TIMELINE/HISTORY

[pelham_place_mods]

TIMELINE

1975 - June 1

Radioactive isotypes specifically designed to bring out latent hidden genotypes for the Old Races are released into the seven chosen pilot areas. These areas were selected because of known Old Race activity at some point in the last several centuries, in hopes that there would be a higher likelihood of children being born with the markers of these races. The seven chosen locations were: - Misery, Kentucky (located within the mountains) - Hope, West Virginia (located within the mountains) - West Triangle, Missouri - Lost Angels, Oregon - New Memory, Louisiana - Tears, Maine - Desert Bloom, Utah NOTE: All originating locations are fictional, within the most rural areas of the state

1976 - February 29

The first child is born who is physically linked to one of the Old Races. Born in Lost Angels, Oregon, a boy is born who is 13 lbs and 27 inches long. The seventh child born naturally to his mother, he is considered a difficult but not impossible birth, and surprisingly large. The family receives governmental support after the child’s birth, supposedly as a bequest from a dead relative.

1980 - August

Pelham Hills is carved out of empty land in western Massachusetts, and the school Pelham Place is built. The elementary school is built first, since the proprietors are well aware that they will not need the middle school until the late 80s. The first invitations go out to those families with children born in 1976 that show the markers of the Old Races. Families are accepted into the community of Pelham Hills, if they wish to move, or their children are accepted as boarding students at the school. Many families find that sending their child to school is more lucrative than going with them, as they have one less mouth to feed, and receive a stipend (rather than paying tuition). Some families choose to move in order to make a fresh start.

1980 - September

Three schools (Pelham Place in Massachusetts, Hillman Heights in California, and Centre Square in Missouri) open for small classes of pre-kindergarten age children. At the same time, thirteen more small communities are chosen around the country and more isotopes are released. The thirteen communities include: - Manvel, North Dakota NOTE: These thirteen communities are TBD during the game.

1982 - January

The first articles appear in reputable periodicals about the births of children who are unusual, or about activities which are unusual. This marks the beginning of public awareness of the Old Races. Articles appear which are pleased that the three schools exist and small communities exist which segregate these people from the mundane population. There are brief noises that these children are not human, but as they are born to very obviously human parents, that case is quickly lost. No one is sure where these children are coming from, only that they are being born with increasing frequency.

1985 - December

Isotopes are released to all state capitals, as well as major metropolitan areas such as Long Island/New York City.

1990 - August

With more children born all the time who show the markers of the Old Races, schools are opened in Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina, Florida, and Washington state. All schools have corresponding communities where some families choose to live. However, with the markers becoming more and more prevalent, many families choose to remain at home and simply send their children away for schooling.

1994 - May

The first graduating class of the original 24 Old Race students completes their education. Many remain at their schools in order to continue studying and practicing specialized magics and abilities, and in some cases, to assist in teaching the younger classes.

1995 - July

A report is released that 1 in 1,000 children born in the US in the past year has shown the markers of the Old Races. They are no longer considered to be anything but human, and a part of normality. However, the majority of these children are still schooled privately, so that they may learn to control their abilities. Many public schools refuse to take them, claiming that they are unable to handle the specialized needs.

2004 - September

The first special needs teachers for Old Race talents enter the public schools, and a handful of students in Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York are mainstreamed. While it is not simple, it is not a complete failure either.

2010 - September

The game begins.

POLITICS BEHIND THE HISTORY

How did this begin? The project to bring back the Old Races was born of research done by a small special task force within the government which was looking at the scientific basis of mystical happenings. The task force began work during the second world war, and struck paydirt during the sixties. They finally isolated ways of affecting the human genome to bring out latent abilities, and thus began the process in 1975 of testing these ways against human subjects in the field. The towns knew they were being subjected to testing, and received monetary compensation in exchange for being willing to be the subjects of unspecified tests. The task force is known as ORRY and is still in action today, very quietly, and very much in secret. The president is aware as well as those who are in charge of the task force, but no other branches of the government are aware of the research. All the schools are government funded, and no tuition is charged. The communities are government subsidized. At some point this payment out will come due, and the government will rein in these children it has brought forth. There are new abilities, new powers, but these children have not been brainwashed. They are normal children, and while some might join the military, they haven’t been brought up to believe they must. But the loans will come due, and the children will be brought into the fold to do whatever it is that the government wishes them to do. Do the Old Races breed true? ORRY has been keeping tabs on those who are born showing the markers of the Old Races, especially those who have reached adulthood and may be marrying and interbreeding. By bringing all of these children together within a few schools, they were hoping to narrow the social groups and encourage them to marry within their races, which has for some part worked. Thus far, children born to two Old Race parents have bred true and belong to one of the two races, often with more markers than their parents. Children born to Old Race/human pairings have a 75% chance of being Old Race themselves, again often with more markers than the Old Race parent. Are there political or religious groups against the Old Races? Very definitely. Over the past thirty-five years, the Old Races have been proven to still be human, despite their magical markers, and they are guaranteed human rights. However, there are those groups both politically and formed by religious groups which fight against these people who have heathen abilities, and are quite simply, different (and thus, scary). These groups are open for development by players. Some groups may be introduced as plot elements by the mods.

Last updated August 10, 2010