» Fri Nov 18, 2011 6:28 pm We understand that the 1940s in the Fallout world has all (if not almost all) events the exact same as in our history, with World War II ending at the same time with the same events to the beginning of Soviet-American hostilities.
Much of the 1950s were the same as in our universe, hence, what Fallout was modeled after. The peaceful, idyllic times for America, and the beginning of a new golden age for the world, along with the Space Race truly starting, but with a few crucial differences such as the transistor not being developed further.
Then, we enter the 1960s. The 1960s bore little resemblance to our timeline, there is mention of the "hippie" movement arising, but they failed to gain sway over public opinion and the social upheaval that would follow never occurred, rendering the 1960s as a mere extension of the 1950s culture.
By the 1970s, and subsequent decades, the Fallout world had completely diverged. No personal computer was invented, American domination and xenophobia never began to decline, and so on.
Now, was the 1950s completely superimposed over future history? Look at Mexico. In our history, from the 1940s to the 1960s, Mexico enjoyed a tremendous economic growth, with many business opportunities worldwide opening. This falls in nicely with Fallout's 1950s stagnation of history.
In the 2050s, the United States annexes Mexico for economical related reasoning, and oil, of course. Now look at Mexico today, quite crime-ridden with drug cartels, immigrants desperate to get to America, and not the best of economies, not at all like 1950s Mexico.
So, why would the United States want a third world country with disproportional differences in living standards incorporated into their nation, with economic rationale behind the decision too!
Did the 1950s Mexico continue to persist, with the economic boom continuing for over 100 years? Would this not be why America set its greedy eyes upon Mexican lands?
Or, let's look at Japan. In the 1950s, Japan was not in the best of shapes. The repercussions of the Second World War still harrowed Japan, and their electronics were certainly not found in a quotidian American household, but they were recovering, at the time, they were slowly becoming more politically prominent. Japan is now one of the leaders of the world, with one of their electronics, prospectively, in your home too.
However, in the Fallout universe, there does not seem to be any Japanese electronics, or other items, for that matter, at all in the United States. Is Japan still stuck in the limbo of the 1950s and 1960s in the Fallout world?
Let us turn our attention to Europe, specifically, the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom, in the 1950s, were not exactly the best of friends with America as it is now. It was an ally, yes, but still acted quite independently of American interests. The United Kingdom's interest in the Middle East seems never to have waned, with the United Kingdom being one of the main supporters of Israel and deploying troops to the Middle East in support, as it would do in the 2050s and 2060s Fallout universe.
Yet, no mention of the United Kingdom being a close friend of the United States is made in the Fallout universe. Furthermore, the United States annexes Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth and a former British subject, which would certainly not have boded well with the United Kingdom. Thus, we can safely conclude that the United Kingdom has also remained in the same stasis of history.
Finally, the United Kingdom is never mentioned contributing anything to the Sino-American war, along with the United States not allocating any oil supplies to the United Kingdom. Clearly, relations have remained aloof.
Allow us to view Europe. In the 1950s, tensions were still high in Europe from the Second World War. There were the initial predecessors to the European Union that attempted to bind Europe together, and in politics all seemed well and fine, but it was still quite a volatile land. Question a French man about his views on Germany at the time, and you most likely would not have received a positive answer.
Now, in the 2060s, the superficial European Commonwealth collapses, clearly not a strong union at all. Europe quickly boils over into a battlefield, with many so-called allies turning on each other, with even nuclear weaponry later on.
Furthermore, Europe in the 1950s was nothing close to the superpower the United States was at the time. Hence, in the Fallout world, Europe seemed not to have played a great part in world politics.
Let's investigate South America, shall we? Today, Brazil, which perhaps can be termed the leader of South America, is a rising power. However, Brazil, in the 1950s, was just a third world state, as was most of the South America. Hence, no direct mention is made of South America, of it being allies or else.
Now, we turn to Africa. Africa in the 1950s, was a hotspot of revolutionary activity against colonial powers, with most nations gaining independence. Africa at the time was not the hellhole that it is today, but was not a loud continent either. Alas, no mentions of Africa in the Fallout universe, implying that it is not a superpower that some believe it is destined to become in our future, but not exactly a blasted wasteland before the war. However, there is no allusion to Chinese interests in Africa, which had very little influence over the continent in the 1950s, and this lack of interest in Africa continued on in the Fallout universe.
On Africa's doorstep lies the Middle East, which was an incredibly violent region with the multiple Arabian powers there waging war against their Israeli neighbours, who were assisted by the European powers in the 1950s while America remained relatively withdrawn. These Arabian powers were aggressive to Europeans in the 1950s, which is why the Middle East would not want to share their oil with them later on. This would fit in perfectly why the Middle East would become the first nuclear battlefield in the 2050s since Japan in 1945, and, presumably, these wars continued in the Fallout universe since their origins in the late 1940s.
Finally, we will document India. India in the 1950s and 1960s was not a nuclear superpower, nor was its neighbour Pakistan. Neither of them were anything close to a superpower, relatively poor, with wars still raging on between them. In the 1970s, India and Pakistan would conduct several nuclear tests and acquire nuclear weaponry. However, as the Fallout world has completely diverged by the 1970s, this is most likely not canon, though it may be.
But, if this is canon, then why wouldn't they have annihilated each other in one of the many wars since their establishment? Especially India, with vying interests against Pakistan and China. I'm certain China would not enjoyed having a rival nuclear superpower on the continent with them.
The point is; has the Fallout world completely frozen in the 1950s in politics, culture, economics and some fields of technology?
But, as always, there's some holes in this theory that I shall point out.
China is one of the largest. China, in the 1950s and 1960s, (1960s seems to be where it has frozen, first nuclear tests and acquirement of nuclear weaponry in China were in the 1960s. Also, the split between the Soviet Union and China was in the 1960s) was certainly not a superpower. Not many at the time believed it would become one in the distant future, either. Yet, against all odds, with no (evident) reforms endorsed by the United States, China rose to become a superpower. Clearly, a discrepancy with the 1950s or 1960s viewpoint.
The Soviet Union is the next. In our timeline, the Soviet Union was in decline by the late 1980s, and was disbanded in the early 1990s. During these times, the Soviet Union's relations became more warm and friendly to the United States. In the Fallout universe, the Soviet Union would still survive the end of the 20th century, and even exist into the 2070s, but declined just as it did in our timeline. When this happened can be debated, it could be as in our timeline, or over a longer period of time.
The last one requires returning back to the subject of the Middle East. In the 1950s, the Middle East had no nuclear powers, not even Israel. Yet, in the Fallout world, the Middle East saw most nations utilizing their nuclear arsenal in the 2050s, such as Israel.
Corroborating this, the city of Tel Aviv, in the Fallout universe, was destroyed or at least decimated by a terrorist nuclear attack in December, 2053.
"Terrorists," were not exactly a powerful force in the Middle East in the 1950s as it is today. Thus, they must have risen from their initial status in the 1950s, above even today's, to gain nuclear weaponry.
So, I question you this: has the Fallout world entirely frozen in the 1950s? Why is not anyone noticing, it's been 127 years in 2077 since the 1950s began.
127 years before 1950 would be 1823. Has not a world of differences passed from 1823 to 1950? Germany was not unified at the time, France was still seen as the great enemy, the United States was a minor nation, steam was high tech, horses were still used to travel, and so much more that if listed will ensure this post take days to write. Yet, from 1950 to 2077, almost nothing has changed. A few nations gained atomic bombs, China became a superpower, the USSR declined, some technological innovations such as laser and plasma technology, along with power armour and... oil ran out. That's pretty much everything substantial that happened in 127 years.
What's more, none of the world's leading intellectuals noticed this? Was history not taught? Nobody questioned that the world's progression stayed the same for over a century in a Medieval-like trance? Even the Medieval landscape was altered heavily over 127 years.
Well, that pretty much sums up my inquiry. Oh, and a final question before I bid farewell. Does global warming simply not exist in the Fallout universe, even thought they utilize more inefficient technologies on a vaster scale with a larger population? I understand the laws of physics are different, but, come on. The theory of global warming is quite basic, and to change that would be altering a hell of a lot in the Fallout universe.
