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ANAK BORNEO UNIVERSE
HISTORY
Records of the events that shaped the world.
The world did not become this way overnight. Wars, outbreaks, laws, protests and political decisions slowly changed how people lived — and how they showed their faces.
THE RECORD
What began as an emergency response to a biological catastrophe eventually became law, identity, technology and everyday life. The records below trace that transformation.
1945–1948
THE V-47 BIO-PLAGUE
The outbreak that changed the world.
Across the archipelago and the world, a weaponized strain emerged from the shadows of war. What followed was a total reorganization of public existence.
APRIL–MAY 1945
THE PROGRAMME IS UNCOVERED
Archival reports suggest allied forces discovered sealed labs dedicated to aerosol-based biological agents.
JULY–DECEMBER 1945
V-47 EMERGES
The first documented cases appeared in port cities. Symptoms were rapid, affecting respiratory systems within hours.
1946
MASKING BECOMES LAW
Masking becomes law as government-issued masks are mandated for all citizens in open-air environments.
1948 ONWARD
INDIGENOUS SURVIVAL STUDIES
Indigenous survival studies begin as traditional communities adapt ancient forestry knowledge to the new biological threat.
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WHAT CHANGED
The face vanished from public records. Biometrics and mask serial numbers became the new methods of state recognition.
1950s–1960s
THE MASK ERA
When protection became identity.
1950s–EARLY 1960s — THE MASK ERA
Masks remain after the crisis. Full-face designs become normal, identification begins moving into the mask, and mask use expands into public services, travel and daily administration.
16 SEPTEMBER 1963 — BORLAYLAND FORMED
MalayLand, Hornbill Land, North Borneo and Singaport State form BorLayland / 婆來聯邦國 under the BA63 Framework, while the Borneo states retain important regional safeguards and mask-system autonomy.
9 AUGUST 1965 — SINGAPORT SEPARATES
Singaport State leaves BorLayland. By then, masks have already evolved from medical protection into identity, citizenship and border-control infrastructure.
1986–1991
SMILE LIBERATION
The fight to reveal the human face again. After decades of compulsory full-face masking, reform movements in Formosa began questioning emergency-era laws that had survived long after the V-47 crisis.
19 MAY 1986 — GREEN ACTION
Reform activists challenge decades of emergency rule and restrictive mask regulations in Formosa.
NOVEMBER 1986 — THE BROKEN MASK GIRL
A photograph of a young girl smiling through a damaged government-issued mask spreads internationally after authorities punish her family. Her exposed smile becomes a symbol of resistance.
21 NOVEMBER 1986 — “LET US SMILE”
The Smile Liberation movement gains global attention. Protesters deliberately break or modify full-face masks under slogans including: “Let Us Smile / 還我笑容.”
1987–1988 — THE MOVEMENT SPREADS
Debates over facial expression, personal freedom and mask reform spread beyond Formosa. Experimental open and partially open mask designs begin appearing.
27 JUNE 1989 — HALF-OPEN MASKS LEGALISED
Formosa legalises half-open masks and begins opening mask manufacturing to private companies.
27 MARCH 1991 — REFORM REACHES BORLAYLAND
BorLayland Parliament debates legal recognition of half-open masks and the privatisation of mask production.
WHAT CHANGED
Smile Liberation separated wearing a mask from hiding the entire face. It paved the way for half-open designs, private manufacturing and eventually the personalised biomimetic masks of the modern ABU world.
The movement did not remove the mask. It returned part of the face.
ARCHIVAL MATERIAL
[Fig 1.2] Technical schematics of early 'Universal Barrier' filtration units issued to civil servants.
[Fig 1.1] Scanned fragments of The Malayland Gazette recovered from the Mud City Municipal archive, circa February 1948.
[Fig 1.3] A rare panoramic view of the 'Red Zone' encampments outside Formosa, documented by independent journalists before the media blackout.
LEGACY
Nearly a century after V-47, most people no longer think about why the system began. Masks are simply part of life — used for identity, movement, work, communication and access.