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FlakJacket
I know this has been asked a several times in the past but the search feature and my faulty memory aren't giving much joy. What's the earliest canon reference event that didn't happen in our world, indicating where the Shadowrun timeline diverged from our own? The best I can find so far is 1997. I've got some ideas cooking but they kind of hinge on when the date is for the set-up. Thanks.
Teulisch
looking at the SR3 book now, it says the 1999 and 2001 supreme court rulings. this gave the Megacorps private corp armies, and extra territoriality.
Crimsondude 2.0
1986.

IRL, Chief Justice of the United States Warren Burger retired. He was replaced as Chief Justice by Justice William Rehnquist, and his seat was filled by a young D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judge named Antonin Scalia.

In NAGNA, Chief Justice Burger did not retire until 1994, and was replaced by a law professor named Tyrell (who happened to resemble Robert Bork in his jurisprudential leanings). Coincidentally, Burger did in fact die in 1994 (although I don't think anyone at FASA has prognisticative powers).

I wrote a whole post about it about six months ago because that omission and the additional facts about the Court create the conditions where the Seretech and Shiawase cases were heard by and ruled on by at least four fictional justices.

There is also an impression that Dukakis (or someone not Herbet Walker Bush) won in 1988 because a far-right wing conservative won in 1992, and while Bush was disliked greatly by those same people, he still coasted through the Republican primaries--being President and all.
Trashman
Blimey!

And I was always under the impression that the 2005 New York earthquake was the first instance the timeline split. Made me wonder regarding the tragedy of the Twin Towers...
Seriously: Quite a few SR incidents appear related to Fifth-World-reality (conspiracy theory? I rather opt for good science fiction)
There I stand now, disillusioned, having been convinced Mulvihill and the Gang were not really doing an rpg but trying to prepare us for Xmas 2011 frown.gif wink.gif
Herald of Verjigorm
Most of the game history was written in the 80's. Would you prefer they go back and retroactively change game history every year, or that they ignore the differences and keep going on about the 2060's? Besides, their math was wrang, it'll be April 1, 2012 in a barrage of events that are seriously reported on in the news, but everyone will respond "hah, it's April Fools Day, I won't fall for that."
Cray74
QUOTE (Teulisch)
looking at the SR3 book now, it says the 1999 and 2001 supreme court rulings. this gave the Megacorps private corp armies, and extra territoriality.

Some of the changes in Shadowrun require earlier, supporting changes. For example, those Supreme Court rulings would probably require different judges selected earlier in the 1990s, and associated changes in politics in the 1980s and 1990s.

Ah, Crimsondude2.0 has the idea in better detail.
FlakJacket
Cool. Seems it wasn't that vital anyway since Russia gave the Crimea back in '54, I thought it was much later than that, so things are just right. biggrin.gif
Crimsondude 2.0
Mentioning that would've helped, too.
FlakJacket
Yeah but like I said, I wasn't really sure of either of the dates- I thought they were different. This is just something I'm messing about with at the minute.
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