Analytical Engine

Basic Information

The first successful computer, designed by Charles Babbage after the failure he had with it's predecessor the Difference Engine. It operates via the providing of input (programs and data) through punched cards, which is later translated into output through the printer. The machine can also punch holes on cards to be read in later. If followed up upon, it would have been digital, programmable, and Turing Complete. But Babbage never built it, and computer technology would wait until the 1940s. If it had been built, the information revolution would have likely started earlier than it did OTL.

Sources

Wikipedia article: Analytical engine

Bibliography

1. Novel: The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

Game and Story Use

• Good for placing a cyberpunk campaign in an industrial era setting, though not necessarily one that happened when ours did.
• Wherever and whenever this is built, there will likely be a reaction against it - Luddites afraid of losing their jobs, or worried about possible negative side effects this technology will have on society. If these people resort to force in order to stop this technological revolution, the authorities will have to come in to protect the system. The PCs can be on either side, or can choose between sides.