not
interfere with the traffic and all it implies. Practically, the A.B.C.
confirms or annuls all international arrangements, and, to judge from
its last report, finds our tolerant, humorous, lazy little Planet only
too ready to shift the whole burden of public administration on its
shoulders.
                                                  With the Night Mail

Note: The words "of both sexes" are omitted from this passage when it
is quoted in As Easy As A.B.C., and it is the only point in either
story which admits that women might have any role in the operation of
the A.B.C.. This may be accidental, or a simplification of the text,
but it is possible that Kipling had second thoughts about the matter
before writing the second story.

The A.B.C. is essentially a police organisation which has accidentally
acquired some of the trappings of government without ever really
wanting them. The table that follows shows the principal committees
and their responsibilities within the Board, but it should not be
assumed that this precise scheme will always be followed; while
discipline is good, there is a good deal of flexibility, and someone
who is nominally of low rank may give orders to a "superior" in
appropriate circumstances.

 Traffic        - Control stations - Lanes and Levels
                - Mark Boats
 Lights         - Engineering
 Scientific     - Meteorology      - Weather bulletins
                - Survey           - Maps and charts
                - Standards        - Publications
                - Research         - Aeronautic Department
                                   - Medical Department
                                   - External researchers
                - Patents          - Publications
                - Accident Investigation
 Legal Affairs  - Licencing
                - Courts
                - Treaties
 Administration - Personnel section
                - Financial section - Auditor's Office
 Fleet          - Construction
                - Operation
                - Towers & Docks
 Publications   - Books
                - Charts
                - Miscellaneous Publications

14_INSIG.GIF shows A.B.C. insignia and some commercial logos.


3.1      The Board
------------------
Election to the Board is one of the few processes which still involves
something like democracy. Members are nominated to represent
geographical areas, but must be voted into office by existing Members
of the Board. There are usually between 100 and 120 Members; the exact
number varies as terms of office end and new Members join.

The procedure is reasonably simple; whenever the seat representing an
area falls vacant, interested parties (national governments,
educational, scientific, and commercial groups) are asked to suggest
replacements. Usually there is a list of four to six possible
candidates, who will be invited to stand for election. Some refuse;
the names of the remainder are put before the Board. Each candidate is
voted on separately; Members can vote for or against, or abstain if
they have no opinion. The votes cast against each candidate are
subtracted from the votes cast for the candidate. To be eligible, a
candidate must have a modified final score representing at least a
third of the Board's possible votes. The candidate with the highest
modified score is elected, if anyone still qualifies - sometimes there
are no survivors. The maximum term is five years, but a two-thirds
majority of the board can dismiss a Member at any time, and naturally
all Members are free to resign. Members may NOT be re-elected after
resignation unless they spend at least five years out of office.

For administrative convenience the Board is permanently based in
London, with regional offices in every member nation. This upsets
those who believe that this gives the Board a pro-British bias, but a
fixed base is simply less trouble than rotation between several sites.
In any case the Board's job is administration, not pandering to public
sentiment. Realistically, an organisation that regulates trade and
transport might as well be based in one of the strongest trading
nations. An artist's sketch of the Thames, with the A.B.C.'s Whitehall
mooring tower behind the old Houses of Parliament, is shown in
21_ABCHQ.GIF, while its location is shown on the map 19_LONDN.GIF

Members of the Board do not receive a salary, but are paid expenses
and receive a number of "perks", such as use of Board 'digs and
priority over all other vessels. Members are expected to serve on
various committees, whose responsibilities are described below. There
are six to ten Members on each committee; documents emanating from the
committees are usually signed by the Chairman and two deputies.


3.2      Committees
-------------------
Traffic committee
2000 AD Chairman Lazareff, deputies McKeough, Goldblatt
This key committee is responsible for the safe operation of traffic
and all it implies. It is responsible for the allocation of Lanes and
Levels. Traffic control is handled by ground controllers, based near
some District and all Main Lights, and by Mark Boats. Vessels of the
Fleet are often assigned to patrol the busier lanes, or set to watch
areas with a poor accident record, and act as traffic police. The main
rules governing routing and levels were agreed by the 1949 London
Conference, which established the A.B.C.; for obvious reasons they are
usually known as the Conference Rules

See the "magazine" accompanying With The Night Mail for activities of
the Traffic Committee.

Lights committee
2000 AD Chairman Catterthun, deputies St. Just, Van Hedder
A technical committee responsible for the operation of all classes of
Light. Their installation, and to a large part their operation, is
carried out by the engineering department. Local and Guiding Lights
are almost always automatic, powered by local power sources or radium
batteries, while District and Main Lights are based on a variation of
the Fleury turbine system and need constant attention. These
installations are often combined with ground control stations,
meteorological offices, G.C. transmitters, and other facilities. The
committee decides what types of Light will be used at a given station,
and ensures that the choices are suitably publicised.

See With The Night Mail and As Easy As A.B.C. for the locations and
details of Lights. See the following .GIF files for graphics:
04_BRITN.GIF  Map of Britain showing Lights from With The Night Mail
05_LIGHT.GIF  A Main Light and associated buildings
19_LONDN.GIF  Map of the London area showing the Lights mentioned in
              As Easy As A.B.C. and With The Night Mail

Scientific Committee
2000 AD - members not known
This committee oversees the diverse scientific projects run by the
Board, or by civilian organisations with Board funding or guidance.
Their most important areas of responsibility are meteorology, and of
course the preparation of daily weather forcasts, and continual
preparation and updating of maps and charts by the survey
organisation. Research is naturally very important; the A.B.C has its
own departments for aeronautics and high-altitude medicine, and
encourages or funds university studies and commercial work in many
other fields.

The scientific committee sets most of the standards used in aviation;
officially approved frequencies and flare colours, propeller power
ratings, and so forth. These are regularly published and amended. One
long-term goal in this process is conversion to metric units, which
would greatly simplify most work. In 2000 AD this process has just
begun.

The A.B.C. runs an international patent system. A.B.C. patents are
recognised by all member nations, and operation of the system
naturally gives the A.B.C. early warning of any interesting or
threatening discovery.

A final responsibility of this committee is accident investigation;
while 'dig accidents are usually survivable, there are often important
lessons to be learned from a wreck. A.B.C. accident investigators
often work closely with insurance organisations, but (officially)
great care is taken to ensure that there is no commercial bias. In
practice Lloyds and the A.B.C. are on very good terms, which may
occasionally lead to a conflict of interests; see section 4.3 for
details.

The advertisements in With The Night Mail mention several A.B.C.
scientific publications and A.B.C.-approved devices.

Legal Affairs Committee
2000 AD - members not known
This committee superintends the A.B.C.'s traffic courts; under
exceptional circumstances it will over-rule an unfair decision, but it
has no obligation to do so. It is also responsible for the licensing
of 'dig drivers and other personnel, and for granting certificates of
airworthiness, both essential if a craft is to be insured. Note that
an unlicenced driver may legally fly an uncertified 'dig without
insurance; everyone involved risks liability and enormous expenses if
there is an accident, but a few idiots do it every year.

This committee also oversees most of the international treaties to
which the A.B.C. and its member states are signatory. These include
postal and customs pacts and the 1949 Conference agreements.

Decisions of the traffic courts are mentioned in With The Night Mail.

Administration Committee
2000 AD - members not known
This committee supervises the day-to-day operation of the Board. It is
responsible for recruitment and salaries, and for purchasing of all
materials the Board needs, from pencils to 'digs. It also audits the
financial expenses of all other departments.

Fleet Committee
2000 AD - members not known
As an airborne organisation the A.B.C. needs a considerable number of
'digs; more than a hundred Mark-boats, several hundred fast patrol
boats (which, assembled, constitute the Fleet seen in As Easy As
A.B.C.), and hundreds of other craft, from small cargo carriers to
gigantic research vessels; in 2000 AD there are even a few 'planes!
Details of some of these craft can be found in section 5. The Fleet
committee is responsible for the day-to-day management of these 'digs,
their deployment, and their construction.

It is generally assumed that the Fleet can cope with any military
problem that is likely to arise, but intervention by such a vast force
may not always be the best answer to every difficulty. It seems likely
that the A.B.C. has an intelligence arm, possibly run by the Fleet
Committee, but this has never been confirmed.

The A.B.C. currently has no ground or naval forces. There are skeleton
plans for such forces if they are ever needed, but putting them
together in a hurry would be an organisational nightmare.

A Mark Boat is seen in action in With The Night Mail. Most of As Easy
As A.B.C. is concerned with the actions of the Fleet in 2065 AD. The
following graphics files show vessels of the Fleet:
08_MARK.GIF     A Mark-boat showing its beacon.
15_PIROL.GIF    The Victor Pirolo in flight
16_VPLAN.GIF    Features of the 'Victor Pirolo'
17_CHI.GIF      The A.B.C. Fleet in action, from ground zero.

Publications Committee
2000 AD - members not known
This committee is responsible for the A.B.C.'s substantial publishing
output, including weather forecasts, maps and charts, technical
manuals, scientific reports and papers, yearbooks, etc. While the
official language of the A.B.C. is English, these documents are
translated into the languages of all member nations.

Membership of this committee is usually seen as a boring chore, but
this service is as vital as any other part of the Board's operation.
The A.B.C. is currently the world's largest consumer of wood pulp and
printing ink, a fact that frequently leads to jokes that A.B.C. 'digs
are hot air balloons!

A.B.C. publications are mentioned in the advertisements accompanying
With The Night Mail.

There is a good deal of overlap between the functions of these
committees, and Members often serve on several committees that involve
their interests. For instance, Victor Pirolo chairs the Scientific
Committee in 2065 AD, takes an active role in aeronautical and medical
science, and has a hand in vetting many scientific publication. He is
also involved in the Fleet Committee, since his designs are the basis
for most recent A.B.C. 'digs, and takes part in any decision affecting
his native Italy. He was co-opted onto an ad-hoc committee sent to
investigate the Illinois incident.

While the A.B.C. wields enormous influence in the air, it has no
interest in activities on the ground unless they seem likely to
disrupt transportation. Unfortunately no-one can be quite sure what
will cause problems. Any civil disorder is seen as a sign of danger;
crowds and invasion of privacy the cue for a major investigation.
Pirolo's interest in the falling birthrate may just be scientific
interest, or may represent official A.B.C. policy - he will probably
get A.B.C. backing for any experiments he undertakes.


3.3      Officers & Men
-----------------------
So far this section has concentrated on the highest echelons of the
A.B.C., but of course the Board employs many thousands of officers and
men. The table of organisation, ranks, and salaries are as follows:

 -------------------- Board --------------------------
 Fleet                  Ground Operations                  Salary P.A.
 -----                  -----------------                  -----------
 Admiral                  ----- Controller-General -----    #4000
 Captain *                ----- Controller (Main) ------    #3000
 Commander *              ---- Controller (District) ---    #2500
 Lieutenant             Lieutenant          Chief Engineer  #2000
 Second Lieutenant      Second Lieutenant         Engineer  #1500
 Leading Airman         Leading Hand                Fitter  #1000
 Able Airman            Trained Hand          Trained Hand  #800
 Airman                 Hand                          Hand  #600

* Captains are usually assigned to Mark Boats, Commanders to patrol
  'digs.

Fleet ranks resemble old Naval practices, and should be obvious in
context. Groundside ranks may be harder to understand. Controllers,
who actually give G.C. directions to 'digs, are ranked above other
groundside staff because they are held responsible for the free
movement of traffic. Below them are engineering staff and various
levels of administrator, workmen, etc. Personnel can cross between the
branches, subject to suitable qualifications; most notably, Main and
District Controllers are usually Captains or Commanders waiting to be
assigned to 'digs, most other ranks alternate tours of duty in 'digs
and on the ground. Ground installations are run like Naval shore
bases, except that there are usually at least two controllers in
command of each base, taking shifts as needed.

Recruitment procedures are much like those of a military organisation
of the twentieth century. All recruits must sign contracts for at
least five year's service, with financial penalties for withdrawal
from the contract before it expires. This works both ways - if the
A.B.C. decides that your face doesn't fit, and can't prove that you
are in breach of your conditions of service, it will pay you to
resign.

The A.B.C. employs people with a huge range of skills, and would soon
exhaust the pool of qualified personnel if it did not operate its own
training courses. These include several cadet schemes, with schools in
Coventry (England), Annapolis (America), and Simla (India), and a
university-level scheme for 'dig drivers, engineers, and ship's
surgeons (the A.B.C. will pay your tuition fees if you agree to serve
for five years after you graduate). Schools for other ranks teach
basic airmanship and craft skills. Naturally there are procedures for
promotion and demotion, disciplinary hearings, etc.

While there is theoretically no reason why women should not attain
rank in the A.B.C., in practice the organisation is almost entirely
masculine below Board level. Members of the A.B.C., who don't feel any
need to be 'democratic', will point to the "weakness" of women to
justify this state of affairs. Women generally regard the A.B.C. as
the ultimate boy's club, and react to this slander with humorous
resignation.

GAMING: THE A.B.C.
Power politics in the A.B.C. Board are probably not a particularly
useful introduction to this world. Players may eventually set
themselves the goal of becoming a Member of the Board, but this should
be made very difficult. Once on the Board, characters may discover
that the disadvantages of responsibility far outweigh the advantages
of power.

Following are a few sample careers for A.B.C. employees, with required
skills. "International", knowledge of the A.B.C.'s version of Morse
code, is available to all characters as described in RULES.TXT, all
other skills are available via the normal rules.

     A.B.C. Scientist: Scientist and/or Doctor
Accident Investigator: As A.B.C. Scientist plus Detective, Pilot
       Light operator: Mechanic
    Mark Boat Captain: Business, Pilot, Linguist, International
  Patrol Boat Captain: Business, Pilot, Military Arms, Linguist,
                       International
      Ship's Engineer: Mechanic, Scientist *
     Ship's Navigator: Pilot, Babbage Engine, Scientist, International
       Ship's Surgeon: Doctor, First Aid **
      Gunnery Officer: Military Arms, Marksman, Mechanic
           Controller: Business, Linguist, International

  * Also ground-based engineers serving Lights etc.
 ** Surgeons are carried on Mark Boats and some of the larger patrol
    'digs, but most A.B.C. 'digs just carry one or two airmen with
    First Aid training. Surgeons are usually Lieutenants, or
    Commanders on the largest vessels.

Campaigns with an A.B.C. service background run into the problem of
military discipline. Someone with a duty station aboard (for example)
a Mark Boat probably won't have much free time for adventures. The
best opportunities are in the tangential activities of the Board;
intelligence, accident investigation, scientific work, and other
occupations which allow characters to move relatively freely. The
examples that follow should suggest some interesting possibilities; a
campaign date of 2000 AD is assumed:

* For the crew of a patrol 'dig: Everyone is afraid of disease, with
  good reason. A lunger is found drifting, with everyone aboard it
  dead, apparently victims of violent fits caused by some new and
  extremely virulent nastiness. How did it get aboard, can the 'dig be
  decontaminated, is there any chance that it's spreading elsewhere,
  and why are there little red spots all over the captain's arms....
  09_LUNGR.GIF shows a lunger in flight.

* For an A.B.C. engineering team: Someone is stealing the radium
  batteries from Local and Guiding Lights in the area you cover. Why?

* For Fleet intelligence agents: Several 'digs have gone missing over
  Turkey, a nation which hasn't yet joined the A.B.C. The Sultan
  denies any knowledge of their whereabouts, and seems to be telling
  the truth, but the Byzantine complexity of his government could hide
  many secrets.

* For accident investigators and/or salvage engineers: A Planet Liner
  on a sightseeing tour has crashed on the lower slopes of Everest.
  The crew were evacuated safely, and there were no serious
  casualties, but there seems to be something suspicious about the
  accident; the Captain claims that he ordered a course change, the
  First Officer denies the order was given. Both seem to be hiding
  something. What really happened, and do the strange tracks around
  the wreck have anything to do with it...?
  07_LINER.GIF shows a Planet liner in flight.

* For Board Members: Crete has just joined the A.B.C., but seems to be
  dragging its heels about nominating representatives to the Board.
  Someone must visit a few Cretan politicians and academics, and
  persuade them to get their acts together... This adventure should
  emphasise role-playing and power politics, not violence.

* For the crew of an isolated District Light: Two hands who left the
  station last night have failed to return, and the local police seem
  to be going out of their way to be awkward. And what was that
  howling you heard last night...?


3.4       Alternate A.B.C.s
---------------------------
While this worldbook assumes that the A.B.C. is essentially
benevolent, there is no reason why this need necessarily be the truth.
All that we know of the A.B.C. is contained in two stories, which say
very little about the details of day-to-day life.

The most obvious variant of this idea assumes that the A.B.C. is more
or less as described in this worldbook, but is wholly a tool of big
business and capitalism. The A.B.C. supports trade, because that helps
big business, but it is trade driven by ruthless exploitation. The
"Serviles" are workers, a large disenfranchised underclass deprived of
all political representation and power. Internal evidence in the
stories suggests otherwise, but readers should feel free to draw their
own conclusions; bear in mind that the stories are written from a
privileged viewpoint, that of official A.B.C. reporters, and might
easily represent A.B.C. propaganda rather than accurate reportage.
This idea does nicely explain why the A.B.C. is "all that remains to
the planet of that odd old word authority"; anyone who disagrees with
the A.B.C. receives the Chicago treatment, or worse, and no effective
opposition survives. The Board is about as democratic as the
Politburo; Members are "nominated" by the interests they represent,
undergo a long period of vetting and political indoctrination to
ensure that there is no risk of them acting against the interests of
their peers, and never rock the boat. The real story of the downfall
of "The People" is ruthlessly suppressed, because government wasn't
overthrown; it was sold to the highest bidder!

Perhaps the A.B.C. is the tool of a racist Anglo-American Imperialist
state. We see nothing of India, Africa, or the Far East; what if they
are ruthlessly exploited, generating the wealth that allows Europe and
America to live in luxury, or treated "firmly but fairly" by rulers
who will never allow them independence. Again internal evidence would
appear to suggest otherwise, but there is nothing that actually makes
the idea impossible. Michael Moorcock's novel "The Warlord Of The Air"
is set against a similar background, which also derives somewhat from
H.G.Wells "Things To Come", and is strongly recommended to anyone
interested in a role-playing campaign of this type.

For a darker campaign, the A.B.C. could be the enforcement arm of a
ruthless power hierarchy; democracy fell at the hands of bureaucrats,
big business, the military-industrial complex, and organised crime.
The Standard 'Dig company has as much political leverage as (for
example) Standard Oil in Batista's Cuba. Here the A.B.C. will be less
like police, more like stormtroopers. Obviously this approach rules
out much of what is said about the A.B.C. in Kipling's stories, but
may appeal to anyone who is unhappy with the Libertarian theme that
Kipling seems to have favoured.

Unfortunately it isn't possible to produce variant worldbooks for
these themes, and anyone planning to use them for a role playing
campaign will need to do a good deal of work. On the whole, the author
would sooner be in Utopia...



4.0      Other Organisations
============================
While the A.B.C. does its duty as the last vestige of "authority",
many other organisations are also active in this world.


4.1      National Governments
-----------------------------
Governments still exist, although nearly all the trappings of
authority have gone in most nations. What remains are streamlined
civil service organisations set up to serve the public and cause a
minimum of inconvenience. Details of British organisations follow;
they are reasonably typical.

In 2000 AD Britain is nominally ruled by its King, Albert II, but his
role is entirely ceremonial. The King is a keen botanist and artist,
rarely appears in public (and wouldn't be recognised if he did), and
would recoil in horror at any suggestion that he tell anyone else what
to do or think. He is supposed to approve all changes in British law,
but has steadfastly failed to authorise any new laws since 1982. He is
willing to approve the removal of laws from the statute book. [His son
will refuse to accept the throne in 2047, and the monarchy will then
be dissolved].

The remaining governmental organisations include a tiny but formidably
competent police force [discussed in more detail in the adventure,
ADVENT.TXT], backed by a few courts and prisons, a public works
department which exists primarily to award contracts for road
construction and slum clearance, and vestigial armed forces. The
latter exist mainly to absorb the energies of the few people who still
like the "glamour" of uniform. Their duties are almost entirely
ceremonial, designed to keep them out of mischief; officers are mostly
rich, and expected to contribute to the welfare of their men, the men
are simply earning a living in a way that suits relatively dull
personalities and gives them a minimum of hard work. Occasionally they
are called out to give aid in a civil emergency, such as a flood, but
this is very rare. Anyone with real talent will find a more
challenging niche in industry or the A.B.C. Pay is roughly on A.B.C.
scales.


4.2      Utilities
------------------
Quasi-public organisations (commercial organisations that operate as
public utilities) include the Electric Light Company Ltd. (well known
for its sponsorship of London's premier orchestra), The General and
Municipal Sewerage Consortium, and most schools and hospitals. There
is no state-controlled education, but schools are run by charities or
as corporations, in which the parents of fee-paying pupils are
share-holders. Most also offer scholarships. Hospitals offer a similar
choice of fee-paying or charity beds; treatment is essentially the
same in either case, since public wards have long been abolished, but
private patients get prettier nurses. Most hospitals now run their own
'digs, such as accident wards and lungers.
09_LUNGR.GIF shows a medical 'dig over the Alps.

The G.P.O. is Britain's post office. Once a government monopoly, it is
now a private company. The King is believed to be the largest
shareholder.

Current rates for letters weighing up to 4oz are 3d within Great
Britain (including Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and outlying islands), 4d
elsewhere in Europe, and 6d anywhere else in the world. Theoretically
a transatlantic postal packet filled to capacity would earn less than
a thousand pounds per flight at these rates, but most letters weigh
less than four ounces, and heavier packets are often insured and thus
generate more revenue. In practice the G.P.O. expects to net around
£2300 per flight. G.P.O. rates are comparable with those of other
A.B.C. members, but countries using the metric system generally set
their first weight limit at 100g, not 4oz (112g). American rates are
similar at 5 cents for internal mail, 7 cents to Canada, Alaska, and
Central and South America, and 10 cents elsewhere. G.P.O. operations
are described in some detail in With The Night Mail. Postal packet
crew are paid at A.B.C. rates.

The following graphics files show G.P.O. Postal packet 162, which is a
typical postal 'dig:
01_BERTH.GIF    Postal packet 162 at its moorings
02_FLITE.GIF    162 in flight over London
03_PLAN.GIF     Features of Postal Packet 162

The G.P.O. also operates most of Britain's public telephone and
telegraph systems. In 2000 AD telephone calls are comparatively
expensive, at 2d a minute for local calls, 6d a minute overseas in
Europe, 2s a minute to America. Telephones are moderately common, but
are not found in every home. Local calls are dialled, and switched
mechanically, but long-distance calls go via an operator.
Transatlantic calls are transmitted by cable (good sound quality but
often long delays before a line is available) or wireless (poor sound,
much faster, but little privacy).

This situation is essentially unchanged in 2065 AD; while G.C. systems
can now transmit voice at all ranges, and audio quality is much
better, there are still only a few frequencies in common use. Any
schoolboy can listen in to the most intimate message. Most people
still prefer to use the cables.

Telegraph messages cost 1d a word in Britain, 2d in Europe, 3d
elsewhere in the world. They are usually delivered within an hour.

Fax machines exist (they were first invented in the 19th century), but
are extremely rare; in Britain in 2000 AD there are less than a
hundred machines, mostly in the offices of newspapers, police forces,
and the A.B.C. The document must be clipped to a rotating drum and
scanned by an optical sensor. The receiving drum uses paper treated
with a special chemical which turns purple in response to an electric
current. It takes approximately three minutes to transmit a page of
text, five to ten minutes for a full-page photograph. Fax lines are
operator connected, and transmissions are charged at telephone rates.
[By 2065 the number of fax machines falls, as newspapers and crime
decline.]

Finally, it should be mentioned that the G.P.O. now owns the only
working railway in central London; a small-gauge line linking Highgate
and sorting offices in the city centre. The trains are unmanned, run
by remote control. The line runs in tunnels deep below the streets,
and is virtually unknown to the outside world.


4.3      Business
-----------------
In a world driven by trade there are naturally many important
companies and corporations, often of multinational or global scope.

The largest multinational organisation in terms of annual turnover is
Lloyds of London, the world's premier insurance company. Technically
Lloyds is a group of syndicates, each carrying its own policies, but
outsiders rarely understand the system. Lloyds will insure anything,
although others usually act as its agents, but is most famous for its
coverage of 'digs, submersibles, and other transportation. Typical
fees in 2000 AD are based on construction costs and other relevant
factors:

 Vehicle   Cost Per Annum    Notes
   'Digs   0.5-2.0%          Rate depends on safety record etc.
   'Bats   3.0-6.0%          Rate mainly based on speed
 'Planes   8.0-12.0%         Rate mainly based on usage
    Cars   3.0-5.0%          And other ground vehicles

The G.P.O. and A.B.C., both with a superb safety record, carry their
own risk and do not use outside insurers. Many tramp 'digs are
uninsured, their owners trusting to luck and their savings. This is
not illegal, but is a recipe for bankruptcy if anything goes wrong.
Most reputable officers will not serve on an uninsured 'dig.

Commercial 'plane owners are usually charged at the lower rate,
sportsmen at middle and higher rates. Accident record is also
important. High insurance costs are one of the reasons why the 'plane
is slowly being driven out of commercial use. Some planes, most
notably those built for record attempts, bear such high insurance
premiums that most owners prefer to carry their own risk.

There is a close working relationship - some critics feel that it is
much too close - between the A.B.C. and Lloyds. Lloyds will only
insure 'digs with full A.B.C. certification and A.B.C.- qualified
crews. The A.B.C. tends to be slightly more easygoing with 'digs that
are insured by Lloyds or a subsidiary, on the assumption that they are
being operated to correct safety standards. Many Lloyds employees are
former A.B.C. officers and men, and several Members of the A.B.C.
Board have been "Names" at Lloyds, shareholders in one or another of
the insurance syndicates within the Lloyds organisation. Additionally
Lloyds often works closely with the A.B.C., and particularly with
A.B.C. accident investigators, and also employs investigators of its
own who are paid at A.B.C. rates.

Many companies are involved in 'dig construction. One of the foremost
is the Commercial Minerals Company (C.M.C.), the premier manufacturer
of synthetic gemstone materials. They are mainly sold as bearings in
2000 AD; by 2065 much more ambitious uses will be found - see sections
5 and 6 for details.
12_CMC.GIF is an advertisement for C.M.C. bearings.

Hibernian Turbines & Telegraphy (H.T. & T.) is a Scottish engineering
firm specialising in small powerful Fleury turbines. They are best
known for a model used in G.P.O. postal packets, but most of their
output goes to marine engineering firms for submersible construction.
20_TURBN.GIF shows the design of such a turbine, discussed in more
detail below.

The Standard 'Dig Construction Company, of Millwall (London) & Buenos
Ayres, is the world's largest 'dig builder. The company has contracts
with every major line and postal service, and a near-monopoly on
A.B.C. work. It is often forgotten that this company began as the
Standard 'Plane & 'Dig Construction Company, and grew to prominence
selling D.I.Y. monoplane kits. Now its advertising regularly attacks
'plane builders...

Standard 'Dig is another company that maintains a close relationship
with the A.B.C., and several directors are former A.B.C. officers.
There are several examples of Standard 'Dig advertisements in With The
Night Mail. Most of the 'digs illustrated were built by this company.

Charles Tangye & Co. are a Cornish firm specialising in smaller
private 'digs. Three models are described in section 5.

Naturally there are many other companies selling 'digs and 'dig
accessories, and even a few that still build or offer equipment for
'planes. More examples can be found in With The Night Mail.

Finally, a few 'dig lines:

Ackroyd & Hunt run fruiters, fast cargo 'digs with ventilated hulls,
needed to keep their cargo cool. Fruiters are notorious for their
smell, and for the rich assortment of incidental wildlife (from
spiders and cockroaches to snakes, monkeys and fruit bats) that
occasionally accompanies their cargoes. At least one minor rabies
outbreak has been traced back to a tramp fruiter, but it should be
emphasised that it did not belong to this line.
14_INSIG.GIF  shows this company's insignia, along with the insignia
of the A.B.C. and some other organisations mentioned in With The Night
Mail.

Lundt & Bleamer, of Denmark, are a typical cargo line, notable for
cutting corners on spares and other supplies. They often under-bid on
contracts, but the company is acquiring a reputation for poor
airmanship and late arrivals. One of the 'digs owned by this company
is Argol, a general-purpose freighter.

Planet Lines are the premier British passenger line, renowned for
quality service, luxury, and speed. All ships in its fleet are named
after astronomical bodies; the Mercury, the Jupiter, the Asteroid. For
reasons that are probably all too apparent there isn't a liner called
the Venus.
07_LINER.GIF shows a Planet liner in flight.

Trans-Asiatic Direct run liners from Europe to China, Korea, and
Japan. While not usually as fast as Planet Lines ships, they make up
for it by offering slightly old-fashioned comfort, which makes their
long journeys more enjoyable. While Planet Lines ships might take a
zig-zag route and stop at eight or ten ports on such a long trip,
T.A.D. liners use direct great-circle routes, and easily make up the
time lost by their inferior speed. T.A.D. liners are known familiarly
as "Tad-boats".

Naturally there are many other types of 'dig. By far the most typical
are the many thousands of independently-owned tramps, which carry the
bulk of cargo. Some are specialised, carrying refrigerated cargo (such
as beef) to hungry markets, while others carry oil, minerals, ore, and
timber. Two are illustrated:
 06_TRAMP.GIF shows a tramp 'dig, the Halma, which was encountered
              by Postal Packet 162.
   10_SUB.GIF shows a submersible loading oil from a similar 'dig.

It is still cheaper to send heavy goods by sea than by air. Merchant
carriers (including submersibles) pay wages which are comparable with
A.B.C. salaries.



5.0      Aviation
=================
This section mainly deals with the systems and operation of 'digs.
Latter parts cover bat-boats and 'planes, but these vehicles are far
from the mainstream of aviation.

Much of what follows is extracted and condensed, with permission, from
Rimington's "Pitfalls In The Air" (1998 edition), which uses metric
units of length, volume, and weight, but prefers Imperial units for
speed and power. This is common in 'dig design, since the metric
system is particularly suitable for the calculation of these aspects
of 'dig performance.

The main components of a 'dig are the tanks (sometimes called gas
bags), engines and other engineering components, and the controls and
control surfaces. All are usually covered by a streamlined outer
protective hull, containing all components and the crew compartments
and holds. "Gondolas", once a common feature of 'digs, are now only
found on soft-hulled 'digs, and on the oldest and smallest rigid
models. Most of these components can be summarised very simply,
although the science of Fleury's Ray and Gas requires some special
explanation.

All 'digs fly by a process called displacement. The gas inside the
tanks is less dense than the surrounding air, and so tends to rise. If
the tanks are large enough, and the weight of the 'dig (including the
gas in its tanks) is less than the weight of the air displaced, the
'dig will fly. The essential art of airmanship is to keep the weight
of the 'dig very close to the weight displaced, so that changes in
altitude are controllable. Fortunately Fleury's Gas is the ideal
substance for such precise control; it is readily converted to a dense
liquid, and happy to revert to its gaseous state if allowed to do so.
To make the 'dig rise we let the gas expand to its lightest form; to
make it fall we shunt out some of the lightest gas, replacing it with
comparatively dense gas which has just changed from the liquid form.
In practice the gas inside a 'dig is in a continual state of flux -
evaporating, circulating through the tanks, expanding down pipes and
through the turbines, then (under the influence of Fleury's Ray)
returning to a liquid which is stored or allowed to circulate again.

The idea that "Fleury's Gas can lift anything" is unfortunately
mistaken. At its best the gas can lift roughly 1.1 kilograms per cubic
metre; the weight of the air it displaces, less the weight of the gas
and its container. In practice the amount is often considerably less.
The largest 'dig built was the huge Leviathan test-rig, capable of
lifting 55,000 tons. She was composed of four cylindrical gas-tanks,
each 200 metres (650 ft) wide and nearly 500 metres (1625 ft) long,
had no outer hull apart from layers of netting, contained no power
plant, and leaked nearly 200 tons of Fleury's Gas on the only occasion
she flew!

Most large 'digs need a crew of at least three; an engineer, a 'dig
driver, and a watch officer to superintend the Ray. In practice most
have more - while all the flight controls of a 'dig can be linked to
the "frame", it is usually easier to divide their operation between
two or three men. Only the tiniest 'digs, which use comparatively
feeble rays and tiny turbines, can fly without such safeguards. Board
regulations require a relief officer on the bridge of any overseas
flight, and on all commercial passenger 'digs regardless of route.

GAMING: 'DIGS
This section includes rules for 'dig, 'plane, and 'bat construction; a
calculator with a percentage key helps considerably in the use of
these rules. Several sample vehicles are provided, and should be ample
for anyone who doesn't want to get involved in design complexities.
Combat rules mainly cover 'digs, but easily cope with 'planes. There
are also brief details of Lights and aeronautical accessories.

It should be emphasised that most of the available information on
real-world dirigibles is sketchy, and includes some VERY suspect data.
It is very difficult to use this information to extrapolate
performance data for Kipling's 'digs. A spreadsheet file AIRSHIPS.WK1
with real-world airship data accompanies this collection. Please note
that "Estimated" loads etc. in this file may be out by several hundred
percent. Also note that sources rarely distinguish between total
weight, lifting power, and payload; the distinction is made where
known. Data on small airships is particularly suspect, since most are
very early designs, soft-skinned "blimps", or both.

For gaming purposes the dirigible construction rules are designed to
produce 'digs that are like those described by Kipling, in preference
to adhering to the strict laws of aerodynamics. I've also assumed that
this world has learned much more about 'digs than we have, and found
ways to get the last possible ounce of lift out of any gas. Even so,
postal packet 162 should barely be able to fly. I don't even want to
think about the "steel-hulled ninety footer" encountered in With The
Night Mail!

In order to save the author's sanity metric units of weight, length,
and volume are used throughout. They are MUCH easier to work with;
also, a cubic metre of air happens to weigh a little over a kilogram,
which simplifies many calculations enormously. Power is measured in
horsepower (about .75 Kilowatt), speed in miles per hour (multiply by
1.6 for KPH). The ton used is the Metric ton, 1000 Kg, which by sheer
chance is almost exactly an English ton.


5.1      Fleury's Gas And Ray
-----------------------------
Even Fleury who begat it... ...could not explain how the restless
little imp shuddering in the U-tube can, in the fractional fraction of
a second, strike the furious blast of gas into a chill greyish-green
liquid.
                                          With The Night Mail

Fleury's Gas is an extraordinary chlorinated carbon compound, with a
molecular mass of approximately 747. It was originally discovered in
liquid form as an accidental by-product of photographic dye research,
at the Pathe factory in France; Kodak is the leading American
manufacturer, Pathe and Ilford dominate the European market. It is
non-flammable and mildly toxic. Its structure has not been modelled in
detail, but the gaseous and liquid forms are assumed to be
stereo-isomers; the gas polarises light clockwise, the liquid
anti-clockwise.

When manufactured it initially appears to be a viscous oil, but after
a few minutes it begins to boil, evaporating as an extraordinarily
light gas; figures for density at normal atmospheric pressure vary,
but average around 0.1 Kg / cubic metre, on a par with hydrogen. This
is, of course, in contradiction to the laws of chemistry as previously
known, which assumed that the density of a gas was proportional to its
molecular weight. Soon after the initial discovery Fleury learned that
the gas was (in his words) "ridiculously volatile", vanishing even
from closed containers.

The classic experiment was conducted in July 1963. Fleury released 10g
of liquefied gas into an evacuated glass cylinder suspended beneath a
balance, and monitored its weight and pressure. The following results
were obtained:

  Time (min) 0   10   20   30   40   50   60   70   80   90   100
  Mass (g)   10  10   10   10   9.9  9.8  9.7  9.6  9.6  9.4  9.1
  Pressure   0   0.4  0.6  1.2  1.8  3.9  4.1  4.0  3.9  3.7  3.5

The missing gas had vanished completely; repeated tests have shown
that approximately 8-10% of the original amount of gas is permanently
lost for each hour that passes after an initial stable period. When
the liquid is compressed and kept at high pressure (forty atmospheres
and above) it does not become a gas, and there is no mass loss.

At first this seemed to be a useless curiosity; despite the lightness
of the gas, and its low cost compared to helium (then over #1000 per
ton), the loss rate made it useless for 'digs. Fleury noticed that
there was little mass loss in the first hour, and suggested that it
might be minimised by rapid circulation and repeated compression and
liquefaction of the gas. That would have required more power than was
produced by any 'dig of the era, and the scheme was naturally never
tried.

Fleury's second breakthrough came nearly a year later, in an
experiment which subjected samples of the gas to radium rays and high
voltages. Under these conditions (see Pathe's 1964 patent) the gas in
the discharge tube began to glow an intense violet-green.
Simultaneously beads of moisture began to condense on the walls of the
stoppered vial which had previously held the liquefied gas; seconds
later it imploded.

Within days Fleury proved that the Ray would condense very large
quantities of gas almost instantaneously, and that the pressure change
that resulted could produce much more energy than was needed to
maintain the Ray - an apparent contradiction of the laws of energy
conservation. A month later the first Fleury Gas turbine was tested;
the rest is history.

Today the essential mystery of Fleury's Gas remains unsolved, although
there are several theories. The most widely accepted is the most
bizarre; Worlsman suggests that under low pressure the complex
molecules somehow "fold" part of their structure into a space of four
(or possibly five or more) dimensions. Random molecular motion in this
space is magnified, and the portion of the molecule that remains in
our continuum is "dragged along" by the extra-dimensional component,
so that it expands to a much greater extent than is normal for a gas
in our universe. Energy is gained from the extra-dimensional space as
the gas expands.

Fleury's Ray ionises a bond in the molecule, causing it to assume an
altered form (possibly a stereo-isomer, although the polarisation
effect may be coincidental) which does not extend outside normal
space; in consequence it returns to the dense liquid form, fully in
our space. If it remains compressed the gas cannot revert to the
extra-dimensional form; at lower pressures the molecules eventually
shed ionisation energy and revert to the extra-dimensional form.
Eventually, if left unchecked, they fall entirely into
extra-dimensional space and disappear from our own continuum.

In support of this theory, Worlsman has pointed out that carbon
dioxide will rapidly diffuse through thin rubber INTO a container of
Fleury's Gas, acting as though the container were evacuated. Other
gases show similar behaviour. Luckily 'dig tanks keep air out, as well
as keeping Fleury's Gas in, since any air that leaked in would rapidly
weigh down the 'dig. Fortunately all 'digs have long used self-sealing
synthetic rubber tanks which are capable of "healing" small cuts and
tears. The A.B.C. standard requires that a rip up to an inch wide must
close within five seconds, and that puncture wounds under 1/4 inch
must seal within a second. Anyone who has flown too low over a grouse
moor in the season will appreciate this requirement!

Lee suggests that the hypothetical extra-dimensional space must be
much smaller than our own universe, while Stross maintains that the
area of this space "adjacent" to our planet is losing energy and must
now be polluted by several thousand tons of lost gas, the wastage from
our 'digs. The implications for any lifeforms in this (conjectured)
space are unknown.

'Dig and power plant designs all use systems which ensure rapidly
flowing gas exchange, with internal fans inside the tanks keeping the
gas mobile. Usually a complete cycle from evaporation to condensation
takes ten to fifteen minutes, but of course this is a statistical
average; since molecular movements are random, a small proportion
inevitably stays out of the Ray and in gaseous form long enough to
"fall out" of three-dimensional space forever. A modern 'dig in good
repair can expect to lose approximately 1% of circulating gas in 24
hours, much less in dock with most of the lift shunted out and the
liquid stored at high pressure. Ground-based and submersible power
plants use high-pressure designs which restrict the gas to relatively
narrow tubes, not the gigantic tanks of 'digs, and ensure that almost
all the gas is recirculated before it can escape; losses are
negligible.

Currently Fleury's Gas costs £340 a ton; in a full-sized 'dig under
normal conditions one kilogram of the gas occupies just over ten cubic
metres, and lifts approximately ten times its own weight, after
subtracting the weight of the gas itself. Design criteria are
described in more detail below.

It should be pointed out that Fleury's Ray is extremely dangerous;
exposure without protective glasses can lead to deterioration of the
optic nerves and eventual blindness. Unfortunately most Rays must be
operated by engineers; only the smallest turbines and the relatively
tiny Rays in lift shunts can be trusted to work without supervision.
Ray operation is a skilled but extremely boring job, and most
operators tend to compensate by drinking, or other rowdy behaviour,
when off duty. Dockside bars know that anyone wearing green glasses is
probably going to give them trouble.

The behaviour of Fleury's Gas in a 'digs turbines is charted and
summarised in 20_TURBN.GIF

GAMING: FLEURY'S GAS
The explanation you have just read is designed to make the best of a
very confusing chemical - if you don't like it, you don't have to use
it, just substitute helium and some other form of nuclear engine.

The science of Fleury's Gas can lead to some interesting adventure
ideas. For example:

* Doctor Strabismus of Utrecht is trying to build models of the
  molecule. Yesterday he assembled his latest creation, which somehow
  twisted in his hands and vanished. If he is telling the truth, is it
  possible to use this technique to probe multi-dimensional space -
  and is there any way of getting back if you go there?

* Recently several Ray operators have complained of skin blemishes,
  now diagnosed as cancers. This has never happened before; has
  Fleury's Ray suddenly become more deadly, or is there another
  explanation?

* For a 2065 AD campaign: Victor Pirolo believes that he has finally
  perfected an automatic Ray operator which can cope with the largest
  power plants. Naturally someone needs to test it...

* Five hundred miles out over the Atlantic, and your Ray operator has
  just gone berserk with a crow bar. The Ray is wrecked, and for good
  measure he's ripped out part of the G.C. aerial. Now the Gas is
  rapidly expanding, the shunts can't keep up with it, and you can't
  call for help. What are you going to do...


5.2       Controls And Operation
--------------------------------
Under most circumstances a 'dig is operated much like a ship, but the
Captain normally takes the wheel. Orders are relayed to the engineers,
who operate the turbines, shunts, and tanks. In fine weather these
orders may be little more than an occasional adjustment of lift, or
shifting of gas from one tank to another. When weather deteriorates
the tempo of orders rises, and under exceptionally poor conditions it
may be necessary to resort to use of the "frame". Here's a vivid
description, from a recent issue of "The Journal Of The Aerial Board
Of Control":

"Now under Tim's left toe lies the port-engine Accelerator; under his
left heel the Reverse, and so with the other foot. The lift-shunt
stops stand out on the rim of the steering-wheel where the fingers of
his left hand can play on them. At his right hand is the mid-ships
engine lever ready to be thrown into gear at a moment's notice."
                                                With The Night Mail

It's necessary to stand in the frame to use it; reclining versions
have been tried, but most 'dig designs aren't suited to a seated
driver. The operator is strapped in, and literally treats the 'dig as
an extension of his own body, controlling it while monitoring as many
as ten or fifteen instruments. After a storm he is often heavily
bruised and near to exhaustion.

Instruments carried in most large 'digs include turbine pressure
repeaters, a pressure altimeter, air speed gauge, a sextant, a
chronometer, a compass, a recording dip-dial to track altitude, and a
General Communicator. A common accessory is a clockwork moving map,
which in its most refined form is mechanically linked to the air speed
gauge, compass, and chronometers. It is less accurate than a human
navigator, but better than nothing. Simple versions of this device are
very popular with owners of small 'digs and planes, which often lack
room for a navigator.

The largest 'digs carry radio navigation aids, which allow the
wireless officer to take bearings on G.C. transmitters. This
technology is still in its infancy, and much less accurate than the
use of Lights and the stars.

Simple 'digs use far fewer controls; for example, a tiny Tangye 'dig
is flown entirely from the wheel, and the only controls are the
throttle, stops for the triple gas bags, the wheel itself, and some
meters to monitor the Ray and turbine.

A time traveller from the nineteenth century or the World War would
recognise 'digs, and would certainly realise the purpose of most of
the controls, but might be surprised to notice that the stabilisers
are not used for steering or attitude control. For many years this has
been the province of Magniac's Rudder, the indispensable aid to
flight.

Early attempts to control 'digs by forward rudders ran into severe
turbulence problems; as soon as the air flow was disturbed, chaotic
vortices of air would build up and rapidly cause a complete loss of
control. Part of this problem was solved when builders began to
construct 'digs without gondolas and other external components, and
thus smoothed air flow over the hull. Magniac's design uses the rudder
to modify air flow (and thus air pressure) very close to the hull, in
a process known as boundary layer control. The component plates act as
aerofoils, not rudders, and air flow near the hull remains laminar
(smooth). The turning effect is a natural result of the pressure
changes, utilising the Venturi effect which is also used in 'plane
wings; the hull moves into the stream with low pressure, away from the
stream with high pressure, and thus turns. Most large 'digs use
hydraulic systems or electric motors to raise or lower their plates; a
few really small 'digs use cables and pulleys, but this is rare.

A fast 'dig with a good driver can use this effect to add extra lift,
as though the 'dig were a 'plane. By keeping the lift a little low and
running on the plates very precise altitude control is easy, without
continual adjustments of buoyancy. Anyone who has ever travelled
aboard a submersible will recognise this technique, known to mariners
as "running on the planes".

In an emergency the plates can be raised to generate turbulent
vortices which turn the 'dig with much greater force; rapid raising
and lowering of the plate keeps the vortices small, but there is still
some loss of controllability. It is also possible to raise all plates
in a "mushroom-head", which generates an annular (tyre-shaped) vortice
ahead of the dig and rapidly brakes it. This procedure places
considerable strain on the rudder and hull and is not recommended.

Magniac's rudder is shown in graphics file 03_PLAN.GIF

GAMING: DIG OPERATION
Usually operation of a 'dig is entirely routine. If the driver is
trained there is no need to make any skill rolls. Exceptions arise in
combat, described in section 5.5 below, in bad weather, and when
attempting any particularly difficult feat of airmanship. For example:

  Activity                                            Difficulty
  Docking without wrecking 'dig                       1
  Docking without scratching paint                    2-3
  Docking at night without lights in silence          7-10
  Matching speed, course, etc. with another 'dig      3-4
  Matching speed, course, etc. with an evading 'dig   Enemy's skill
  Avoiding another 'dig in good visiblity             2-3
  Avoiding another 'dig in dense fog                  5-7
  Avoiding a 'dig that's trying to ram                Enemy's skill
  Match speed and rescue someone from a falling 'dig  6-8
  Catch wind to improve speed                         1 per 1D6 MPH

  Modifiers
  Running above 'digs rated top speed                 +1 per 5%
  (Does not apply to extra speed gained from favourable winds)
  'Dig with lightweight engine (see below)            +1
  'Dig with soft hull (see below)                     +1

Example: More Haste...
  The freighter Valhalla, rated at 100 MPH, is several hours behind
  schedule. The captain decides to use two methods to make up the time
  - he'll run all turbines at maximum power, and catch a favourable
  wind.
  Like most 'digs the Valhalla has a good power reserve, but its hull
  is only designed for use at 100 MPH. The referee decides that the
  engines can push it to 125 MPH, but this is 25% faster than the
  design speed. All control rolls will be at +5 difficulty.
  The captain hopes to catch a favourable wind, and gain another
  25 MPH (say 6D6 MPH speed improvement). Normally this would be
  difficulty 6, but the speed of the 'dig pushes it up to difficulty
  11. The captain uses his Pilot [7] skill, but on a 5 he fails. The
  referee decides that this means that the 'dig is running into
  opposing winds at 5D6 MPH; rolling the dice, this turns out to be
  22 MPH speed loss. The 'dig is now flying at a ground speed of
  103 MPH.


5.3       Design and Costs
--------------------------
'Dig components are surprisingly light; even the turbines of the
mightiest liner are largely filled with gas or a good grade of vacuum.
While it might be imagined that a metal hull is very heavy, it is very
thin; in proportion to size, most of the hull of a 'dig is very much
thinner than an egg shell. Its strength comes from strategically
placed frames, girders, and bracing wires. These factors combine to
allow modern 'digs to lift enormous loads, far greater than anything
imagined in the days of hydrogen or helium.

In a full-sized modern 'dig one kilogram of Fleury's Gas occupies just
over ten metres, and lifts approximately ten times its own weight,
after subtracting the weight of the gas itself and the internal gas
tanks (called gas bags or ballonets in the early days of aviation).
This is an over-simplification, but is accurate for all but the
smallest 'digs.

In a perfect world every 'dig would be designed to meet an exact
specification. Unfortunately this would be hideously expensive, since
even the simplest hull design needs weeks of exacting aerodynamic
calculations and wind tunnel tests. Most builders prefer to work from
a "style book" of hulls sized to fit the most common requirements.
These have already gone through the rigours of design and testing, are
known to perform well, and are comparatively cheap. The Standard 'Dig
style book is one of the most extensive, and is used by many other
builders. The table which follows shows the most popular selections
from this range, and the useful load that they can lift after the
weight of the outer hull is subtracted. "Ratio" is the ratio of length
to width; generally a 6:1 ratio is used for fast hulls, while a 10:1
ratio gives maximum lifting capability.

         Ratio 6:1        Ratio 8:1          Ratio 10:1
Width    Length   Lift    Length    Lift     Length    Lift
Metres   Metres   Tons    Metres    Tons     Metres    Tons
  5          30    0.5 *      40     0.7 *       50     0.9 *
  6          36    0.8 *      48     1.2 *       60     1.5 +
  7          42    1.3 +      56     1.8 +       70     2.4 +
  8          48    1.9        64     2.7 +       80     3.6 +
  9          54    2.7        72     3.9         90     5.2 +
 10          60    3.8        80     5.3        100     7.1
 15          90   12.7       120    18.0        150    23.9
 20         120   30.2       160    42.7        200    56.6
 25         150   58.9       200    83.5        250   110.5
 30         180  101.8       240   144.2        300   190.9
 40         240  241.3       320   341.8        400   452.4
 50         300  471.3       400   667.7        500   883.7
 60         360  814.4       480  1153.7        600  1527.0

 * Starred hull sizes are only available with a lightweight non-rigid
   hull, of the old "blimp" type, limiting top speed to 75 MPH.
 + Hulls marked with this symbol are also available as non-rigid
   designs, adding 10% more lift but limiting top speed to 75 MPH.

If in doubt, over-specify; for example, most liners are built with
20-30% more lifting capacity than they really need.

Example: The "Halley" (1)
  Planet Lines commission a new liner, the Halley. It is to carry
  roughly 100 tons, including accommodation, passengers, and cargo.
  The line is looking for a good all-round workhorse, not a record-
  breaker; 150 MPH will be sufficient.
  The designer chooses a 30 metre x 240 metre hull with an 8:1 ratio,
  which gives 144.2 tons of lift, a generous safety margin.

Example: The "Wasp" (1)
  After an A.B.C. order is cancelled, Tangye are overstocked on
  9m x 54m soft hulls. They have a 6:1 ratio and can lift 2.97 tons.
  This isn't a particularly useful size, but one of the directors
  thinks that a cheap 10-seater short-range passenger transport, to be
  called the Tangye Wasp, might sell moderately well. The total cost
  shouldn't exceed #10,000. [Think of it as a flying mini-bus]

Approximate hull costs can be found very easily; the formula used by
the Standard 'Dig Company is typical. Multiply the lift in tons by
#2500, then modify the result as follows:

1:     Lift under 1 ton; add 20%
     Lift under 10 tons; add 10%
     Lift under 20 tons; add 5%
     Lift over 150 tons; subtract 5%
     Lift over 200 tons; subtract 10%
    Lift over 1000 tons; subtract 15%
2:     Ratio 6:1 design; add 10%
       Ratio 8:1 design; no change
      Ratio 10:1 design; subtract 10%
3:            Soft hull; subtract 25%
4:  Non-standard design; double costs

All changes are compounded. Make the change due to lift before the
change due to hull ratio, and the change due to a soft hull last of
all.

Example: The "Halley" (2)
    144.2 tons @ #2500/ton = £360,500
    1: No change for extra large or small hull
    2: No change for ratio 8:1 design
    3: Hull isn't soft
    4: Hull design is standard
      The hull costs £360,500

Example: The "Wasp" (2)
   2.97 tons @ #2500/ton = #7425
   1: Lift under 10 tons, add 10% = #8167.5
   2: Ratio 6:1 design, add 10%   = #8984.25
   3: Soft hull, subtract 25%     = #6738.2
   4: Hull design is standard
     The hull costs #6738 4s, rounded to #6739

Length to width ratio is very important in the next step, the
calculation of engine power. Calculating power to obtain an exact
speed is very difficult; most engineers prefer to make a rough
estimate then use "off-the-shelf" components and add extra power for
luck!

To make an approximation, multiply the lifting power in tons by 25 to
determine the engine size in horsepower at 50 MPH, then modify the
result as follows:

1:  Per metre diameter of hull; add 5%
2:            Ratio 6:1 design; Subtract 20%
              Ratio 8:1 design; No change
             Ratio 10:1 design; Add 10%
3:        Per MPH under 50 MPH; Subtract 1%
           Per MPH over 50 MPH; Add 2%
          Per MPH over 100 MPH; Add 2%
          Per MPH over 200 MPH; Add 2%
          Per MPH over 400 MPH; Add 2%
4:                   Soft hull; Add 10%

Again the changes are compounded; make each of the modifications for
hull design before the change for speed, and the change for a soft
hull last of all. Round up any fractions.

Example: The "Halley" (3)
   144.2 tons @ 25 HP/ton = 3,605 HP
   1: Hull width 30m: add 30 x 5% = 150%
      3,605 + 150% = 9013 HP
   2: No change for ratio 8:1 design
   3: Speed = 150: add 150-50 x 2%  = 200%
                   add 150-100 x 2% = 100%
      9,013 + 300% = 36,052 HP
   4: Hull isn't soft - no change

Example: The "Wasp" (3)
   The top speed for a soft hull is 75 MPH
   2.97 tons @ 25 HP/ton = 75 HP
   1: Hull width = 9m: Add 9 x 5% = 45%
        75 + 45% = 120 HP
   2: Ratio 6:1 design, subtract 20%.
       120 - 20% =  96 HP
   3: Speed = 75, add 75-50 x 2% = 50%
        96 + 50% = 144 HP
   4: Soft hull, add 10%
       144 + 10% = 159 HP

Four main classes of turbine are available. The table shows the
horsepower of the basic design, increments in available power (if any
are available), the cost for the basic design and for each increment,
and the weight of the engine.

Class        Base  Max   Steps  Base   Per    Weight  Service  Service
             HP    HP    HP     Cost   Step   Tons    Cost     Time
Ultra-light  50    50    N/A    #250   N/A    0.1     #45      1 day
Lightweight  100   500   50     #600   #50    0.2     #120     2 days
Standard     500   5000  500    #2100  #1,000 0.5     #350     2 days
Heavy Duty   5000  25000 1000   #17500 #3,000 1.5     #575     4 days

Weights include associated equipment such as pumps, screws, etc.

Lightweight turbines are generally found only in small private 'digs;
they omit many of the complexities of the Fleury system, most notably
the need for a Fleury Ray operator, by running at just one pre-set
speed. In consequence they are much less versatile than larger units.
On average servicing is recommended every 25000 miles. The ultra-light
design takes this idea to its logical conclusion; it is essentially a
lift shunt fitted to a turbine, with a simple flap valve to stop
liquefied gas sucking back into the vacuum chamber. This is an
inherently noisy and unreliable design, and 5000 mile services are
recommended. Both types can be serviced without rebuilding the Ray.

Medium and Heavy Duty turbines can be operated at a wide range of
speeds. Usually medium turbines are preferred, because servicing is
faster and cheaper, but heavy duty units are recommended in situations
where severe overloading is possible; any 'dig that expects to tow
other 'digs will probably have them fitted. Both types need a full
service (including rebuilding of Fleury Ray) every 200,000 miles.

It is good engineering practice to build in extra power, but it is
also a good idea to limit the number of engines in a 'dig; each extra
turbine adds extra complexities, each extra screw decreases the
efficiency of the 'dig, and small turbines are less reliable than
their massive cousins. Unfortunately very large turbines have their
own problems, primarily related to gas circulation and concentration
of weight, so the largest 'digs are generally built with several
engines spread out along the length of the hull.

Example: The "Halley" (3)
  Power required = 36,052
  The designer decides that 48,000 HP will give an ample margin for
  emergencies. An eight-turbine design (8 x 6,000 HP) is another
  safety feature; the liner will be able to maintain full speed with
  two turbines out of action.
  A 6,000 HP heavy-duty turbine costs #17,500 + #3000 = #20,500.
  Eight will cost #164,000 and weigh twelve tons.

Example: The "Wasp" (3)
  Power required = 159 HP
  The designer decides that 200 HP will give a good safety margin. He
  chooses a lightweight turbine, 200 HP, at #700.
  It weighs 0.2 tons.

Extra power can't be translated directly into a speed improvement,
since hulls are built to give their best performance at their rated
speeds. Excessive speed is always accompanied by control problems.

Once all of the above has been calculated, it should be remembered
that a good supply of Fleury's Gas is needed. The calculation is
fortunately very simple; just divide the lift of the 'dig by ten to
find the quantity of gas needed. The price is currently £340 a ton.

Other components that might be fitted to a 'dig include the controls,
accommodation, and cargo. Weights and costs vary according to design;
some examples follow:

   Item                                         Weight   Price
   Basic controls for a very small 'dig         0.05     # 150
   Full bridge including frame                  1.0      #1500
   G.C. Wireless installation                   0.02     #3 3s
   Passenger seat (weight includes passenger)   0.1      #  20
   Spartan cabin for two                        0.5      # 200
   Average cabin for two                        1.5      # 900
   Luxury stateroom for two                     2.5      #1500
   Smoking lounge                               6.5      #3500
   Baby-Grand Piano                             0.6      # 300
   Horse box (weight including horse)           2.0      # 250
   'Plane rack                                  1.5 *    # 500
   * See 'planes below; add weight of 'plane if carried.

Finally, insurance costs are usually in the range 0.5% to 2.0% of
construction cost per annum, rounded up or down at the whim of the
insurers, but a 'dig with a poor record may be charged at higher
rates.


GAMING: 'DIG DESIGN
Players may occasionally want to design a custom-built 'dig, rather
than buying one of the "off the peg" models described in section 5.4.
The costs above are guidelines, not exact figures; some yards will
charge much more and (hopefully) do a superb job, others will
underbid, but may deliver less than is paid for. Negotiating the best
deal can be a lot of fun, especially if the players are good at
haggling. You can also have some fun with players who fail to make
their wishes abundantly clear. Remember that every 'dig builder will
have his own ideas of decor ("Sir, you did specify padded walls to
minimise noise, and I'm afraid that swansdown and velvet are quite
expensive..."), reliability ("No, mate, it's not a fault, it's a
design feature..."), and performance ("So, you complain that top speed
is only a hundred and forty? Only, he says! Oy! You want to kill
yourself flying at maybe two hundred..?").

Some components (especially weapons) may be difficult or impossible
for civilians to obtain. Players may need to use a lot of ingenuity to
persuade builders to construct a 'dig which has room for unusual
features like missile launchers or machine guns, and actually finding
the equipment should be an adventure in itself. A few devices are
described in section 5.5 below.

'Digs designed by these rules always have an official speed rating for
their hull, but are often over-powered. Referees should privately
decide how well the hull was designed, and what its true maximum speed
will be with the power plant installed. Only reveal this information
when players decide to try pushing the pedal to the floor.

To calculate the BODY of a 'dig use the following data:
  Dig lift:                BODY      Modifiers:               BODY
   0-1 ton                 10         Soft hull (eg Tangye)   -5
   1-5 tons                20         Speed 100-200 MPH       +5
   5-20 tons               30         Speed above 200 MPH     +10
   20-100 tons             40         Military or A.B.C.      +10
   100-500 tons            50
   500 tons & up           60

By 2065 AD extremely strong lightweight materials (such as synthetic
diamond structural members, diamond and carbon fibre composites, etc.)
will enter routine use, and any size of engine desired can be built.
In other respects designs should remain unchanged, but with stronger
materials the BODY of 'digs improves significantly. Multiply BODY by
1.5 for all 2065 designs.

Military 'digs may be built with reinforced bows for ramming. This
adds 10% to the cost of the hull, and 10% to BODY (all areas need
extra strength), but the extra weight takes 10% of lift capability.


5.3.1     Dirigible Record Form
-------------------------------
Copy this form to record 'dig designs:

    --------------------------------------------------------------
     Forgotten Futures: The A.B.C. Files - Dirigible Record Form

         Vessel: __________________________________    BODY:______

         Length: ______ ft _______ metres

  Maximum Width: ______ ft _______ metres

          Ratio: ______

           Lift: ______ tons

  Maximum Speed: ______

        Engines: ______

           Cost: Hull     #___________

                 Engines  #___________

                 Gas      #___________

                 Other    #___________

                 Total    #___________

     Insurance:

  Notes:








    --------------------------------------------------------------


5.4       Typical 'Digs
-----------------------

       Vessel: Postal Packet 162
       Length: 240 ft (72m)
Maximum Width: 37 ft (11m)
        Ratio: 6:1
         Lift: 5.5 tons
Maximum Speed: 230 MPH
         BODY: 40
      Engines: 3 x 500 HP (1,500 HP) standard turbines
         Cost: Hull     #16,335
               Engines  # 6,300
               Gas      #   190
               Other    # 2,800 (carriage, controls, etc
               Total    #25,625
    Insurance: None, risk carried by G.P.O.
Illustrations: 01_BERTH.GIF
               02_FLITE.GIF
               03_PLAN.GIF
This is a typical modern postal packet, as described in With The Night
Mail. The most interesting features are a very fast design, and the
use of a detachable carriage (or underbody) to hold mail and sorters.
[NB: This 'dig slightly "bends" the design rules in earlier sections:
the hull is simply too small to lift the contents described without
cheating!]
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: Tramp freighter "Halma"
       Length: 485 ft (150m)
Maximum Width: 81ft (25m)
        Ratio: 6:1
         Lift: 58.9 tons (nominal)
Maximum Speed: 45 MPH
         BODY: 40
      Engines: 2 x 50 HP (old design, equivalent to a small
               lightweight turbine)
         Cost: Hull     #85,000
               Engines  # 1,200 (replacement cost, 2 x 100 HP)
               Gas      # 1,065
               Other    #   500 (Accommodation and controls)
               Total    #87,765
    Insurance: Uninsured.
 Illustration: 06_TRAMP.GIF
The Halma is an old under-powered design. Costs are for a modern 'dig
of this design, if anyone wanted to build one. When seen in With The
Night Mail she is old and poorly maintained; her true lift is less
than 25 tons, due to air leaking into the gas tanks.
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: Planet Liner "Asteroid"
       Length: 900 ft (270m)
Maximum Width: 95 ft (28.5m)
        Ratio: 10:1
         Lift: 130 tons
Maximum Speed: 160 MPH
         BODY: 55
      Engines: 8 x 6,000 HP (48,000 HP) heavy duty turbines
         Cost: Hull     #348,750
               Engines  #164,000
               Gas      #  4,420
               Other    #350,000 (luxury interior, controls, etc)
               Total    #867,170
    Insurance: 0.5% (#5,000 P/A)
 Illustration: 07_LINER.GIF
The Asteroid is a fine example of luxury design. She is over-engined
for her capacity (100 passengers, 30 crew, and 20 tons baggage/cargo),
and has touched 180 MPH in speed trials. She rescued the crew of the
tramp "Halma".
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: The "Cyclonic"
       Length: 780 ft (240m)
Maximum Width: 130 ft (40m)
        Ratio: 6:1
         Lift: 240 tons
Maximum Speed: 210 MPH
         BODY: 60
      Engines: 8 x 15,000 HP (120,000 HP) Heavy duty turbines
         Cost: Hull     #  594,000
               Engines  #  380,000
               Gas      #    8,160
               Other    #  500,000 (luxury accommodation etc.)
               Total    #1,482,160
    Insurance: 0.5% (#7000 P/A)
The Cyclonic is simply the fastest and finest liner in the air in
2000AD. She holds every possible speed record, and the most common
complaint about her service is that flights are over too quickly. She
has accommodation for 200 overnight passengers, with fifty tons of
baggage and a crew of forty. She mostly serves on the London-New York
run; her sister ships "Tornado" and "Lightning" ply the long-distance
London-India and London-China routes, and are fitted with cabins for
150 passengers, eighty tons of cargo, and sixty crew. She is often
mentioned (as in With The Night Mail) as an example of speed and
power.
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: Banks Mark Boat
       Length: 790ft (240m)
Maximum Width: 132ft (40m)
        Ratio: 6:1
         Lift: 200 tons
Maximum Speed: 150
         BODY: 65
      Engines: 4 x 25,000 HP in tandem pairs = 100,000 HP
         Cost: Hull     #  596,475
               Engines  #  310,000
               Gas      #   10,200 (includes reserve for salvage etc.)
               Other    #  145,500 (Beacons, salvage gear, etc.)
               Total    #1,062,175
    Insurance: None, risk carried by A.B.C.
 Illustration: 08_MARK.GIF
Mark Boats are grossly over-powered for their size and rated speed
because they must frequently hold position in storms, and tow other
vessels; some of the power is also used for the boat's beacon, which
is as bright as a District Light. The model illustrated is one of the
largest, equipped to dock smaller 'digs or supply them with Fleury's
Gas in flight. It stores a large reserve of gas for 'digs in
difficulty, and has internal hangers for eight patrol 'planes,
described in section 5.6 below.
Mark boats are numbered, not named, and are generally referred to by
the name of their station; thus "The Banks Mark Boat", "Barcelona Mark
Boat", "Barrier Reef Mark Boat Five", etc.
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: Lunger (hospital 'dig)
       Length: 500ft (150m) NB: Double hull - see below
Maximum Width: 50ft (15m) x 2
        Ratio: 10:1
         Lift: 45
Maximum Speed: 75
         BODY: 40 (per hull)
      Engines: 2 x 1000 HP standard turbines
         Cost: Hull     #54,000
               Engines  # 6,200
               Gas      # 1,530
               Other    #25,700 (Hospital equipment, controls, etc.)
               Total    #87,430
    Insurance: 1% (#1300 PA)
 Illustration: 09_LUNGR.GIF
Double-hulled 'digs look odd but are a good way to get maximum
stability and passenger space with a minimal increase in cost. To
calculate power, use data for a single hull and half the lift then
multiply by 3 to get the correct power. Hospital 'digs usually have
extra power reserves to maintain stability in poor conditions. This
lunger is typical of hospital designs, with accommodation for 70
patients, a medical staff of 25, and 18 crew. The example listed has
been in two minor accidents, hence the higher insurance rate.
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: Tangye XI "Family" 'Dig
               Tangye XV "Sports" 'Dig
       Length: 135 ft (40m)
Maximum Width: 16 ft (5m)
        Ratio: 8:1
        Model:          XI              XV
         Lift:          0.7 tons        0.6 tons
Maximum Speed:          50 MPH          75 MPH
         BODY:          5               5
      Engines:          1 x 50 HP       2 x 50 HP ultra-light
         Cost: Hull     #1,890          #1,890
               Engines  #  250          #  500
               Gas      #   30          #   30
               Other    #  350          #  600 (controls etc.)
               Total    #2,870          #3,720
    Insurance:          2% (#60 P/A)    5% (#200 P/A)
The Tangye XI and XV are the smallest 'digs in regular production, and
are popular with enthusiasts who can't afford anything better. The XI
seats four, including driver, in a small closed gondola below the gas
bag. Sales are primarily to country clergy, 'dig driving schools,
local delivery firms, and district nurses:
  FAMILY DIRIGIBLE. A Competent, steady man wanted for slow speed, low
  level Tangye dirigible. No night work, no sea trips. Must be member
  of the Church of England, and make himself useful in the garden.
  M.R., The Rectory, Gray's Barton, Wilts.
                                               With The Night Mail
The XV appeals more to young sportsmen. It has the highest base
insurance rate of any 'dig. It seats two, with a small amount of
luggage, because the second engine occupies more room in the gondola.
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: The "Victor Pirolo" (2065 AD)
       Length: 320 ft (99m)
Maximum Width: 55 ft (17m)
        Ratio: 6:1
         Lift: 18 tons
Maximum Speed: 350 MPH (emergency speed 400+?)
         BODY: 75
      Engines: 1 x 25,000 HP Heavy duty turbine
         Cost: Hull     # 49,500
               Engines  # 77,500
               Gas      #  1,300
               Other    #125,000 (weapons systems, controls, etc.)
               Total    #253,300
    Insurance: Risk carried by A.B.C.
Illustrations: 15_PIROL.GIF
               16_VPLAN.GIF
The Victor Pirolo is a standard A.B.C. patrol craft of its era. The
screw, turbines, and control surfaces are made of diamond/carbon fibre
composites, and colloid and other synthetics are used for the hull,
skin, etc. There is very little metal in the design. Equipment
includes siege lights and "wind pipes", versatile electrical and
communications equipment, and a range of defensive field projectors;
see Sections 5.5, 6, and As Easy As A.B.C. for details. Emergency
speed capacity is obviously well over 400 MPH, but the hull was built
to a 350 MPH specification, and has not (officially) been tested above
400. Two extra tons of Fleury's Gas are kept aboard.
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: A.B.C. Patrol 'Dig "Daedalus" (2000 AD)
       Length: 290ft (89m)
Maximum Width: 50 ft (15.4m)
        Ratio: 6:1
         Lift: 12.7 tons (1.27 tons used by ram)
Maximum Speed: 200 MPH
         BODY: 61
      Engines: 2 x 1,500 HP standard turbines in tandem
         Cost: Hull     #39,325
               Engines  # 8,200
               Gas      #   450
               Other    # 6,830 (controls, equipment, accommodation)
               Total    #54,805
    Insurance: Risk carried by A.B.C.
The Daedalus is a typical A.B.C. Fleet 'dig of 2000 AD. It is built to
ram, and carries grapnel guns (see below), pithing irons, and small
arms. It has a crew of 14. A scout 'plane (see below) can be hooked
below the hull, but is rarely carried.
This vessel is NOT described in either A.B.C. story, but is included
for use in gaming.
                     --------------------------
       Vessel: Tangye XXV "Commercial" 'dig
       Length: 324 ft (100 m)
Maximum Width: 33 ft (10m)
        Ratio: 10:1
         Lift: 7.1 tons
Maximum Speed: 125
         BODY: 35
      Engines: 1,500 HP standard turbine
         Cost: Hull     #19,800
               Engines  # 4,100
               Gas      #   245
               Other    # 1,200  (controls, G.C., accommodation)
               Total    #25,345
    Insurance: Reputable business ownership: 1%   (#300 P/A)
                      Average Private owner: 1.5% (#450 P/A)
This is a popular small 'dig used for passengers and/or a few tons of
cargo. It has a crew of four; a driver, two engineers, and a Ray
operator. It is typical of the type of smaller 'dig that might be
owned by a rich adventurer, used by a business, or allocated to an
A.B.C. scientist by the Board.
This vessel is NOT described in either A.B.C. story, but is included
for use in gaming. In most campaigns at least one adventurer will
probably own or have use of a 'dig, and this is large and fast enough
for most purposes, without being grossly powerful. The crew may be
characters or NPCs.


5.5       'Dig Combat
---------------------
"And scarcely a generation ago, we (one knows now that we are only our
fathers re-enlarged upon the earth), we, I say, ripped and rammed and
pithed to admiration."
                                                 With The Night Mail

"One knows vaguely that there is such a thing as a Fleet somewhere on
the Planet, and that, theoretically, it exists for the purposes of
what used to be known as 'war.'"
                                                 As Easy As A.B.C.

[Material in this section is abstracted, with permission, from the
Imperial War Museum's "'Digs At War 1914-1980", a history of military
aviation, by Roz Kaveney (1995)]

The history of 'dig combat is long and bloody. Fortunately it now
seems to be at an end, although one can never be entirely sure of such
things. Another famine, or another plague, might usher in the awful
spectacle of war again.

The earliest 'digs fought with machine guns and bombs, and found them
effective against ground targets and the puny 'planes of their day.
The first battle between 'dig and 'dig surprised all concerned, as
both sides realised that a 'dig is remarkably difficult to hurt with
these weapons.

In one incident late in the World War a British 'dig fired several
hundred machine-guns rounds at a German Zeppelin, which naturally
returned the compliment; all but a handful of bullets went straight
through their gas tanks without causing any permanent harm. Even
incendiary rounds did little damage, their flames almost instantly
quenched by helium, and the holes closed by self-sealing rubber. The
best results (if that is the right term) were achieved by
sharpshooters with powerful rifles, aiming at control gondolas and
external engines. Cannon able to harm a 'dig were far too heavy to be
lifted by such crude vessels.

Early experiments with ramming proved that both 'digs were likely to
come off the worse for such encounters; the bed of the North Sea is
littered with the wreckage of 'digs, often locked together in death.
Early use of grapnels was a little more successful, and led to the
evolution of the pithing iron we know today. Attacks were still mainly
a matter of luck and position; if you could get above an enemy, you
could pith or rip with relative impunity, and even use bombs if you
wanted to risk them - more than one 'dig was destroyed when an
opponent's methane tanks joined in the explosion, and sent up a
blowtorch of burning gas. There are also several accounts of bombs
plummeting straight through the hull and tanks of a 'dig without
exploding, carrying on out again to waste their spite on the ground.

By the nineteen-fifties most nations equipped military 'digs with
nerve gas bombs, weapons that later caused the death of millions. A
few keels carried rocket-propelled aerial torpedoes, given their
initial impetus by pneumatic cannon. Usually these weapons had an
accurate (to twenty or thirty feet) range of four or five miles, but
were inaccurate at any greater distance; not that any accuracy was
needed with these disgusting devices. Paradoxically 'dig versus 'dig
combat remained unchanged; nerve gas was far too dangerous to use at
close quarters, and aerial torpedoes were too inaccurate to score
against fast-moving 'digs at long range. In the last days of "The
People" X-ray projectors and radium rays were developed for
short-range combat, but were extremely cumbersome, and more commonly
used against cities. It is believed that the A.B.C. have been
successful in eliminating all remaining ray weapons - even non-members
have agreed to allow their destruction.

Today military 'digs are exclusively the province of the A.B.C., and a
few non-member states of negligible size. It is known that the Board
is removing lethal weapons from its digs, replacing them with systems
designed to stun, demoralise, or disable opponents. The armaments of
non-members are a matter of conjecture; while the Board seems to be
happy with this state of affairs, it is hoped that one of the world's
remaining "leaders" will not decide to take advantage of their
kindness and repay it with the use of murderous force.


5.5.1    'Dig Combat - Game Rules
---------------------------------
Aerial combat in this world should be extraordinarily rare, and will
certainly attract the attention of the A.B.C. 'Digs are powerful, and
can do a massive amount of damage, but tend to fall out of the sky if
they are too badly abused. This is NOT a complex dirigible battle
system for war-gamers; if that's what you want, you may prefer to use
one of the games mentioned in Appendix B of the Forgotten Futures
rules.

'Dig to 'dig combat is a contest of skills, consisting of attempts to
use the 'dig itself, or its weapons, to damage an enemy. The
overwhelming majority of 'digs in the A.B.C. world are unarmed; the
few that do carry weapons mostly belong to the A.B.C.

While complex movement systems are more the province of war games, it
may be helpful to assume that 'digs accelerate too slowly to gain
significant speed in a combat round, can turn through the following
angles (per combat round), and can shed the amount of speed shown
below:

   Hull ratio        Turn           Decelerate
   Length: Width     (degrees)      MPH/Round
    6:1              30             -40
    8:1              20             -30
   10:1              15             -20


5.5.2    Ramming
----------------
Ramming is possibly the most stupid (or bravest) thing anyone can do
in this world. The usual result is a heap of mangled wreckage, unless
the collision takes place at extremely low speed.

Ramming can only occur if the 'digs involved are on a collision
course, or the 'dig that is doing the ramming is faster than its
opponent, and both are at the same altitude. Unless complete surprise
is achieved the attacker must make several successful skill rolls,
overcoming the skill of the opponent, to achieve a collision. This
assumes, of course, that the defender wants to evade; if not,
collision is automatic.

Divide the difference in speed between the 'digs by 10, then add the
lift of the attacker, to get the attacking Effect. The defender is the
BODY of the defending 'dig. Both of these numbers will probably fall
well off the normal attack versus defence table, so divide both
(usually by 5 or 10, as explained in the rules section 1.2.1) to get
onto the table. After both numbers are in the range covered by the
table, apply the following modifiers:
      Head-on collision: +2
      Side-on collision: +1
   Overtaking collision: -1
    Attempting to evade: -4 (see below)
    OR driver bails out: -4 (see below)
        Equipped to ram: +4 (see construction rules)

Example: Tora Tora Tora Splat (1)
 Stunt-man Buckaroo Bushido has agreed to stage a collision for
 the latest cinematographic epic, "The People Strike Back", a drama of
 the last days of the old forms of government. He is going to use a
 small freighter, the "Centennial Eagle", to ram the People's Flagship
 "Democrat", a converted liner.
   The "Eagle" is a sister ship of the "Halma", with lift of 34 tons,
 BODY 40, and maximum speed of 45 MPH.
   The "Democrat" is an elderly Planet Liner, with maximum speed of
 150 MPH, lift of 130, and BODY of 55. Both 'digs are travelling at
 full speed. It will be a head-on collision at 195 MPH. The driver of
 the "Democrat" will pretend to evade but just fail to do so.
   The Effect of the freighter's attack is initially 34 + 195/10,
 which rounds up to 54. The defending BODY is 55. Dividing by 10, both
 attacking Effect and defending BODY round up to 6, with the Effect
 then modified to 8 because it is a head-on collision.
   Naturally the damage goes both ways; since this is a head-on
 collision, the "Democrat" is attacking the freighter with an Effect
 of 130 + 195/10, rounded to 150, against the freighter's BODY of 40!
 Dividing by 10 reduces this to 15 against 4, modified to 11 against 4
 because the "Democrat" is attempting to evade.

Use the damage result table as follows:
 A: Attacker and defender both damaged (25% lift lost, 25% reduction
    in maximum speed).
 B: Defender badly damaged (50% lift lost, 50% reduction in speed).
 C: Defender crippled (75% lift and speed lost) / Defender destroyed
    or loses all lift and power.

Example: Tora Tora Tora Splat (2)
 On an 8 Buckaroo manages to steer the "Eagle" for a reasonably good
 hit on the "Democrat". Smashing through the hull, he rips open enough
 bags to halve its lift and speed. Unfortunately the roll for the
 "Democrat" is a 3 followed by a 2; the "Eagle" is reduced to a pile
 of twisted wreckage, wedged precariously in the upper hull of the
 "Democrat". The wreck weighs about 12 tons, well within the remaining
 lift capacity of the "Democrat", which wobbles but limps off into the
 sunset...
   If Buckaroo bailed out just before the crash he would probably
 escape unharmed, although the chance of colliding successfully would
 be greatly reduced. Since the 'dig has been pulverised the referee
 decided that some of the Effect of the collision must have been
 passed on to the driver, and attacks him, using a tenth of the Effect
 of the collision as impact damage, Effect 15.

In the unlikely event that both 'digs survive a collision, a Pilot
roll is needed to separate them afterwards. If the roll fails, a
sadistic referee may wish to inflict further damage on both 'digs.


5.5.3    Pithing
----------------
Pithing is an attack that uses a pithing iron, a special grapnel
designed specifically to damage 'digs. All 'digs carry such an iron,
since they are used to stop wrecked 'digs drifting into traffic.

To attack using an iron, the attacker must manoeuvre above the
defender while someone aboard readies the iron and makes a Markmanship
roll to drop it at exactly the right moment. The defending difficulty
is 6, or the skill of the defending 'dig driver, whichever is greater.
The attacking skill is reduced with distance as shown below. Once
dropped the iron has an Effect of 5, increasing with the distance it
falls to a maximum Effect of 80:
     Distance dropped (feet)     0   50   100  200  300 and above
     Marksmanship modifier       0   -1   -2   -3   -4
     Effect                      5   20   40   80   80
If the iron hits it uses its Effect against the BODY of the 'dig as
follows:
 A: Tear; 25% of lift lost, 25% speed lost
 B: Serious tear; 50% of lift lost, 50% speed lost
 C: Fatal tear; skin rips open, all speed lost, 50% lift lost in first
    round, 75% in second round, all lift in third round.
If by some unlikely accident a human is hit by the iron, Effect is as
above, damage is: A:I B:C C:K.
It is almost impossible to hit a human target deliberately; in any
attempt the difficulty of the "shot" should be at least twenty if the
iron is used from any altitude. It simply isn't designed for use
against anything smaller than a 'dig.

22_EQUIP.GIF shows items of equipment including a pithing iron.

5.5.4    Guns and Small Arms
----------------------------
As already mentioned most hand weapons can't do any significant damage
to a 'dig, since rips and tears seal themselves almost instantly. The
outer hull of a 2000 AD 'dig acts as armour and reduces the Effect of
bullets by 2, while the hull of a 2065 AD 'dig reduces Effect by 5.

In all but the smallest 'digs all the vital equipment and personnel
are inside the hull, and almost impossible to target. The most
vulnerable components are external features such as propellers, but
they should be very difficult to hit at any range. If players try to
use these weapons on another 'dig, and don't devise a realistic
strategy for hitting a worthwhile target, tell them that their attack
seems to be having no effect. If shots are fired at a 'dig occupied by
characters, almost all the bullets should ricochet past without doing
any damage (unless they do something stupid like leaning out of a
hatch).

Grenades and other small explosive weapons can damage a 'dig, but it
is very difficult to do serious harm. If someone does try this, divide
the BODY of the 'dig by 20 to represent the BODY of the area under
attack; any successful result rips a large hole in the hull. If this
is on top of the hull a successful result also rips one of the inner
tanks and drains 10% of lift and speed. Another attack at the same
point just damages the wreckage; the attacker must move forward or aft
and attack another tank to have any real effect on the 'dig. Someone
aboard a 'dig who uses a grenade to attack other occupants or
equipment has all normal chances of success.

Some very old military 'digs mount machine guns and other firearms.
These are intended mainly for use against 'planes and ground forces,
and are singularly ineffective (as described above) against 'digs.


5.5.5    Bombs & Aerial Torpedoes
---------------------------------
Any 'dig can drop a bomb; just fly over the target and use the
Military Arms skill to arm and drop it at the right moment. The
Mechanic skill can be substituted to arm the bomb, and Marksmanship to
aim it. Use the distance modifiers in the previous section to
determine if the bomb hits the target.

No-one makes bombs in any of the A.B.C. nations, but there may still
be some left over from earlier decades, or in states that still
haven't joined. The main classes that are likely to be found are as
follows:
  10 lb bomb:    10ft radius, Effect 10, A:I  B:C  C:K
  20 lb bomb:    10ft radius, Effect 15, A:I  B:C  C:K
  50 lb bomb:    20ft radius, Effect 20, A:I  B:C  C:K
 250 lb bomb:    30ft radius, Effect 30, A:I  B:C  C:K
The first two are designed to be dropped from 'planes, the third and
forth from 'digs. Any that players can find will be AT LEAST thirty
years old, and possibly highly unstable.

A few 'digs built in the fifties and sixties mounted aerial torpedo
launchers. These were pneumatic cannon which fired missiles; at a safe
distance fins snapped out and solid-fuel rockets ignited to propel the
missiles up to ten miles from the 'dig. The missiles could be fitted
with gas warheads (described below) or 50 lb explosive warheads (as
bombs). The Military Arms skill is needed to aim and fire these
weapons, with the skill reduced by 4 at distances of 5 miles and
beyond. There is a good chance (at the referee's discretion) that any
thirty or forty year old rocket will explode as soon as it ignites.
They can be fired once every five rounds. Each torpedo and warhead
weighs 230 lb, roughly 0.1 ton.


5.5.6    Gas
------------
Several lethal forms of nerve gas were developed in the twentieth
century. While the A.B.C. hopes that it has destroyed all stocks,
referees may have different ideas.

Gas was usually fired as shells, or dropped as bombs, with the
following effects:
  10 lb shell:   50ft radius, Effect 20, A:C  B:C  C:K
  20 lb shell:  100ft radius, Effect 20, A:C  B:C  C:K
  50 lb  bomb:  300ft radius, Effect 20, A:C  B:C  C:K *
  250 lb bomb:  900ft radius, Effect 20, A:C  B:C  C:K
  * also Aerial Torpedo warhead.

The gas persists for ten minutes, then breaks down as follows:
  10-20 minutes - Effect 15, A:I  B:C  C:C/K
  20-30 minutes - Effect 10, A:-  B:I  C:C
  30-60 minutes - Effect  5, A:-  B:-  C:I
The gas has the same effect if it is inhaled or if droplets touch the
skin; the only protection is a heavy rubber suit, such as flickers
combined with gloves, boots, head protection and a breathing mask.

There is no effect outside the radius shown, unless referees wish to
complicate matters by adding wind drift etc. A Military Arms roll is
needed to notice that there is anything unusual about these weapons,
otherwise they will be mistaken for ordinary explosive warheads.


5.5.7    Rays
-------------
"...was there anything except light in those lights of yours just
now?"
                                                 As Easy As A.B.C.

In the last years of war several nations developed radiation beam
weapons. Any discussion of these weapons, or the technology behind
them, will attract VERY hostile attention. Their effects included
blindness, still-births, cancer, and sterility. The technology was a
military secret in the era of government, and is heavily suppressed
today; although anyone with a scientific background can guess which
rays were used, the secret of harnessing them in a long-range weapon
remains a mystery. All that is known is that the weapons were huge, so
large that special 'digs were needed to carry them, and consumed
immense amounts of power.

The trauma that followed their use has left a real scar on the public
consciousness, as described in As Easy As A.B.C.; anyone (ESPECIALLY
player characters) who is known to be interested in these weapons will
encounter extremely strong opposition, up to and including invasion of
privacy and mob violence! The A.B.C. investigates any scientific
activity which appears to be aimed at a rediscovery of the secret of
the rays, and will take immediate action if there is any threat of
their use. In the unlikely event that characters or NPCs rediscover
the secret, or find old weapons, the following statistics should be
used:
  Radiation projector: Area 100ft, Effect 15,  A:-  B:I  C:C
Range for full Effect is 0-3 miles, with skill reduced by 3 and Effect
reduced to 5 at 3-5 miles. Anyone surviving critical damage from this
weapon suffers one of the following radiation effects (roll 1D6):
  1: Radiation sickness (vomiting, bleeding, baldness), with recovery
     after 1D6 days
  2: As 1 plus skin cancer after 1D6 months
  3: As 1 plus permanent sterility
  4: As 1 plus 2 and 3
  5: As 1 plus leukaemia and eventual death after 1D6 months
  6: As 1 plus cancer after 1D6 years

The smallest possible ray projector weights 25 tons, and needs a power
supply of at least 5,000 HP (additional to other power supplies aboard
the 'dig).


5.5.8    A.B.C. Weapons
-----------------------
2000 AD
-------
We know nothing of A.B.C. weapons in 2000 AD. It seems safe to assume
that Mark and Patrol 'digs are equipped for combat, but their main
weapons will be pithing irons and grapnels, and the use of boarding
parties. Mark Boats do carry beacons, and both classes of 'dig carry
searchlights, but they are much less powerful than the siege-lights
used in 2065 AD. For game purposes the following devices are fitted to
all A.B.C. Fleet 'Digs and Mark Boats:

Grapnel Gun: A strong grapnel fired by a harpoon-like explosive
cartridge. If anyone is hit by this weapon they will naturally be
injured, as follows
     Grapnel Gun: Single shot, Effect 25, A:I B:C C:C/K
The harpoon is fitted with several barbed hooks. When used against a
'dig it attacks the BODY of the 'dig; an "A" result means that it
doesn't connect with anything solid enough to anchor it, on a "B" or
"C" it locks onto its target. The line used is a half mile long, made
of spun colloid, with BODY 40. Use the ramming rules above to
calculate the forces involved, remembering that the pilot of the 'dig
using the grapnel will usually try to match courses and speed with the
target and manoeuvre to minimise the tension on the line. If
everything holds the two 'digs are gradually drawn together, allowing
the use of small arms and boarding parties.

Ram: All A.B.C. Fleet 'digs of this era are designed to ram, as
described above. Mark Boats do not have this extra strengthening; it
adds too much weight.

Pithing Iron: All A.B.C. 'digs have at least one pithing iron, as
described above.

Boarding parties: A typical A.B.C. boarding party consists of four to
eight airmen, armed with cutlasses (very useful for cutting gas tanks
and close quarters combat) and one or two electric rifles or stun guns
(see section 6.8 below). Heavier weapons are very rarely used,
although most Fleet 'digs still carry a few grenades for emergencies.

Plane: Some of the largest Fleet 'digs of this era are equipped to
launch a fast 'plane (see section 5.7). They are unarmed, used for
scouting rather than combat.

2065 AD
-------
The A.B.C. used two main weapons in its assault on Chicago. The first
was the siege-light, the second the so-called pitch-pipe, both
invented by the scientist Victor Pirolo. Both are essentially very
simple devices developed to a massive scale, coordinated to blanket a
wide area by use of the Service Communicator as a controlling device.

Siege Light
-----------
...it was as though the floor of Heaven had been riddled and all the
inconceivable blaze of suns in the making was poured through the
manholes.
                                                 As Easy As A.B.C.

The siege-light is a miniature 'dig-mounted cloud breaker, modified to
spread the beam over a moderately wide area. Normally the brightness
of one cloud-breaker is unpleasant; the brightness of two hundred or
more in a relatively small area is unbearable. To make matters worse,
Pirolo's lights are pulsed and moved to cause maximum discomfort and
disorientation. Under exceptional circumstances (such as someone
looking directly at a siege-light through binoculars) blindness may be
permanent; this should be VERY rare, and should not happen to player
characters.
 Siege Light: Radius 1 mile, Effect 20, damage A:KO B:KO C:KO/I
A KO result represents disorientation and blindness lasting 6D6
minutes, and extreme sensitivity to light lasting several hours. An I
result is disorientation and blindness for 1D6 hours, extreme
sensitivity to light for several days, and some permanent loss of eye
function, such as a blind spot seared into the retina.

Note that the distance shown here is distance from the beam, whose
range is effectively line of sight, not from the 'dig using the
weapon. Anyone who can cover his eyes sufficiently fast halves the
Effect, but will not be completely protected by anything less than the
colloid goggles used by the A.B.C.. The light is easily bright enough
to penetrate a few inches of flesh, as when fingertips are held up to
a bright light.

Theoretically it would be possible for several 'digs to illuminate the
same area and increase the Effect of the light considerably. In
practice this is strictly banned by A.B.C. regulations, and Fleet
'digs combine their lights to achieve coverage of wider areas, not
greater power. For example, 'digs were spaced five miles apart in the
Chicago incident.

This weapon is marked on a plan of the 'Victor Pirolo' in graphics
file 16_VPLAN.GIF, and is shown in action in 17_CHI.GIF.
An A.B.C. helmet which incorporates eye and ear protection is shown in
22_EQUIP.GIF.


Pitch Pipe
----------
...the hollow of the skies made herself the mouth for one note that
touched the raw fibre of the brain.
...'That's our pitch-pipe,' said Arnott. 'We may be a bit ragged. I've
never conducted two hundred and fifty performers before.'
...'Our lower C can lift street-paving.'
                                                    As Easy As A.B.C.

The Pitch-Pipe is simply a gigantic organ-pipe built along the
longitudinal axis of the 'dig, with acoustic reflectors to direct most
of the noise downwards. Frequency is determined by the action of
shutters and internal baffles. Generally it is used as another
anti-personnel weapon, as follows:
 Pitch-Pipe: Radius 200 yards, Effect 25, damage A:KO, B:KO, C:KO/I
A KO result represents disorientation and deafness lasting 3D6
minutes, and extreme sensitivity to sound lasting several hours. An I
result is disorientation and deafness for 1D6 hours, extreme
sensitivity to sound for several days, and some permanent loss of
hearing, typically decreased sensitivity to higher pitches, more
rarely some loss of the ear's balancing functions.

Hard objects (such as paving stones, rocks, ice, and windows) may be
physically damaged by the sound if pitch is selected correctly and the
weapon is used at short range.

Radius is distance from the 'dig using the weapon. Anyone who can
cover his ears sufficiently fast halves the Effect, but will not be
completely protected. It is not possible to aim to hit a specific
target; the sound spreads out in a 45-degree cone below the 'dig. When
this weapon is used against populated areas the A.B.C. usually prefers
to operate at a height which reduces the Effect to 15 or less.

Service Communicator (S.C.)
---------------------------
He pulled out the couplers, and struck a full chord on the Service
Communicators.
                                                 As Easy As A.B.C.

The A.B.C. uses its own General Communicator frequencies, and has
added some extra refinements for military operations. Messages are
scrambled, and transmitted with so much power that jamming is
virtually impossible. Several 'digs, or even an entire fleet, can be
slaved to the control of a single S.C. transmitter. Operation of such
remotely controlled 'digs requires the Babbage Engine and Pilot
skills, also Military Arms to use the weapons of the controlled 'digs
effectively. Naturally the Captain of each 'dig can switch off the
remote control if there is some reason to resume manual operations;
for example, if the manoeuvre being flown by the entire fleet seems
likely to end with a 'dig at the end of the formation hitting a
mountain.

The S.C. can also be used to jam normal G.C. frequencies and create
power surges in ground circuits (see below) and other electrical
devices. Given the amount of power available for these purposes, the
operator's main problem is to keep the effect down to manageable
levels; for example, to blow a fuse rather than burning out every wire
in a building, to jam a radio rather than blowing out the tubes of
every radio within fifty miles. Range is 100 miles for radio jamming,
a few hundred feet for other electrical effects. It is probable that
this technology is available in 2000 AD.


Flying Loop
-----------
....The outflung arm was arrested, rigid as a bar for an instant, till
the releasing circuit permitted her to bring it slowly to her side.
                              As Easy As A.B.C.

The loop is a stabilised electrostatic vortex controlled by extremely
powerful electromagnetic fields. A competent operator can use a loop
to immobilise any object, or to confine a target to a fixed area.
Operation requires the Military Arms skill to use the controls, a
Marksmanship roll to hit the target. Range is approximately 100 yards.
The Effect depends on the diameter of the vortex as follows:

   Diameter   under 1ft  1-3ft  3-6ft  6-12ft  12-24ft  24-30ft
   Effect           30      25     20      15       10        5

Anyone or anything trapped in a flying loop and wishing to escape must
use BODY to overcome its Effect; if unsuccessful, all movement is
stopped or limited to the confines of the loop. If the target is able
to resist the loop, there is a chance of serious damage from eddy
currents and electrostatic effects. Use the loop's Effect to attack
the target's BODY as follows:

  Flying Loop: Effect variable, Damage A:F, B:KO/I, C:KO/I

Flesh wounds or injuries are burns. Most people know about the effects
of a flying loop, and don't try to escape.
22_EQUIP.GIF shows equipment including a flying loop projector.


5.6      'Planes
-----------------
  Planes are swift -- so is Death
  Planes are cheap -- so is Life
                           Standard 'Dig Co. Advertisement

Heavier-than-air aircraft are the joke of aviation, a ridiculously
inefficient mode of transport that never achieved any major success.
In 2000 AD 'planes are still built, although the industry is moribund;
by 2065 it is dead.

Planes lack room for the huge gas tanks a Fleury turbine system
requires. Accordingly they must be powered by radium or helium
batteries (described in section 6.2), and charged between flights.

'Plane design is much simpler than 'dig design; just select a hull and
vane (wing) combination large enough to carry the required load, and
put in a motor powerful enough to keep it in the air. To go faster, or
carry a bigger load, put in a more powerful motor.

The most common hull sizes follow, with capacity and speed for a
minimally-sized engine:

Type       Weight  Load   Engine   Speed   Hull   BODY
           Tons    Tons   HP       MPH     Cost
1 seat     0.4     0.2    150      150     #350   10
2 seats    0.6     0.3    250      140     #525   13
4 seats    0.8     0.4    350      130     #700   16
6 seats    1.0     0.5    450      120     #875   20

Stall speed for an aircraft is normally 25% of its maximum speed.
To add more speed double engine HP for each 50 MPH speed increase.
To increase load double engine HP for each 50% increase in load.
The increased weight of the engine and batteries is taken into account
in these calculations.
Hull cost (including vanes) rises by 10% for each 50 MPH speed
increase.
Hull BODY rises by 10% for each 50 MPH speed increase (round UP).
Aero-engine costs (including propellers) are #500 plus #1 per HP; this
is unusually high for an electric motor, reflecting the care with
which they are made.

These prices do not include the batteries, whose prices can be found
below, or the cost of charging which (after power losses in charging)
is roughly 1/4d for 1 HP for an hour, or over a pound an hour for a
1000 HP battery.

Batteries (see section 6.2 for full details)
Power  Weight     Endurance (hours)
HP     Lb   Tons  1     2     5     10     20
100    55   .025  #12   #13   #17   #22    #32
200    73   .033  #22   #25   #33   #43    #64
300    100  .045  #33   #36   #475  #65    #92
500    145  .065  #53   #59   #795  #100   #145
1000   220  .1    #104  #113  #145  #190   #245
2000   330  .15   #210  #235  #331  #440   -
5000   440  .2    #550  #620  #860  -      -

Example: The A.B.C. wants to build some fast 'planes to be used as
auxiliary craft for 'digs. They will use a 2-seat hull, but will hold
just a driver and some equipment. They must be fast enough to catch up
with the fastest 'digs (in 2000 AD); 250 MPH should do, but faster is
better. Endurance of 5 hours should be sufficient.

A 2-seat hull costs #525, and has BODY 13, but it will need
strengthening and a bigger engine.

     Hull cost = #525 + 30%                  = #683
          BODY = 13 + 30%                    = 17
     Engine HP = 250 HP x 2 x 2 x 2          = 2000 HP
   Engine cost = #500 + (2000 x #1)          = #2500
  Battery cost = #331
 Maximum speed = 290 MPH
   Stall speed = 72 MPH
    Power cost = 2000 HP / 4 x 1d = 500 d    = #2 1s 8d per hour

Some other optional components can also affect performance and/or
cost:

HOVERS are autogyro-style rotor blades, which allow an aircraft to
reduce speed to 5% of its maximum speed, but do NOT allow it to remain
completely stationary or take off from the ground. They need a 10%
increase in engine power. The price is directly proportional to the
power of the 'plane AFTER this increase; #1 per 5 HP. Fitting them to
the sample plane would need engine power boosted to 2200 HP, putting
the engine cost up to #2,700. The blades cost #2200 / 5 = #440, and
reduce the stall speed to 15 MPH. This device cannot be fitted to a
'plane if 'dig hooks (below) are also fitted.

'DIG HOOKS are special clips which allow a 'dig to be dropped from,
and docked back onto, a 'dig. They cost #150, add negligible weight,
and do not affect performance, but they CANNOT be fitted to a plane
that has hovers.

Most 'planes use launching catapults and land on skids. An
UNDERCARRIAGE allows a 'plane to take off under its own power, given a
few hundred feet of clear runway. An undercarriage costs 10% of hull
cost and reduces top speed (but NOT stall speed) by 25%. Fitting one
to the sample 'plane would cost £70, and reduce top speed to 218 MPH,
but stall speed would still be 72 MPH.

An AMPHIBIOUS HULL allows a 'plane to land on water, but engine power
must be at least 300% of the minimum for the hull size if it is to
take off again. Add 50% to hull cost, 5 to BODY, and reduce maximum
speed (but NOT stall speed) by 10%. This hull design can't be combined
with an undercarriage.

Weapons can be fitted to a 'plane if it has room for them. The A.B.C.
doesn't arm 'planes, but fits them with a G.C. transmitter and signal
flares. Older military designs usually carried machine guns and
smaller bombs; see RULES.TXT for machine guns, and section 5.5.5 above
for bombs.

Where appropriate, 'plane insurance costs 8.0-12.0 % of construction
cost per annum. A typical 'plane is illustrated in graphics file
23_PLANE.GIF, an entry from an encyclopaedia in 2065 AD.


5.6.1    Catapults
------------------
For many 'planes a major expense is the cost of a launching catapult,
still considered the best way to get a 'plane into the air.

The structural steel of a launch catapult costs #250, plus #100 per
ton launched (rounded up), plus 10% per 10MPH of launch speed. A
launch motor is needed, which is rated as follows:
   1 HP x launch speed x launch weight.
Prices are as plane engines. Launch speed must be AT LEAST the stall
speed of the 'plane; faster is better. The BODY of a catapult is 20
plus 1 per 10 MPH of launch speed.

For example, a 'plane weighing 1 ton and launched at 50 MPH needs the
following catapult:
  Structure: Cost (#250 + #100) x 150% = #525, BODY 25
      Motor: 1 HP x 50 x 1 = 50 HP, cost #550


5.6.2    Sample 'Planes
-----------------------
Note: None of the following 'planes appear in detail in the A.B.C.
stories; they are included for illustrative purposes and for game use.

       'Plane: A.B.C. amphibious scout 'plane
       Weight: 0.6 ton
         Load: 0.3 ton
Maximum Speed: 260 MPH   Stall Speed: 72 MPH
         BODY: 22
       Engine: 2000 HP    Power cost: #2 1s 8d / hour x 5 hrs
      Battery: 1 x 2000 HP, 5 hour
     Catapult: Not used
         Cost:   Hull: # 1,024
               Engine: # 2,500
              Battery: #   331
                Other: # 1,250 (controls, 'dig hook, GC, flares, etc.)
                Total: # 5,105
    Insurance: Risk carried by A.B.C.
This is a 'dig-dropped scout 'plane, used to scout ahead of an A.B.C.
Fleet 'dig. Its usual role is to follow and report on the movements of
a 'dig which is behaving suspiciously, or has committed an offence,
pending the arrival of a 'dig equipped to intercept the criminal. It
is also occasionally used as a courier. Launching is easy; just drop a
few hundred feet to gain all the speed needed. Returning to dock on a
'dig is much harder; the 'dig must be travelling at 72 MPH or more or
the 'plane will stall. Docking is a difficulty 6 manoeuvre. It has an
amphibious hull, since most of its flights are over water. Since it is
charged by the 'dig that carries it, power costs are not a problem.
                     --------------------------
       'Plane: Excalibur (Racing 'plane)
       Weight: 0.4 tons
         Load: 0.2 tons
Maximum Speed: 350 MPH   Stall Speed: 88 MPH
         BODY: 14
       Engine: 2500 HP    Power cost: #2 12s 1d / hour x 24 hrs
    Batteries: 3 x 1000 HP, 20 hour
     Catapult: Launch speed 125 MPH, 50 HP motor, #1355, BODY 33
         Cost:   Hull: #   490
               Engine: # 3,000
            Batteries: #   735
                Other: #   250  Controls
                Total: # 4,475
    Insurance: Uninsurable - no company will issue a policy!
This is a catapult-launched racing 'plane, landing on skids, built
solely for speed and minimal weight. It was used by R.M. Rautsch to
win the 10000 KM overland race in 1999, setting a new record of just
over 500 KM/hour (312.5 MPH).
                     --------------------------
       'Plane: Hibernia (Business 'plane)
       Weight: 1.0 ton
         Load: 0.5 tons
Maximum Speed: 90 MPH   Stall Speed: 7 MPH
         BODY: 20
       Engine: 500 HP     Power cost: 10s 6d / hour x 10 hours
      Battery: 500 HP, 10 hour
     Catapult: Not used
         Cost:   Hull: #  875
               Engine: #1,000
              Battery: #  100
                Other: #  600  Hovers, undercarriage, controls
                Total: #2,575
    Insurance: 9% (#230 P/A)
This is a typical "large" business 'plane, in this case owned by a
Scottish air taxi service with a good safety record. The hovers and
undercarriage allow it to take off and land in any flat meadow. This
might also be a good 'plane for characters to own and use if they want
to travel in something smaller than a 'dig. It can carry a pilot and
five passengers.


5.7      Bat Boats
-------------------
'Bats are essentially winged hydroplanes. Propulsion is via a screw in
the water, which is more efficient than an air propeller, while the
"wing in ground" effect generates extra lift. This means that a given
size of hull and engine power can carry much more weight than an
equivalent 'plane. 'Bat wings (vanes) can be flexed to lift clear of
the water during acceleration then spread to maximise lift at speed. A
good pilot can easily add up to 30% extra gliding distance by careful
operation of the vanes.

'Bat design is VERY simple. There are three main competition hull
sizes; 40 ft, 50 ft, and 60 ft, which can be fitted with engines and
accommodation as needed. In the table that follows "engine ratio" is
HP per knot of speed; in other words, a 'bat with engine ratio of 6
and a 600 HP engine can reach 100 knots.

Hull    Engine   Weight   Load   Price  BODY
        Ratio    Tons     Tons
40ft    6.0      2        1.5    #500   15
50ft    6.5      2.5      2.0    #750   20
60ft    7.0      3        2.5    #1125  25

Prices are for 50-knot hulls; add 5% to price and 1 to BODY for each
10 knots above this rating, but subtract .1 tons from load, as more
bracing and streamlining is needed. Power plant costs are as for
'planes, above.

'Bats gain speed in the water, and gradually lose it as they glide. It
is generally assumed that half the speed is lost on re-entry, and made
up at a rate determined by the power/weight ratio before gliding
again. Divide the ratio by 10 (round down to the nearest 5 or 10
knots) to find the acceleration in knots. 'Bats can take off if their
power to weight ratio (HP per ton of weight) exceeds 200; at lower
ratios the 'bat can bounce a few feet, but can't "unstick" from the
water for any distance. In the examples below Griselda has a ratio of
215; she can lift three feet for short distances in perfect
conditions. Tarpon has a true power to weight ratio of 531, and has
been known to fly up to two miles. The table below shows power/weight
and gliding performance.

   Ratio            Height    Distance
   Under 200        -         -
   200-250          3         Ratio x 1 ft
   250-300          4         Ratio x 2 ft
   300-350          5         Ratio x 5 ft
   350-400          6         Ratio x 10 ft
   400 and above    7         Ratio x 20 ft

For example Tarpon (ratio 531) can glide 10,620 ft, a shade over two
miles, under ideal conditions.

'Bat insurance costs around 3.0-6.0% of construction cost per annum.
The exact rate is dependent on many factors, most notably speed; a
really fast 'bat will usually be charged at the higher rate.

Four examples are described in an advertisement in With The Night
Mail. Their performance is summarised below, with hull costs
calculated for the nearest hull class.

Name             Griselda     Mabelle      Ivemona      Tarpon
Speed knots      65           50           50           120
Length feet      42           40           35           60
Weight tons      2.0          2.0          2.0          3.0
Load tons        1.3          1.5          1.5          1.8 *
BODY             17           15           15           32
Engine HP        430          310          300          850
Battery HP/Hrs   500/10       300/10       300/10       1000/5 **
Endurance (hrs)  11.5         9.5          10           5.5
Power / weight   215          155          155          283 (531)
Acceleration     20 knots     15 knots     15 knots     25 (50) knots
Power / hour     9s           6s 6d        6s 3d        17s 9d
Hull cost        #   550      #  500       #  500       # 1,520
Engine cost      #   930      #  810       #  800       # 1,350
Battery cost     #   100      #   65       #   65       #   140
Other costs ***  # 1,650      #  850       #1,500       #   450
Total cost       # 3,230      #2,225       #2,865       # 3,460
Insurance P/A    4% (#130)    3% (#70)     3% (#90)     6% (#210)
   * Tarpon usually races with a crew of 2 and most of this load
     capacity unused. It has no accommodation, apart from seats for
     the crew. This reduces the real weight to 1.6 tons, and raises
     the power to weight ratio to 531 HP per ton.
  ** Tarpon is not used for cruising and has no need of greater
     endurance.
 *** Controls and accommodation.

Tarpon has been lifted and held seven feet for two miles between touch
and touch; this performance is unfortunately banned by the racing
rules changes in 2000 AD. Griselda can be lifted three feet clear in
smooth water with ballast-tank swung aft; her performance is just
outside the rules, but allowable if the ballast tank is left forward
to prevent gliding. The others do not lift clear of water; they meet
the racing regulations, but don't stand much chance of winning.

Tarpon is illustrated in 11_BAT.GIF [This graphic is derived from a
tiny picture accompanying one of the advertisements in With The Night
Mail, which is inset in one corner.]

Gaming: 'Bats
For gaming purposes assume that 'bats gain an extra 25% above rated
speed as they lift clear of the water; friction is reduced and the
screw delivers a final burst of speed. 'Bats that can't lift clear
don't gain extra speed.

The distance glided is determined by a Pilot roll against the
difficulty shown below. Any failure reduces distance by 1D6 x 10%:

  Distance      Difficulty
  Normal        4
  110%          5
  120%          7
  130%          9

Example: Eat My Wake!
 George (Pilot 5) is at the helm of Tarpon. Normally it can glide
 roughly 2 miles. Another powerful 'bat is in the race, and he decides
 to push his luck and try for a 30% improvement, to 2.6 miles. On a 9
 he fails, and loses 30%; the final glide is 1.4 miles. Tarpon has
 dropped speed to 60 knots; it gains 531/10 knots (50 knots) in the
 next round, and reaches speed for the next leap a round later.


5.8      Flickers
-----------------
...George takes the wheel until Tim has blown himself up to the
extreme of rotundity. If you kicked him off the c.p. to the deck he
would bounce back. But it is '162' that will do the kicking...
                                      With The Night Mail

Sold under a variety of names, "flickers" are the airborne equivalent
of a life jacket. They are inflated to cushion aviators and prevent
injuries in violent conditions. A nozzle allows them to be filled with
compressed air, from a mains supply carried by most 'digs. In an
emergency a small cylinder of liquefied Fleury's Gas can be vented
into the suit, or into an attached gas bag. Lift from the gas, and the
bounciness of the suit, prevent injuries on landing. Some flickers
also incorporate parachutes. Flickers are often disguised as normal
clothing with baggy trousers and sleeves.

13_FLICK.GIF is an advertisement for a toy airman with flickers which
incorporate both refinements.

Flickers are not armoured, in the conventional sense, but reduce the
Effect of impact damage (blows, crashes, etc.) by 5.
GPO Inflaters are a heavy-duty version of flickers; they reduce the
Effect of impact damage by 7, and are also good insulators, halving
the Effect of all forms of electrical damage. Unfortunately they are
uncomfortable and extremely hot.


5.9      Lights
---------------
...Blessed be Sargent, Ahrens, and the Dubois brothers, who invented
the cloud-breakers of the world whereby we travel in security!
                                                 With The Night Mail

A Martian visiting Earth would soon realise that the planet was
inhabited. Every area is marked out by its pattern of Lights, from
relatively feeble Local and Guiding Lights to the immensely powerful
District and Main cloud-breakers.

Only poets and astronomers complain; poets generally decide to write
about the Poles instead, astronomers are forced to take their
telescopes aloft to get reasonable "seeing" above the glare.
Fortunately "Fleury's Gas can lift anything" - the largest 'digs are
capable of lifting several thousand tons, and astronomical telescopes
are comparatively light.


5.9.1    Local and Guiding Lights
---------------------------------
The vast majority of Lights are simply large arcs or discharge tubes
rated at a few kilowatts. They can be powered from local electricity
mains or a suitable power supply; for example, a 300 HP / 5 hour
radium battery can drive a 5 KW Light for just under ten days. The
basic unit is very cheap; a few pounds for discharge tubes and other
circuitry, as much again for mirrors and lenses, (optionally) a radium
battery, and the cost of coloured filters, motors, and so forth if the
Light is to flash or swing. This assembly is usually cased in steel
topped with a colloid dome (some older Lights still use glass!), and
embedded in concrete to ensure stability. For most small Lights the
cost of installation and servicing far exceeds the cost of the
components.


5.9.2    Cloud Breakers
-----------------------
Most District and Main Lights are based on a version of Fleury's Ray.
Normally, in a power station or 'dig, only a small proportion of the
gas is used within the Ray while the rest is simply exposed to its
effects. In a cloud-breaker Fleury's Gas is allowed to expand through
a network of pipes, then through a turbine, eventually entering a huge
discharge chamber where it is irradiated and electrified to produce
the Ray. All the gas is simultaneously ionised and converted to liquid
form. As it condenses its pressure drops, and a small proportion
vaporises again. This rarefied vapour is immediately ionised, and
triggers the next condensation, in a cycle lasting tiny fractions of a
second. By this means it is possible to produce so-called
"synchronised" light. "Doping" the gas with tiny amounts of mercury
vapour, neon, organic dyes and other impurities allows a range of
colours to be produced. Colloid lenses then focus the light into a
tight near-parallel beam. One of the Fleury wavelengths happens to
make atmospheric water vapour fluoresce very brightly, giving the beam
its characteristic "pillar of fire" effect. This phenomenon is most
notable when the beam strikes a cloud, and appears to burn right
through it; in fact the fluorescence self-propagates, the light from
one layer of molecules triggering more fluorescence in the layer
above, and so on through a thick layer of cloud.

As is well known, the light of Fleury's Ray can be very dangerous.
Great care must be taken to ensure that no-one looks into a
cloud-breaker beam at short range, and all 'digs are STRONGLY advised
to maintain at least 500 ft altitude above any cloud breaker.

While the light-producing assemblage of a cloud breaker is roughly the
size of an oil drum, the optical assembly and training gear is often
bigger than the largest twentieth-century field gun. Fixed vertical
beams are relatively straightforward, but inclined and oscillating
beams can be a complex nightmare; older designs use flexible ducts to
convey Fleury's Gas to a moving drum, most recent versions use mirrors
or prisms to divert the light from a stationary projector. Whatever
the design, the structure is packed with lenses, prisms, mirrors,
shutters, motors, girders, and gears. Since cloud breakers need a
full-time engineering staff, the installations are often combined with
power stations, factories, docks, or A.B.C. communications centres.

Construction costs vary with power, design, and location, but exceed
#25,000 for a simple fixed-beam District Light, #50,000 or more for a
Main Light. 05_LIGHT.GIF shows a cloud-breaker in action.


5.9.3    Glares
---------------
In some locations a dispersed all-round light is better than a beam.
The mechanism is much like a cloud-breaker, except that there is no
need to produce a tightly focused beam. Since the light is not
focused upwards, but spreads in all directions, coloured filters must
be used to screen out Fleury Rays. These are typically tinted colloid,
but some recent installations have used domes with panes made of
C.M.C. synthetic diamond. This light will not penetrate cloud, but is
visible for thirty or forty miles under clear conditions.

These installations are comparatively cheap, typically #10,000 per
station, but like cloud-breakers need full-time engineering attention.
Since they are usually built in isolated areas staffing can be a
problem, and the A.B.C. is working towards a fully-automated system
that will need little or no attention.


5.9.4    Audible Signals
------------------------
In areas where fog or snow are serious problems, it is useful to
combine a Light with an audible signal. The most common types are
electrical sirens and fog-horns, which are most audible at low
altitudes. For high-altitude work "bombs" are preferred. These are
simply gas-fuelled explosive devices. Methane is let into a combustion
chamber, mixed with air, and detonated electrically; the explosion is
audible for several miles. This can be entirely automatic, and is
easily synchronised to the flashing of a Light. Cost varies with the
size of the chamber and the frequency of detonation, but an average
installation costs #1,000 to #1,500. For obvious reasons bombs (and,
to an extent, other sonic signals) cannot be used in any area where
there is danger of rock slides or avalanches. This shortcoming is most
notable in the Alps and Himalayas, where smaller Lights are sometimes
invisible for days on end. The A.B.C. is considering a high-pitched
signal that will not cause unnecessary vibration, but the designs
tested to date are disliked by airmen, and hated by dogs and other
animals with sensitive hearing.


5.9.5    Locations
------------------
The network is global. No matter where you go, you can usually see at
least one Main Light, although it might be a hundred miles away. Even
when a Light is over the horizon, it is often visible as a reflection
off cloud or a glow in the upper atmosphere. Over the ocean Mark Boats
and ship-borne Lights supplement the system.

The British system is based on a central Main cloud-breaker in
Coventry, with District Lights along the coast and marking major
cities. London, in particular, is very well lighted; there is too much
traffic in the area to take any chances. Birmingham (once Britain's
second largest city) is marked by Local Lights, because it is only a
few miles from Coventry; since the Main Light was installed,
Birmingham's population has declined as industry moves towards
Coventry.

The terms used in describing Lights are those previously used for
nautical lighthouses, and relate to colour, inclination, swing, and
pattern. Most are self-explanatory, the following may be less
familiar.
   FLASHING: Mostly dark; there is a brief flash of light at regular
             intervals. eg. 1 second of light, 9 of darkness.
  OCCULTING: Mostly light; there is a brief period of darkness at
             regular intervals. eg. 9 seconds of light, 1 of darkness.
INTERRUPTED: Equal periods of darkness and light. eg. 5 seconds of
             light, 5 of darkness.
The complete list of Lights runs to several volumes, with continual
updating. See especially the editorial following With The Night Mail
for details of a few overseas Lights. British Lights (including
Ireland) are shown in the following illustrations:
   04_BRITN.GIF    Map of Britain showing the Lights mentioned in
                   With The Night Mail
   19_LONDN.GIF    Map of the London area showing the Lights mentioned
                   in As Easy As A.B.C. and With The Night Mail, and
                   London docks and hazards


5.9.6    Gaming: Lights
-----------------------
A cloud breaker is a multi-megawatt laser, or rather a mix of several
lasing gases operating at different frequencies. The A.B.C. world
never thought of this acronym, and never developed a smaller version
(unless the harmful light of Fleury's Ray is actually dangerous
because it is laser light - decide this for yourself). The siege Light
of 2065 AD is also a laser, of course, its frequencies chosen for
maximum effect on the optic nerves and visual purple of the eye.

At distances under 500 feet treat the beam of a cloud-breaker as
though it is the ray of a siege Light (see section 5.5.8). Unlike the
siege Light, its effect is rapidly attenuated with distance, and at
any normal altitude there is no risk of eye damage. This doesn't mean
that it is possible to look into the beam for more than a few seconds;
if it is shining directly in your face you will be dazzled, as in
section 5.5.8, for at least a few minutes.

Converting a cloud-breaker or siege-light into any sort of focused
laser weapon will take several hours, and the beam can't be completely
shut down while the conversion is going on (unless the adventurers
have half a day to start it again, and "one hundred and seventy-odd
pounds" worth of "radium-salts and such trifles."). The lenses are
arranged to produce a broad beam, not a focused ray, and in any case
the frequencies were not selected for their damaging effect. If
adventurers somehow find a way to try this, the conversion requires
Scientist and Mechanic rolls against difficulty 8. If successful, the
weapon is usable on any target in its line of sight, and has the
following statistics:

Modified District Light  Effect 15, Area 2 ft, damage A:F, B:I, C:C/K
Modified Main Light      Effect 25, Area 4 ft, damage A:F, B:I, C:C/K

Targets outside the beam's main area are not affected. Aiming is
difficult, because the equipment isn't designed for accurate
marksmanship, and has many limitations; for example, most
cloud-breakers aren't built to swivel the beam below 45 degrees from
the vertical. Use the Military Weapons skill, with difficulty 8 or
more to target a 'dig at close range, rising rapidly with distance.



6.0      Science and Technology
===============================
Patents Office,
A.B.C. House,
Whitehall,
London                                                July 8th 2000

Sir,

  With reference to your letter of the 4th inst., I must inform you
that the Board will only consider applications related to methods of
'dig navigation by reflected wireless signals if the applications are
accompanied by working equipment.
  While the idea appears obvious, and should in theory work, we have
found that it is simply not practical. Your design is typical of many
we receive, in requiring timing with an accuracy of milliseconds and
the use of wavelengths well below the shortest G.C. wave. Your analogy
with echo-navigation by submersibles only emphasises the difficulties
of the method you propose; sound travels through water at less than a
millionth of the speed with which wireless waves traverse the Aether!
  Devices based on this idea have so far proved to be at least 35%
less accurate than current moving maps, and roughly 60% less accurate
than use of the existing network of Lights by a trained navigator.
While it is of course possible that shorter wavelengths might give
better results, it would be necessary to transmit them with enough
power to reflect back from any obstruction. Current high-frequency
transmitters cannot produce this level of power, and it seems unlikely
that this situation will change in the near future.
  Naturally this office would be interested in your device if it can
be made practical; first, though, I would suggest that you develop the
"very-short-wave" transmitter you describe, and improve its power by
several orders of magnitude. If you can then solve the timing
difficulties, we would be delighted to hear from you again.

                            Yours faithfully,
                            Albert Jones
                            For The Board

The world of the A.B.C has science that is more advanced than our own
in some areas, but notably lacking in others. While we have neglected
the 'dig, it's obvious that the A.B.C. world gives 'planes too little
attention. We use radar, they use cloud breakers. Technologies differ,
sometimes for reasons that aren't particularly obvious. The sections
that follow examine some technological areas in a little more detail,
and try to explain why these differences occurred. In a few cases
(most notably in meteorology and medicine) it is unfortunately
necessary to assume that things work a little... differently in the
universe of the A.B.C. stories.

This section mainly describes the state of the art in 2000 AD, with
brief discussion of the changes by 2065 AD in brackets [like this].
Devices that are only described in As Easy As A.B.C. are dealt with
separately.


6.1      Electronics
--------------------
In 2000 AD electronics is largely based on the study of wave effects,
rays, and fields, all phenomena which are characteristic of a
vacuum-tube technology. Solid-state and digital electronics are known
(Tesla patented aspects of the technology in 1903) but have received
little attention. Shorter radio wavelengths remain unexploited.

The main reason for these changes is that World War II didn't happen.
While there were a series of localised wars after the Great War, there
was never a period when all the resources of many nations were focused
on a common foe. Long-wave radar was tried, but it was less reliable
than visual observation; something as big as a 'dig can be spotted
easily at long range, and early 'digs were slow enough for easy
interception. 'Planes were faster, and harder to stop, but never
packed enough firepower to be a serious military threat. Without an
urgent need for radar, the Klystron valve and cavity magnetron were
never invented; without them it was difficult to generate short wave
and microwave signals with any power, and the advantages of short wave
were never realised. With the development of the cloud breaker most of
the remaining interest in the idea soon ebbed. The A.B.C. has almost
abandoned the idea, but it is still a favourite of crackpot inventors.

Radio navigational aids have also been developed, supplementing Lights
at extreme ranges. The equipment uses long wavelengths, which are
unfortunately reflected by the ionosphere. The receiver must have a
very long directional antenna (a liner is just able to carry one), and
even so it is difficult to distinguish the real source from its
reflections. Smaller 'digs don't usually carry the special G.C.
required for this technique.

Although the first logic circuits were invented well before the Great
War, computing developed very slowly. Here too the main omissions can
be traced back to the nineteen-thirties and 'forties; most of the wars
of the era placed little emphasis on secrecy, and cryptography didn't
advance much beyond the technology of the Great War. Alan Turing died
in his childhood, a victim of the first Plague, and no-one took his
place. Many of the uses for large-scale computing are anathema to the
post-governmental culture Kipling describes; credit cards are unknown,
weapons aren't based on ballistic shells or missiles, and records are
kept to an absolute minimum. I.B.M. remains what it was in the 19th
century; a major manufacturer of office machines, typewriters,
mechanical calculators, and 'dig navigational computers (of the
moving-map type described in section 5.2).
[This doesn't mean that electronic computers will never be invented;
by 2065 simple valve-based systems are used in cultivators, A.B.C.
'digs, and other remotely-controlled machines, and will undoubtedly
develop further.]

Radio (or wireless) is old technology, and is still limited in scope.
Valve amplifiers are bulky and very expensive; a good home radiogram
(wireless and record player) installation can cost fifteen or twenty
pounds! 'Dig wireless sets are cheaper, but sound quality is poor. [it
is greatly improved in 2065]. Television has been invented, but never
progressed beyond mechanical scanning at comparatively low
resolutions. There were commercial services in the nineteen-sixties,
but the famines of the 'seventies and the subsequent reaction against
crowds led to distrust of such invasive rabble-rousing technology.
Today TV is used in a few industrial applications, otherwise it is
almost forgotten.

Wire recorders are in common business use, mainly for dictation, but
sound quality is poor. The smallest installation weighs thirty pounds.
Naturally it is incredibly bad manners to use a recorder without all
parties knowing that they are being overheard. Wax cylinder recorders
are also popular.

Stereo sound is mainly found in the cinema; most modern films have two
sound tracks. In 1995 Kodak and the Edison Phonograph Company joined
forces to market a home stereo system based on .357" cine-film, the
most popular amateur gauge; they sell poorly, since recordings are
bulky and cost several times as much as traditional phonograph
records. [By 2010 the idea will quietly be abandoned.]

Gaming: Secrets of the Electron
* Is the A.B.C. really unable to develop short-wave radar, or is there
  some more sinister reason why this technology has never flowered?
  Only the referee knows...

* A rich eccentric wants to re-introduce commercial TV, and picks the
  adventurers to run his first station. What could possibly go
  wrong...?


6.2      Electrical Engineering
-------------------------------
Every aspect of this culture is coloured by the availability of
extremely cheap power, and its importance cannot be overestimated. The
A.B.C. doesn't hesitate to send a few hundred 'digs half-way around
the world to deal with a local problem, and would sooner waste
hundreds of megawatts than a human life. Roads are melted, not blasted
or bulldozed, and ground circuits use kilowatts to do a job that might
just as well be left to a piece of barbed wire.

Fleury's Gas and Ray are a near-perfect power source, whose only
limits are the efficiency of turbines, and the need for large
expansion chambers. Ground-based systems are much cheaper than 'dig
power plants; weight is not a problem, making it possible to build big
rugged turbines that can work at higher pressures than 'dig systems. A
power plant for a small town, with 500,000 HP output (375 MW), costs
around a hundred thousand pounds; a little over #75,000 for the
turbines and generators, the rest for a gasometer-style expansion
tank, linked to fans, pumps, and ducts capable of circulating a few
tons of Fleury's Gas several times an hour. At the average power price
of 0.3d per kilowatt-hour it earns up to #450 an hour, and should pay
for itself in around five years (less than a year if the cost of
ancillary equipment, wages, and external power distribution is
ignored).

With the common love of self-sufficiency, there are many alternatives
to commercial power providers. The smallest power plants are based on
the 50 HP ultra-light 'dig turbine, with an expansion chamber and a
simple generator. Some power is lost, but about 35 HP (26 KW, enough
for all the activities of a farm or a small factory) can usually be
obtained. The complete outfit costs around #1000 including
installation, fits into a small barn, and is very popular in
agricultural areas. It pays for itself in roughly three and a half
years if it is used to its full capacity. The main drawback is noise,
but a few bales of hay will usually take care of the problem.

Naturally there are many intermediate sizes between these extremes.
Any electrical contractor will be delighted to quote for an
installation. It should also be mentioned that all 'digs incorporate
generators, and can typically convert 1-5% of their rated power output
to electricity. For example, a Mark Boat, with 100,000 HP turbines,
can generate up to 1,000 HP (750 KW). Usually most of this capacity
remains untapped.

Even before Fleury's Gas was dreamed of, the A.B.C. had already
perfected radium and helium batteries, extremely efficient energy
storage devices. They are available in a range of sizes, rated by
maximum power output, from 10 to 5000 HP, with varying capacities. For
example, a 300 HP (1 hour) radium battery stores 300 HP and can
deliver it for one hour at maximum power, for 10 hours at 30 HP, or
for 300 hours at 1 HP. A 300 HP X 10 radium battery has the same
maximum output of 300 HP, but can sustain it for ten hours, or pump
out 1 HP for 3000 hours. Radium batteries are best at lower power
output with high capacity, while helium batteries are more useful at
higher power levels. A table of the most common sizes follows, with
prices; where price is shown as "-", the size is not readily
available:

Power  Weight    Capacity (hours @ full output)  Uses
HP     Lb   Kg   1     2     5     10     20
10     11   5    #1    #1 5s #2    -      -      Tools, Bikes
25     22   10   #3    #4    #5    -      -      Tools, Bikes
50     33   15   #6    #7    #9    #12    -      Small electric car
100    55   25   #12   #13   #17   #22    #32    Car, small 'plane
200    73   33   #22   #25   #33   #43    #64    Car, van, 'plane
300  * 100  45   #33   #36   #47   #65    #92    Truck, 'plane, 'bat
500  * 145  65   #53   #59   #79   #100   #145   'Plane, 'bat, Light
1000 * 220  100  #104  #113  #145  #190   #245   'Plane, 'bat, Light
2000 * 330  150  #210  #235  #331  #440   -      'Plane', Light
5000 * 440  200  #550  #620  #860  -      -      Surfacer
 * Helium batteries

All of these batteries can be recharged as fast as power can be
supplied to them; for example, a 50 HP x 10 hour battery will recharge
in about 38 hours if connected to a 10 KW supply, in 3.8 hours if
connected to a 100 KW supply, or in 23 minutes with a 1000 KW supply.
Hotels generally offer 50-100 KW supplies for overnight recharging.
Garages (filling stations), marinas, and public landing fields usually
have 1000 KW supplies.

By 2065 AD high-voltage electromagnetic and electrostatic effects have
been developed to a remarkable extent. The flying loop (see 5.5,
above) is a stable vortex of ball lightning, a whirling electron field
of enormous power. While its range and area of effect are limited, and
power consumption is very high, it is an extremely versatile tool.

Ground circuits are used to generate a similar field covering a much
larger area. They don't need elaborate control systems, but aren't
nearly as versatile. Anything moving through the field starts to build
up a strong surface charge which is initially felt as "pins and
needles", but rapidly becomes painful. The charge tends to "leak" to
earth if the victim stays still, and this relieves most of the
discomfort. Any rapid movement renews the charge, and it is much
easier to stay still and unhurt. Anyone trying to move through such a
field must use the average of BODY and MIND against the field's Effect
each round to overcome the pain, or stay still until it is turned off.
The field does no real damage, but it is extremely unpleasant!

Type                         Area            Effect    Power  Cost
Portable police unit         100 x 100 ft    Max. 15   3 HP   #160
Single fuse household unit   200 ft radius   Max. 12   1 HP   #50
Double fuse household unit   300 ft radius   Max. 14   2 HP   #80
Triple fuse household unit   300 ft radius   Max. 18   2 HP   #120

All units consume the power shown for each point of Effect; for
example, a double fuse domestic unit set to Effect 12 consumes 24 HP
an hour. Usually circuits are left set to Effect 4-6 to deter cattle
or casual intruders, but they can easily be dialled up to full power.
Most households that are protected by ground circuits have their own
power supplies, or keep some batteries charged for emergencies; #20
buys enough to hold off a mob for a couple of days. Household systems
are more efficient than the portable police unit because they are
carefully adjusted to the precise electrostatic characteristics of the
site, which takes several hours; police units can be set up in a few
minutes, which is generally more useful than efficient operation. If
necessary two or more police units can overlap their fields to cover a
larger area, but the Effect cannot be increased. Police units are
boxes a little larger than a suitcase, mounted on tripods or on
vehicles. They cannot be moved without switching off the field.
Household systems are built into the house, and project a field with a
central "hole" large enough for the house and its immediate
surroundings.

Ground circuits can be partially defeated by waiting motionless for a
few rounds then moving very slowly, giving the field time to drain to
earth before it builds up on the skin. Maximum speed is a foot per
round, with a pause of one round between each move. At this slow pace
the Effect is halved.

The field is blocked by metal, and a suit of plate mail or fine metal
mesh covering all parts of the body would theoretically give complete
protection. Suits of this type are not sold, but can probably be
improvised (or knitted!). Cars and other vehicles do not give full
protection, since the metal enclosure is not complete, but may reduce
the Effect by -1D6

Surfacers illustrate this culture's attitude to power very well.
Essentially a gigantic induction furnace on wheels, a surfacer can
literally melt its way through solid rock, baking earth and other
apparently inappropriate materials until they melt as lava. They are
powered by Fleury turbines or the largest helium batteries, use
thousands of horsepower an hour, and are still regarded as a "cheap"
road-making machine! Anything that goes under the hood of a surfacer
is instantly melted or incinerated, regardless of its composition.
Several features of the machine ensure that it is very difficult to
use it to hurt anyone. For example, sensor rods extending from the
corners of the heating hood are linked to safety switches; they must
all be in contact with a solid object before the heater can be
activated. Roads melted by a surfacer remain hot for several hours,
and anyone touching them can easily suffer serious burns.
18_SURF.GIF shows a surfacer.

One last device should be mentioned; the recently-perfected Twin Drum
Auto-Washmatron is the last word in deluxe washing machines, capable
of washing and drying clothing without any hand work at all! This
miracle of engineering has transformed the life of most housewives; in
any home equipped with this machine and a fabric synthesiser
(described below) a major part of traditional housework has been
completely eliminated.

Gaming: Power Politics
* Someone has found details of an old gadget invented by Tesla. Never
  perfected, it would let anyone draw power from the earth, provided
  someone puts it there first, but there is no way to meter it or
  charge for the electricity. Now a philanthropist plans to built a
  huge power station on this principle, and give the world free
  electricity. The Electric Light Company doesn't like this idea, and
  hires the adventurers to put a stop to it...


6.3      Civil Engineering
--------------------------
'Digs and other vehicles are obvious examples of mechanical
engineering, but the infrastructure that supports them is just as
impressive. Every town has mooring towers, usually built to withstand
an earthquake or a direct collision with a 'dig. The largest dwarf the
"skyscrapers" of the age of crowds; of course no-one will ever build a
skyscraper again, but there are still a few relatively intact
buildings in Chicago and on Manhattan Island, which give a good idea
of their scale.

Most towers are short-term facilities, used to receive a 'dig for a
few hours while it loads or unloads. Usually they are equipped with
one to three docking points, mounted on bearings and free to rotate
around a central shaft which contains lifts and services. By this
means the nose of the 'dig points into the wind even when it is
docked. Larger towers take this idea a stage further and have several
motorised cross arms, each bearing three or four docking points.

Typical facilities for a tower include lifts for goods and passengers,
a waiting room, sometimes a restaurant on top of the tower, piped
supplies of liquefied Fleury's Gas, car parking, and loading bays for
trucks and other cargo vehicles. In 2000 AD there may also be a
launching catapult and landing strip for 'planes, although this is
becoming less common as their use declines. Towers aren't usually
equipped for elaborate servicing, or for long-term storage of goods;
that's more the province of docks, described below.

One disadvantage of any rotating tower design is the need for
clearance in a wide radius; 'digs must be free to swing and rock with
the wind, and need an immense amount of room to do so. For example, a
tower built to handle the largest freighters must be a mile away from
any obstruction, with the lowest docking point at least five hundred
feet high. The A.B.C. provides an advisory and certification service
for builders. 21_ABCHQ.GIF is a sketch of buildings along the Thames;
in the distance is the tower over the A.B.C.'s London headquarters.

Docks are built to house 'digs for extended periods and allow major
maintenance operations. This means that cranes must be available, and
rules out use of a rotating docking point. Instead they are built to
take advantage of natural wind breaks (such as hills and forests), or
in line with predictable winds, and have retaining clips to hold down
'digs against the strongest wind. Even with such natural protection a
cross breeze can make final approach very difficult, and the help of a
ground crew is usually essential.

Most large docks offer moorings for ten to thirty 'digs, one or more
enclosed sheds (an odd name for a structure large enough to hold a
'dig!) for major repairs, repair gantries, cargo cranes, and all the
other conveniences of any port. Services available include hostlers
(ground crew skilled in caring for turbines and Rays while 'digs are
in port), mechanics and other craftsmen, hotels, and warehouses. There
is often a 'dig builder's yard, sometimes two or three. They are as
large as any naval dockyard of the nineteenth or twentieth century.
River-bank sites are often preferred for these facilities, since there
are usually predictable winds and access to surface shipping is
enhanced. For example, the Port of London now offers docks for ninety
'digs and as many submersibles, and postcards depicting the stately
procession of 'digs down-river from Tower Bridge are common tourist
souvenirs of London. Part of a small dock is shown in 01_BERTH.GIF,
which depicts Postal Packet 162 at its moorings over Highgate.

While the importance of these facilities can't be over-stated, they
aren't the only major engineering works of this era. Modern roads are
often six or eight lanes wide, and as smooth as surfacers can build
them. Speeds of 150 MPH are common, and with low traffic densities
accidents are very rare. Bridge and tunnel building are also advanced;
the Dover-Calais road tunnel was melted in just under six months in
1995-6, and is second in length only to the Fishguard-Dublin tunnel
built in 1991-4.


6.4      Transport
------------------
While flight is the most prominent means of transport in the A.B.C.
stories, it's obvious that there are alternatives. Submersibles are
mentioned as being cheaper to operate than 'digs, but details are very
sketchy. Ground vehicles are implied ("...no more right to the
5000-foot lane than has a horse-cart to a modern road": With The Night
Mail), but are never described.


6.4.1    Ground Vehicles
------------------------
Public ground transport died with the age of crowds. Passenger trains,
trams, and omnibuses are virtually forgotten, except in some tourist
areas, replaced by the clean efficiency of the electric automobile,
usually called a car. A typical car of 2000 AD has electric power to
all wheels, with storage for several thousand miles, and most can
easily reach 150 MPH. Braking is regenerative; the momentum of the car
is converted to electricity which is used to charge the battery and
slightly extend range. Electric motors of the simple type used in
ground vehicles cost roughly 5s per HP; battery costs are as in
section 6.2 above. Almost all modern cars are open topped
convertibles. Powerful electric motor-cycles (called electrocycles)
are very rare, but electric bicycles are common. Commercial vehicles
are also electric. The ranges shown are for cruising speed and top
speed:

Bugatti LaValle 500 (and 500C)
A racing car built solely for speed, the Bugatti LaValle 500 is rarely
seen off the track. It is low, fast, and rather uncomfortable, and the
marque has won most European races since 1996. It seats two, and is
unusual in having a hard roof (with roll bars) and seat belts.
The 500c is a convertible version with higher ground clearance,
intended more for road use. It has a 20-hour battery, and slightly
more comfortable accommodation, but aerodynamic efficiency isn't as
good. Top speed and range (for battery size) are slightly reduced.
Bugatti LaValle 500               Bugatti LaValle 500c
BODY 12                           BODY 11
500 HP, 500 HP x 10 hour battery  500 HP, 500 HP x 20 hour battery
Cruise 150 MPH, Top 250 MPH       Cruise 150 MPH, Top 225 MPH
Range 1250/950 miles              Range 2400/1750 miles
#765                              #750
Insurance 10% (#75)               Insurance 7.5% (#50)

Ford Elektra
One of the most common small models in Britain and America. It seats
four, and is generally considered a reliable but rather boring design
with no unusual vices. Convertible and hard-roofed versions are
available, with identical performance.
BODY 10
250 HP, 500 HP x 10 hour battery
Cruise 110 MPH, Top 155 MPH, Range 3400/2800 miles
#220
Insurance 6% (#14)

Rolls-Royce Cyclonic
Named after the liner (Rolls-Royce built its turbines), the Cyclonic
has power and range to match its namesake. It seats five luxuriously,
with room for eight (slightly cramped) if folding seats are opened.
BODY 13
550 HP, 2 x 300 HP x 20 hour batteries
Cruise 140 MPH, Top 190 MPH, Range 3050/2700 miles
#850
Insurance 5% (#43)

Vickers Standard XC Taxi
Typical of taxis the world over, this London example is built to give
the driver and up to five passengers a reasonably comfortable ride at
moderate speed.
BODY 10
90 HP, 200 HP x 10 hour battery
Cruise 60 MPH, Top 90 MPH, Range 1300/1100 miles
#125
Insurance 5% (#8)

Rudge Electric V Bicycle
A very common design, sold mainly to factory workers and others on
lower salaries. Side-cars are available, and popular with married men,
reducing speed to 25 MPH with range 250 miles.
BODY 4
5 HP, 10 HP x 5 hour battery
Cruise 20 MPH, Top 35 MPH, range 300/250 miles
#11 (sidecar #6)
Usually uninsured

Brough/Indian Electric Glide (last model 1987)
Formerly built in Britain and under licence in America, this powerful
electrocycle is becoming rare. The rider is protected from weather by
a streamlined colloid fairing.
BODY 7
100 HP, 100 HP x 10 hour battery
Cruise 120 MPH, Top 160 MPH, Range 1200/750 miles
#150 (but collectors will pay #250 or more for an immaculate model)
Insurance 10% (#15)
An electrocycle is parked beside one of the buildings in 05_LIGHT.GIF

Bedford Tramp 2C
A typical large truck of this era, able to haul ten tons of cargo
packed on standard 'dig pallets. It has room for a driver and two
passengers.
BODY 17
200 HP, 500 HP x 20 hour battery
Cruise 80 MPH, Top 110 MPH, Range 5400/4800 miles
#499
Insurance 4% (#20

Edison Carry-All
A common American pick-up for farms and tradesmen, carrying up to five
tons of cargo in an open bed, and a driver with two passengers in a
closed cab. It has good off-road performance.
BODY 13
100 HP, 300 HP x 10 hour battery
Cruise 70 MPH, Top 120 MPH, range 3600/2700 miles
#199
Insurance 6% (#12)

Mitsubishi AEoleus Van
A typical closed van, with room for 3/4 ton of cargo, a driver, and
one passenger. There are innumerable similar models, the Mitsubishi is
unusual only in the size of its standard battery; most other
manufacturers use 10-hour units.
BODY 10
150 HP, 200 HP x 20 hour battery
Cruise 60 MPH, Top 90 MPH, Range 2400/2100 miles
#199
Insurance 5% (#10)

[In 2065 AD performance of all ground vehicles is much the same, but
BODY is roughly 25% better.]

Gaming: Ground Vehicles
To design a ground vehicle, just convert the modern vehicle of your
choice to an electrical model, making it a little more powerful and a
lot cheaper (but at least 50%-150% more expensive than the cost of
batteries and motor). Any car magazine will give you hundreds of
examples. To impose a consistent style it's assumed that design
conventions in this world strongly favour convertibles, and that model
names are often borrowed from the famous names of aviation. Road
vehicles above ten tons are very rare; a 'dig is usually more
convenient, and better able to reach awkward locations. Coaches and
buses are never seen outside tourist areas.


6.4.2    Submersibles
---------------------
The bulk carriers of the sea, submersibles are huge, slow, reliable,
and massively strong. Most are equipped to stay underwater for up to
48 hours, but in practice they lung up and take navigational sightings
at least twice a day if weather permits. Submersible technology has
many resemblances to 'dig design, and the techniques used to determine
costs and performance are very similar to those described in section
5.3:

1: Hull size and costs: Use the 'dig tables for hull sizes,
   multiplying lift (from the 'dig tables) by 500 to obtain capacity
   in tons (after allowing for ballast tanks etc.)
2: Hull Cost: Multipy capacity in tons by #5 to obtain hull price,
   then modify as follows:
     Ratio  6:1 add 10%
     Ratio  8:1 no change
     Ratio 10:1 subtract 10%
3: Power requirements: Power requirement at 10 knots is the capacity
   in tons multiplied by 0.1 HP. Modify the result as follows:
     a:  Per metre diameter of hull; add 5%
     b:            Ratio 6:1 design; Subtract 20%
                   Ratio 8:1 design; No change
                  Ratio 10:1 design; Add 10%
     c:           Per knot under 10; Subtract 10%
                   Per knot over 10; Add 10%
                   Per knot over 20; Add 10%
                   Per knot over 30; Add 10%
4: Turbines: Determine costs as for 'digs then subtract 20%, since
   heavier and cheaper materials can be used.
5: Gas: Gas needs are 1 Kg per HP; high-pressure turbine systems
   keeps the volume manageably small.
6: Controls etc.: Determine costs etc. as for 'digs. All submersibles
   need a full bridge.
7: BODY: Divide tonnage by 1000 then add 20. Add 25% for 2065 designs.
Use the 'dig design form to record submersibles.

Example: ES Highland Spring
The Electric Submersible Highland Spring is to be an especially large
bulk carrier, with a capacity of 100,000 tons. High speed isn't
needed; twenty knots should be ample. She will have a crew of 16.
1: A 40m x 240m hull will have a capacity of 120,500 tons; the extra
   volume will be useful for accommodation etc.
2: The hull costs #5 x 120,500 plus 10% (6:1 ratio)        #662,750
3: Initial power requirement is 120,500 x 0.1         12,050 HP
   The hull is 40 metres wide, add 40 x 5% = 200%     36,150 HP
   The hull has a 6:1 ratio, subtract 20%             28,920 HP
   Speed is 20 knots, add 20-10 x 10% = 100%          57,840 HP
   To ensure a good safety margin, she is built with 3 x 25,000 HP
   turbines costing #77,500 - 20% each = 3 x #62,000       #186,000
5: Gas requirement is 75,000 kg = 75 tons                   #25,500
6: Accommodation for 16, controls, etc.                     #15,000
                                                    Total  #889,250
7: Body = 120,050 / 1000  + 20 = 120 + 20 = 140

Submersibles are mentioned in the A.B.C. stories, but few details are
given. The examples that follow are included purely for gaming
purposes. A small submersible is shown loading oil from a 'dig in
graphics file 10_SUB.GIF


6.4.3    Sample Submersibles
----------------------------
       Vessel: ES Highland Spring
       Length: 780ft (240 m)
Maximum Width: 130ft (40m)
        Ratio: 6:1
     Capacity: 120,500 tons
Maximum Speed: 20 Knots
         BODY: 140
      Engines: 3 x 25,000 HP heavy-duty submersible turbines
         Cost: Hull     #662,750
               Engines  #186,000
               Gas      # 25,500
               Other    # 15,000  (controls, accommodation)
               Total    #889,260
    Insurance: 1.0% (#9000 P/A)
The Highland Spring is a bulk ore carrier which makes a regular run
between Nova Scotia and Belfast. Because of her enormous size she must
enter both ports at high tide through dredged channels; even with
these precautions she has twice run aground, hence her high insurance
premium.
                     ----------------------------
       Vessel: ES Fujitsu Maru
       Length: 228 ft (70 metres)
Maximum Width: 23 ft (7 metres)
        Ratio: 10:1
     Capacity: 1200 tons
Maximum Speed: 30 knots
         BODY: 22
      Engines: 1 x 1000 HP Standard submersible turbine
         Cost: Hull     # 5,400
               Engines  # 2,480
               Gas      #   340
               Other    # 2,100 (controls, accommodation)
               Total    #10,320
    Insurance: Covered by A.B.C.
This submersible is on a long-term charter to the A.B.C., and is used
to deliver radium batteries and service personnel to the chain of
automatic coastal lights linking Hong Kong and Alaska; air conditions
are often too treacherous to allow the use of 'digs at low level along
this route.


6.5      Meteorology
--------------------
Meteorology is based on an advanced form of chaos theory, Xavier
Lavalle's 'Theory of the Cyclone', and on the observational methods
described in his 'Tellurionical Records'. These allow moderately
detailed prediction, although the final effects of the weather can be
influenced by factors as random as the movement of a 'dig or a
meteorite.

Lavalle proved that the major influences on the weather are electrical
charges generated by the earth's magnetic field and the Aurora
Borealis. These charges, usually called tensions, are often opposed;
when this occurs there is a build-up of charge, leading to violent air
currents and turbulence. Bad weather is a symptom of unbalanced
tensions, not a cause of them. Lavalle developed the instruments which
are now used to track the tensions and predict their effects.

Localised weather control is obviously possible; skin-friction around
'digs often causes some electrical disruption, and many 'digs carry
bombs and smoke-ring cannon, used to break up turbulence patterns.
Transylvanian scientists are experimenting with the use of bombs to
modify larger weather patterns. Given enough energy much more
spectacular feats should be possible, if not necessarily desirable;
for example, "herding" clouds to areas that need rain, or using
electrical fields to discharge tensions and ease storms. The A.B.C.
may be experimenting in this area: "..I had seen some squadrons making
false auroras far to the north while they manoeuvred round the Pole.."
(As Easy As A.B.C.). A large enough number of 'digs could certainly
use their propellers to modify air currents and move clouds.

Cloud breakers might also have some role in weather modification;
their beams must leave a trail of ionised air which should act to
discharge the worst tensions. It's notable that there is relatively
calm air over Britain, one of the most intensively-lighted countries,
on a night of serious storms (With The Night Mail).


6.6      Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
-----------------------------------------
Aviation catalysed the development of many new materials. Self-sealing
rubber was needed for helium 'digs, and was soon followed by
completely artificial "rubbers" and "gutta-percha". By the mid-fifties
the range of synthetics included tough spider silk and a variety of
colloids (plastics) and resins. Today's silk can withstand loads of
several tons, while a quarter of an inch of papier-mache (a
cellulose-filled resin with little resemblance to its primitive
ancestor) can stop bullets. These materials, and others like them,
have made today's strong lightweight 'digs possible. The synthetics
industry is the largest consumer of oil and coal, now that power
production is based on Fleury's Gas.

When Fleury's Gas was invented, the companies most suited to mass
produce it were photographic dye manufacturers. A good portion of the
profits went to research, and the results were spectacular. It's hard
to believe, but as late as the nineteen-fifties and 'sixties all
photography involved long and extremely complex chemical processes.
Even primitive black and white materials needed three or four baths,
colour techniques were so difficult that they could only be carried
out in commercial laboratories. Today all films develop in water, and
are backed by print material. Just soak the roll for fifteen or twenty
minutes, then unroll it and peel the negative and prints apart.
Enlarging is equally simple, since photographic papers are developed
the same way. Full colour prints and stereograms (two pictures mounted
side by side and viewed to create an illusion of three dimensions) are
now the norm. All film stock is colloid-based, incapable of stretching
or tearing. The most common amateur size is 3" wide, used mainly for
3" x 6" postcard prints and 3" x 3" stereoscope pairs; a roll of 20
exposures costs 4s 3d. Miniature film sizes were common in the age of
crowds, but easily-concealed cameras are too readily used to invade
privacy; today neither the cameras nor the film are made.

Cine film is also processed in water. The only common home size is
.357", which sells at 5s 3d for a ten-minute reel, professionals use
2" film with a 1.75" x 1" frame. It costs about four pounds a minute.
Amateur cameras are usually clockwork, professionals prefer electrical
systems.

Another extraordinary achievement is the synthesis of gem materials.
The rough nature of the technique is well-known, but the details are
trade secrets. In brief, it involves combining several chemical
compounds (most notably carbon) under conditions of very high pressure
and temperature. Powerful electrical fields are also involved in the
process. Currently the Commercial Minerals Company can quote for
bearings up to 9" wide by 11" long, and is taking advance orders for
components up to 1ft x 3ft for delivery in 2002. Prices are high, but
C.M.C. claims that they will fall as more production chambers come
on-line.

The first announcements by C.M.C. sent the price of natural gemstones
tumbling, and in the 'eighties it was possible to buy fine diamonds
for a fraction of their former or current value. Eventually the
leading pundits of fashion proclaimed that C.M.C. stones were TOO
perfect; they contained few of the tiny flaws and discolorations that
disperse light and add lustre to real gems. To quote a De Beers
advertisement of the 1990s, the "cold gleam" of a synthetic stone is
no match for the "warm glow" of the real thing; an unbiased observer
probably can't tell them apart, but the value of gems has always been
based on their perceived rarity. The "gleam versus glow" argument was
simply an excuse to make a distinction. C.M.C. do not sell to the
gemstone market, although it is likely that some components have been
diverted to unscrupulous hands, cut, and sold as natural stones.
12_CMC.GIF is an advertisement for C.M.C. bearings. As yet no other
manufacturer is close to C.M.C.'s scale of production. Because there
is always some doubt as to the authenticity of jewels, stones without
a detailed history or a certificate of provenance from a reputable
diamond mine are virtually worthless. Jewel theft is almost unknown.

Dutch and German manufacturers are still unable to produce large gems,
and "boort" facings are made from a mixture of real and synthetic
industrial gemstones, pulverised and electrically amalgamated to form
a smooth surface. This is a relatively thin glaze, and often suffers
from microscopic stress cracks and irregularities. [By 2065 AD any
desired size of component can be manufactured by C.M.C., including a
range of structural materials reinforced with carbon fibre for extra
flexibility and tensile strength. These materials are extremely
expensive but very strong for their weight, and are often incorporated
into the structure of 'digs and submersibles. At least a dozen other
companies are now tooled up to produce comparable products.]

One final achievement should be mentioned; the elimination of sewing
and mending. Today most homes have a fabric synthesiser, usually based
on Greer's 1979 patents. Damaged garments (and other fabrics such as
blankets, sheets, and curtains) are loaded into a digestion tank,
where chemicals break them down to raw materials which are blended and
forced through nozzles to make new thread. Varying the nozzle size and
the smoothness of flow allows any fabric to be imitated, from silk to
the coarsest tweed. An automatic loom sees to the rest, with
spider-like sewing arms taking care of final assembly. A sheet takes a
few minutes, a dress or a coat roughly half an hour, most garments
fall somewhere between these extremes. With the twin-drum
auto-washmatron removing almost all the labour from washing, this
device virtually abolishes a major part of traditional housework.

Instead of buying clothes or cloth, the modern housewife shops for
punched paper programming tapes, vials of dye, and an occasional drum
of solvent or bale of raw fibre. There is still an extensive fashion
industry, with the most exclusive designers charging ten or fifteen
pounds per garment, but a few pounds will buy tapes for a complete
wardrobe of less modish designs.

Gaming: Materials Technology
* The system of gemstone certification suggests some interesting
  possibilities for criminals. Steal a well-known gem and sell a dozen
  copies to fanatical collectors? Forge a few provenance certificates
  and attach them to deliberately flawed synthetic stones? De Beers
  have spent decades worrying about these possibilities, and things
  should be very difficult for anyone who ventures into this field
  without a great deal of care.

* Adventurers with an eye to fashion might like to think about the
  implications of the fabric synthesiser. A few bootleg tapes could be
  very rewarding...


6.7      Life Sciences
----------------------
Human life expectancy is a hundred years and rising. This is almost
entirely a matter of improved public health and the avoidance of
crowds, combined with changes in living habits (most notably increased
leisure and sleeping time), and treatment at high altitudes.

During the 1920s doctors realised that aviators were usually healthier
than those who stayed on the ground, and eventually proved that the
improvement was a result of increased blood cell production, an
adaptation to lower air pressure, combined with the beneficial effects
of the cosmic rays and ozone encountered at high altitudes. The
increase in red cells improves the flow of nutrients through the
blood, while extra white blood cells improve the body's ability to
resist disease. As an extra bonus, at high altitudes the air is less
polluted and carries far fewer bacteria than at ground level.

Most diseases are now curable, although in extreme cases the patient
must spend several months at high altitude or in a polar sanatorium.
The main causes of death are now cancer, heart disease, and strokes. A
link between smoking and these diseases was suspected in the 1960s,
and governments of that era attempted to ban tobacco. After the
downfall of government these laws were forgotten, and smoking is still
moderately common. Naturally any polite smoker takes care to ensure
that his smoke does not invade the privacy of others.

The elimination of famine has involved development of many new
agricultural techniques. Simple chemical treatments can quadruple the
growth rate of any plant, or double the meat yield of most domestic
animals. There are obvious pitfalls, of course; force-grown plants can
soon exhaust the soil without careful crop rotation, and animals must
be weaned from stimulants for several weeks before slaughtering.
Perhaps the most spectacular example of forced growth is in timber
cultivation, where it is possible to go from seed to fifty-foot tree
in five years. This technique exhausts the soil so badly that it is
rarely used in commercial logging; it is more often applied to
landscape gardening.


Gaming: High-Altitude Treatment
Section 1.4.1 of the game rules covers the normal process of recovery
from wounds. In the A.B.C. world treatment by doctors aboard an
"accident ward" halves recovery time and guarantees a cure, with no
roll needed for success. This speed improvement is NOT cumulative with
any other medical treatment; characters won't recover from injuries in
a week if they are treated by a friendly doctor then hoisted up to
high altitude!

Disease should be VERY rare in this world, and should not occur
outside the specific needs of a campaign. It is so unusual that any
serious outbreak will attract A.B.C. intervention, quarantines, etc.


6.8      Weapon Technology
--------------------------
...only the nicest balancing of tanks saved us from spinning like the
rifle-bullet of the old days.
                                                With The Night Mail

This is an era of peace. Weapons, other than those in the hands of the
A.B.C. or used for sports activities, are very rare. Pistols and other
handguns are rarely seen outside museums and private collections;
there is no reason, apart from nostalgia, why anyone should use them,
and older types of ammunition are no longer made (although reloading
supplies are still available for enthusiasts). Machine guns and
machine pistols are no longer made.

Shotguns are still common, as are hunting rifles, but they are
solenoid guns, using a small radium battery and a non-ferrous barrel
surrounded by electromagnets to accelerate their projectiles. Shotguns
fire a paper tube of iron shot: the tube bursts as it exits the
barrel, leaving the shot to fly on to the target. Rifles (the name is
a complete misnomer) fire streamlined flechettes which use fins
instead of rotation to stay on course. Both classes of weapon are
autoloading, with ten-shot magazines, but recharge time is roughly
three seconds between shots. There is no equivalent of a
double-barrelled shotgun or rifle. The batteries allow several hundred
shots before a recharge is needed.

Police forces generally rely on ground circuits for crowd control, or
use non-lethal weapons such as truncheons. In the eighties there was
some interest in electrical stun weapons, firing a small
electromagnetic vortex resembling a flying loop, but they proved
dangerous and manufacture was soon abandoned. There may still be a few
around, but they are rare. The range is a maximum of fifty feet.

Explosive weapons died with the era of crowds, but criminals have been
known to use atmospheric bombs to create diversions. Knives and other
cutting devices still exist, but are usually thought of as tools, not
weapons.

See section 5 above for 'dig and 'plane weapons.

Gaming: Weapons
Shotguns and rifles fire one shot a round. Difficulty numbers etc.
remain unchanged, ranges are doubled. All electrical weapons are very
quiet, the only noise that they make being a quiet whine as they
charge, and a "snap" of air displaced by the projectiles. They are a
little heavier than their ancestors, with wide barrels, and have the
magazine well back towards the stock, resembling bull-pup designs of
our world.

Weapon         Multiple   Effect   Damage      Notes
               Targets             A  B  C
-----------------------------------------------------
Small rifle    No         6        F  F  I/C
Big rifle      No         8        F  I  C/K
Huge rifle     No         10       I  C  K
Small shotgun  No         5        F  I  I
Large shotgun  No         8        F  I  C/K
Stun gun [1]   No         9        F  KO KO/I  injuries are burns
Bomb [2]       15' radius 12       B  KO I+KO

[1] The stun gun is roughly shotgun sized but needs two 10 HP or one
25 HP radium batteries, usually carried on the user's belt or
back-pack, or left in a car; in the latter case a long extension cable
is needed. The projectile is a whirling ball of energy that looks like
ball lightning. It can be fired once per two rounds, the batteries
allow 20 or 25 shots for one-hour batteries, 40 or 50 for two hour
units, etc. The equipment is too heavy for casual use.
[2] The atmospheric bomb is designed to cause air turbulence, not
injuries, hence the relatively high effect and radius. It most
resembles a stun grenade.



7.0      Death And Beyond
=========================
Sections 2.0.5 and 2.0.7 give a brief account of the history of
psychic studies in the A.B.C. world. This section deals with the
practical consequences of these discoveries, and their game effects.

I have chosen to interpret some ambiguous passages in ways that seem
to make sense in the light of Kipling's other work, but the ideas
expressed here are NOT the opinion of the author, and may not be close
to Kipling's intentions in the A.B.C. stories. They are intended to
simulate the degree of information that might be available after many
years of rigorous scientific investigation into this field, and to the
best of my knowledge do NOT reflect current religious or
parapsychological opinions.


7.1      The Ethereal Vortex And Reincarnation
----------------------------------------------
The core theory of psychic studies is the existence of the so-called
ethereal vortex, a vast "whirlpool" of psychic force which cannot be
seen or felt except by the psychically gifted. As is well known, all
living minds are surrounded by a faint nimbus of electrical energy. On
death this nimbus (presumably the soul) detaches from the body and is
normally drawn towards the vortex. It "circulates" (all terms are
approximate) in the vortex for a period of (usually) fifty to a
hundred years, then the residue of the nimbus somehow transfers to the
brain of a developing embryo, forming the first template of the new
individual's soul. Naturally the older mental patterns are very faint
and soon overlaid by new mental images; usually they are forgotten in
the trauma of birth.

By deep hypnosis it is sometimes possible to bring memories of the
previous life forward to the conscious memory. Occasionally these
thoughts are specific enough to identify the previous personality, but
that is very rare. Often nothing is found, apart from a faint memory
of a particularly happy or traumatic incident (often the death of the
previous personality). Where it has been possible to identify the
former life there is usually some strong resemblance between the
previous and present ways of life; for example, airmen often prove to
be reincarnations of earlier airmen or seamen. Usually the
reincarnation is the same sex as the former life, but this is not
invariably so; one unfortunate young man found that his previous life
had been a notorious courtesan in 1940s Russia.

In general, the period between death and reincarnation seems to have
some relationship to psychic power. The evidence suggests that those
who demonstrate high levels of psychic ability (detected by Rhine's
microelectroscopic techniques) generally reincarnate relatively
quickly, or stay in the vortex for unusually long periods; the
mediocre majority stay for fifty to a hundred years.

The Microelectroscope
This device consists of an array of thousands of tiny strips of gold
leaf mounted in a colloid box. Each strip leads to a tiny needle which
acts as an antenna. In the presence of extremely weak electromagnetic
fields the leaves rise from the support structure; by analysing the
pattern of raised strips it is possible to map the field.
Unfortunately it is very hard to block out normal electrostatic fields
which tend to overload the system; someone who has just brushed her
hair reads as an incredibly powerful psychic! For this reason the
microelectroscope is rarely seen outside the laboratory, where it is
used inside a Faraday cage. Each unit costs several hundred pounds,
primarily for workmanship. The Hawking Laboratory at Cambridge has the
largest facility of this type, six million-strip microelectroscopes
mounted in a cube surrounding an inner test chamber. Scientists hope
that it will eventually be possible to persuade a ghost (see below) to
enter this chamber; as yet this has not been achieved, and most of the
information on ghosts comes from relatively insensitive portable
units.

Gaming: Reincarnation
Reincarnation is most useful if the referee plans to run two campaigns
with widely differing dates; for example, one set in 2000 AD and one
in 2065 AD. Under these circumstances anyone killed in the earlier
campaign can be reborn for the second era. Perhaps the second campaign
should be called "A.B.C., The Next Generation"....

If you wish to use this system, anyone killed in the first campaign
automatically reincarnates before the date of the second campaign; it
is usually advisable for all characters to be adults, so assume a
birth date 18+3D6 years before the second campaign (unless you want
some terrifyingly well-informed children in your game!). The new
character should be based on 30 points, with some characteristics (and
possibly some skills) the same as those of the predecessor. See
"extent of memories" below for more details.

Another possible use is to give characters some memories of former
lives which may be helpful in the course of the campaign. AT THE
REFEREE'S DISCRETION ONLY any character may begin with any desired
level of reincarnation knowledge; in practice it is usually best to
limit this knowledge to faint fragments of conscious memories,
possibly adding more vivid or complete knowledge which is only
accessible via hypnosis. Memories should not be useful unless it suits
the purposes of the referee; for example, someone who has memories of
life as a soldier in the Great War may find that use of an unfamiliar
weapon is unusually easy.

Extent Of Memories
Referees will normally have their own ideas as to the nature of any
former lives, and the extent to which memories are available. If you
wish to allow players to determine this for themselves, ask them to
use SOUL against a difficulty level as indicated below. If the roll
fails, roll on the random column:

Level of Recollection                  Difficulty   Random
----------------------------------------------------------
No memories whatever, even hypnotised  0            2
Faint, only accessible by hypnosis     5            3-8
Faint, but occasionally conscious      6  (5)       9  [1]
Vivid, but incoherent fragments        8  (6)       10 [2]
Complete recall of the former life     10 (8)       11 [3]
Complete recall of 1D6 former lives    12 (10)      12 [3]

Numbers shown in rounded brackets are the difficulty of having this
level of reincarnation if it must be triggered by an initial course of
hypnosis; for example, a character who potentially has complete recall
of a previous life may never be hynotised, and will then never
remember the former life.
[1] SOUL must be the same as the former life, other characteristics
    and skills may vary.
[2] All characteristics must be the same as the former life, skills
    may vary. There is a slight physical resemblance to the former
    life.
[3] All characteristics must be the same as the former life/lives, all
    skills must be selected from those available to the former life.
    There is a strong physical resemblance to the former life.

Usually referees should have already decided when the former life
ended; if this is not the case, use the next table to determine the
interval that passed between the former life and the next incarnation.

Time Before Reincarnation
Use SOUL against a difficulty number to determine the time before
reincarnation. If the roll is a success the character is reborn in the
indicated time; if it fails, roll 2D6 on the "random" column below:

Time                      Difficulty   Random
---------------------------------------------
Immediate (within weeks)  12           -
1D6 months                10           2
6D6 months                8            3
3D6 years                 6            4
18+3D6 years              4            5
36+3D6 years              2            6
54+3D6 years              0            7
72+3D6 years              2            8
90+3D6 years              4            9
108+6D6 years             6            10
144+6D6 years             8            11
180+6D6 years             10           12
2D6 centuries             12           -
6D6 centuries             15           -

Remember that the reborn personality is initially in a baby's body and
probably has no memory of its former life. Even if reincarnation is
immediate and memories are complete it must still take more than a
year for a newborn child to gain enough control to talk coherently.
Parents who find that their children have this ability may react with
horror, rather than helping the child to reach its goals. Characters
who are murdered should NOT expect to reincarnate in time to give
evidence at the killer's trial!

Animal And Mechanical Reincarnation
Optionally animals may be reborn as people or vice versa. Kipling
wrote several stories told from the point of view of dogs and other
animals (see Thy Servant A Dog and The Jungle Book). He also wrote
stories told from from the point of view of ships (The Ship That Found
Herself) and railway engines (.007). A campaign in which a former
adventurer found himself reincarnated as the team's faithful hound or
as their 'dig might be fun, but could cause a lot of problems... Don't
do it unless you are prepared to live with the consequences. The
possibilities here are too open-ended for the development of game
rules; the referee should be fair and extremely cautious, since
players will undoubtedly try to take advantage! See the film
"Christine" for an example of the possibilities.


7.2      Ghosts
---------------
Under exceptional circumstances (usually a violent death and the
presence of very strong emotions) the nimbus formed by an individual
mind survives as an independent vortex. Under these circumstances it
may remain free of the main ethereal vortex for many years, draining a
little psychic energy (the drain is usually perceived as a feeling of
cold) from anyone entering its orbit. The ghost registers on
sufficiently sensitive instruments (such as the microelectroscope) and
can sometimes be sensed by the psychically sensitive. Under
exceptional circumstances such ghosts may be seen visually, or appear
on film, but this is extraordinarily rare. Any contact with this class
of ghost, no matter how tenuous, is extremely rare, a once in a
lifetime opportunity for any psychic who stumbles across it.

Usually this first class of ghost creates itself for a specific
reason; most often, to correct an injustice or seek revenge. They are
unable to affect the material world directly, but anyone in their
presence feels uncomfortable and may feel driven to do something
related to the ghost's interests. Mediums can sometimes make direct
contact with these ghosts, but extracting useful information is
extraordinarily difficult; ghosts rarely seem to know their own names,
let alone why they exist! Generally this class of ghost eventually
merges with the vortex voluntarily, usually after its purpose has been
achieved.

The second class of ghost is much more common, but is not a true ghost
in the sense imagined by earlier beliefs. It is a psychic recording,
usually a faint memory of some terrible event, impressed into a
material object such as a chair, a building, or a weapon. It can be
triggered by anyone in the right mood. These ghosts are very often
felt as vivid aural or visual hallucinations, or as shifts in mood;
for example, a feeling of deep gloom, vertigo, or insane rage.
Psychics can attempt to discover additional nuances within the
recording, but it is not possible to question it in other ways.
Recordings are often left by the living, not the dead; for example,
someone who is deeply unhappy for months or years will impress this
feeling on his or her surroundings. Occasionally it is possible to
remove such ghosts by (for example) demolishing a room, or by finding
the person who created it and taking them back to confront their
earlier emotions. Each case is different. Incidentally, most objects
that are intimately associated with one person for a prolonged period
start to acquire traces of the owner's personality, which can often be
detected by a skilled medium. Forensic psychics are often very gifted
in this area.

Gaming: Real or Recording?
There is no easy way to tell a true ghost from a psychic recording.
Most psychics expect that anything they encounter will be a recording,
and it may take some time for them to realise that they are dealing
with a genuine ghost. Following are difficulty ratings for various
forms of interaction with ghosts and psychic recordings; use the
Medium skill if available, or SOUL (with difficulty doubled) if it is
not:

Activity                                            Difficulty
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sense a ghost                                       3-5
Sense a psychic recording                           2-4
Tell a ghost from a psychic recording               4-6
Get an incoherent answer from a ghost               6-7
Get a detailed answer from a ghost                  7-8
Persuade a ghost that its mission is accomplished   8-10
Detect an additional nuance in a psychic recording  6-7
Detect the exact source of a psychic recording      6-7
Describe the personality of an object's owner       7-8
Per hour spent in meditation                        -1

Example: What Happened?
 Ben (Medium [7]) learns that people feel suicidally gloomy in one
 room of an old house. In the room he immediately senses something
 (difficulty 3), but isn't sure if it is a ghost or a psychic
 recording. He concentrates on the psychic impressions (difficulty 5)
 and eventually decides that he is dealing with a recording. After
 meditating for several hours he realises that the gloom is overlaid
 with feelings of claustrophobia and vertigo, apparently left by
 another mind (difficulty 7 for each impression, reduced to 2 by the
 period of meditation). He also decides that the sources of both
 impressions were female minds.
   On researching the history of the house he learns that a woman died
 after falling from the window; her sister lived on in the house for
 several years, and spent most of the time in mourning.
 [This example comes from Kipling's story The House Surgeon, which is
 highly recommended]

Seances
A seance is simply a concentration aid for a psychic, allowing very
limited communication with souls in the ethereal vortex. Difficulty is
proportional to time spent in the vortex; the longer the period since
death, the harder it is to make contact:

Elapsed time          Difficulty
--------------------------------
Up to 1 week          6
1 week - 6 months     8
6 months - 5 years    10
5-10 years            12
10-25 years           14
25-100 years          16
100-500 years         18
Over 500 years        20

Subtract 1 from difficulty for each additional person involved in the
seance, 2 if the person has SOUL 5-6, 3 if SOUL is 7.

Souls in the vortex have a very detached attitude to their former
existence; even a murder victim may refuse to say anything to help
catch the killer! It is also hard to find the right soul in a vortex
containing many millions; incautious probing may lead to contact with
a personality that is unhelpful or completely hostile to the medium.

Mental Control
Under exceptional circumstances ghosts and recordings may influence
the minds of others. The referee should use the SOUL of the ghost, or
of the person who left the recording, to attack the SOUL of the
character affected. If successful the character starts to feel a mood
shift. Each additional success intensifies the mood. Characters can
try to escape from the attack by deliberately changing mood (thinking
happy thoughts); just use SOUL against the SOUL of the ghost or
recording. The victim's SOUL is completely overcome if SOUL x 2
attacks succeed; at this point the victim should be controlled by the
referee until the desired action has taken place. In practice it is
usually more convenient to have this happen to NPCs.


7.3      Social Effects
-----------------------
As already mentioned, scientific proof of psychic survival has had
some profound effects. The old ideas of heaven and hell have been
discredited, replaced by Oriental ideas of reincarnation. There is
some very limited evidence of reincarnation in animal form, which has
emphasised the idea of Karma (without much in the way of supporting
evidence). Doing good in this life should ensure a good reincarnation,
doing bad may lead to unhappy results. Proponents of this theory often
point out that the human population is falling, reducing opportunities
for reincarnation considerably. Opponents point to evidence of
multiple reincarnations in a single individual (seen as schizophrenia
in extreme cases), and suggest that this is actually much more common
than is realised.

Most people spend some time probing their own memories to see if they
can remember an earlier life, and may also seek psychic counselling if
they wish to bring such memories to the surface. Hypnosis is commonly
used to aid this process.

Unsupported psychic evidence is not legal in most courts, but police
forces often use it as a basis for further enquiries. Most city forces
have a forensic psychic on call, and use seances to contact murder
victims. Naturally the spirit does not know any more than the victim;
if the victim didn't identify the killer, the spirit won't know
anything more. Spirits are not omniscient, and seem to find it hard to
perceive the material world after death. Psychic evidence is
occasionally admissible in civil cases, but unsupported evidence is
NOT acceptable in cases related to disputed wills or any other matter
arising from the subject's death.

Early researchers feared that confirmation of reincarnation might lead
to an enormous increase in the number of suicides; if you are sure
that you will live again, death is a way of escaping from illness or
personal problems. While a small minority do take this attitude, most
people prefer to deal with their problems in the current life,
realising that they are unlikely to recover their complete personality
in a future incarnation. Studies suggest that people with strong
psychic tendencies are the most likely to make a full reincarnation,
and they are notable for dying young; these facts may be connected.



8.0      Prices
===============
The list that follows does not include vehicles (documented above) and
many other items that are unlikely to be needed on a regular basis.
British prices are roughly average for this era; American prices can
be found by a direct pound-dollar conversion at #1 = $4

Food & Drink
Prices are generally low because of cheap imports and distribution,
and because farming is largely automated. Alcohol prices have fallen
sharply since the 1970s because they do not include any form of tax or
duty.
Bacon, pound          1s 3d
Bread, 4 pounds       9d
Butter, pound         2s 1d
Cheese, pound         1s 2d
Coffee, 4 ounces      5d
Tea, pound            1s
Mate, pound           1s 6d
Coca-Cola, pint       3d
Eggs, dozen           1s 3d
Beef, pound           11d
Steak, pound          1s 3d
Beer, pint            4d
Whisky, bottle        5s 6d
Brandy, bottle        6s 6d
Rum, bottle           7s

Drugs
Prices of all drugs are low, mainly because of cheap distribution.
Since the 1970s there has been no such thing as an illegal drug;
prices naturally fell steeply, and are now on a par with any other
agricultural or chemical product. Tobacco and marijuana are still
quite popular, few people seem to feel the need for stronger drugs now
that the stresses of the era of crowds have ended. Coca-Cola (above)
really is made with coca leaves.
Cigarettes, 20        6d
Tobacco, ounce        5d
Marijuana, ounce      1s
Cocaine, grain        2s 6d
Opium, ounce          3s

Housing
With modern synthetics, the use of surfacers to melt rock, and no
shortage of land, all forms of housing are quite cheap. A modern work
crew can clear a site and melt foundations in less than a week, and
erect the rest of a building in two to three weeks.
House (3 beds)        #500
House (6 beds)        #900
Farm with 1000 acres  #2500
Hotel room (1 night)  7s 6d

Clothing
Prices are naturally strongly influenced by the availability of the
clothing synthesiser. Garments are sold "off the peg" to buyers in a
hurry, or hand made for high fashion, otherwise most clothing is
synthesised as needed and costs no more than its raw materials.
Overcoat              #2 5s
Shirt                 12s
Shoes                 #3 5s
Suit                  #4 10s
High fashion dress    #10-#20
Clothing synthesiser  #55
Program tape          3-5s per garment
Bale raw fabric       #5  Enough for 10 blankets, a dozen suits, etc.
Fabric solvent, drum  #1  Enough for 100 blankets, 120 suits, etc.
Auto-Washmatron       #35

Entertainment
See section 2 for details of the forms of entertainment that are still
popular. Newspaper prices are comparatively high because demand is
small.
Newspaper             3d
magazine              6d-2s
Hardback novel        5s
Paperback novel       6d
Gramophone            #7
Upright piano         #45
Radio Phonograph      #15
Phonograph record     2s-4s
Kodak/Edison Stereo   #25 (incorporates radio)
Film for above        5s-15s
Wire recorder         #25

Travel
Air Charter, London-Paris ('plane), per person     #30
Air Charter, London-Paris ('dig), per ton          #20
Scheduled flight, London-Paris (return by 'plane)  #15
Scheduled flight, London-Paris (return by 'dig)    # 5
Scheduled flight, London-New York (return by 'dig) #25

Weapons
Shotgun, Small        #15      Magnetic Induction gun
Shotgun, Big          #25      "
Cartridges, 50        10s 6d   Steel balls in paper casing
Rifle, Small          #16      Magnetic Induction gun
Rifle, Large          #25      "
Rifle, Huge           #45      "
Rifle rounds, 100     7s       Steel flechettes
Stun gun, electrical  #60      Rarely found in private hands

Aviation Accessories
Flickers              #10
'Para kit for above   #15
See With The Night Mail and earlier sections for many more items



9.0      Characters
===================
Eustace Arnott, Admiral A.B.C. Fleet, As Easy As A.B.C.
BODY [4], MIND [5], SOUL [2], Babbage Engine [7], Brawling [4],
Business [5], First Aid [6], Linguist [6] (Latin, Greek, Punjabi,
International), Military Arms [6], Pilot [5]
Quote: "If they want to do things the hard way, I suppose we'd better
oblige them. All units, stand by for Lights."
Arnott is an extremely able officer but lacking in empathy. He has
never seen death or a real war, and is inclined to treat combat as a
tough game. He doesn't suffer fools gladly, and is overweight.

De Forest, Board Member (America), As Easy As A.B.C.
BODY [4], MIND [5], SOUL [4], Business [7], Detective [6], Pilot [5]
Quote: "There's a nasty situation developing in Vladivostock."
De Forest is nominally a member of the Fleet committee, but is also a
senior figure in the Board's shadowy intelligence organisation.
Although he is not suited to be a spy, he is a superb intelligence
analyst, with a good knowledge of his region. He led the mission to
Illinois.

Dragomiroff, Board Member (Russia), As Easy As A.B.C.
BODY [5], MIND [4], SOUL [6], Business [5], Linguist [6] (English,
German, Dutch, French, International), Medium [3]
Quote: "How can you do these things! Don't you know that people will
be hurt!"
Although he was selected for the Board for political reasons,
Dragomiroff acts as its conscience in this story. He is naturally
empathic, although he has received no training as a medium, and tends
to over-react to pain and suffering, even if it only emotional.

L.L. Geary, Dispatcher, With The Night Mail
BODY [3], MIND [4], SOUL [4], Athlete [7] (cricketer), Business [8]
Quote: "...and bags on this belt are on their way to the Bundespost
packet 'Gottleib', which will depart for Berlin at 20.30 hours..."
Geary, known as L.L. to his many admirers, has played for the MCC and
is one of Britain's finest spin-bowlers. None of this is at all
relevant to his job or role in With The Night Mail, where he acts as a
superbly informed guide and introduces the narrator to some other
characters. No-one ever asks what the "L.L." stands for.

Captain George Hodgson, G.P.O., With The Night Mail
BODY [5], MIND [5], SOUL [4], Mechanic [6], Pilot [7]
Quote: "Steady as she goes. Drain two percent lift please.."
Hodgson is an excellent 'dig driver, not flashy but reliable and
extremely competent. He has some of the smoothest dip-dial recordings
in the G.P.O. fleet.

Lieutenant Ilroy, Gunnery Officer, As Easy As A.B.C.
BODY [6], MIND [4], SOUL [4], Athlete [8] (runner), Brawling [8],
Melee Weapons [8], Marksman [9], Military Arms [8]
Quote: "Up two-one, left three-zero... FIRE"
Ilroy is a superb shot with any rifle or hand-gun, and more than
competent with loops, siege-lights, and other military hardware. He's
a little too inclined to show off with risky shots; a lesser gunner
would immobilise a target, not knock a knife out of her hand.

Victor Pirolo, Board Member (Italy), As Easy As A.B.C.
BODY [4], MIND [7], SOUL [5], Brawling [5], Doctor [7], First Aid [8],
Linguist [6] (English, French, German, International), Scientist [9]
Quote: "You stchewpids! If you will insist on abusing my leetle toys
this way, of course they will go wrong!"
Pirolo is a genius, a cross between Einstein and Edison with an
international reputation. He usually has four or five projects under
way at any time, combining knowledge from several fields to bring them
to fruition. He is a small man, notable for an exceptionally loud
voice and extremely peculiar pronunciation.

Captain Tim Purnall, G.P.O., With The Night Mail
BODY [6], MIND [5], SOUL [4], Mechanic [7], Pilot [8]
Quote: "Reverse all engines! Rudder to full brake! Collision
stations!"
Purnall is one of the G.P.O.'s best 'dig drivers, but a little too
inclined to take risks to keep to schedule. He could easily make a
fortune in professional racing. He is devoted to his daughter, and
hopes to make her a match with a suitably eligible bachelor.

Takahira, Board Member (Japan), As Easy As A.B.C.
BODY [5], MIND [6], SOUL [4], Business [8], Linguist [9] (English,
Russian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Malay, International), Martial
Arts [5] (Baritsu), Scientist [7]
Quote: "Ah yes, that is where they hold the annual festival of the
leaping dragon. It is most picturesque."
Takihara is nominally Member for Japan, sponsored by the Nippon 'Dig
Consortium (a Standard 'Dig subsidiary). Like De Forest he serves on
the Fleet committee, but he is not involved in intelligence. He has
travelled widely, and sometimes knows facts even experts on a region
have forgotten.

Leopold Vincent, Impresario, As Easy As A.B.C.
BODY [6], MIND [5], SOUL [6], Actor [8] (Theatrical Director),
Artist [8] (Set Design), Business [9]
Quote: "No, you idiot, I said a thousand ELEPHANTS. Big things with
tusks and trunks, old boy. Look, just find a way to get rid of them,
I'll call you back later."
Vincent believes in thinking BIG, and since 2035 has purveyed London's
finest entertainments. He owns music halls, theatres, restaurants, and
night clubs. Unusually for this era, he needs very little sleep.

Captain Williams, Mark Boat Captain, With The Night Mail
BODY [4], MIND [5], SOUL [4], Brawling [5], Driving [6], Linguist [6]
(French, German, Russian, International), Pilot [6]
Quote (transmitted in International): "Divert to course 045 and climb
to 3000 feet. Continue until my beacon is at ninety degrees to your
heading, then change to...."
Williams is basically a cross between a coast guard and the cop on the
beat, flying a routine patrol which has to deal with a variety of
problems, from weather to fire and mutiny. He's resourceful, a good
all-rounder, and ready to improvise in an emergency. He is courting
Captain Purnall's daughter.



Appendix A: Rudyard Kipling
===========================
Kipling, (Joseph) Rudyard 1865-1936. Portrait 24_KIPL.GIF

Born in Bombay of English parents, Kipling wrote many important
stories of Victorian India and England. Today he is best remembered
for the Jungle Book, and for the story The Man Who Would Be King. In
fact he produced an immense body of work including fiction, travel
writing, and poetry, and was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in
1907.

Kipling was educated at the United Services College at Westward Ho!,
England, which provided the background for his collection of school
stories, Stalky and Co. He worked as a journalist in India from 1882
to 1889, returned to England as an extremely successful author, then
travelled in Japan and the USA from 1892-96, finally settling in
Sussex, England.

Kipling was a stern critic of his own work and often edited it to the
bone; this may explain some of the less obvious passages in the A.B.C.
stories. He also disliked prying, and suffered badly at the hands of
journalists. His experiences with the Press may have suggested some of
the ideas behind the "era of crowds". While a patriot, he was strongly
opposed to unthinking patriotism, and was often a stern critic of
British colonial policy and racial prejudice. His story "The Village
That Voted The Earth Was Flat" is an excellent synopsis of his
opinions of the Press and mass hysteria - it's also extremely funny.

With The Night Mail was the only fiction carried on the airship R34
during the first double crossing of the Atlantic.

Kipling is one of the most quoted authors of his era; the following
are a few of the most familiar examples:

...And a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a Smoke
                                   The Betrothed

Gold is for the mistress - silver for the maid,
Copper for the master cunning at his trade.
'Good!' said the Baron, sitting in his hall,
'But Iron - Cold Iron - is master of them all.'
                                   Cold Iron

They've taken off 'is buttons an' cut 'is stripes away,
An' they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.
                                   Danny Deever

...the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail
for the female of the species is more deadly than the male
                                   The Female Of The Species

On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!
                                   Mandalay

Important publications:
Plain Tales from the Hills [1888]
Soldiers Three [1890]
Wee Willie Winkie [1890]
The Light that Failed [1890]
Life's Handicap [1891]
Barrack-Room Ballads [1892]
A Matter of Fact [1892 story]
Many Inventions [1893] - contains "A Matter of Fact"
The Jungle Books [1894-1895]
Captains Courageous [1897]
The Day's Work [1898] - Contains ".007" and "The Ship That Found
Herself"
Stalky and Co [1899]
Just So Stories [1902]
Kim [1901]
Traffics And Discoveries [1904]
With The Night Mail (story) [1905] - U.S. chap book [1909]
Puck of Pook's Hill [1906]
Actions & Reactions [1909] - contains "With The Night Mail"
Rewards and Fairies [1910]
A Diversity of Creatures [1917] - contains "As Easy As A.B.C." and
"The Village That Voted The Earth Was Flat"
Thy Servant A Dog [1930]
Limits And Renewals [1932]
Something of Myself [1937] - unfinished autobiography

Films:
Gunga Din [1939] - based in part on Kipling poem
Captains Courageous [1937, remade 1977]
The Jungle Book [1942, remade (animated) 1967]
Kim [1950, remade 1984]
The Light That Failed [1939]
The Man Who Would Be King [1975]
Wee Willie Winkie [1937]
There is a common erroneous idea that the film "Zulu" was based on
Kipling's work.

Recent collections:
The Complete Supernatural Stories of Rudyard Kipling [1987]
John Brunner presents Kipling's Fantasy [1992]
John Brunner presents Kipling's Science Fiction [1992]

Useful works about Kipling include:
Charles Carrington: Rudyard Kipling (biography) [1955]
J.M.S. Tompkins: The Art of Rudyard Kipling [1959]
Kingsley Amis: Rudyard Kipling And His World [1977]

The Kipling Society publishes a quarterly magazine which may be useful
to serious students of his work. For details write to:
  The Kipling Society
  18 Northumberland Avenue,
  London WC2,
  ENGLAND
I believe that there are also Kipling societies in the USA and other
countries, but do not have details.

Sources for this section include the Encyclopaedia Of Science Fiction,
John Brunnner Presents Kipling's Science Fiction, The New Grolier
Electronic Encyclopaedia, Microsoft Cinemania, and The Oxford Library
of Words And Phrases.



Appendix B: Recommended Reading
===============================
This section includes material which relates to Kipling or to themes
developed by Kipling, to airships, and to other ideas in this
worldbook. See Appendix D of the rules, RULES.TXT, for more general
work related to scientific romances.

Neil Gaiman, Vertigo Comics: Sandman issues 25 [1991] & 53 [1993]
Issue 25 is part of an ongoing story in which the occupants of Hell
are unexpectedly freed; in this episode dead boys who once attended an
English public school return there with horrific results, echoing a
story mentioned by one of the characters in "Stalky & Co."
Issue 53 is a single-issue story with some interesting similarities to
"A Matter Of Fact".

George Macdonald Fraser: Flashman And The Great Game [198?]
Novel of the Indian mutiny, with a brief appearance by Kipling. The
phrase "the great game" is from the novel Kim.

Simon Hawke: Time Wars #6: The Kyber Connection [1986]
Time travel novel set in 19th century India featuring Kipling, the
young Winston Churchill, and Gunga Din.

E.C. Tubb: Death Is A Dream [1967]
What would the world be like if there was proof of reincarnation? This
little-known SF novel tries to find answers. Some of the ideas in this
story and Last Enemy (below) influenced the section on reincarnation
in this worldbook.

H. Beam Piper: Last Enemy [1950], collected in "Paratime" [1981]
The political implications of reincarnation and inheritance lead to a
bloody civil war.

Nevil Shute: Slide Rule (Biography) [1958]
Better known as a novelist, Shute was an important aeronautical
engineer between the world wars, and this book includes a detailed
account of the construction of the airships R100 and R101, and insight
into the horrific errors of judgement that led to the crash of the
R101. Several flights in the R100 are described.

Lennart Ege: Balloons And Airships [1970?]
A history of the field with statistics on nearly all the historic
airships to 1969. Data from this book and several other sources has
been included in the spreadsheet AIRSHIPS.WK1

In addition to the above, Kipling's work was extremely influential in
the development of science fiction, and his military tales, in
particular, seem to have inspired work by Gordon R. Dickson, Robert A.
Heinlein, Jerry Pournelle, and H.Beam Piper, amongst many others. His
views of popular government and mass hysteria were shared by many
authors, most notably H.G. Wells, and may have been important in the
formation of the Libertarian movement.