Fallout Timeline
- Thread starter Thorgrimm
- Start date
Well, I also agree that the best solution would be that transistors never existed- as in research on them never started. This is tough to do because I just read that it was first invented by Bell laboratories in 1947, before your timeline started- another big problem is that Bell Labs is just about as "American" as you can get (AT&T-> American Telephone and Telegraph).
Here is a link I highly recommend reading to come up with an alternate transistor history:
http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/
Make sure to also read Bill Shockley's history, linked on the right.
The best explanation I could figure, is that once McCarthy took power and the nuclear race was on vs the communists, they became extremely paranoid about scientists defecting to the other side. As the links above mention, Shockley had designed one of the world's first nuclear reactors in 1939, which was kept highly classified. So lets say Shockley rubbed the authorities the wrong way when they tried to draft him into continuing research in nuclear physics rather than his transistors. They proceeded to 'disappear' him as well as his accomplishments from the history books. So even though the transistor had been invented, there would never be Shockley labs, no 'traitorous eight', and no Fairchild Labs or Intel. Scientists were prohibited from mentioning his name or his team's accomplishments. The administration then mandated that none of the country's scientific ideas both past or present were allowed to be published/ demonstrated in other countries. As for the other nations, they ended up never figuring out the transistor on their own.
Here is a link I highly recommend reading to come up with an alternate transistor history:
http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/
Make sure to also read Bill Shockley's history, linked on the right.
The best explanation I could figure, is that once McCarthy took power and the nuclear race was on vs the communists, they became extremely paranoid about scientists defecting to the other side. As the links above mention, Shockley had designed one of the world's first nuclear reactors in 1939, which was kept highly classified. So lets say Shockley rubbed the authorities the wrong way when they tried to draft him into continuing research in nuclear physics rather than his transistors. They proceeded to 'disappear' him as well as his accomplishments from the history books. So even though the transistor had been invented, there would never be Shockley labs, no 'traitorous eight', and no Fairchild Labs or Intel. Scientists were prohibited from mentioning his name or his team's accomplishments. The administration then mandated that none of the country's scientific ideas both past or present were allowed to be published/ demonstrated in other countries. As for the other nations, they ended up never figuring out the transistor on their own.
I don't post a P.O.D because I don't think there is one. I think that you're P.O.D is a very good one, but I also think that the best explanation is still that transistors simply hadn't been invented.
Why? Because otherwise, the USA would've been overrun long before 2077, because of their lack of modern tech.
So on the topic of transistors, the best point of divergence would be that noone ever invented them. Period.
Why? Because otherwise, the USA would've been overrun long before 2077, because of their lack of modern tech.
So on the topic of transistors, the best point of divergence would be that noone ever invented them. Period.
Even that makes it too convoluted and unrealistic.
Plus, there's the simple fact that punishing spreading of technology doesn't work. This is evidenced most clearly in the industrial revolution, where the measures taken by England to prevent the spread of their technology were completely ineffective.
Plus, there's the simple fact that punishing spreading of technology doesn't work. This is evidenced most clearly in the industrial revolution, where the measures taken by England to prevent the spread of their technology were completely ineffective.
As I've said before, instead of being suppressed by the government in 1957, it just never had been invented AT ALL. Noone thought of it. Period.
Vault 13 Citizen
First time out of the vault
um lol
fallout already has a timeline its started like in the 2000s
fallout already has a timeline its started like in the 2000s
Re: um lol
/me waits for the punch-line.
@Original Topic
There isn't any discernable P.O.D., as the world tends to use quite a few historical changes, many far-reaching. The world was also designed as a parody, at least with how the original was. Evidence of this is readily seen in the uses of science-fiction that derive from the fright of THEM! The Fallout world follows a parallel of our own, but it would be much more than the lack of discovering semiconductors to cause that chain of events.
About the best that could be done would be to estimate how each element and aspect occured differently from the real history.
Vault 13 Citizen said:
/me waits for the punch-line.
@Original Topic
There isn't any discernable P.O.D., as the world tends to use quite a few historical changes, many far-reaching. The world was also designed as a parody, at least with how the original was. Evidence of this is readily seen in the uses of science-fiction that derive from the fright of THEM! The Fallout world follows a parallel of our own, but it would be much more than the lack of discovering semiconductors to cause that chain of events.
About the best that could be done would be to estimate how each element and aspect occured differently from the real history.
Ancient Oldie
Still Mildly Glowing
Transistors had to be invented, since the idea of a vacuum tube run AI is very unlikely. Also, there were several mini PC's throughout Fallout.
Therefore:
January-1957 after the swearing in of the newest group of congressmen and senators the UnAmerican Actions bill is passed without 1 single dissenting vote. The bill states as of January 1958 anything that is considered UnAmerican will be prosecuted as a treasonous act. The automobile industry is "requested" to keep everything looking like 1957 model automobiles. All changes are to be under the hood and no cosmetic changes, as that would be considered UnAmerican.
The nascent electronics industry is given a severe blow when the leading researcher, William Shockley, on transistors was drafted into their top scecret, artificial intelligence program. Codenamed the "Austin" project, he would soon discover the transistor, which gave the american military a huge advantage, and became the basis for the future development of intelligent machines, as well as other American military projects (like Power Armor).
Therefore:
January-1957 after the swearing in of the newest group of congressmen and senators the UnAmerican Actions bill is passed without 1 single dissenting vote. The bill states as of January 1958 anything that is considered UnAmerican will be prosecuted as a treasonous act. The automobile industry is "requested" to keep everything looking like 1957 model automobiles. All changes are to be under the hood and no cosmetic changes, as that would be considered UnAmerican.
The nascent electronics industry is given a severe blow when the leading researcher, William Shockley, on transistors was drafted into their top scecret, artificial intelligence program. Codenamed the "Austin" project, he would soon discover the transistor, which gave the american military a huge advantage, and became the basis for the future development of intelligent machines, as well as other American military projects (like Power Armor).
Dug up an old post, sorry but found it interesting and there was a link 
EMP baby, the POD doesnt have to have even happened yet.
Vacuum Tubes are resistant to EMP, not totally but certainally more than intergrated circuits. In the Fallout world where nuclear war is so inevitable that piles of money are spent in creating the vault system, you could make the leap that everyday items would be built resistant to EMP as well.
Maybe at some point vacuum tube tech improves and the speed and EMP resistance is boosted?
Maybe with the embracing of an older technology, the styles from that technology's time period were embraced as well?
Anyways thats the way I always thought of it. It may not run as well but it will still be running after the big one.
EMP baby, the POD doesnt have to have even happened yet.
Vacuum Tubes are resistant to EMP, not totally but certainally more than intergrated circuits. In the Fallout world where nuclear war is so inevitable that piles of money are spent in creating the vault system, you could make the leap that everyday items would be built resistant to EMP as well.
Maybe at some point vacuum tube tech improves and the speed and EMP resistance is boosted?
Maybe with the embracing of an older technology, the styles from that technology's time period were embraced as well?
Anyways thats the way I always thought of it. It may not run as well but it will still be running after the big one.
Thorgrimm said:
I also love alternate histories, Thorgrimm. But I simply can't quite imagine Truman dismissing such information as unfounded - given the military seizure of China by communists and that it had already been after the blockade of Berlin. I believe that Truman already had a firm policy of 'containing' communism at this time and that such a scenario is only possible in one way - having Truman replaced by someone else (e.g. Roosevelt selecting someone else to be Vice-President and thus succeed him, or Truman dying of diesease or in an accident or...). If someone else were President at this time, perhaps he could be conned into believing communist non-expansionism.
Barring that, the scenario seems fine.
I would like to push the P.O.D. quite a way into the past. (reposting what I wrote in the redundant thread)
I would like to point out that this may be associated with the fictional Fallout-American flag. Such a flag has never been used in the US, so it must have either replaced the real one at some point (which I can't think of a reason for), or might have been originally designed as such, meaning that it took the place of the Betsy Ross flag and the timelines separated before June 14 , 1777.
The fact that no stars were added and that one of them is greater is curious; Do you think an explanation for that would be that the Fallout-USA was actually driven by different principles e.g. some states were privileged at the expense of others (hence the greater star and no new stars added)
Tim Cain mentions a vague "13 SuperState story" in the FB, but that's it.
What do you think the alternate history was? Did it contain all the events in history that our contained? How might it have been different?
I suppose we can agree that there are leads as to the existence and rise to power of one Hitler (we learn about him form the intro; although whether this is to be considered Fallout canon, and not just a blurb to get the player interested is questionable) and to the Watergate (contrary to what's in the Bible; The Nixon doll and little Curtis' lines seem to support that.)
Nixon doll was nothing more than yet another easter egg, I wouldn't consider it too seriously. As for the flag, the states were transformed into eleven (yes, eleven, see: http://vault.duckandcover.cx/index.php?title=United_States_of_America ) larger zones probably at some point between the POD and 2077.
It seems probable the flag changed after the annexation of Canada, and the apparent fascism dominating US politics at that time. 13 Superstates are easier to handle strategically than 50 states+Canada.
The Watergate incident may very well have happened. The divergence might still have been minor at that time.
The Watergate incident may very well have happened. The divergence might still have been minor at that time.
Baboon said:
US isolationism flowering : No Vietnam war likely : Nixon not as we know him
</lular h'minee mode>
Or maybe he wasn't President at all, and the Watergate incident was something completely different involving another president. This is silly speculation however, and the whole Nixon doll thing is probably just an easter egg, as you said..