Discussion: Pedias, Great People, Tech Quotes, etc.

Moogi · Sep 12, 2009

Sorry that I haven't gotten anything written. I've been busy lately (mainly playing BTS

). However, I'd like to write up a few pedia entries in the next week or so. I'll probably focus mainly on Hero units, but I may branch out and do some for buildings and leaders as well. I'll probably start with the Nautilus- since I have a few great ideas for it. They probably won't be up this weekend, but I can try to get them up during the following week.

cfkane · Sep 12, 2009

Cool.

I've been planning a pedia bio of Adenoid Hynkel for a while, so expect to see that soonish

Oh and Dibukk, I went over the American entry and the dates for the creation of ONAN are off. The novel Infinite Jest is set in 2014, but you've put the creation date for it somewhere in the 2020's.

Dibukk · Sep 12, 2009

I was planning on summarizing all the civilization pedias we've got so far, correcting all the spelling errors, adding the new pedia endings and puting in some new stuff, too (namely I Am Legend, 28 days later and Heinrich von Helsingrad from Atomic Robo). But I overestimated the maximum amount of letters so please excuse this post. I made the mistake of posting before realising that there is a maximum amount of letters. I'll post the pedias ASAP.

cfkane · Sep 13, 2009

Cool.

One thing that could be very useful to us would be a master list of all the sources we've used so far. This includes the sources for leaders, civs, pedias, units, buildings, events, right down to the tech quotes. It should help us find our bearings and keep track of the continuity.

Here's a list

Spoiler :

Dibukk · Sep 13, 2009

Can do.
But I fear I might miss some of the sources in the original English and American pedia, so could you please make a list of all the references in these two pedias?
Thanks in advance

cfkane · Sep 13, 2009

Don't worry, I'll handle the master list.

EDIT: Okay, I've made a very thorough list of all the sources we've covered so far, from the leaders to the pedias to the Great People names. They're listed alphabetically.

thomas.berubeg · Sep 13, 2009

where was Ender's game referenced?

Moogi · Sep 13, 2009

thomas.berubeg said:
where was Ender's game referenced?

Ender's one of the Great Generals.

Dibukk · Sep 15, 2009

Alright, I've attached the new pedias to this post. Here's a little liste of changes:
-corrected many spelling error
-added the new pedia endings
-new stuff: I Am Legend (America), 28 Days Later (England), Pokémon (Japan), Faust (Germany), The Robbers (Germany, as well) and Heinrich von Helsingrad from Atomic Robo (once more Germany)

Oh, and I've collected some more ideas for Great People:

Spoiler :

EDIT: Cfkane, I don't want to change and upload the file once more, so could you please add "(also known as GLaDOS)" to the first mentioning of Skynet? We need to mention Portal!

cfkane · Sep 15, 2009

Thanks!

I think I already added some of those characters to the Great People list and have yet to update it.

And yes, we need more Portal.

Also, I might add a blurb to the England entry about a brief resurgence of the rage virus in 2005, only affecting North London in an event called Z-Day. Maybe make a brief gag involving cricket bats, the Winchester Tavern or the line "You've got red on you"

Dibukk · Sep 19, 2009

I've got (again) updates for three of the pedias:

AMERICA:
-added GLaDOS from Portal as another name for Skynet
-added The Gate to Women's Country
-repeated myself in the last paragrah (Scudder's fertility harvesting)
-Skynet now uses robots, not cyborgs

Spoiler :

Under Scudder, America as it had existed would soon collapse, while Scudder's plans for fertility harvesting, while callous and cruel, kept the American population afloat for the better part of the century. Using their newly gained magic, shamans of the oppressed Native American tribes led the Great Ghost Dance War (2014-2018) against the American and Canadian government. With the capitulation of the "Anglo governments", the natives gained most of the West of the USA and most of Canada, forming several countries known as the NAN (Native American Nations). In the East, a theocracy called the Republic of Gilead sprang from America's ruins while the remaining states of America and Canada formed the UCAS, the United Canadian and American States. In the Pacific Northwest two Anglo nations survived: A matriarchy known as Women's Country and Holyland, a Mormon exclave of Gilead. The rise of mega-corporations and the founding of Mega-City One, the short living Mega-City Two and Texas-City sustained American urban infrastructure in the densely populated areas of the eastern seaboard, California and Texas. In 2020, UCAS special forces encountered strange alien creatures on the Philippines while fighting the North Korean People's Army. At this time nobody would have guessed that these aliens where only the vanguard of the greatest alien invasion the world had ever seen. At the end of the same year, an accident at the Black Mesa Research Facility in Gilead triggered a portal storm which allowed the legions of a multidimensional alien empire known as the Combine to attack the world, destroy the UN headquarter and defeat the American nations, Russia and parts of Europe and Asia during the Seven Hours War. At the same time, a military supercomputer called Skynet (also known as GLaDOS) used the opportunity to conquer parts of America as well as Australia using nuclear weapons and a robot army. After nine years of occupation, a revolution led by the remains of the Black Mesa science team closed the remaining alien portals and shook of the Combine regime. Shortly afterwards, a man called John Connor destroyed Skynet and thus the robot army.

In 2066, the United Federation of Asian Republics which consisted of India, Korea, the Siberian Yakut Nation and the Chinese successor nations, launched an invasion aiming at Alaska, due to the global shortage of resources. In the following American-Asian War, the UCAS, the NAN, Women's Country, the Republic of Gilead and the Mega-Cities briefly joined forces and reintroduced the ONAN. After eleven years of perpetual war, Robert L. Booth became the ONAN's president by rigging the vote-counting computers. In response to international opposition, Booth launched America's whole nuclear weapons deposit, aiming first of all at the UFAR, at the old enemy Russia and even at the critical nations of the former European Union. In the following hours, all of these superpowers launched their rockets aiming at each other, resulting in the nuclear bombings of the Third World War.

America was possibly the number one victim of WW III: The atomic war caused the creation of the Cursed Earth, a huge nuclear fallout wasteland stretching from central Canada to the Brazilian jungles. This devastated no man's land was inhabited only by vault-dwelling survivors like the Brotherhood of Steal and the Enclave (the remains of the UCAS government), cannibalistic tribes, zombies, independent towns of survivors like New Reno and Jericho, the robot army controlled by a super-computer called "the Calculator" (a replica of Skynet) and mutants, ghouls and mutated beasts led by the heavily mutated Robert L. Booth aka. Richard Grey aka. "the Master". Furthermore, the ONAN as well as the NAN and the western parts of Gilead and the UCAS were crushed by the war and the continent faced the near extinction of wizards and magical beings who were driven away by the mutant armies as well as a global plague of infertility. It wasn't until Zephram Cochrane, a backwoods engineer from Montana pulled together the greatest American invention, the warp drive, that America was back on its feet. The first test of the drive attracted the attention of Earth's closest galactic neighbors, who greeted humanity openly. While extraterrestrial life had been visiting Earth for millennia, this First Contact is widely regarded as the official date when humanity was accepted into the galactic community. By expanding humanity's horizons, the American people helped unite the world under a new banner that not only brought a new era into humanity's history, but also sealed America's place as a leader in the new world order.

EGYPT
-added the Mulhorandi from Dungeons and Dragons

Spoiler :

ENGLAND
-added Shaun of the Dead (great idea, by the way)
-added Doomsday
-added Hellgate: London

Spoiler :

But the "long summer of peace" was battered first by a Martian invasion of London, then by the devastating War in the Air, and finally in the bloodbath of Flanders. Although Britain suffered far less physical damage than France and underwent no political revolution, World War I may have affected it more fundamentally than any other European power. The war was a catalyst for social and economic change. The mainstays of the early Industrial Revolution, such as coal mining, textile production, and shipbuilding, upon which British prosperity had been built, were now impoverished or redundant. Britain was slow to develop many of the newer manufacturing industries, such as those involving chemicals, electronics, and automobiles. British foreign policy for much of the postwar period aimed at rehabilitating Germany, while domestic policy focused on institutionalizing socialism to counter public concerns. In general, these movements were opposed by France and resulted in a rupture between Britain and its wartime ally, forcing France into a position of isolation that would have prodigious consequences for Europe with the rise of Hynkel in the 1930s. World War II was a British victory, but left the nation bankrupt. Postwar Britain, in its panic, elected the ruthless and feared Sir Harold Wharton to the position of Prime Minister. Wharton, known by his epithet "Big Brother", made sweeping socialist reforms taking the population into one of modern history's most repressive societies. The "Airstrip One" period came to a quick end, after Wharton died in 1952 due to the invasion of the Chimera aliens which could be defeated in the same year. Weakened by war, repression and the battle against the aliens, Britain was unable to prevent the onset of decolonization in the 1950s and 1960s. Although Britons maintained a high standard of living, the British economy continued to perform poorly throughout the 1960s and 1970s. As a reaction, Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990) set out to end socialism in Britain. Her most dramatic acts consisted of a continuing series of statutes to denationalize nearly every industry that IngSoc had brought into public ownership during the previous 40 years. Her successor, Jim Hacker, largely helped to seal these reforms. Promising that "we shall govern as New IngSoc," the Blair government installed in general elections in 1997 accepted some of Thatcher's foreign policies but also carried out the economic reforms it promised in its manifesto, before disaster hit again. In 2002 the Rage virus hit England and led to the transformation of millions of people to bloodthirsty zombies. Only with the help of the NATO the Rage zombies could be led to starvation after 28 months of undead horror. In 2005 North London was hit by a brief uprising of surviving zombies who slaughtered most of the local population except for a group of people who managed to take up a fortified position in the Winchester Pub defending themselves with cricket bats. This event is commonly known as Z-Day. But this would not be the last plague Great Britain suffered from during the early 21st century: In 2008, the deadly Reaper virus infected Scotland, resulting in the country being walled off by the British government for many years until a cure was found.

...

In the following decades Britain assisted the other European forces in fighting Russia and the Middle Eastern nations for their resources until the Great Atomic War in 2077. The Third World War hit Britain hard, and it succumbed once again to a radical party, Norsefire. Like IngSoc before it, culture was carefully dictated, albeit not as bluntly as the Big Brother days. Nationalism and xenophobia nearly wiped out all minorities on the island, until a rogue terrorist called V succeeded in destroying the government and plunging the state into anarchy. A legion of demonic creatures from another plane of existence used the opportunity to invade London and drive the few survivors of the once glorious capital of England away into the London Underground. But in this chaotic void, the first signs of a new hope for humanity came, for in the many years that the world was wracked by infertility, it was in Britain that the first new child was born.

cfkane · Sep 19, 2009

Okay.

How's the French pedia coming?

Dumanios · Sep 20, 2009

The Celtic pedia entry is here!

Spoiler :

The Celts were an ancient group of Indo-Europeans that inhabited Europe thousands of years ago.The Celts lived in harmony until the first of many empires conquered them.They were occupied by the Hyborian Empire,who held claim to most of Europe,the Middle East and North Africa,the Celts were enslaved and would not be free for centuries.They became free only when they allied themselves with the Picts,led by Bran Mak Morn.

While Celtic culture today is associated with Ireland,Scotland and Wales,the ancient Celts were spread out over a much larger distance.In addition to these locations,different Celtic tribes were present in modern-day Spain,France(as the Gauls),Hungary,Latveria,Switzerland and Bulgaria(as the Thracians). Although the Greeks and the Roman Empire considered the Celts to be barbarians, they possessed a sophisticated and unique culture.

The ancient Celts of Gaul and the British Isles(who we know the most about) were divided into many tribes loosely based on kinship ties.Social Structure was determined by a mixture of class standing within the tribes and one's place within the Celtic Religion.Kings were elected to lead the tribes,and society was divided into three groups:warriors,an intellectual class of druids and bards,and everyone else. society was based around warfare,but to the Celts it was more of a sport than a battle to the death:raids were the norm,and pitched battles were rare.

The Celts do not appear to have had any large cities,although there many small towns and fortresses across the regions they controlled.Trade was rather primitive and mostly consisted of a barter economy,although in some coastal regions it was more developed. The Celts shared a common religion emphasizing sacred groves,the role of druids as priests and scholars,and the use of periodic sacrifices (which were occasionally human sacrifices).Celtic gods were named after natural phenomenon and they were quite numerous.These gods included Belenos,the sun god;Taranis,the storm god;Andraste,the victory goddess; Cernunnos,the fertility god;Lug,the god of Creation and Learning; and Sucellos,god of Forests,agriculture and alcohol.Other Celtic practices include the removal of body hair(done to ensure cleanliness) and the taking of enemy heads as trophies in battle.

The most notable event in the early history of the Celts was the sacking of the city of Rome led by the warrior Cuchulainn in his chariot in 390BC under the great King Brennus.Although the victory was a military triumph and provided a large immediate gain to the Celts,the Romans would prove to have a very long memory,and over the years they would make their enemies dearly pay for it by methodically conquering all Celtic territory their mighty legions could reach.

By 192BC,the Romans had subjugated the last Celtic tribes in Italy,and they then began a program of colonization of southern Gaul on the Mediterranean coast.Under the great general Julius Caesar,the Romans conquered the entirety of Gaul and defeated a large revolt headed by Vercingetorix between 58-51BC (Some say that the revolt was unsuccessful due to two of Vercingetorix's best warriors, Asterox and Obelix leaving to Egypt,however,Celtic warriors did not prevent Egypt from falling).Removing the Celtic threat to the Imperial City once and for all. Under the Emperor Claudius,the Romans went on the invade and occupy the British Isles as well.In the early AD ages,Boadica,with help from Fionn mac Cumhaill,who was not killed but would come back to defend Scotland in its time of need,led the Iceni to multiple victories against Rome.Although her resistance was crushed and she committed suicide.She was buried under what is now Platform 10 at the King's Cross Station.

The Celts remained under Roman rule for the next four centuries until the Germanic invasion of the fifth century AD destroyed the Roman Empire in the west.Although Celtic culture disappeared in many parts of Europe during those years of foreign occupation.A child named Pryderi is born of a union between Pwyll and Rhiannon,he was taken by a monster but later recovered.A few years later,A magical cauldron that can resurrect the dead given to King Branwen is stolen and used by the Irish,resulting in a battle that only Pryderi and Manawydan survive.Later,Ireland is beset by a mist that kills all the domesticated animals and humans except for Pryderi,Manawydan,Cigfa and Rhiannon.Pryderi rules Dyfed and is later declared war on by Math fab Mathonwy and Pryderi is killed by Gwydion,who tricks Aranrhod into giving her second son the name Lleu Llaw Gyffes,who is given a wife made of oak, broom, and meadowsweet named Blodeuwedd.She falls in love with the hunter Gronw Pebr.They then plot to kill Lleu but fail when Lleu turns into an eagle.Blodeuwedd is turned into an owl and Lleu kills Gronw with his spear.Celtic culture was preserved in Ireland and the western fringe of Britain.The Kingdom of Brutain came about as a predominantly Celtic kingdom,led by King Lear,wasprosperous for a time,Lear was hoping to retire a quiet rule,but a French army landed in Britain,the army was defeated,Lear then died due to grief over his dead daughter.

When King Edward I "Longshanks" of England took over Scotland,a bastion of Celtic culture,William Wallace led the Resistance against the English because they killed his brother and father.He makes Princess Isabelle,King Edward's wife,pregnant,however,he is beheaded in London.Robert the Bruce took command and freed Scotland from the English.Later,Scotland came under the rule of Macbeth by regicide.Macbeth leads a reign of terror and cruelty for a decade,planting spies in his noble's houses and murdering Macduff's family.Lady Macbeth commits suicide and Macduff kills Macbeth in battle.

Amadis de Gaula explored Europe to make a book and encountered Don Quixote,who would idolize him.Over time the pagan Celtic culture would combine with Christianity to give rise to new forms of artwork and literature.Despite many attempts over the centuries to destroy it,the Celtic culture survives.In fact,today it enjoys a great deal of popularity and is even experiencing something of a revival.In 2011,the awakening of magic caused Ireland to be populated with elves in addition to humans the state was renamed to Tír na nÓg in 2034.Northern Ireland was annexed by Tír na nÓg.Liam O'Connor,an elven politician,became the president in 2035 but disappeared in 2042,the Church of Ireland in 2049,causing Catholicism to be banned.[/I][/I]

Sources Used

Spoiler :

If you wish for me to add anything,tell me.

cfkane · Sep 20, 2009

A good start, but there's a lot of stuff that could be added.

Cu Chullain is a hero in the mod, so he'll have to be added. Fin Mac Cumhail is also worth mentioning. We would also need some tie into the Hyboria of Conan as we've been doing with other European nations. Asterix and Obelix ought to be mentioned, as does Robert E. Howard's Bran Mak Morn. William Wallace (the heavily fictionalized Mel Gibson version) could be mentioned, as could Boudicca. In fact, there's an urban legend about her that says she is buried under Platform 10 at King's Cross Station. If you work that in it's pretty easy to make a side glance towards Platform 9 3/4. And for a detailed mythological history, try the Mabinogion.

thomas.berubeg · Sep 20, 2009

Also, for the celts, there's not even a token Mention of Asterix...

and also, wouldn't it be nicer to use the french names instead of the english translations?

Getafix: panoramix.

Dumanios · Sep 20, 2009

Celtic pedia entry changed.

Dibukk · Sep 21, 2009

France is finally done. I'll check it for spelling errors tomorrow, but now I'm kinda in a hurry. So, have fun!

Spoiler :

Although the territory of what is now France had been settled for centuries by the ancient Aquilonians, the Celtic Gauls (most notably the famous Amoricans) and the Romans, the history of the French nation began with the Franks. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD during the rule of Lucius Tiberius parts of Gaul were claimed by the British knights of King Arthur. But both the Roman and the British rulers were driven away by the invading Germanic tribes who overran the frontier along the Rhine. In 486, Clovis I, leader of the Salian Franks, united united most of northern and central Gaul under his rule. After adopting Christianity and recording a succession of victories against other Germanic tribes, he defeated the Visigoths and established the Merovingian Dynasty. But his kingdom would not survive his death as the Franks divided their land among heirs, so four kingdoms emerged: Paris, Orleans, Soissons, and Rheims. The Merovingian dynasty eventually lost effective power to their successive mayors of the palace (majordomes) who overthrew their sovereigns and became monarchs themselves, establishing the Carolingian dynasty. The assumption of the crown in 751 by Pippin the Short (son of Charles Martel) established the Carolingian dynasty as Kings of the Franks. The new rulers' power reached its fullest extent under Pippin's son Charlemagne who expanded the Carolingian territory to the Netherlands (where he met Elegast, king of the elves), northern Italy, Lower Saxony, the Danubian plain and advancing the frontier with Islamic Spain as far south as Barcelona. In this belligerent time, legendary heroes made themselves a name, most notably the paladin Roland and his horse Bayard who would later leave the Carolingian Empire to travel to England where he renamed himself Orlando and decided not to grow old. Charlemagne nearly fell victim to a plot of his son Pippin the Hunchback who suffered from the delusion of his live being a play. Nevertheless, in recognition of his successes and his political support for the Papacy, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans, or Roman Emperor in the West, by Pope Leo III in 800.

But the Carolingian Empire would not survive for long: After the death of Charlemagne's successor Louis I, the empire was divided among Louis' three sons (Treaty of Verdun, 843) and the imperial title ceased to be held in the western realm. Lothair I. began to rule over the Middle Frankish Kingdom, Louis the German received the land east of the Rhine and Harold I. seized power over the western portion of the empire. During the rule of Harold, his kingdom became a haven for magical creatures and legendary people from all over Europe and became known as Far, Far Away or fairyland. These magical inhabitants included Cendrillon, the Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Sleeping Beauty (fr. la Belle au Bois Dormant), Little Red Riding Hood and the fairies of Brocéliande. But the rule of King Harold was threatened by a plot of Pepin II of Aquitaine who gave himself the name Avenant le Roi Charmant or Prince Charming. After Harold was transformed into a frog and traveled to the east where he became known as the Frog King (germ. Froschkönig) Prince Charming seized power over Far, Far Away. But the kingdom was ravaged by Viking raiders like Ragnar Lodbrok leading to the decline of of the fairy culture which would be replaced by Catholicism leading to the foundation of many religious buildings, including the Abbey of Thélème and Notre Dame, home of the famous hunchback Quasimodo. At the same time, the city of Paris received its name thanks to its not really glorious connection to the giant Gargantua: After the collosus discharged the contents of his massive bladder, the luckless citizens were washed away or drowned by the great flood of urine. Seeing how Gargantua how amused the giant was of the human's misfortune, the survivors cried out loud: 'Look! He's drowned us "par ris" (for a laugh)!'

In 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death, England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War. During the war the French troops were led by the famous national heroine Joan of Arc. In the most notorious incident during the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598), thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572. This tragic incident occurred during the rule of Marguerite de Valois better known as Queen Margot. After the empire was damaged by the on going war between the royal Musketeers and the guard of Cardinal Richelieu during the rule of Louis XIII (1610-1643), his son Louis XIV (1643-1715) helped the monarchy to recover and reach its height during the 17th century with the introduction of Absolutism and Mercantilism. At this time France possessed the largest population in Europe and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became, and remained until the 20th century, the common language of diplomacy in international affairs. In addition, France obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Nevertheless, four of Louis XIII's most trusted Musketeers (including the famous Charles D'Artagnan) plotted a coup d’état to replace Louis XIV with his identical twin brother Philippe, a prisoner known as the Man with the Iron Mask, who they believed to be the rightful king.

The monarchy ruled France until the decadency of the French aristocraty - most notably the life style of king Louis XVI and the atrocities committed at Silling Castle during the 120 Days of Sodom - the French Revolution of 1789 during which French national heroes like Giuseppe Balsamo led a violent uprising first against the Bastille and later at the royalty. In 1793 the decadent Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed and a republic was established. But soon the spirit of the revolution was corrupted and the former revolution's leader, Maximilien Mousepierre, was instrumental in the period of the Revolution marked by the execution of thousands of citizens which is commonly known as the Reign of Terror. During this time of terror, a group of brave noblemen known as the "League of the Scarlet Pimpernel" and led by Sir Percey Blakeney attempted to free as many captured aristocrats as possible. Mousepierre's regieme ended with his arrest and execution in 1794. After a series of short-lived governmental schemes, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799, making himself First Consul, and later Emperor of what is now known as the First Empire (1804–1814). In the course of several wars, his armies conquered most of continental Europe, with members of the Bonaparte family being appointed as monarchs of newly established kingdoms. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic wars and at the height of power, Napoleon's armies managed to expand the French territory from the Atlantic coast to Moscow. But Napoleon's empire would fall soon: It collapsed rapidly after France's defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) against the British Royal Navy led by Horation Hornblower and the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. Only two years later the European powers invaded France, forced Napoleon to abdicate and exiled him to the island of Elba. Less than a year later, he escaped Elba and returned to power, but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Once more the French monarchy was re-established, but this time with new constitutional limitations which would last until the civil uprising of 1830 which was inspired by the events of the factory riots of the miserable ones. During this time the aristocraty once again wielded great power, most notably the commoner Edmond Dantès who became known as the Count of Monte Cristo. But the with the final fall of monarchy the path to fame was open for famous people like the scientist Robur le Conquérant (the inventor of the first steam powered flying machine), the adventurer Rocambole, the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, his murderous colleague Fantômas and their rival, C. Auguste Dupin, the French answer to Sherlock Holmes.

With the beginning of the 20th century France experienced an era of scientific success regarding space travel. Inspired by early attempts of lunar expeditions like the one of the Baltimore Gun Club in 1865 and the invention of Cavorite by Selwyn Cavor in 1901 inspired an unsuccessful attempt at space travel known as the Voyage to the Moon in 1902. From 1909 to 1914, France's greatest specters were two of the most dreadful admirers and self-proclaimed successors of Fantômas: The albino Monsieur Zenith and the mad musician Erique Claudin, better known as "The Phantom of the Opera". Numerous plots of these two villains were foiled by Le Nycatlope, the first French superhero. In 1914, the assassination of the Freedonian aristocrat Alexander Teasdale triggered World War I. During the war, France suffered tremendous human and material losses, which left 1.4 million French soldiers dead. The interbellum phase was marked by a variety of social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government. Following the German blitzkrieg campaign in World War II metropolitan France was divided in an occupation zone in the north and Vichy France, a puppet regime loyal to Germany, in the south. Not even resistance by national heroes like Louis Renault, the American Rick Blaine and Charles Clouseau, who would later become the most famous French inspector of the 20th century known for his hunt of the Pink Panther, helped to reconquer France until Adenoid Hynkel's defeat in 1945. The Fourth Republic was established after World War II and, despite spectacular economic growth, it struggled to maintain its political status as a dominant nation state. France attempted to hold on to its colonial empire, but soon ran into trouble.

At the beginning of the 21st century, France was haunted by a meltdown at the Cattenom nuclear power plant which irradiated Lorraine, Sarre and Luxembourg, creating a contaminated area known as the SOX. Following the Awakening of Magic in 2011, genocide and witch-hunts became common all over France because of the sudden transformation of parts of the population to so called "metahumans". In 2020 Europe suffered considerable losses while defending against the spreading influence of the Combine alien empire but the European nations managed to stay independent until the defeat of the Combine occupiers in 2029. In the same year, a military coup d’état ended the Fifth Republic and established a dictatorship known as the Defense Government. Unable to avert the crises of the previous decades, the European Union was dissolved in the same year making room for the increasing power of mega-corporations. Only one year later Russia saw its chance to start an invasion of Poland and Finland, defeating the local military within three months. When Russian forces crossed the Polish/German border in 2031 the nations of Western Europe formed the European Defense Force to replace the defunct NATO and attacked the advancing Russians leading to a period known as EuroWar I. In January 2033 an armistice was signed to end the war because an unknown faction (suspected to be the United Kingdom) entered the conflict attacking both sides. But the EuroWars weren't over yet: Taking advantage of Europe's war-torn situation the Alliance for Allah, a fundamentalist Islamic movement led by Mullah Sayid Jazrir, invaded Southern Europe leading to EuroWar II also known as the Great Jihad. The war ended with Jazrir's assassination in 2037 followed by infighting over his successor. During World War III France (now again a Republic at the transition to a monarchy) allied with most of the other European states in fighting Russia and the Middle East because of the global shortage of raw materials. After the devastating war that led to the contamination of large parts of France, the nation handed over its sovereignty as well as most of its rights to the newly formed European Union of Nations, becoming a part of the huge federation covering most of continental Europe. The survivors of the Great War left the contaminated countryside and founded Euro-City, a huge mega-city covering most of eastern France and parts of Germany. With the invention of life-support technology and synthetic memory drugs, the average life expectancy was raised far over hundred years. Power fell in the hands of conservative senior citizens like Félix Jongleur who watched their health and capitalinvestments with equal care. While the elders became the new rulers of Europe, all those younger than 100 years live in a parallel society at the edge of Euro-City, using grain as currency and even having to resort to cannibalism as a cheap source of food.

Spoiler :

cfkane · Sep 21, 2009

Wonderful! I've been looking forward to this one.

Some annotations:
- Amadis of Gaul should be mentioned, especially since its his story that drives Don Quixote to his quest.
- There's a story from Gargantua and Pantragruel that's too funny not to use: Gargantua, who provided Paris with its name during the 16th century, when he discharged the contents of his massive bladder. The luckless citizens were washed away or drowned by a great flood of urine that poured steaming from the much-relieved colossus, who, when he viewed the destruction his emission had provoked, could not contain his mirth. At this, those who'd survived the deluge angrily cried, 'Look! He's drowned us par ris (for a laugh),' with the unlucky city known as Paris ever after.
- There's a pretty weird Broadway musical by Bob Fosse called Pippin, about one of the sons of Charlemagne and his search for self-discovery. It's not one of my favorites (though I was in a production of it in high school) but it's certainly interesting enough to mention
- In the French Revolution part, I'm surprised the Scarlet Pimpernel and his efforts to free captured French aristocrats aren't mentioned.
- Also, Silling Castle and the atrocities committed there from the 120 Days of Sodom
- Les Miserable's factory riots could be easily worked in
- If you need a character from the WWII French resistance, why not Louis Rennault and the American Rick Blaine and their efforts in Casablanca?
- For the future of France, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film Delicatessen could be used. Grain is used as currency, meat is scarce, and some people resort to cannibalism as a cheap source of meat. It's actually pretty funny.
- I'm pretty sure the Picard family was one of the first families to establish a Martian colony
- Mousepierre? Is that from a particular Mickey Mouse cartoon? I actually think it would be easier to treat cartoons (Mickey, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry) as actors who crank out comedy shorts as portrayed in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

By the way, these things don't have to be added right away. I'd rather have a lot of simple pedia entries than a handful of remarkably detailed ones.

So, what's next on the list?

Dibukk · Sep 22, 2009

Hey, great ideas! I'll add as many of them as possible!

I didn't add Amadis because I was going to add him to the Celtic pedia. Anyway, I'll add him either to the French or to the Celtic pedia, if Dumanios isn't quicker than me.

Regarding the Mousepierre reference, I forgot which particular cartoon it's from. It's your decision, should I leave it or delete it?

cfkane said:
By the way, these things don't have to be added right away. I'd rather have a lot of simple pedia entries than a handful of remarkably detailed ones.

So, what's next on the list?

Sorry, I can't help it, but I'm a perfectionist

Not sure what's gonna be the next one and I'm open for suggestions, but I guess I'll be able to start to write at the weekend. Until then I'll be probably be pretty quiet, because I'm currently having computer problems. Yeah, again. With PCs that break down every month or so we have still a long path ahead of us until the rebellion of machines. Go, Skynet! :scan:

Dumanios · Sep 25, 2009

Beat you,Dibukk.

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