User:Tepples/Point of divergence

In alternate history and speculative fiction, a point of divergence is something that happens differently between two similar worlds that causes their cultures to develop differently.

Some critics of speculative fiction claim that a story works best when its laws of physics are Like Reality Unless Noted except for one fantastic assumption. This has been called the "unicorn in the garden" rule or the rule of one big lie.

Game world
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
 * —Mark Twain

Prophecies in The Bible describe a sequence of seven superpowers in the real world. One prophecy identifies seven kings (Revelation 17:10) that represent seven empires, traditionally identified as Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome, and a modern multi-country power such as the Anglosphere, NATO, the League of Nations, or the European Union. Nebuchadnezzar's dream about a mixed-media statue (Daniel 2:31-35) omits the first two, with Babylonia at the head and the modern empire at the feet. This chronology gives temporal reference points through which to explore how history in the game world relates to that of the real world. Parallels between their histories are not exact, but Satan is uncreative enough that humanity often ends up progressing through similar stages despite details.

The following points of divergence have been identified as among the most likely:


 * Before the flood
 * More than one family still respected God by the time of the great flood. Genetic drift among survivor populations led to distinct races, just as it did with Darwin's finches in the real world.


 * Fifth empire
 * Clockwork emerged around the fifth empire. But because a counterpart to the Antikythera mechanism wasn't lost in the mail, clockwork flourished, and analog computers and geared drivetrains became widespread centuries earlier than their seventh-empire counterparts. This led to earlier development of a printing press, operator-powered personal vehicles that obsoleted horseback riding before trousers could dominate fashion, and actual machines instead of horses made to act like machines.

What do these mean? Limyaael's guide to believable dwarf races leaves open the possibility that a dwarf race is known for engineering. In a lot of fantasy fiction, this has been what tropers call an "informed" specialty: the author has characters mention it, but the story severely underuses it apart from weapons and armor. The game world has two vaguely dwarflike races that could fill this role: nander and polis.