Variant History

Science is at a loss to explain why variance is occurring, though there are a variety of explanations, from increases in world background radiation to natural phases in human evolution to magical intervention. While scientists may not be able to tell us why it is happening, variants are having much better success telling us what its effects have been. The tracking of variant activity extends back to before the turn of the century, due to sociologists' expansion of the term "variant" to include anyone who engaged in effective costumed adventurer status.

Gaslight Era
This era marks the beginning of what Variant Scholars consider the recordable variant history. Exceptional figures were studied and observed under fairly scientific conditions for the first time. This period's "variants" would be considered low Beta at best, and included such figures as Lord Greystoke and Sherlock Holmes.

World War One
Similar in many respects to the Gaslight Era, but an increase in the number of costumed adventurers was made unrecordable by the carnage of war. Little is known about this period.

Prohibition
The first of the individuals whom the public at large would recognize as costumed adventurers in the US appeared during this period, with smatterings of magic or variant technology far beyond conventional levels.

The Depression
The first actual recorded variants appeared in this period, people with 'powers' up to Beta level. Drawing inspiration from the Prohibition-era costumed adventurers, they donned bright costumes and entered "the Game"— themselves inspiring more costumed adventurers, whose struggles lifted the American sprit. In the rest of the world, the war America was trying to avoid was sweeping variants up into it.

World War II
When the inevitable war became real, a number of variants of vastly increased power levels appeared on both sides of the conflict—previous to 1938 there were no recorded variants with power levels above Beta, while by March 1938 there were over a half dozen ranked as high Gamma, in addition to the still active Depression-era variants. Many who appeared during the war did not survive it (25% survival rate), and the final effect of variants on the war's outcome is unknown—variants of either side countered one another, while troops won the day.

The Cold War
The variant level did not continue to rise after the war; instead it fell sharply. Those variant heroes that survived WWII moved to retired or semi-retired status, while new variants of increased power appeared, into the high Delta range. In response to such variant threats, especially possible communist variants, the US government took sharp control, using The Great Hunt as a enforcement arm. The Hunt protected America from communists, would-be variant dictators and (some say) aliens. The Hunt died in 1954, under mysterious circumstances.

The Quiet Years
With the mysterious death of the Great Hunt in 1954, variants literally vanished. Those in retirement or jail stayed there, and if any new ones appeared they didn't come to public attention. This might have been backlash from the government's variant persecution tactics in the Cold War era, but that wouldn't explain the worldwide silence in variant activity. No reason has been found.

National Heroes
With the appearance of Dolphin (Kappa) in 1963, the age of variant national heroes began. Most of the heroes of this period were of Gamma or Delta level, and were quickly recruited by national governments to serve as soldiers and propaganda pieces. Every year a dozen or so more variants would appear, scattered throughout the world, and this trend slowly increased. Variants became public icons, endorsing movements and governments and lifestyles, playing out the conflicts of the world's ideologies on a grand stage.

The Modern Era
In 1980, people came to a realization about the curving growth of the variant population. Variant teams became the norm, and public opinion shifted them from icons to simple heroes, if not employees. The world is coming to rely more on variant heroes as defense against the unforeseen threats and against their less scrupulous brethren. Many companies and cities sponsor variant teams, and colleges offer classes to variants on the ethical and profitable use of their abilities. This proliferation of variants proved essential to human survival, as the world was threatened by both alien and Daemonic invasions in a short period of time.

| Top |