Earth 1583: The Timeline of Thrills

Type: Alternate Timeline of Reality's Planet Earth

Date: Mid 1500's - Present Day

Significance: The appearance of physical manifestations of amusement park attractions and rides, simply referred to as "ride people" or "ridefolk"

Events: Golden Age of Roller Coasters (1920), Boom of Ride People (1970's-80's)

Named after: The opening year of the oldest operating amusement park, Bakken (1583)

History: This alternate universe's most notable early event is back when the predecessor of the roller coaster, the Russian Mountains, was built in St. Petersburg, Russia, back in the 17th Century. An unusual sound was heard nearby the place, so some people, including the owners, went to investigate. When they arrived, they saw what looked to be two mysterious girls lying on the ground near the area. The two got up slowly and saw them, then introduced themselves as Sasha and Snegalia. To their surprise, they had a look that was similar to the appearance of the Russian Mountains.

    Curious for answers, some people started research on how these two came to be. Did it have to do with the ride's opening? Or was it something else beyond their understanding? What they got was nothing for many years.

    As more new models of rides, like the Scenic Railways, and wooden coasters started to open to the public during years that passed, more and more of these mysterious individuals appeared. Scientists, realizing that these people are born from each new ride that appeared in the world, dubbed these individuals "ride people".

    In the late 1920's, the Great Depression hit, and most of the existing roller coasters and rides at the time shut down due to financial issues... and with them, their ride people disappeared from existence. Research was initiated on these sudden disappearances... and they came to a conclusion that these people were linked to said rides. So if a ride were to permanently close... their respective ride person dies with it. This caused worry in the population... as it plummeted when this happened. 

The time after the Great Depression was somewhat quiet... until after World War II. A company, called Arrow Dynamics, manufactured what would be the world's first tubular steel coaster, at Disneyland, California; Matterhorn Bobsleds, opening in 1959. It was revolutionary as this has never been seen before. After this, with The Racer and The Beast at Kings Island opening to help, roller coasters and rides progressively started to boom again, allowing more ride people to flourish in the world.

In the present, more and more rides open, and bring many different kinds of these individuals to thrive with everyone else in harmony. The population continues to grow with every new person born, and these ridefolk are no exception.

On the subject of Ridefolk/Ride people:

Ridefolk are a race of entities (typically humanoid) that are spiritually connected to amusement park attractions of many types, whether it be roller coasters, flat rides, or even walkthrough attractions. They exist within the Timeline of Thrills parallel universe.

Age/Life Expectancy: A ride person's age in ride years depends on how old their ride is. The average coaster ride person lives for 25 years, but it is unknown how long the average flatride ridefolk can live. The oldest Operating coaster ride person (Leap the Dips in Pennsylvania) is said to be over 120 years old.

Characteristics: The characteristics of an individual ride person fluctuates depending on the individual attraction they are born from. Regarding gender, females are usually more common than males (52%/48%). Age usually does not determine their appearance, as ridefolk physically age differently from that of humans. But it can be altered based on changes to the ride itself (There is a rare chance where this doesn't happen).

Social Roles: Ridefolk are born to resemble their individual ride, like a mascot of a sports team. Throughout Earth 1583, they are often seen as popular by park-goers. In reality, they try to live normal lives despite any issues and/or social statuses. Or, depending on the ride in question, they can be seen in an occupation or position that relates to their ride's aesthetic.

Religion: Their religious beliefs are based around ethics (morality), in which there is a physical form as well as a good and bad afterlife; what they call the Operating (physically alive), the Decommissioned (morally ethical) and the Defunct (morally unethical). Their guidelines of morality are stated in the "Ride's Code", written around the late 19th century by the first ride woman Natasha (now conjoined form of Sasha and Snegalia) of the Russian Mountains.

Relocation: If a ride person's ride were to ever be relocated after closing, one of two things will happen.

They will either:
Remain alive, but left ride-less until relocation is complete. Then transformation based on the new iteration's aesthetics will take effect.

Or:
They die off, and are replaced by a newformed ride person once relocation is complete, while retaining past memories of their previous home park.

It is a 50% chance for either of these to happen to a relocated ride. 

Drifters: If a ride person were to sever all ties from their home park permanently, they would become a Drifter. As a result, their physical appearance remains intact, but their main abilities are gone forever. As another contribution, the ride of said Drifter would be left on its own, giving the individual a mortal life, even after their ride is Decommissioned or Defunct. If the Drifter was to return to their home park, they would regain their abilities and average ride persons' life expectancy. Which varies through time.

Side note: It is unknown on the percentage of Drifters that are out in the world, but the most common case related to becoming one is banishment from the home park they were originally from.

SBNO's (Standing but not Operating): Think of this as an existential limbo. When a ride is standing but not operating, its respective ridefolk is still alive... but some can end up in a coma depending on what happens. But in the long run, their fate is entirely up to what happens to their ride.

The limbo is broken if one of two things happen: if their ride reopens, then they are free to live another season. But if it's permanently closed, then they die.

Abandonment: If a park or ride (open or unopened) is left abandoned by a parent company, said ridefolk will be left in a state of oblivion and given mortal lives. Depending mainly on circumstances, it is unknown how long abandoned ridefolk can live. Once deceased, their spirits will remain intact in the physical world until their limbo fades away, then they will truly pass on.