Why 2003? - gweisman

Essentially conjecture made considering the (erroneous) age of Sebastian, coupled with the phases on the moon during September, and the years on which Thursday is September 4 (since Book 2's preview chapters established that Monday is September 8).

It's posted on Thailog's Wall at http://rainoftheghosts.wikia.com/wiki/Message_Wall:Thailog

Book 1 states that the moon was three-quarters full. Using Wolfram Alpha, here are the moon phases:

• 09/04/1980 - waning crescent (less than 25%)
• 09/04/1986 - new moon (0%)
• 09/04/1997 - waxing crescent (more than 25% but less than 50%)
• 09/04/2003 - waxing gibbous (less than 100% but more than 50%)
• 09/04/2008 - waxing crescent (more than 25% but less than 50%)
• 09/04/2014 - waxing gibbous (less than 100% but more than 50%)

Thus, two dates fit the moon - 2003 and 2014. Next, we use the date of V-E day (May 8, 1945) to choose between the two possibilities.

• 2003 as canon year - Sebastian would be 90 on October 2003, so he was born in October 1913. This means he was 31 during World War 2 (or 27 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor)
• 2014 as canon year - Sebastian would be 90 on October 2014, so he was born in October 1924. This means he was 20 during World War 2 (or 16 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor)

Using the previous erroneous age, 2014 was not plausible (an 11-year old boy could not become a fighter pilot, much less a captain, unless his name were Anakin Skywalker). 31 is still plausible, but unlikely given he was described as "young" in the book. As such, I will now change my estimate of the canon year to 2014.