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The Comprehensive Dark Science Timeline
🕑 Added 2025-01-02 01:41:22 +0000 UTCSo after the last few pages there have been a couple questions regarding the order of events in Kim's backstory, so I figured it would be helpful to compile that timeline in one place, based on what's been in Dark Science so far. I'm going to use a made-up marker, BFT, or "Before Full Transition," referring to Kim going full prosthetic following her first battle with Leviathan.
0 BFT (Kim's age: 22-23)
Kim's movie scheme with Ron fails and her house is exploded by creditors.
Melchior, on behest of the Dark Scientists, investigates Kim in the Borr Valley.
Kim leaves the Borr Valley for Nephilopolis so Vonnie can get her a job.
Kim fights Leviathan for her life, hilarity ensues.
1-4 BFT (Kim's age: 18-21)
Vonnie moves to Nephilopolis.
The character of Kaito Kusanagi is pronounced dead.
Vonnie's Xmas picture was taken, most likely the winter that The Tomorrow Girl ends on.
4 BFT (Kim's age: 18)
The Time Colonist invasion (the events of The Tomorrow Girl).
Kim is gravely injured while fighting the Time Colonists.
Kim's father comes, in disguise, to visit her in the hospital.
Kim creates her first prosthetic parts.
7 BFT (Kim's age: 15)
Vonnie informally adopts Kim.
Kim Yeong-Soo, as Kusanagi, gives his final known interview.
(There's no external evidence of Kim's existence prior to 7 years ago, including the existence of Kim's mother. Kim's unconfirmed memories are in italics.)
~7 BFT (Kim's age: ~15)
Kim's mother dies.
Kim mentions that the night her mother died, she couldn't bring herself to cry.
8 BFT (Kim's age: 14)
David Struthers accuses Kim of being gay, despite Kim drawing up schematics for the "perfect boyfriend."
>7 BFT (Kim, age: <15)
Kim helps an injured crow.
Kim went to school and got a black eye.
Kim takes care of her mother.
Jenny Dargon tells Kim she will let Kim braid her hair if Kim kisses a boy who smells like glass cleaner. Kim does so and barfs.
17 BFT (Kim's age: 5)
Kim's father, Yeong-Soo, leaves Kim's chronically ill mother.
>17 BFT (Kim's age: <5)
Kim has sparse memories of living in the "Kusanagi House" in Usonia.
Kim's father reads her stories of Azra-El, the Giantslayer, and telling her to "look for the rising sun" when she can't find her way.
>33 BFT
Kusanagi receives an anonymous tape that rekindles his memory of being Kim Yeong-Soo.
Yeong-Soo, as Kusanagi, discovers the ancient tomb at the heart of the island and the concept of Dark Science.
According to Kim's memories, she has images of her father discovering that she, Azra-El, or both, are alive after opening the "prison" at the heart of Nephilopolis.
Yeong-Soo, as Kusanagi, investigates Dark Science and believes doing so awakened the seven Dark Scientists.
Yeong-Soo, as Kusanagi, hints to Alisa Caspar, his speech writer, about Dark Science, but gives few details.
33 BFT
The earliest known photographs of the Kaito Kusanagi character.
Either at this point or later, Kim Yeong-Soo is cast as Kusanagi.
5,786 BFT
The "highest scientific authority" established an "equitable contract" with the Dark Scientists. In the modern day, that authority is the Dean of Inquisition in Nephilopolis.
~6,000 BFT
What archaeologists refer to as the "Old War," which left behind massive ruins in the shape of giants and weapons. Nephilopolis is built on top of one such giant.
According to Kim's memories, the Old War was an actual war, led by Azra-El and the ancient Dark Scientists/Aligeri, who appear to be under her command.
Azra-El had a romantic relationship with a warrior woman who lived on to die in her 90s.
>6,000 BFT
According to Kim's memories, the Nephilim took over the world, which was shrouded in an "Age of Mist." Azra-El climbed a great tower to steal their fire, which granted her immense knowledge and powers the "Seven Shadows," ie: the Aligeri, who worked with her to overthrow the giants.
Hope that helps!
Comments
Maryalee
Lotta lot background to catch up on.
Torabi
He looks awful good for 55!
Orlet Soir
Thank you for posting this! I've had to go back and re-read everything starting from "Hob", and have definitely noticed a few new things that were there but missed in the previous reads. The main question still remains, though: will we ever find out what is that orb that's following Bogan at all times and only we and Kim can see? Is it somehow related to the Aligieri and the Dark Science?
Charles Wilkinson
Absolutely amazing. I've kept having to go back and forth in the comic/s to keep track of the timelines and try to make sense of what is known and not known but this clears it up. There's some interesting details as well, like the video of Kim Yeong-Soo being delivered anonymously to him. Presumably this means there's another player who began helping or manipulating Kim/Kusanagi to uncover the Dark Science mysteries or other mysteries around Nephilopolis. I'm starting to suspect her father fled after he stated knowing nothing about a mother and Kim not existing before 7 years ago. He'd almost certainly have realised how impossible that is and that his memories had been altered.
Mattie Ian Bishop
Thank!
Sen
Try DS #123
Marcus Beirne
Same! 😆
James Fraleigh
I am a fiend for timelines so this is like catnip for me—thanks!
William Cole
Ah, fascinating! I had thought the photo was a good bit earlier. Vonnie looks very young in it. Still a lot of questions about Kim's early "life".
Sen
Yeah, Yeong-Soo is 55 now, so he could have been as young as 22 if he was the first to physically portray Kaito. There's obviously a big gap between then and Kim's possible points of origin, so who knows what was going on?
Mattie Ian Bishop
When was the romance with Azra-El? Asking for reasons which may be scientific and/or friend-adjacent.
Danielle Goodrich
Same!
It's Lina
It looks like I'm in quite the pickle as I noodle through this.
Hugh Eckert
Very cool, thanks!
Alex White
I didn't realise there was a 10-11 year gap between Yeong-Soo finding the ancient prison and Kim being born. I had always assumed those were pretty closely timed, but this definitely suggests that either Kim was a capital-P Project and his memories were wiped of it (perhaps accidentally, if Kim used the Dark Science method instinctively); or Kim's connection to Azra-El is less direct than she worries.
Sen
I won't stop anybody from starting one!
Weston Clowney
There really needs to be a wiki for all of this. 😂
Verteiron
I love how you transitioned Kim's device that summons an artifact that reminds you of an alternative history into the Dark Science concept. Also, Caveman Science Fiction deserves a sequel.
Shinymelon Fearnow
..... ...... Welp, looks like I need to go back and reread everything. What pain! Oh misery!! (swoons)
Sen
I like the implication that, because Kim's memories are suspect, there could be no David Struthers. But someone DEFINITELY called her gay.
Jackie
This opens up an important question: what if it wasn't David Struthers who called her gay?
