Charles Babbage was an inventor (TV: Spyfall (part 2) [+]Loading...{"part":"2","1":"Spyfall (TV story)"}) and cryptographer, famous for designing a prototype of computer known as the difference engine in the Regency era. This invention attracted the attention of certain powers during the War in Heaven, (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"}) and later of the Spy Master as part of his alliance with the Kasaavin, with Babbage unknowingly being made to watch over an artefact which could be used to summon the beings. (TV: Spyfall (part 2) [+]Loading...{"part":"2","1":"Spyfall (TV story)"})
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Early life[[edit] | [edit source]]
Babbage was born in 1792. (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})
The difference engine[[edit] | [edit source]]
In the "early 1800s", Babbage spent some time designing a prototypal computer called the difference engine, (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})) and constructed a "simple version" of the machine which he displayed in his London home; (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"}, TV: Spyfall (part 2) [+]Loading...{"part":"2","1":"Spyfall (TV story)"}) he held various "evening soirees" during which he showed off the device to "the cream of Regency society, both aristocratic and intellectual".
In 1822, when Babbage requested funding from the British government to further develop his engine, the invention was brought to the attention of the secret society known as the [[Star Chamber], specifically their loyal bloodline the Howard family. The Star Chamber, who had for some decades switched their priorities from fighting vampires to fighting Faction Paradox, needed a powerful mathematical engine to compute the Musical Offering and thus open a gateway into the Eleven-Day Empire. They had been sitting on this plan for a long time, with the casualties of American Revolution French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars having robbed the Chamber of many of its own thinkers and engineers who might have made it happen "in-house".
By 1829, however, the Star Chamber became disillusioned with the lack of progress from Babbage. They bribed his assistant to resign and bring to them some of his ex-master's notes, sparking their interest when they realised that Babbage's sluggish progress on the disappointing difference engine was because he had begun to design a superior device, the analytical engine, which would be much closer to what they needed. (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})
Some time before his meeting with the Thirteenth Doctor in the mid-1830s, the Silver Lady was delivered to him by "a young man" who said it was "a token of appreciation" from the "master". He thought nothing of the gift, believing the young man to have been a servant of the anonymous "master" — without realising that he was being tricked by the Spy Master, who had allied with the interdimensional Kasaavin, who were scouting Earth's history in search of the most efficient hard drive ever developed by humanity. It remained in his home for years as a mere decorative object. (TV: Spyfall (part 2) [+]Loading...{"part":"2","1":"Spyfall (TV story)"})
Working with Ada[[edit] | [edit source]]
Having decided that the analytical engine would suit their needs if completed, the Star Chamber assigned Lord Byron's daughter Ada (who, as a child of the Grand Families, was aware of the Chamber's activities) to be his new assistant. (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})
Babbage met the Thirteenth Doctor when the latter arrived in 1834 London in pursuit of the Master. Having used the pathways of the Kasaavin, the Doctor emerged at the Royal Gallery of Practical Science, where Babbage was displaying one of his innovations at a scientific exhibition with Ada. Afterward, the Doctor accompanied him and his assistant Ada Lovelace to Babbage's dwelling, where he introduced the Doctor to the unfinished difference engine. Babbage explained that once finished, his invention would count and perform quadratic equations. He then introduced her to the Silver Lady. According to Babbage it was "a revolutionary piece of engineering", though he thought it to be as much for decoration as for purpose, "like all great ladies". He told the Thirteenth Doctor that it moved and, on occasion, projected. The Doctor realised that these "projections" were appearances of the Kasaavin, and used the Silver Lady to transport herself and Ada into the Kasaavin realm to hop to another time period. After watching the two go, a gormless Babbage poured himself a brandy. (TV: Spyfall (part 2) [+]Loading...{"part":"2","1":"Spyfall (TV story)"})
The analytical engine[[edit] | [edit source]]
Though he had still described the difference engine to the Thirteenth Doctor as "as yet unfinished", excitedly talking of the quadratic equations it could perform once completed, (TV: Spyfall (part 2) [+]Loading...{"part":"2","1":"Spyfall (TV story)"}) Babbage soon lost all remaining interest in his half-completed prototype and sought funding from the British government for the self-programming analytical engine. As far as conventional history, the negative reply he received was the end of the project, but in fact, the Star Chamber finally told Ada to approach Babbage directly and commission him to continue working on the project, providing funding themselves. (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})
The result was the Clockwork Ouroboros — so named by Ada. Completed by September 1834, it was put to use in the Clockwork Ouroboros affair, being covertly moved by Star Chamber agents from Babbage's home to the physical Star Chamber below the Houses of Parliament from which the organisation drew its name. The misbegotten attack on the Eleven-Day Empire was foiled by the intervention of Lord Byron, who had betrayed the Chamber and joined the Faction himself. (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"}, "The Eleven-Day Empire: The 1834 Attack" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Eleven-Day Empire: The 1834 Attack","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})
Later life[[edit] | [edit source]]
After the conclusion of the Clockwork Ouroboros affair, Faction Paradox studied what was left of the analytical engine and based occult music boxes on its principles, capable of creating localised time distortions or hallucinations. It became a traditional "prank" for young Faction agents to disguise themselves as street musicians and play hurdy-gurdies of this type by the windows of Babbage's home, driving him nearly insane in revenge for his role in the attempted destruction of the Faction's Empire. (PROSE: "The Eleven-Day Empire: The 1834 Attack" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Eleven-Day Empire: The 1834 Attack","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})
Babbage eventually died in 1871. (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})
Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]
By the 1890s, Babbage had passed away. After his death, "the Colonel" purchased some of his notebooks for a large amount of money. The Colonel used the knowledge from the notebooks to construct probability machines which he christened Babbage engines. The Babbage engines served as the thought centres of his Sentinels, artificial mechanical creations with which he planned to take control of the entirety of Europe. (AUDIO: Military Intelligence [+]Loading...["Military Intelligence (audio story)"])
The analytical engine the circumstances of its construction were the subject of an entry in The Book of the War. (PROSE: "The Analytical Engine" [+]Part of The Book of the War, Loading...{"namedep":"The Analytical Engine","1":"The Book of the War (novel)"})
Other realities[[edit] | [edit source]]
In an alternate timeline created by the Oracle, Babbage was killed by William Kempton. (PROSE: The Domino Effect [+]Loading...["The Domino Effect (novel)"])