Timeline of Jijo - David Brin's Uplift Universe

This page contains spoilers about Brightness Reef and Infinity's Shore. Those who haven't read those books and plan to read them should exit immediately. I will refer to these books by their initials, BR and IS.

This page is under construction. Help would be greatly appreciated.

The official David Brin site is www.davidbrin.com, and it includes samples of the books. The complete Uplift timeline can be found at Stewart Blandón's site or at Trent Shipley's site

I am also building an Uplift timeline, that is more "canonical" than the above timeline, since mine is based on the books.

Units of Time

Many different time units are used in the Uplift Storm Trilogy. I will try to summarize them: These units can be related by: Using the above relations as starting points and doing some lenghty computations based on the books, it's possible to conclude that:

Timeline, by days

I still can't fit all events into a unique timeline, because there are too many ambiguities. For example, if we follow Sara from the day she left Dolo Dam to the day she arrives in Mount Guenn, it seems that only a few days have elapsed. But this period corresponds to the date of the arrival of the Rothen until two days after the Battle of the Glade, and (in other characters' accounts) this period is months long! So, we must assume that Sara spend a long time in Tarek Town and in Biblos!

The errors that are obvious are marked in Red with the suggested correction in Green . Deductions are in Blue .

I decided to break the timeline into five sets, each set, internally, with fixed dates.

Reference: arrival of the Rothen

Book reference Day Hour Event Loocen Torgen Passen
BR II. Asx 0 noon The Rothen/Danik ship lands in the Gathering Glade      
BR II. Sara 1 00:00 or so Meeting in Dolo Dam rising    
BR IV. Sara 1 dawn Sara et al leave Dolo Dam in ship Hauph-woa
down river Roney
     
BR IV. Sara 1 sunset Ship Hauph-woa reaches Unity Point      
BR IV. Sara 2 00:00 +/- some hours River Roney lit by two moons not visible visible visible
BR VI. Sara 2 morning Ship Hauph-woa is ambushed in Bing Village      
BR VIII. Sara 2 mid-afternoon Ship Hauph-woa reaches Canyon Country      
BR X. Sara 2 late afternoon Concert in ship Hauph-woa to celebrate The Stranger's recovery      
BR X. Sara 2 almost nightfall Ship Hauph-woa arrives in Tarek Town      

Reference: Robot Battle in One-of-a-Kind's Lair

Some events of this partial timeline overlap the events of the above timeline. However, I can't get an exact correlation between the two.
Book reference Day Hour Event Loocen Torgen Passen
BR II. Asx -3 or -2 noon The Rothen/Danik ship lands in the Gathering Glade      
BR II. Dwer -2 1/2 midura before sunset Dwer captures a glaver in the Rimmers      
BR II. Dwer -1 before dawn Rety steals Dwer's bow      
BR II. Dwer -1 pre dawn Dwer wakes and notices that his bow had been stolen hovering over sillouetted peaks    
BR VI. Dwer 0 nightfall A Danik Robot attacks the Bird-Robot
In the battle, they destroy each other
while destroying One-of-a-Kind
     

Reference: Battle of the Glade

Book reference Day Hour Event Loocen Torgen Passen
BR XX. Sara -4 or -3 sunset Sara et al leave Biblos at sunset      
implicit -3 or -2   Sara et al reach Kandu Landing      
BR XXIV. Sara -2 sunset Sara et al leave Kandu Landing and begin the crossing of Warril Plain      
BR XXIV. Sara -1 dawn Sara et al come to Uryutta's Oasis visible before dawn    
BR XX. Lark -1 afternoon Lark begins writing letter to Sara
to be delivered to Biblos
     
BR XXIV. Sara -1 afternoon UrKachu's Urunthai take control of Caravan
Books burned
Jop's companions come before sundown
     
BR XX. Lark -1 sunset The Danik scoutship leaves Gathering Glade
and goes to the Gray Hills
rising    
BR XXII. Dwer -1 a midura past sunset The Danik scoutship passes over Dwer in
its way to the Gray Hills
     
BR XXIV. Sara -1 post-sunset of BR_p503 Caravan split in two
Faster group goes South
Moonlit pool with Blade
  not visible; see below  
BR XXIV. Sara -1 post-sunset of BR_p503 + at least 2 miduras Second blood-stop   rising  
BR XX. Asx -1 night Zealots destroy the buried Rothen cube
using explosives
two moons casting beams at crater
BR XXIV. Sara -1 post-sunset of BR_p503 + at least 3 miduras = midnight Third (?) blood-stop      
BR XXIV. Sara 0 dawn Sara et al stop at dawn, outside Warril Plain      
BR XXIV. Lark 0 morning Lester Cambel turns on the psi-emiters      
BR XXII. Dwer 0 during the day lots of stream crossings in the Gray Hills      
BR XXVI. Sara 0 afternoon Urunthai and Jop's fanatics are subdued by the Good Guys      
BR XXVIII. Sara 0 sunset Blade comes with Ulgor      
BR XXVIII. Sara 0 sunset + several miduras   up in the sky    
BR XXIV. Asx 0 after sunset The Rothen Ship returns in search for Ro-kenn et al      
BR XXVIII. Lark 0 night Polkjhy, the Jophur Ship, arrives on Jijo      
BR XXVIII. Sara 1 00:00 Rothen ship returns
Jophur ship comes
Emerson returns with donkeys
Ulashtu and the Ilias come
     
IS Part One, Sooners, Sara 1 00:00 h to 03:00? Running South with Ilias through Central Slope not visible but
should be visible
not visible pale light
IS Part One, Sooners, Sara 1 03:00? h to sunrise Running South with Ilias through Central Slope   rising  
IS Sooners The Stranger 1 sunrise flashbacks of Emerson      
BR XXII. Dwer 1 morning Dwer at al are blocked by a mighty ravine;
party splits, searching for a pass
     
IS Part Two, Lark 1 probably during the day Ling sees Lark and Uthen's book
in late One of a Kind's lair
     
IS Part Two, Sara 1 midday to sunset crossing of Great Marsh      
IS Part Two, Sara 1 sunset Arrival at River Gentt
Party enters Tunnel under River Gentt
     
IS Part Three, Sara 2 afternoon Arrival at the city of Xi, in the Spectral Flow not visible not visible not visible
IS Part Three, Sara 2 sunset;
few miduras after Sara arrived at Xi
Rest of Horsewomen and Urs arrive at the city of Xi not visible not visible near far west horizont but
should be in the eastern part of the sky
IS Part Five, Emerson 2 and 3 from sunset to sunrise Emerson at Xi visible during the night, probably rises during the night    
IS Part Five, Sara 3 day Sara et al go from Xi to Mount Guenn
Sara suffers an accident while climbing
     
BR XXII. Dwer 3 noon Dwer arrives at Falls
He detects Ul-Tahni's band, that had been here
     
BR XXII. Dwer 5 to 7   Dwer returns to Falls with Lena, Jeni and Danel      
BR XXII. Dwer 6, 7, and 8 from 00:00 to 06:00 Dwer's tactic: wake after midnight and scout under the light of two small moons   visible visible
IS Part Three, Dwer 10 day The Danik aircraft is bombing the Rift      

Reference: aerial battle in the Gray Hills beach

This table overlaps nicely with the above table, with a 10 days difference. In other words, the aerial battle at the Grey Hills beach happens exactly 10 days after the Battle of the Glade.
Book reference Day Hour Event Loocen Torgen Passen
BR XXII. Dwer -5 to -3   Dwer returns to Falls with Lena, Jeni and Danel      
BR XXVI. Rety -3 ? Ul-Tahni and 12 urs are imprisoned in Rety's Band's Prison      
BR XXVI. Dwer -2 evening Dwer expedition plans next action
pre-moonrise dimness
not visible not visible not visible
or should it be visible?
BR XXVI. Dwer -1 a midura after midnight Dwer wakes up
Danel is trying to talk to Mudfoot
two moons rising
BR XXVI. Dwer -1 morning Kunn and Jass leave the Gray Hills and go to the Gray Hills beach
Dwer, Lena and Danel attack the Danik Robot
Danel Ozawa is killed
The Danik Robot, carrying Dwer, Mudfoot, Rety, and Yee, go South
     
IS Part Three, Dwer 0 day The Danik aircraft is bombing the Rift      
IS Part Three, Dwer 0 day A Jophur corvette battles with the Danik airplane      
IS Part Six, Dwer 0 1/2 midura after nightfall Dwer plans attack against Jophur corvette not visible not visible visible
IS Part Seven, Kaa 1 00:00 - 12:00 Dolphin raid in Gray Hills beach captures Kunn, Jass and the Jophur
Dwer, Mudfoot, Rety, and Yee enter the submarine Hikahi
     
IS Part Seven, Kaa 2 morning Kaa and Peepoe leave Kaa's Outpost and go to a cave near the volcano      
IS Part Eight, Kaa 4 to 9 day Mopol and Zhaki atack Kaa and kidnap Peepoe      

Reference: capture of Biblos by the Jophur

Book reference Day Hour Event Loocen Torgen Passen
IS Part Eight, Kaa -1 day Mopol and Zhaki atack Kaa and kidnap Peepoe      
IS Part Eight, Blade -1 afternoon Blade departs from the ruins of Ovoom Town in a baloon going to set after sunset going to rise after Loocen sets  
IS Part Nine, Kaa 0 00:00 - 06:00 Kaa saves a hoon from drowning, at Wuphon Port not visible rising  
IS Part Nine, Nelo 0 morning The Jophur capture Biblos      
Maybe it's necessary to add one day here
IS Part Nine, Kaa 0 nightfall The Submarine Hikahi enters Wuphon Port      
IS Part Nine, Alvin 0 18:00 - 24:00 After meeting of Gillian and Uriel
Heavy clouds cover Western sky
visible in the East, close to Izmunuti    
IS Part Ten, Dwer 0 00:00 plus or minus some hours Dwer begins his Baloon trip      
IS Part Ten, Dwer 1 at sunrise Polkjhy races towards ballons      
IS Part Ten, Gillian 1 soon after sunrise Streaker leaves Jijo between Jijo and Izmunuti    

My Hypotheses

Loocen lower than Torgen ?

All the books refer to Loocen as the first and Torgen as the second moon; I guessed that this was size and distance from Jijo. This has to be checked against the books.

Jijo Month = Loocen Synodic Month ?

Using the fact that Asx refers to the date of the Rothen arrival as
It was springtime, early in the second lunar cycle of the nineteen hundred and thirtieth year of our exile-and-crime, when the Rothen arrived, manifesting unwelcome in our sky. (...)
(BR, II. Book of the Slope, Asx), together with a statistical overlap of my estimations of a Jijo Month and Loocen's synodic period, I supposed that a Jijo Month were the period from a New Loocen to the next New Loocen.

However, this hypothesis can be easily disproven. Early in a lunar synodic month means that the Moon is Waxing Crescent, or that the Moon sets during the night (soon after New Moon it sets soon after sunset; and just before Full Moon it sets just before sunrise; but it never rises during the night - see The Moon: an Introduction for more details about the phases of the Moon). But in Chapter II Dwer, at the time Rety steals his bow, he observes Loocen over sillouetted peaks before dawn, and in Chapter II Sara there is a meeting in the night after the Rothen arrival, and Loocen rises during this meeting

Using an other origin for Loocen's Month still can't give the correct number of days per month, because Loocen Synodic Month is too small.

Jijo Month = Torgen Synodic Month ?

I tested this hypothesis hoping that it would not be true; Torgen is the second moon (probably only in brightness but not in distance from Jijo), and there's no reason it would be chosen as the month reference.

Alas, I guess I can disprove it with a reasonable certainty: from the tables, above, notice three Torgen risings from the period from midnight to dawn; these three risings are set apart by at least 5 days (see BR p.543, IS p.38, and IS p.503), later when I find time to write what I calculated O:-)

Under Construction

Preliminary Numbers:

The Timeline

This timeline uses Jijo units of Time. When a date in Earth units is more accurate than the date in Jijo units, I will give it. Otherwise, chech my Brin Timeline.

Like my other timelines, I will put some arrows to help the reader follow some characters. However, I decided to represent uncertainty by a color code, from green, representing a direct quote from the canon, to red, when the canon can only give an approximate date. Or: Error > 1000 Years, Error 100-999 Years, Error 10-99 Years, Error 1-9 Years, Exact Year.

Year 0 or Year 1

  • The g'Keks come to Jijo

    Year 300

  • The Traekis come to Jijo

    Year 450

  • The Glavers come to Jijo

  • Soon after, they enter the Path of Redemption

    Year 830

  • The Qheuens come to Jijo

    Year 900

  • The Hoons come to Jijo

    Year 1200

  • The Urs come to Jijo

    Year 1580

  • Contact: Humans enter the Civilization of the Five Galaxies (Year 2211 AD )

    Year 1650

  • Humans come to Jijo

  • Biblos is built

    Year 1670

  • First Human - Ur War

  • Second Human - Ur War

    Year 1680

  • Drake the Elder is born

    Year 1720

  • Horse Genocide: the horses of Jijo are killed

  • Third Human - Ur War

  • Drake the Elder destroys the Urunthai, a human-hating Ur clan

    Year 1730

  • Fire at Biblos, about 1/3 of the books are lost

    Year 1740

  • Dolo Dam is built

  • Drake is born

    Year 1760

  • Siege of Tarek: the Gray Qheuens are defeated

    Year 1830

  • The Holy Egg appears

  • Beginning of the Great Peace

    Year 1900

  • Lark, son of Melina, is born

    Year 1902

  • Binni, Rety's mother, is born

    Year 1904

  • Melina, with Lark, come to Dolo Dam and marry Nelo the Papermaker

  • Sara, daughter of Melina and Nelo, is born

    Year 1906

  • Dwer, son of Melina and Nelo, is born

    Year 1916

  • Rety, daughter of Binni, is born

    Year 1929

  • Joshu, Sara's lover in Biblos, dies

  • Melina dies

    Year 1930

  • The Rothen come to Jijo


    Created: 1999-03-08
    Timeline (Jijo Years) created: 1999-06-07
    Great modification: 2000-06-20

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