Table: empire_narratives
Columns: order
title
story_timeline
published
in_order_of_publication

Question: What is the story timeline that was published first prior to 1984?
SQL: SELECT "story_timeline" FROM empire_narratives WHERE "published" < 1984 AND "in_order_of_publication" = 'first'

Question: How many total publications were the first of the series?
SQL: SELECT COUNT("published") FROM empire_narratives WHERE "in_order_of_publication" = 'first'