The Paths of Destiny

World Timeline

Divergence point May 1872

1866

Jun 14 – Aug 23

Austro-Prussian War.

Prussia annexes parts of Bavaria, Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, parts of Hesse-Darmstadt, Holstein, Schleswig, Nassau, and Frankfurt.

Italy annexes Venetia and part of Friuli.

Dissolution of the German Confederation.

Formation of the North German Confederation.

Exclusion of Austria from Germany.

Formation of Austria-Hungary.

1870

Jul 19

Franco-Prussian War begins with France declaring war against the German Kingdom of Prussia in hopes of preventing a shift in the balance of power in Europe that had existed since the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Southern German states of Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt immediately side with Prussia.

1871

May 10

Franco-Prussian War ends with a united Germany emerging as victor.

Treaty of Frankfurt.

German Empire is formed.

Fall of the Second French Empire.

Formation of the Third French Republic.

German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.

1872

May 10

Alsace-Lorraine Revolution. Martin von Lochner begins leading a series of guerrilla-like raids against Prussian forces in defiance of Prussia’s annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. This revolution of independence would last until 1881

1876

Robert Bixby, son Roger, and father-in-law Roger Tony prevent the death of Queen Victoria at the hands of supernatural beings.

In appreciation for their timely rescue all three are appointed Knights Bachelor on the spot. Roger Bixby is only 16.

By the end of the year Sir Roger Tony and Sir Robert Bixby are conferred as the Earls of Flamstead and Maidstone, respectively.

1881

May 25

Battle of Strasbourg. Final and decisive battle of the Alsace-Lorraine Revolution. Despite the insurmountable odds of being outnumbered nearly ten to one, Martin von Lochner led his revolutionary army to victory. Even more astonishing, Martin’s losses were only one percent in casualties, whereas the Prussian army was decimated losing well over seventy percent of its entire force.

Jun 12

Martin von Lochner declared Duke of Lorraine.

Aug 14

Treaty of Nancy. Prussia and France formally recognize Alsace and Lorraine as independent Duchies.

Alsace, at this time, has no declared ruler and agrees to become a protectorate of Lorraine until such time as a ruler is found.

France, still recovering from its loss to Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War, agrees to allow Nancy to be annexed by Lorraine under the terms of the Treaty of Nancy.

1890

October

War of 1890. In the latter part of the month, the German Empire, in defiance of reason and rationality, executes a surprise attack on the British Capital, starting a major continental war that lasts until April 1891.

1891

April

War of 1890 ends with a stunning German military and economic collapse, which results in The Hague Treaty, which leaves Germany economically and militarily impotent until 1911.

Austro-Hungarian Empire makes a separate Peace with the Russian Empire, and cedes their Adriatic coastal and Italian minority regions to the Italians to offset their economic losses.

1893

June

American economy falls into a severe economic depression in June due to over-investment in railway stocks and industrial over-production. This will last until well into 1896.

1894

Sino-Japanese War: Although the Japanese are victorious at sea, destroying the majority of the Chinese Imperial Navy, on land the Japanese Army meets with repeated defeats, which forces a Japanese withdrawal, and allows the Chinese to maintain control of the Korean Peninsula.

1895

Miss J born. Her home is in an old house on what will later become the site of the SPJ Headquarters Building. She will live there until the building is torn down in 1927 to make way for a block of offices.

Cuban War of Independence (vs. Spain) begins. No US involvement. Kiel Canal reopens after war repairs and major widening project

1896

First modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Italians defeated at Aduwa, ending initial Italian colonial drive into Ethiopia.

1897

Turkish-Greek war ends with Turkish defeat. Cyprus claimed by Greece.

1898

Spanish-American war occurs, with American forces destroying Spanish Naval Forces in the Battles of Manila Bay and Florida Straits.

To make matters worse for the Spanish, the Japanese Empire in a lightning strike seizes the Spanish holdings in the Marianas and Marshall Islands, with the exception of Guam.

1899

Second Boer War begins, ends in late 1900 with the total defeat and destruction of Boer Republics.

1901

Death of Queen Victoria. Prince of Wales becomes King Edward IV.

1905

Russo-Japanese War begins with surprise attack on Russian Pacific Fleet. Superior Japanese Leadership results in a series of defeats on land and sea, culminating in the destruction of the Second Pacific Fleet at the battle of Tsusushima Strait.

The strains of war resulted in a series of attempted Communist uprisings, which were put down with great violence, and resulted in the death or permanent exile (under pain of death!) of its leaders, and the establishment of the Duma.

1910

May 6

Death of Edward VII. Prince of Wales becomes George V.

1912-1913

First and Second Balkan Wars: (1st against Turkey, 2nd against Bulgaria) Balkan Powers supported by Russia, making Austria-Hungary nervous.

1914

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, which sparks a major war with Serbia that ends in disaster for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as the Serbian Army is reinforced by Expeditionary Forces from several Balkan states with Russian support.

This leads to the death of the Emperor Franz-Joseph and the withdrawal of the Hungarian States, destroying the Austrian Empire, leaving Austria to join a resurgent German Empire (rearming since 1910).

1918

Apr 1

R.A.F. founded.

1924-1926

War of Silesia - major conflict between German and Russian Empires results in the devastation of Poland, nearly one and a half million dead and wounded, and a frightening look at the future of warfare.

1927

SPJ Headquarters built, as a speculative office block. It is destined to remain empty (or nearly so) until the end of the Great War and the subsequent boom times.

Miss J., in 1948, acquires the building for a very little amount and turns it into the Headquarters of her new Organization.

1929

World economy is sent into a highly depressed state, a victim of industrial overproduction, overuse of available credit, and the deliberate non-payment by the Russian Empire of its war reparations to Germany. This depression will last with varying degrees of severity worldwide until 1939.

1936

Jan 20

Death of George V. Prince of Wales becomes Edward VIII.

Dec 11

Edward VIII abdicates. Prince Albert, Duke of York becomes George VI.

1937

Anton Greydon born.

Jim Conrad, Sr. born.

1939-1945

The War of 1939, The Great War.

Due to economic and political pressures, the last half of the 1930s is a period of turmoil, ending with the outbreak of a general war in April 1939, as German expansionism into the independent state of Czechoslovakia and the Russian Grand Duchy of Poland is met by a united European Front.

In the Pacific, war begins in December 1941, with a surprise attack by the Japanese Forces on Los Angeles and a secondary attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base.

Great Britain, fending off heavy German air attacks and a threatened invasion, fights a holding action while awaiting American assistance.

1942-1943

The years 1942 and 1943 are the turning point for the Allies; American counter-attacks in the Pacific, and Anglo-French moves in Europe and the Mediterranean knock Italy out of the conflict, force the Germans to fight a multi-front war with an overextended military, and begin a steady advance through Japanese-held Pacific areas. Two more years of heavy fighting ensue, but end with a pair of atomic explosions over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945.

1942

April 22

Briony Anne Mathers born.

1943

December 26

Samantha “Sami” Garrett born.

1945

Nick Storm born.

October 24

United Nations Organization founded.

1946

Miss J founds the Organization; would eventually become the investigative arm of the UNO known as Security Peace and Justice.

Ricky Vallance born.

1946-1966

With war’s end comes a very changed political and social environment. New nations appear, such as an independent Poland, and the new state of Israel (founded in 1946 by several Jewish groups.).

In Europe, however, the changes are many and shocking, signifying the end of the “long 19th Century”. Politically, Europe is divided into two armed camps: The Western Alliance and the Czarist Warsaw Pact, with a new war, a Cold War, beginning.

1949

The Chinese Republic splits into two pieces with the creation of the Socialist Republic of Mongolia (with Czarist Support). Border clashes with the Russian State continue for the next 30 years.

1951

A treaty disagreement between the Western Alliance and the Warsaw Pact over the status of Berlin results in the effective blockade of the city and a giant airlift of supplies to sustain the civil population by the Alliance air forces, despite Pact harassment and inconclusive clashes of fighters.

1952

February 6

Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh becomes Queen Elizabeth II upon the death of George VI.

August 14

Jack Tarrant born.

1959

Miss J killed, Anton Greydon takes over. 20-year term of office for Senior Director established.

1960

Briony Mathers joins Organization.

1961

UN funding approved for the Organization, which officially becomes the United Nations Organization for Security, Peace and Justice.

1963

May 9

Corey Lloyd Reese II born.

1967

Jim Conrad, Jr. is born.

March 13

Robert Bixby Parker is born.

1970

Briony Mathers becomes Section Leader, Liaison, on death of former Section Leader, Edmund Jergens.

Samantha Garrett graduates with Honors from Oxford and attempts to find a job in Archaeology.

1973

Sami starts her own independent bodyguard business.

Jack Tarrant joins RAF.

1975

Nick Storm joins SPJ – Investigations Section. Age 30.

Ricky Vallance joins SPJ – Security Section. Age 29.

1976

Graeme Roberts born.

1979

Anton Greydon steps down. Briony Mathers appointed Senior Director.

1980

Reese graduates High School and enters RAF OTC.

Jim Conrad, Jr., aged 13, starts fixing and programming personal computers for friends. He finds he has too much work, so starts charging. Then he starts recruiting friends to work for him. By age 15, he is head of a state-wide company with seven branches.

1983

Reese graduates OTC, goes to Monterey.

Sami is recruited into the UNO-SPJ.

1985

Reese leaves Monterey, starts 15-year tenure in Intel.

Jim Conrad, Jr., a millionaire and owner of a nationwide company poised to go global, graduates High School.

May 26

Parker graduates high school and enlists in the US Navy two days later.

1986

January

Parker is promoted to Chief Petty Officer in his second month of “A” school.

1987

March 13

Parker is commissioned as Lieutenant, JG, attends the University of Miami, Florida with accelerated classes, begins SEAL training.

1988

January

Parker graduates with Honors earning a Masters in Medieval and Early Renaissance History and is promoted to Lieutenant.

February

Jim Conrad, Jr. follows his father into the UNO Peacekeepers. He sees action over the next five years, but is mostly support and computers.

June

Parker publishes his first book under the name of “William Anthony Nall”.

1990

August 2

UNO Peacekeepers’ Invasion of Iraq to halt Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait. War ends Feb. 28, 1991.

1992

Jack Tarrant killed while on a mission with Reese.

1993

The World Trade Center in New York is bombed by a truck bomb.

Jim Conrad, Jr. makes a lateral move into UNO-SPJ.

1995

June 6

Parker is promoted to the rank of Lt. Commander and begins his tour with the UNO Peacekeepers (Naval Division).

1996

December 18

Parker retires from military service (Naval rank of Commander) with an honorable discharge and several awards and commendations under his belt.

1997

January 7

Parker joins the Miami-Dade County, Florida Police Department.

1998

September 9

Parker is promoted to Detective; shortly thereafter, begins moonlighting as a detective of the supernatural and begins writing novels based on his supernatural cases, once again using the pen name of “William Anthony Nall”.

1999

Briony Mathers completes her term of office and retires from the SPJ. Charles duBois appointed as the new Senior Director for the SPJ.

2000

June

Parker is recalled into service with the UNO, this time with the SPJ, but is under orders to keep secret his prior UNO service.

June 23

Parker and three of his classmates gain distinction for their efforts during the successful rescue of Robyn Coyne during a training assignment.

September 12

Prior to his Graduation ceremonies, Parker and four of his graduating class are instrumental in the rescue of SPJ brass and fellow classmates who were being held as hostages by terrorists.

September 18

The Chickering Affair – Parker, under the direction of Nick Storm, leads a team that successfully takes down a cabal of SPJ Section Leaders bent on overthrowing the Russian Government to form a Communist Government.

2001

January 20

George Walker Bush is sworn in as the 43rd US President.

September 11

Al-Qaeda attack on USA.

Senior Director Charles duBois commits suicide at his home just outside Paris, France.

September 13

Corey Lloyd Reese II appointed Senior Director of the SPJ.

Parker is officially reinstated to his former Peacekeeper rank of Commander under the SPJ equivalent rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

September 15

Attack on SPJ HQ, further attacks on US.

October 7

The Global War on Terror, an international venture against terrorism in response to the September attacks, begins when armed forces of the US and the UK, and the Afghan United Front (Northern Alliance) launch Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

October 26

Parker and Reese are married; among the guests is the Earl of Flamstead and Maidstone, William Howell Bixby, distant cousin to Parker.

2002

January 28

Clown 2.0 virus nearly wipes out the entire SPJ computer network in the Eastern Hemisphere.