Thomas the tank engine
by:
Im-Not-Flamingo 
878
878
11.10.2018
4 comments
GabbyLehOOF
11.10.2018 01:41
LinkThat middle finger is lookin great
Some of you may laugh at this, but the universe of Thomas the Tank Engine has surprisingly elaborate lore. The series is decades old, and there are a multitude of books that take place within the universe and go into the lore. The TV shows don't go that deep into the lore, so if you're actually interested in the full extent of worldbuilding, you have to read the books.
I used to read the books a lot as a child. The worldbuilding actually isn't too bad, all things considered. The most notable thing is that it is really in-depth. There's an entire language called Sudric that was widely spoken on the island before their culture became Anglicized. The Island of Sodor is less than a 100 miles across if I recall. It was never really explained why such a small island relies so much on railroads.
The IoS is heavily dominated by corporate interests, and it is obvious that there are very few, if any worker's rights. Not exactly a proper Corporatist economy as I'd prefer. The Fat Controller shows no mercy towards engines that threaten his authority, and ipso facto threaten his profits by causing confusion and delay. He has not hesitated to take a few pages of Machiavelli's book.
Mind you, he may merely be punishing train engines, but these engines are sentient beings in their own right, they have a sense of self, a desire for self preservation, pride, a need to adapt, a need to be appreciated, etc. They're not exactly soulless automatons. Efficiency is important, yes, and even the trains of the Northern Railway should be industrious, but Sir Topham Hatt goes way too far many times, and I am not even sure he's paying his engines fair wages.
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