Dimension 005

Dimension 005, also known as the Steampunk Dimension, and is where The Verdigris hail from.

Abridged History
The Steampunk Dimension was much like Dimension 001 for most of history, but began to diverge around the time of the Industrial Revolution, when new technologies began to be developed, powered by coal, oil, gas, and other steam-based generators. The Industrial Revolution progressed with only minor variances until afterwards when electronic devices started becoming popular.

Anti-Electric Propaganda - 18th Century
There was widespread distaste for electronics among many of the rich factory owners, production companies, and manufacturers of machine parts due to the high costs and lost profits in moving to electronic devices, and thus a series of advertisements were put in papers and spread by word of mouth about the supposed dangers of these devices - playing heavily into the threat of electrocution and as of yet unknown effects of the still hypothetical electromagnetic fields. These advertisements are currently hailed as some of the most impactful uses of propaganda in Dimension 005's history, and were able to drastically change the public's perception of electronics seemingly overnight. With scientists unable to disprove the lethality of electricity itself (although constantly reiterating that the small devices were perfectly safe and that electricity isn't harmful at lower voltages), electronics were quickly shunted to the side and steam powered machines made their reentry into the spotlight.

The Proven Safety of Electric Devices - 19th Century
It took almost two decades before compelling arguments in favour of electronics were able to be presented, but the damage had already been done. The public's perception of this alternate technology was soured beyond repair, and many people were set in their ways. To reinforce this, the factory owners again spread rumours that workers could lose their jobs if the machines were replaced with electronics, and a number of members of the scientific community were bribed into publishing biased papers against electronic devices. Nikola Tesla himself was amongst those fighting for the use of electricity, hailing its many benefits over existing technology, but after many years and a lack of public support, he resigned himself to working with steam powered technology in tandem with his electronics at the will of the same people who spread the propaganda he once fought. This ushered in the age of hybrid electronic mechanical devices.

Hybrid Devices - 19th Century
Steam generators were now being used to produce electricity to power devices, and Tesla's coils were seeing increased use to produce Alternating Current electricity. Edison's Direct Current was seeing less success due to his repeatedly soiled reputation by the same propaganda which Tesla had once fought against, but Edison had refused to change his ways and bow to public opinion. A number of electronic devices were being produced, but their inner mechanics were mostly cogs, sprockets, and other mechanical parts being moved by a generator, and wiring was used sparingly. Although public reception of these hybrid devices was slow at first, they eventually began to be accepted into households.

World War One - 20th Century
By the beginning of WWI, the world was considerably slowed in its development, still in a Victorian-like state in almost all aspects of society and technology. WWI however started a huge burst in technological advancement as countries began producing weaponry and machines for warfare.

Germany and its allies began developing tanks, guns and flamethrowers, which the designs for were then stolen and improved upon by Britain and the USA. The Allies also produced a number of their own machines including airships, airplanes, and submarines which were used against the enemy to devastating effect early in the war. Despite the enemy's eventual adaption to the new airships, they had been overwhelmed early on and found it near impossible to recover from their position, they lost the war in good time and the Treaty of Verailles was signed.

Post World War One and World War Two - 20th Century
After the first world war, many of the machines used were either adapted for use outside of the battlefield or kept active, with huge airships drifting across the sky as a symbol of the Allies countries' might and a threat to their defeated enemies should they try again.

Despite this, on September 1st 1939, the battle which marked the beginning of WWII took place. WWII saw large divergence in Dimension 005's history. Nazi Germany and the Soviets quickly developed ahead of the rest of the world and began a diesel era of huge metal airships billowing smoke into the sky, new and better tanks, machineguns, and even a form of power armour used by elite soldiers which consisted of an exoskeleton increasing lifting capacity and thick metal plating, but this armour suffered the extreme drawback of a large open backpack with the generator and most of the most vital components which were simply too bulky to be built into the suit, and the generator needed refilling with diesel very often, making them both costly and inefficient, but devastating when used. The Nazis also began work on creating a form of supersoldier known as Ubermensch using a variety of methods, including surgery, primitive cybernetics, and performance enhancing drugs, though they saw very little success and many volunteers died in their attempts. Nevertheless, the Nazis decided to include their nonexistent supersoldiers on propaganda posters in an attempt to scare the Allies and boost public morale.

The Axis conquered country after country and were predicted to win the war, until an Ally spy was able to scout out Adolf Hitler's daily routine and assassinate him with a shot from the rooftop of a nearby building whilst Hitler was walking down a public street with his personal bodyguards. The spy was caught and executed by firing squad, but they died knowing they had succeeded in their mission.

The death of Adolf Hitler lead to Heinrich Himmler taking his place, but with blatant disregard for his advisers and low public presence, his leadership lead to the defeat of the Nazis and eventual end of the second world war. The Axis technology was taken and adapted by Britain and the USA once again. However, the shaky leadership of the Nazis meant that nuclear bombs had never been required, and thus were never invented. As the war ended, Japan closed its borders and refused to communicate with much of the world, signing a non-aggression treaty but refusing to form alliances.

Post World War Two - 20th Century
After WWII, the world began to get back on track. Airships became a common but slow form of transportation for both national and international travels. One could go to an airport and take an airship much like one would take a bus from a bus station to travel shorter distances, or akin to cruises or ferries for international flights. The largest airship in history was developed as a luxury cruiseliner through the skies to visit a number of countries, called the St Anne Marie.

A number of minor skirmishes broke out around this time over the mistreatment of factory workers and the use of child labour. Workers began forming unions and riots began. These riots were very quickly snuffed out as lethal force was used against the rioters by a group of guns for hire known as the Blood Red Roses (BRR) who had access to now more advanced power armour and firearms.

The first space shuttle was launched in 1975 when a number of adaptions were made to the design of an airship, but the first moon landing didn't happen until over a decade later with the flight of the SS Apollo. The crew wore space suits with designs based off diving suits used in submarines. Unfortunately, their spacecraft sustained damage when taking off from the moon, and the heat from reentry into Earth's atmosphere caused the boiler to explode in a steam explosion, killing the crew and destroying the ship.

Punk Subcultures And Movements - 21st Century
As the gear-filled clocks ticked over to midnight January 1st 2000, the world was still using steam power and mechanical machines for just about everything, still unable to enter the digital age. Technology entered a near standstill with a lack of computers and digital devices. The world underwent a climate change disaster which lead to more environmentally friendly fuels being used, although they were still predominantly used in the same way as fossil fuels, to fuel steam engines. A number of bizarre fashions and subcultures found a place throughout the 21st century, and a number of rebellions and revolutions occurred until eventually in 2022 child labour was outlawed and in 2036 workers rights were set out in stone.

The people behind these societal movements were commonly referred to by the derogatory term "punks" by many of their opposition and news outlets. The Punk Movement eventually sprung out into a number of other subcultures and movements, including the uninspired "Femmepunk" movement which was equivalent to the feminist movements of other dimensions, and their own version of "Afropunk" which was a large group of African Americans fighting against racism and was eventually joined by a several other races. Whilst both Femmepunk and Afropunk succeeded in their goals for equal rights, the even more popular original Punk Movement shifted focus to a number of failed attempts to dissolve the class system.

Britain and the US (as well as a number of other countries) both featured heavily restrictive class systems with the upper classes living in luxury and looking down upon the lower classes who were treated like dirt and ignored by their governments. Despite the new workers rights, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. However many of the upper class members were being harassed and even assaulted, robbed, and murdered by rioting lower class members, and so it became common practice for the rich to hire bodyguards and private armies to guard their estates. It was this practice that lead the Blood Red Roses to turn from a group of mercenaries to a fully fledged army for hire with enough funding to have only the best weaponry.

In the late 21st century, Japan finally reopened their borders, revealing that their entire society had developed into massive cities of interworked pipes, billowing steam valves, and orange edison-bulb streetlights. Its class system was equally strict but featured an almost feudal system of the governors hiring so-called "Neo-Samurai", a new breed of samurai who carried rifles with bayonets as their primary weapons, and shorter swords (wakizashi) as their secondary, and wore heavy power armour.

The Ritualpunks And First Contact - 22nd Century
Around 2112, the Blood Red Roses became the strongarm of the rich and powerful, and were being commonly used by the US government to bolster their army. The group had very little success in creating a foothold in Japan, with the Neo-Samurai already filling their primary role.

A new subculture broke out at the end of the 21st century as a combination of primarily hippies, voodoo practitioners, pagans, and members of the various punk movements, who called themselves the Ritualpunks. The movement was originally a joke intended to mock the upper classes and the various "punk" movements alike, but was quickly adopted and turned into a real subculture. Its practices included nudist parties, abundant recreational drug and alcohol use, and magic rituals to contact the dead and bring good fortune to its members. It became popular among teenagers, many of whom saw it as a way to have fun or as a funny joke without truly believing its supposed use of magic and superstition. Most of the "evidence" for such magic were first-hand accounts from intoxicated members.

In 2124, the Blood Red Roses ran one of their high ranking officers for president of the USA, and in retaliation the Ritualpunks ran one of their own priestesses. The Ritualpunks would hold rallies in which large numbers of their members would show up and chant and both the priestess and many of their members were arrested for indecent exposure, public disorder, and public intoxication. Their candidate was slammed by news outlets for encouraging and participating in the behaviour, but this simply gave them more publicity and they were predicted to win the election with the upper classes (who were firmly in support of the BRR) making up a much smaller percentage of the population compared to the lower classes who predominantly supported the Ritualpunks for their values and hoping for an end to their oppression.

But it wasn't to last, as the Ritualpunks crashed a Blood Red Roses rally to protest, leading to a bloody clash in which the Blood Red Roses massacred the Ritualpunks in attendance, as well as a number of civilians caught in the crossfire. This sparked an all out war between the Ritualpunks with the support of a number of the punk movements, and the BRR with the support of the upper classes and current government. As news spread, the clashes extended out of the US to other countries in which both the BRR and Ritualpunks existed, and eventually inspiring other groups in even third world countries to start their own rebellions, leading to worldwide conflict. Japan sat pretty during the conflict, keeping their people in place with a culture of manners and swift punishment for those who act up - still enforcing public execution in way of decapitation by the sword and firing squads.

The conflicts went on for many years, with civilians and punks taking up arms against the much better equipped and funded Blood Red Roses, until they reached their inevitable conclusion as the Ritualpunks were forced into the shadows and small, secretive underground gatherings, with the Blood Red Roses winning the conflict and becoming the dominating force almost worldwide. Their presence was felt in nearly every country and many people of all nationalities signed up to join them.

In 2156, after many failed attempts, the USA launched a spaceship that successfully reached Mars and returned, and public morale began to increase as the government focused on improving space flight capability. In 2158, a probe sent to Mars discovered a new substance, known as Orange Matter whilst drilling for minerals. It was found that this substance was radioactive and capable of producing immense bursts of power for a short time. The substance was harvested and used to power a number of devices, from future space shuttles to advanced weaponry which inevitably found its way into the hands of the Blood Red Roses.

In 2176, the first warp capable ship was made, known as the SS Hermes. Subsequent warp capable ships were developed and eventually made contact with a number of alien species. Several nations and the BRR sent their own representatives to talks with these species at first, but eventually a union was made between nations, with the BRR in charge of their war departments, this union was called The Verdigris, and would send representatives on behalf of the planet instead of individual nations. Even Japan agreed to join The Verdigris, but remained a mostly secluded nation.

Towards the end of the 22nd century, space flights were common and even private groups could have spaceships capable of full warp, so long as they registered with The Verdigris. A captain known as Annabelle Sprocket built her own ship, the SS Quintessential and formed her own crew, registering with The Verdigris but remaining freelance, she and her crew began her adventures.

Cardassians Vs The Verdigris - 23rd Century
In 2207, The Verdigris found itself in a war with the Cardassians, and so the Blood Red Roses were put on the front lines. But as the war grew closer and closer to Earth, even private crews signed up to fight. Among them was Captain Annabelle Sprocket, whose ship was now powered by a substance known as Blue Matter which they had found on an alien world, and who had developed a large time travel device known as a Chronal Transport Device which, at this time, was huge and built into her ship. She fought in the forefront of the war and was hailed as a hero for her successes in battle, and given credit in helping The Verdigris defeat the Cardassians. She was hailed as The Saviour Of The Skies.

Her Chronal Transport Device was copied by a number of groups and improved upon, and eventually shrunk down by Annabelle herself until it was portable. This was later refined into the chestpiece she is known for having. A group known as The Chrononauts was formed consisting of hundreds of time travellers, but after series of disasters involving time travel which were all eventually set right, the group was disbanded and time travel all but outlawed by The Verdigris, with most Chronal Transport Devices being destroyed. It was at this time that Annabelle Sprocket defected from The Verdigris and she and her crew escaped to explore space, taking her Chronal Transport Device with her.

The Verdigris also continued exploring space and building relations with other species, becoming Dimension 005's equivalent to Starfleet until the present day. The Blood Red Roses continue to be The Verdigris' military branch. Technology, although influenced by aliens and sufficiently advanced for warp, still remains predominantly mechanical in nature.