* The exact length of time that [[The Black-eyed Army]] has existed is not really known, but we can estimate it to be not much more than about five years old. This is from Conn's story in 'The Crushing Fist', where the events of [[Earth 44]] and [[The Ink]] were stated as occurring five years earlier. Due to the clinical immortality of some citizens of [[The First World]] as well as the enhancements to those who were altered by the [[Shadow Entities]], it is possible the members of [[The Black-eyed Army]] may have existed for hundreds of years prior to their conversion. This would seem to be supported by the mention of a stolen purple beam weapon used in the battle of the [[Capital Temple]], which was stolen from the [[Gemstone Hegemony]] eight hundred years ago. That said, there has been no mention of who exactly stole the weapon from the hegemony, and it may have been acquired prior to the formation of [[The Black-eyed Army]], potentially while [[Command]] was still active. One reason for such an action could have been the ongoing war with the [[Yngtak]].
=== Who is [[Laura Thompson]]? What happened to her? Is she dead or alive? ===
* [[Laura Thompson]] is or was the daughter of [[Conn Thompson]] and [[Cristina Thompson]]. From the various stories it is assumed that Laura died at some point in the past, which turned Cristina into something of a monster which resulted in the events of the engagement in [[The Ink]] on [[Earth 44]], and the creation of [[The Black-eyed Army]]. How Laura actually died, or whether she actually died remains unknown, however it is notable that [[Alek]] has a sister also called Laura. One theory at this point is that [[Alek]], along with his brother and sister may be the children of a parallel version of [[Conn Thompson]] and [[Cristina Thompson]], where their lives followed very different decision paths. There are a few other theories regarding [[Laura Thompson]], one notable one being that she was the lost child in the back paths found by [[Noah Fulmer]]'s duplicate while programmed with his hunter personality. Whether or not Laura is truly dead or alive remains to be seen, various versions of her have been encountered in both states.
