"Lelouch of Britannia" is a fanfiction created by the author Cal Reflector, taking the events from the Code Geass series and creating an alternate timeline. In this series, instead of forging a Japanese liberation movement, Lelouch fights for the Britannians in order to take down the monarchy from the inside. To that end, he is aided by many of the Britannian notables from the series; including Jeremiah Gottwald, Viletta Nu, Kewell Soresi, Andreas Darlton, and sister Cornelia li Britannia.
The story opens in the year 2010 of the Imperial calendar, following the death of Lady Marianne. The original series had Lelouch renounce his right to the Britannian throne, while in the fanfiction he composes himself, allowing him to retain certain privileges. These privileges become his tools for advancing in reputation and rank, with the goal of one day reconvening with the Emperor to exact revenge on him. That is the premise, at any rate.
To create a truly immersive reading experience, Cal Reflector crafts a variety of allusions to real-life elements while still keeping intact the historical timeline of the original series. The reader will find references to real-world institutions, journalism groups, and political events all neatly wrapped up in the canonical Britannia-EU conflict. Notable examples include the BBC, University of California - Berkeley Campus, Virginia Military Institute, and the Associated Press; as well as publishers such as HarperCollins, Harvard University Press, and Random House.
At first glance these may look like insignificant details, but further inspection reveals an interesting set of phenomena at work:
Case 1 - In one vein, the aforementioned list includes agencies which (one would think) should not exist in the world of Code Geass, as their origins contradict the locations present in-series. Berkeley campus didn't appear until after the American Civil War (though its namesake does contain British origins). Virginia Military Institute and the Associated Press also have histories which would not necessarily have occurred without the American Revolution, the Mexican-American War, and other related conflicts.While similar conflicts are known to have happened in-series, we know not how varied the circumstances behind them may be, and to the average reader, that causes continuity to be thrown into question.
That they do flow together amid such varied circumstances questions not only the nature of the Holy Britannian Empire, but also that of the real-world British Empire and even the United States of America. Were they truly different cultures? Consider that before the founding fathers were American revolutionaries, they had to have been British citizens. Had they remained British, their natures would be unchanged, would they not? Perhaps the toughest pill to swallow is that there is no real variance between a British citizen and an American one; it is simply a title. The events which have shaped the American people very likely would have happened if the American people had remained a British territory - implications which, for some, may be truly staggering.
Case 2 - Another important detail in the storyline is the use of epigraphs at the beginning of most chapters. Many of these are where the real-world allusions are made, but what's more interesting is the dates next to each one. Many of them are set in the far future, anywhere from ten to eighty years after the plot. So, why is this important?
I'll give you a clue. The first volumes of Encyclopedia Britannica were published in 1768. For more than two centuries, they were the gold standard of information retrieval. And then, in 2012, it was announced that those volumes would be discontinued, and eventually fade into the fabric of time. Britannica survived by going digital, but it would never be the pillar it once was. Nowadays, Britannica is pursued mostly by hobbyists; it has all but disappeared from the public arena as a serious form of information retrieval, thanks to the internet.
Therefore, the notion of an already-dated institution or agency withstanding the test of time (the march of technology and social progress) is a serious concept. Will the BBC be around in 2096? Will Harvard Press or even Harvard University be around in 2097? Will other publishers, such as Random House and HarperCollins, be around in 2058 and 2057, respectively?
To say yes is to argue that either the adaptability or the reputation of these institutions will keep them safe. To say no is to argue the lack of these qualities. The icons of our generation may or may not be icons of the next, and the honest truth is that no institution is safe.
One final example: General Motors was founded in Flint, Michigan on September 16, 1908. For 100 years, the company continued to grow, offering a variety of cars and trucks in a multitude of styles. This included the three subsidiary brands Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer. After 100 years, it would all come crumbling down, and these three brands would be discontinued, a piece of history eradicated from our culture forever.
Tomorrow, it very well could be Google. Only time can tell.
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