Gibraltar, 1985
Every story in the Framework Universe starts on the Rock. Choose a pin to see each place as it really is, and where it turns up in the universe.
The Rock in 1985
In 1985 the Rock was a small, crowded place. At the last census, in 1981, just under 29,000 people lived here, not counting the servicemen. The town was packed onto the western slope, and planes landed across the only road to Spain, so the traffic stopped at a barrier for every flight.
In June 1969 Spain closed the frontier, cut the telephone lines and stopped the ferries. For years the Rock turned to Morocco for its goods and its workers. People on foot were let through again in December 1982, and on 5 February 1985 the frontier finally reopened in full.
The Royal Navy's dockyard was changing too. It had just been handed over to run as a commercial ship repair yard.
The map was rendered from a real aerial photo of the Rock taken in the 1980s. It shows the Rock as it looked then, at night: the runway across the isthmus, the harbour and its moles, the town under the Rock, and the cliffs and caves of the eastern side.
- Population
- 28,719 (1981 census)
- Highest point
- 426 metres
- Frontier closed
- 8 June 1969
- Frontier reopened
- 5 February 1985
Nine places on the map
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The frontier
In real lifeThe border between Gibraltar and Spain, just north of the runway. Spain closed it in 1969, and it only fully reopened in February 1985.
In the universeWith the frontier closed, Dr Andrés Olivero came to the Rock in 1976 the long way round, by ferry from Tangier.
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Casemates Square
In real lifeThe big open square at the north end of Main Street, named after the old bomb-proof barracks along one side.
In the universeIn Issue One, Jason Carter feels something wrong in the world and follows it here, to a black crack hanging in the air above an empty café table.
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Main Street
In real lifeGibraltar's main shopping street, running through the old town from Casemates Square to Southport Gates.
In the universeDI Joe Bonavia grew up doing his homework under the counter of his mother's haberdashery, just off Main Street.
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The harbour
In real lifeThe docks and moles on the western side of the Rock, facing the Bay of Gibraltar.
In the universeCafé 50s, Rachel Carter's 1950s café, is on the harbour road. The Europa Beacon has its newsroom in the old harbour customs hall.
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Meridian House
In real lifeThe old town: narrow lanes and steps climbing the slope above Main Street.
In the universeMeridian House stands here, the headquarters of the Meridian Police, with a brass meridian line set into its marble floor.
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Fusion Laboratories
In real lifeThe Rock is honeycombed with tunnels. The first were dug during the Great Siege of the 1780s, and miles more during the Second World War.
In the universeFusion Laboratories has worked on the Rock since 1958. Below its labs, three levels run down into old wartime tunnels.
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The sea caves
In real lifeThe cliffs on the eastern side of the Rock hide caves carved out by the sea.
In the universeDuring a storm, the ripple from Bastion's first battle reached Leon Voss deep in a cave here and remade him as Rauk.
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Camp Bay
In real lifeA small bathing bay on the western shore, towards the southern end of the Rock.
In the universeDr Elena Caruana swims here most mornings before work, even in winter.
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Europa Point lighthouse
In real lifeThe lighthouse at the southern tip of Gibraltar, looking across the Strait to Africa.
In the universeIn Issue One, this is where Jason Carter first rises as Bastion. The Europa Beacon is named after this lighthouse.