Key Historical Divergences
Below is the timeline of how this world split from ours—a tapestry of moments where history twisted, creating the complex, glittering, and sometimes brutal landscape of New Boston.
1865 – The Widow-Maker
Mary Todd Lincoln is assassinated, not Abraham Lincoln.
Shattered by grief and publicly lionized as a widower, Lincoln emerges ruthless and uncompromising.
Instead of seeking reconciliation, he purges Southern extremist factions. Martial law sweeps through the South, and Confederate leadership is tried for terrorism rather than simply treason.
Silas Ward, a discreet yet brilliant legal mind and Lincoln’s private companion, begins drafting sweeping Reformation legislation.
1867 – The Reformation Acts
The Reformation Acts of 1867 forcibly redistribute former plantation lands to freed Black families, creating a patchwork of Black-led communes and municipalities across the South.
The Freedmen’s Bureau is made permanent and vastly expanded, becoming the Department of Civic Repair—an institution still influential in the BNWO present.
1880s – The Wardian Influence
Silas Ward’s legal philosophies become national doctrine: government focuses on restorative justice over punishment, creating early alternatives to incarceration.
Same-sex male companionship becomes subtly normalized in Northern states due to Lincoln’s open grief and public closeness with Ward. Though not fully accepted, the seeds of queer acceptance are planted far earlier.
1921 – Black Wall Street Rises
The Tulsa Massacre never occurs.
Black Wall Street survives and grows into the Mansa Economic Network—a national banking, media, and business powerhouse.
Seneca Village in Manhattan is never razed for Central Park, remaining a prestigious Black neighborhood blending wealth, scholarship, and cultural vibrancy. It becomes known as the Harlem of Finance.
1950s – Pan-African Policy Shift
Early Pan-African alliances take root. African nations partner with Black American leaders to create global economic and cultural coalitions.
Reparations are enacted, distributing wealth and building intergenerational Black prosperity.
The Harlem Renaissance, supercharged by economic power, begins decades earlier and expands globally.
1982 – Devyne v. Gates
Dr. A’Lora Devyne, a brilliant Black software designer, sues Microsoft for theft of her early operating system prototypes.
With the support of her partner, Jericho Wren, she wins, setting legal precedent for digital IP rights and opening doors for Black tech entrepreneurs.
Microsoft’s dominance collapses before Windows can take hold.
1986 – The OshunOS Revolution
Devyne launches OshunOS, an emotionally intelligent operating system.
Key features:
Mood-responsive UI
Consent-first data collection
VR learning environments that adapt to kinesthetic learners
OshunOS becomes standard in education, government, and community infrastructure.
Late 20th Century – The Spiritual Surge
Figures like Makono the Wild King emerge as living deities or powerful cultural archetypes, merging African mysticism with urban modernity.
Alleyways become sacred spaces where rituals, offerings, and magic coexist with neon lights and digital billboards.
Present Day – The BNWO Era
America thrives under Black cultural leadership, queer visibility, and restorative systems.
White communities experience social displacement rather than legal persecution.
Corporate greed and exploitation remain strong, creating stark wealth gaps even in a nominally more just society.
The dream of utopia hovers always close—but never quite arrives.
Core Themes
Afrofuturist Dystopia: Black brilliance and cultural power shape the world—but greed, fear, and power still corrupt systems meant to free everyone.
Magical Realism: Spirits, deities, and living AI walk beside mortals. Technology feels alive, and city streets hum with quiet magic.
Social Reversal: Blackness is cultural default. White characters navigate subtle marginalization, sometimes exploring reversed social dynamics consensually (e.g., “white subs sit on the floor”).