History WMG / Leviathan

* While on the Beagle, Darwin learned about the secrets of flesh-crafting from surviving Sarkic shamans. Researching and honing the art for the next few decades, he unveiled it publicly in the 1850s, claiming they were merely conventional scientific discoveries. As the British Empire was empowered by Sarkic biotech in the late 19th century, the Germans, Austrians and Ottomans struck deals with the Church of the Broken God allowing them to share their technology, that they may each gain an edge over their respective enemies. Whether the SCP Foundation was even formed in the Leviathan universe as a consequence is up for debate, though if it isn't, one probably wouldn't want to see future conflicts if Sarkic and Mekhane anomalies were weaponized like in the Great War.

* While on the Beagle, Darwin learned about the secrets of flesh-crafting from surviving Sarkic shamans. Researching and honing the art for the next few decades, he unveiled it publicly in the 1850s, claiming they were merely conventional scientific discoveries. As the British Empire was empowered by Sarkic biotech in the late 19th century, the Germans, Austrians and Ottomans struck deals with the Church of the Broken God allowing them to share their technology, that they may each gain an edge over their respective enemies. Whether the SCP Foundation was even formed in the Leviathan universe as a consequence is up for debate.

[[WMG: Darwin didn't discover genetic engineering, but [[WebOriginal/SCPFoundation Sarkic Flesh-crafting]]]]
* While on the Beagle, Darwin learned about the secrets of flesh-crafting from surviving Sarkic shamans. Researching and honing the art for the next few decades, he unveiled it publicly in the 1850s, claiming they were merely conventional scientific discoveries. As the British Empire was empowered by Sarkic biotech in the late 19th century, the Germans, Austrians and Ottomans struck deals with the Church of the Broken God allowing them to share their technology to gain an edge over their enemies.

[[WMG: Darwin didn't discover genetic engineernig, but [[WebOriginal/SCPFoundation Sarkic Flesh-crafting]]]]
* While on the Beagle, Darwin learned the secret of flesh-crafting from surviving Sarkic shamans. Researching and honing the art for the next few decades, he unveiled it publicly in the 1850s, claiming they were merely conventional scientific discoveries. As the British Empire was empowered by the Sarkic arts in the late 19th century, the Germans, Austrians and Ottomans struck deals with the Church of the Broken God allowing them to share their technology.

* The lorises converse with each other at every given opportunity, have a knack for learning languages on the fly, and have an ability to see the heart of important issues and problems around them. They're practically pre-computer data miners. Sure, they are somewhat entertaining, and ''can'' be helpful in a pinch. All the more reason to hand them out as gifts to the heir (somewhat) apparent of Austria-Hungary and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire-- and presumably, they're valuable enough to give more away as diplomatic gifts. Visiting members of the London Zoological Society who were accompanied by lorises would gain valuable information in places of interest without even trying.

[[WMG: Deryn Sharp is a relative or descendant of [[{{Sharpe}} Richard Sharpe]]]]

** Their equivalent of Britain's krakens will be resized [[EverythingsBetterWithPlatypi platypodes]] and stingrays.

* Will resemble some ungodly cross between RedAlert3 (minus the Camp) and Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion. With Stalin taking power post-Russian Revolution, he'll adapt Clanker technologies, but realize that Darwinist technology is still quite useful, and aim to make the Soviet Union into a Hybrid Power, like America and Japan. Without Nazi Germany to divert most of its resources against, Russia will start to expand its influence even further, and start butting heads with both America and Japan. Meanwhile, Japan has started to conquer East Asia, and attacks the U.S. much like in real life. Things start to escalate, and America, Russia, and Japan find themselves in a three-way war, and start combining Clanker and Darwinist tech, resulting in all three nations fielding Proto-Evas, alongside whatever else comes about from this.

* Think about it, [[{{AustralianWildlife}} everything]] in Australia is already trying to [[{{DeathWorld}} kill you]]. All the Aussie fabricators really have to do is to make the animals more trainable and a bit bigger if need be.

* World War II, if it would ever occur, would also align America from a Mixed into a Clanker nation. The war with Nazi Germany in Real Life was what soured the perception that evolution and anything tampering with genetics are evil, and in the Leviathan-verse, we could see a lot of conservative Americans protesting against the use of Darwinist organisms as "Nazi eugenics". On the other hand, the Americans acquired a massive boost in physics when the Nazis expelled a lot of Jews including AlbertEinstein forcing them to emigrate to the United States... and in this timeline, such a supply of exiled Clankers would ignite an equivalent of the Manhattan Project. Genetically-engineered Übermensch versus masses of nuclear-powered power armour, anyone?

*** But since Japan had only open up to the west in the mid 1800's (which is about the same time that DNA in this world was discovered), and only became a Darwinist nation in 1902. So maybe the Japanese were "courted" by the Darwinists and Clankers who provided "samples" of their tech and after Japan chose to go Darwinist they still kept some of the Clanker machines and there's still someone working on the machines. Oh yeah, as for fabs, the Japanese could have {{Pokemon}} and Franchise/{{Godzilla}} in their arsenal!

* Will resemble some ungodly cross between RedAlert3 (minus the Camp) and NeonGenesisEvangelion. With Stalin taking power post-Russian Revolution, he'll adapt Clanker technologies, but realize that Darwinist technology is still quite useful, and aim to make the Soviet Union into a Hybrid Power, like America and Japan. Without Nazi Germany to divert most of its resources against, Russia will start to expand its influence even further, and start butting heads with both America and Japan. Meanwhile, Japan has started to conquer East Asia, and attacks the U.S. much like in real life. Things start to escalate, and America, Russia, and Japan find themselves in a three-way war, and start combining Clanker and Darwinist tech, resulting in all three nations fielding Proto-Evas, alongside whatever else comes about from this.

* Both sides would be forced into a {{Cold War}} situation or face the absolute destruction of at least human life.

[[WMG: WWII will be HORRIBLE. Hitler will not just use both sides' technology, but also the most forbidden of all the sciences: [[TransHuman manipulating Human DNA to create]] [[UltimateLifeForm the Übermensch]]]

* And the Pacific theatre may turn into a much longer conflict than in the real world, and a lotmore devastatingly horrific. In OTL, Imperial Japan funded a massive Darwinist program for biological weapons experimentation,: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731 Unit 731]], and even in our timeline, human dissections notwithstanding, it has already produced freakish biological super-plagues that when unleashed onto the maniland would have done a catastrophe on the American economy. Now picture a 731 armed with near-magical genetic engineering, resulting in nation-destroying super-Ebolas and a LOT of [[CombatTentacles tentacle jokes.]]

* And the Pacific theatre may turn into a much longer conflict than in the real world, and a lotmore devastatingly horrific. In OTL, Imperial Japan funded a massive Darwinist program for biological weapons experimentation,: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731]], and even in our timeline, human dissections notwithstanding, it has already produced freakish biological super-plagues that when unleashed onto the maniland would have done a catastrophe on the American economy. Now picture a 731 armed with near-magical genetic engineering, resulting in nation-destroying super-Ebolas and a LOT of [[CombatTentacles tentacle jokes.]]

[[WMG: WWII will be HORRIBLE.. Hitler (Or whoever wills his role) will use both sides's technology, and will not have qualms about messing about with Human DNA.]]

* But if Westerfeld does, the Eastern European front will liturally be flowing with blood. Millions more there will be killed there than they were in our world. The Nazis will probably turn to Darwinist tech to try to create [[{{SuperSoldier}} supersoldiers]] and will have no qualms about creating [[{{HumanoidAbomination}} human/animal fabs]]. And the Pacific theatre may turn into a much longer conflict than in the real world; it may even be a lot like Vietnam. It also wouldn't be a streach of the imagination for both the Axis and Allies to turn to germ warfare. Maybe instead of the atomic bomb, the Americans devlope a [[{{DoomsdayDevice}} super virus]] to use against the Japanese.
** Not so sure about that...the way I see it, this universe's version of Hitler would stick with "German pride" and avoid any Darwinist stuff. However, the idea of [[{{SuperSoldier}} supersoldiers]] on the side of America (and possibly Japan, for that matter) isn't to crazy.
** Or the Americans might use a Darwinist variant of the real-life [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb Bat Bomb]].
* Implying that WWII wasn't already horrible IRL?
* No, but the Nazis didn't have [[{{StupidJetpackHitler}} mutant super-soldiers]] or HumongousMecha.
** Perhaps there'll be less anti-Semitism and so more Nazis for invading Russia?

** Yes, but World War I still happened even though the new technology would alter history so thoroughly that most of the historical people born after divergence shouldn't have been born due to sheer probability (walkers instead of cars altering traffic, changes to communication altering the likelihood of parents meeting, etc.). In this reality, Hitler was born and he'll be doing what he did in real life, albeit with a change for the new technology. After that bizarre meta-theory, I personally think that World War II in the Leviathan universe will be less like the first one described in the books. Some of the nations set up as Darwinist here were in the Axisd during World War II, such as Italy. Thus, I believe that a WWII in this universe would be more like mixed-tech powers colliding with the purely Darwinist or Clanker nations taking sides. The mixed nations will probably use steampunk cyborg animals as vehicles (elephantines grown around a walker with the head being filled by a cockpit instead of a brain for example).

[[WMG: AdolfHitler will make an appearance in Goliath.]]

** Alternatively, thanks to some secret undercover missions, anti-war yellow journalism, and Alek taking the throne, WW1 ends early and the Americans never get involved at all, except perhaps to act as mediators during the treaty negotiations.

* Cyberpunk often includes both highly advanced technology, genetic engineering, and the melding of flesh and technology.

[[WMG: Leviathan is the not-so-distant-past of [[NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion.]]]]

* Cyberpunk often includes both highly advanced technology, genetic engineering, and the melding of flesh and technology.

[[WMG:Russia is going to have [[{{EverythingsWorseWithBears}} bear cavalry]] ]]

* Honestly, look at the author's track record with the romance in his various books. Literature/{{Uglies}} and {{Midnighters}} being the best examples.

* Honestly, look at the author's track record with the romance in his various books. {{Uglies}} and {{Midnighters}} being the best examples.
** He's had just as many successful romances as tragic ones - look at {{Peeps}} and {{So Yesterday}}. It's still up in the air.

*** But since Japan had only open up to the west in the mid 1800's (which is about the same time that DNA in this world was discovered), and only became a Darwinist nation in 1902. So maybe the Japanese were "courted" by the Darwinists and Clankers who provided "samples" of their tech and after Japan chose to go Darwinist they still kept some of the Clanker machines and there's still someone working on the machines. Oh yeah, as for fabs, the Japanese could have {{Pokemon}} and {{Godzilla}} in their arsenal!