User blog:Jykale/Theory: Zeniverse timeline

For those unaware, the "Zeniverse" is a hypothetical shared universe that contains the various series owned by ZeniMax Media and the companies they control/contract. This includes Rage, Doom, Wolfenstein, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls (among others). Since for a number of reasons, there's no way that all these series can possibly follow a linear timeline, I'm taking a page out of Nintendo's book by proposing that alternate timelines are involved.

Timeline one: Classic Era

Spear of Destiny-->Nocturnal Missions-->Wolfenstein 3D-->Commander Keene-->Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel-->Fallout Tactics-->Doom-->Doom II: Hell on Earth-->Final Doom-->Doom 64-->Quake

Timeline two: The New Order Era

Spear of Destiny-->Nocturnal Missions-->Return to Castle Wolfenstein-->Wolfenstein (2009)-->Ultimate Challenge-->Wolfenstein: The Old Blood-->Wolfenstein: The New Order-->Quake II-->Rage-->Doom 3-->Resurrection of Evil

Timeline three: Wasteland Era

Spear of Destiny-->Nocturnal Missions-->Return to Danger-->Doom (2016)-->Fallout-->Fallout 2-->Fallout 3-->Fallout 4

Overview
So as you can tell, the three timelines at first start out identically, but change after B.J. Blazkowicz defeats General Fettgesicht at the end of Wolfenstein 3D's Nocturnal Missions. In one, B.J. is captured by a vengeful Hans Grosse and brought to Castle Wolfenstein. In another, he is captured while attempting to raid Castle Wolfenstein. And then there's the third, where the Spear of Destiny is recaptured by the Nazis and B.J. has to recover it again.

In timeline one, Hitler is killed by B.J. and World War II ends earlier. In timeline two, the Nazis win the war, thanks to knowledge of future technology given to them by the mysterious demon Abigor. In timeline three, World War II ends just as it does it in real-life: Hitler commits suicide, and the Allies drop atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

In timelines one and three, technology across the world is improved, until resources begin to dwindle and a nuclear war follows in 2077. Though similar, the aftermath of the war in these two timelines differ significantly. In timeline two, the Nazi government is eventually abolished, but mankind is nearly wiped-out by an asteroid that collides with Earth in 2029.

Union Aerospace Corporation
There is one constant in all three timelines, regardless of how World War II ended: The Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC). Even in spite of an apocalypse in each timeline, they have managed to build their own bases and maintain a population on other planets. In the first timeline, they have bases on not only Earth and Mars, but other planets and moons, including Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos, and Jupiter's moon Io. The UAC also has a presence in the second and third timelines, but they don't seem to quite as vast by the time they make contact with Hell: The only known bases appear to be on Earth and Mars.

Since the UAC hasn't been mentioned (yet) in any of the Fallout games (which all take place in the United States), I'm assuming that either UAC was a secret organization, or they originated from Europe, Australia, or another part of the world that would prominently feature English-speaking people. Since there's no word on how the Great War affected Australia, it's highly possible that they were isolated enough to not only escape a direct attack from either the United States or China and maintain a population that could expand themselves space-wards.

The Elder Scrolls
Now where does The Elder Scrolls fit into this whole thing? Well, here's a video that could better summarize things better than me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdKn2-YzzxI

Also, since The Elder Scrolls Online tends to have a number of huge differences that deviate it from The Elder Scrolls lore, I propose that it, along with the mobile version of TES IV: Oblivion, occurs in a different timeline from the main installments. It is likely that it would contain the version of Hell, as well as other dimensions encountered in the "New Order Era" timeline, while the "Classic Era" and "Wasteland Era" timelines would intersect with the main TES series and pre-Online spin-offs.